My Swing (Skenny)

[Skenny]

I've been Playing Golf for: 30 years, but tried to get serious about 1.5 yrs ago

My current handicap index or average score is: about 100 (Score, not Handicap)

My typical ball flight is: fade

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Fat Hits

Sorry about "dead time" and video clarity, I'm learning, and my better camera is out of commission. Of five swings, face on and down the line, the last two are short irons which were fat hit, from about :54 to end at 1:13. In some swings, I've detected a slight bobbing (dropping, lunging,...?) of my head right around the point of impact, probably related, bit also is likely just another symptom, of a problem I can't identify. Thanks for feedback, but please be gentle. Probably should add that I constantly struggle with out-to-in swing path.... weak slices.

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Videos:

[mvmac]

Hi, thanks for posting.

Yes there are some issues on the downswing but I think some time spent on the backswing first will help. Here's what I see.

Hips don't turn enough on the backswing, so the hips slide back. This creates a lack of torso rotation which also results in a lack of depth with the arms. When the arms don't go "in" enough, the common tendency is to swing too far out to in.

Check out this video and do the following.

- Turn both feet out at address.

- Turn the hips more earlier

- As you turn the hips, feel like the left hip moves slightly towards the target on the backswing. This feel will keep them from sliding back. Easier to do when the hips are turning.

[Skenny]

Thanks very much for the feedback. I have been made aware of the excessive hip slide, it used to be worse. My teacher called me "Elvis".

Regarding depth in the arms, I looked at the "deep hands" thread, and understand what you are saying. I will work on that. For some reason, in a practice swing, I see the clubhead come straight through the impact point.Then I hit a ball, and the divot is sometimes oriented 15 degrees left of the ball. or I have tee marks on the bottom of the driver with similar orientation. When I occasionally get the club-face closed, the ball goes long but left.

[mvmac]

Thanks very much for the feedback. I have been made aware of the excessive hip slide, it used to be worse. My teacher called me "Elvis".

Regarding depth in the arms, I looked at the "deep hands" thread, and understand what you are saying. I will work on that. For some reason, in a practice swing, I see the clubhead come straight through the impact point.Then I hit a ball, and the divot is sometimes oriented 15 degrees left of the ball. or I have tee marks on the bottom of the driver with similar orientation. When I occasionally get the club-face closed, the ball goes long but left.

Correct, the path is too far left, unfortunately practice swings can be very different from "real" swings.

Yes when you get the face left enough, it's going to pull. Ball starts where the face is pointed and curves away from the path.

[Skenny]

Swing has evolved from severe out-to-in, plus other symptoms, to a current problem, most pronounced with the driver, wherein I am consistently contacting the ball high and on the toe. I have tried lots of set-up adjustments, experimented with my prescription glasses, and have intentionally swung at an imaginary ball at a location that would compensate for my misses. Any improvements have been very temporary. although one adjustment I made has improved ball flight from a nasty pull hook to a weak, sometimes straight, often "skied right" trajectory. I have attached I video which shows two swings: the first resulted in sweet spot contact, the second was high and on the toe. I hope the quality is adequate, my player will advance it frame-by-frame. but any suggestions as to the problem/fix are most appreciated. I don't know why I can't make the needed adjustment, but the problem has been very consistent, or persistent.

[mvmac]

If I had to guess I would say that the hips are probably sliding to the right on the backswing and making the rest of the swing more complicated.

Check out this thread. Also hope you stick around longer and post more, we have a lot of great threads.

[Skenny]

I apparently have an ongoing tendency to slide my hips. I think that focusing on weight transfer contributes to this. How is weight effectively transferred if the head doesn't move, and the hips only pivot about a more or less fixed axis? It would seem that the weight of the arms and the club would be the only significant weight transferred............. unless, "pushing" off the back leg (around the start of the downswing) results in the transfer of weight, back to front, while restricting movement of the head and "sliding" of hips.....?

[iacas]

I apparently have an ongoing tendency to slide my hips. I think that focusing on weight transfer contributes to this. How is weight effectively transferred if the head doesn't move, and the hips only pivot about a more or less fixed axis? It would seem that the weight of the arms and the club would be the only significant weight transferred............. unless, "pushing" off the back leg (around the start of the downswing) results in the transfer of weight, back to front, while restricting movement of the head and "sliding" of hips.....?

The hips should move forward during the downswing. It's rare that they move backward during the downswing.

The hips moving forward while the head remains relatively centered does two things, primarily:

• It sequences the body so that the weight can get forward which helps the arms and clubhead ultimately to release at the right moment, and allows us to use vertical and horizontal GRF to add clubhead speed to the swing at the right time.
• It creates secondary axis tilt so we can shallow the clubhead's descent into the ball, take a thin divot, and get the clubhead back out of the ground quickly to launch the ball high.

Sliding your hips backward simply means you have to not only slide your hips forward on the downswing, but you have to do it MORE in order to compensate for the motion away from the target on the backswing.

[Skenny]

I've been Playing Golf for: over 30 years

My current handicap index or average score is: Avg score = 90-95

My typical ball flight is: atypical, sometimes it draws, sometimes fades, doesn't slice as much as it used to but I've been battling a nasty hook with Driver

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Can't figure out why I am consistently hitting the ball high on the toe, but It's gotten a little better. Generally, versus two years ago, my misses now sometimes go relatively close to the target. Chronic out-to-in swing is better. Focusing on turning rather  than sliding hips, Trying to relax my grip and slow down the backswing.

Even if the scorecard won't admit it, my ball flight, a lot of the time, indicates my swing is better after two years here..

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Videos:

Sorry about slack time between swings. There are three swings:

at :04 - ball flew well

around :26 to :33? - A little out on the toe, a little shorter, but straight

near the end, :46? - Hit on toe, blooped high and right

https://vimeo.com/136791908

[saevel25]

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Can't figure out why I am consistently hitting the ball high on the toe, but It's gotten a little better. Generally, versus two years ago, my misses now sometimes go relatively close to the target. Chronic out-to-in swing is better. Focusing on turning rather  than sliding hips, Trying to relax my grip and slow down the backswing.

Hitting the ball high is because you do the teeter totter move with your hips. When your hips shift like that in the swing, with little hip rotation, the tendency is for your upper body to shift opposite to compensate.  In the downswing you reverse this, but you do a decent job of not letting your head shift away from the target. Still, this overall action will cause you to lose your ability to get a flat left wrist at impact, which causes you to present more loft. This equals higher shots.

I would check out this thread on a centered pivot.

I would also check out this video on getting your weight forward at impact.