My Swing (14ledo81)

[BENtSwing]

Nice work man...and great swing. Like they always say, the last place you see improvement is the scorecard. Keep dialing in your swing and keep your short game on point and the scores will work out. Have some fun too, that always helps lol.

[14ledo81]

  mvmac said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

Well here are some vids from Saturday night.  Again I was using the feels that I posted above.  Definitely seemed to improve distance with the Driver.  Who knows though, maybe I was just timing my swing well that day.

I really tried to concentrate on the soft right arm.  Does it appear that I made progress here?  Any other thoughts are appreciated.  I do still see a lack of key #3, but I believe @mvmac was thinking the soft right arm, and grip more in the fingers would help this.

In case nobody noticed, I was able to break the mental block with the "sawed off" finish.    At least it makes the swing look better.  Maybe a by-product of the soft right arm?

Yes definitely better with that right arm. You can see it in the set-up and the sequencing, nice work. Here's where I would focus on next. Arms get a bit too far behind you on the downswing and the right elbow is behind your shirt seam. This will tend to increase the rate that the club "overtakes" the hands, so harder to achieve Key #3.

Well...  I am struggling with this one quite a bit.  I watched the video, and understand what I am doing, and what needs to change.  I just have not found a "feel" that works.  I was using the mirror for a bit, and then hit a few balls.  I took video, but did not see much difference.

Anybody that has struggled with this have a "feel" that has worked?

[mdl]

Just scanned through this whole thread.  Watched videos from each video post.  Really awesome progress!  You'll be playing around 80 from longer tees in no time!

And I feel you on the last thing Mike recommended being hard!  That was a main problem of mine as well.  Wasn't too hard to start getting to the right positions at A2 and A3, but not letting the elbow creep back into the old position from A3 to A4 took a ton of work, and it still backslides now if I don't pay any attention to it at all...

Speaking of right positions at A2 and A3, even just softening the right arm and the revving you're doing and the like made a huge improvement.  Back swing's already way less under plane.  Looks like you're picking up the new swing really quickly.

[14ledo81]

  mdl said:

Just scanned through this whole thread.  Watched videos from each video post.  Really awesome progress!  You'll be playing around 80 from longer tees in no time!

And I feel you on the last thing Mike recommended being hard!  That was a main problem of mine as well.  Wasn't too hard to start getting to the right positions at A2 and A3, but not letting the elbow creep back into the old position from A3 to A4 took a ton of work, and it still backslides now if I don't pay any attention to it at all...

Speaking of right positions at A2 and A3, even just softening the right arm and the revving you're doing and the like made a huge improvement.  Back swing's already way less under plane.  Looks like you're picking up the new swing really quickly.

I think this is because everything I changed so far has been static positions (setup).  This next item involves not allowing the elbow to slide around throughout the whole swing.  HARD.......

OTOH, it is pretty neat to see the improvements that the static position changes have made.

[mdl]

  14ledo81 said:

I think this is because everything I changed so far has been static positions (setup).  This next item involves not allowing the elbow to slide around throughout the whole swing.  HARD.......

OTOH, it is pretty neat to see the improvements that the static position changes have made.

I'd give you a bit more credit than that.  Yes the setup changes are easier to make and they've helped your swing, but even just that first dynamic change of softening the right arm you made very nicely.  It greatly improved both your back swing and your follow through without, to my admittedly non-expert eye, introducing new issues.  Usually when I successfully change something static it introduces a whole other new mistake to fix!

[billchao]

  14ledo81 said:

Well...  I am struggling with this one quite a bit.  I watched the video, and understand what I am doing, and what needs to change.  I just have not found a "feel" that works.  I was using the mirror for a bit, and then hit a few balls.  I took video, but did not see much difference.

Anybody that has struggled with this have a "feel" that has worked?

Matt, you want to feel like the right elbow is in front of your body during the backswing, as opposed to pulling back or around yourself. You may have to feel like you're making a backswing without using your arms at all and just let the pivot bring you to A4.

