Slot Swing - Can you interpret this drill?

[spentmiles]

I've been working on the slot swing from Jim McLean's book.  He's got a drills section at the end, but unfortunately, I haven't been able to find any videos that show the drills with live action.

Can someone who is familiar with the slot swing, or who understands this drill, please interpret it for me:

"Using your 8 iron, make small swings, stopping your hands at waist height in your backswing and in your through swing.

As you swing your arms back to waist height in your backswing, hinge your wrists so the club shafts sits nearly perpendicular to the ground.  Now, start your downswing by consciously dropping the club head behind you and changing the shaft position from vertical to more horizontal.  (It won't get to horizontal, but it's a good idea to exaggerate the way it feels when you try to learn a new technique).

Be careful to flatten the shaft, not your arms."

I'm not clear on what he means by "dropping the club head behind you and changing the shaft from vertical to more horizontal."  From the waist-high top of the abbreviated back swing, are you supposed to tip the shaft away from the target line so that it's laying down horizontally at the still waist high position?  At full horizontal, your top hand (my right hand) would then be about even with my left hand, rather than on top of it.  Is this a correct interpretation?

I've read the book a few times and practiced the initiating hip move for the last three months, but I feel like I'm missing something essential in terms of how the shaft flattens in the down swing.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[saevel25]

Dropping the clubhead more behind you means getting it inside the hands.

Adam Scott. The circle is were his clubhead is, the X is were most people who hit a slice will have the clubhead at. See how the clubhead is slightly inside the hands. To come from the inside, the clubhead should be inside the hands at that point in the swing. If it is outside, the path has really no way to reroute back inside.

[spentmiles]

Saevel25,

So, at the top of the backswing, you don't turn the hands clockwise, lowering the club head behind the body and away from the target line.  Rather, you lower the left arm while keeping the club head behind the hands?  And this brings the right elbow to the torso?

I think the picture is clear.  Would you say that Scott has flattened the shaft at that point?  I guess I'm having trouble understanding what McLean means by a flatter shaft plane.  For some reason I got in my head that the hands allow the club head to tip backward, away from the target line.

Is the picture what's meant by a flatter plane?

[saevel25]

As you swing your arms back to waist height in your backswing, hinge your wrists so the club shafts sits nearly perpendicular to the ground.  Now, start your downswing by consciously dropping the club head behind you and changing the shaft position from vertical to more horizontal.  (It won't get to horizontal, but it's a good idea to exaggerate the way it feels when you try to learn a new technique).

This drill is primarily a feel piece to try to get you to sense what it feels like to have the clubhead inside the hands. So you are not really concerned with the top of the backswing with Mclean's drill here.

As for the move from the top of the backswing to start the downswing. Some people can perform the little "Lay off the club" move in transition, but it depends on the golfer. For me that feel and move in the swing doesn't work.  Its not something that is required. For me, my transition is gradual through the ball. Meaning I am more concerned with what my hands are doing through impact, and how they are moving. This lets me dictated were the clubhead is coming from.

As for Adam Scott. His move to get the clubhead inside is very slight and gradual. He doesn't have a very abrupt move to get that clubhead inside. His clubhead isn't that inside as well, its pretty much barely inside his hands. I would put him as a very neutral swing path, coming slightly from the inside.

Flatter just means the clubhead is less vertical, and more horizontal. In that image flatter would mean the clubhead is more to the left, towards Scott's hips. Steeper would be more upright, so more outside, so up and to the right.

Basically McLean is just trying to teach people how not to swing over the top by trying to get the golfer to get that clubhead more inside. Flatter is just a terminology for were the clubhead is at.

[mvmac]

Saevel25,

So, at the top of the backswing, you don't turn the hands clockwise, lowering the club head behind the body and away from the target line.  Rather, you lower the left arm while keeping the club head behind the hands?  And this brings the right elbow to the torso?

Something like this

[spentmiles]

Hey, thanks Mike!  That's what I was looking for.