Take a look at this drill:

Notice how @mvmac 's right arm is extended out directly in front of his body. That's what you're looking for.

[14ledo81]

  billchao said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

Well...  I am struggling with this one quite a bit.  I watched the video, and understand what I am doing, and what needs to change.  I just have not found a "feel" that works.  I was using the mirror for a bit, and then hit a few balls.  I took video, but did not see much difference.

Anybody that has struggled with this have a "feel" that has worked?

Matt, you want to feel like the right elbow is in front of your body during the backswing, as opposed to pulling back or around yourself. You may have to feel like you're making a backswing without using your arms at all and just let the pivot bring you to A4.

Take a look at this drill:

Notice how @mvmac's right arm is extended out directly in front of his body. That's what you're looking for.

(see bolded above) This is the thing I am looking for.  I can easily see the difference with my swing.  Looking at a FO, at the top of the backswing, my hands are hidden by my head.  Just having trouble getting to the proper position with a full swing.

I plan on hitting the range tonight.  Would the following be good things to try?

1) Use @mvmac 's drill in this video to get to the top of the backswing, and then swing down from there.  Basically starting the swing from the top.

2) Just do what @iacas always says and swing slower (40,50,60 %).

[billchao]

  14ledo81 said:

(see bolded above) This is the thing I am looking for.  I can easily see the difference with my swing.  Looking at a FO, at the top of the backswing, my hands are hidden by my head.  Just having trouble getting to the proper position with a full swing.   I plan on hitting the range tonight.  Would the following be good things to try? 1) Use @mvmac 's drill in this video to get to the top of the backswing, and then swing down from there.  Basically starting the swing from the top. 2) Just do what @iacas always says and swing slower (40,50,60 %).

Use Mike's drill to get a sense of what the top of the backswing should feel like and practice getting into that position using slow swings. You don't even need to be at the range to do this. I think if you get in the right position at A4, the downswing portion might sort itself out. You can test it out exactly as you described. I think the focus should be at the top of the backswing; if you can't get into that position, you are likely going to continue dragging your right arm behind you. If you try to solve the downswing piece without the backswing piece, you may be adding a compensation that might not be ideal.

[mdl]

  14ledo81 said:

Well...  I am struggling with this one quite a bit.  I watched the video, and understand what I am doing, and what needs to change.  I just have not found a "feel" that works.  I was using the mirror for a bit, and then hit a few balls.  I took video, but did not see much difference.

Anybody that has struggled with this have a "feel" that has worked?

Major break through this morning for me (I think) finding a feel that I think is going to work for me for this exact problem.  Really more of a final touch on incremental work on the feel, but anyway.

For me, the big break down was A3 -> A4.  I could pretty consistently get the elbow in just thinking elbows together and hands further out in front of me through A3.  But then I'd want to drop the elbow back at the top of the swing and make what I think is called a punch motion on the down swing with my right arm (break your wrist punch with the arched wrist, but...).

So the feel that's working for me.  Hands further out in front of me on the back swing with elbows tight.  Almost hands and club head both a bit over plane at A2 and A3.  Club steep at A3.  Then at the top, it feels like I'm leading the arms portion of the start of the down swing with the right elbow going down and out towards the ball.  It's hard to describe the exact feel, but that's about the best I can do.  In that initiation of the down swing motion it feels for me like I've got the elbows really close together and the right elbow is leading the hands and club head down, instead of pushing the down from behind.  Concentrating on that makes it really obvious when I've dropped the right elbow back, and really helps not do that cause the body knows it'll be impossible to do that unless the elbows are tight.

A key part of the feel is hands out in front on the back swing and the club steep at A3.  If I let the club get flat at A3 (pointing well outside the ball), it encourages my hands and right elbow to drift too far back and messes up the whole thing.  It feels like the hands are going out and up with the elbows tight and the club shaft steep and everything maybe over plane, then I lead the down swing with the right elbow and the club feels like it lays off and comes from over plane and steep to into the slot and flat.  You may hit some shanks at the start with this.  I did, especially with the short irons.  I'm gonna post some vids from this morning in my own swing thread.  One will be able to see there that I'm not totally succeeding in this every time, but it feels (and looks at least to me in the videos) like a significant improvement.

Anyway, the exact feels are different for everyone, but since this feels so great for me I thought I'd share and maybe it'll be a feel that clicks for you or you can adapt into something that clicks for you.

[14ledo81]

  billchao said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

(see bolded above) This is the thing I am looking for.  I can easily see the difference with my swing.  Looking at a FO, at the top of the backswing, my hands are hidden by my head.  Just having trouble getting to the proper position with a full swing.

I plan on hitting the range tonight.  Would the following be good things to try?

1) Use @mvmac

's drill in this video to get to the top of the backswing, and then swing down from there.  Basically starting the swing from the top.

2) Just do what @iacas

always says and swing slower (40,50,60 %).

Use Mike's drill to get a sense of what the top of the backswing should feel like and practice getting into that position using slow swings. You don't even need to be at the range to do this.

I think if you get in the right position at A4, the downswing portion might sort itself out. You can test it out exactly as you described.

I think the focus should be at the top of the backswing; if you can't get into that position, you are likely going to continue dragging your right arm behind you. If you try to solve the downswing piece without the backswing piece, you may be adding a compensation that might not be ideal.

I think you are right on this part.  I imagine it would be very difficult to let the elbow slide around, and then somehow get it back in front on the downswing.

  mdl said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by 14ledo81

Well...  I am struggling with this one quite a bit.  I watched the video, and understand what I am doing, and what needs to change.  I just have not found a "feel" that works.  I was using the mirror for a bit, and then hit a few balls.  I took video, but did not see much difference.

Anybody that has struggled with this have a "feel" that has worked?

Major break through this morning for me (I think) finding a feel that I think is going to work for me for this exact problem.  Really more of a final touch on incremental work on the feel, but anyway.

For me, the big break down was A3 -> A4.  I could pretty consistently get the elbow in just thinking elbows together and hands further out in front of me through A3.  But then I'd want to drop the elbow back at the top of the swing and make what I think is called a punch motion on the down swing with my right arm (break your wrist punch with the arched wrist, but...).

So the feel that's working for me.  Hands further out in front of me on the back swing with elbows tight.  Almost hands and club head both a bit over plane at A2 and A3.  Club steep at A3.  Then at the top, it feels like I'm leading the arms portion of the start of the down swing with the right elbow going down and out towards the ball.  It's hard to describe the exact feel, but that's about the best I can do.  In that initiation of the down swing motion it feels for me like I've got the elbows really close together and the right elbow is leading the hands and club head down, instead of pushing the down from behind.  Concentrating on that makes it really obvious when I've dropped the right elbow back, and really helps not do that cause the body knows it'll be impossible to do that unless the elbows are tight.

A key part of the feel is hands out in front on the back swing and the club steep at A3.  If I let the club get flat at A3 (pointing well outside the ball), it encourages my hands and right elbow to drift too far back and messes up the whole thing.  It feels like the hands are going out and up with the elbows tight and the club shaft steep and everything maybe over plane, then I lead the down swing with the right elbow and the club feels like it lays off and comes from over plane and steep to into the slot and flat.  You may hit some shanks at the start with this.  I did, especially with the short irons.  I'm gonna post some vids from this morning in my own swing thread.  One will be able to see there that I'm not totally succeeding in this every time, but it feels (and looks at least to me in the videos) like a significant improvement.

Anyway, the exact feels are different for everyone, but since this feels so great for me I thought I'd share and maybe it'll be a feel that clicks for you or you can adapt into something that clicks for you.

I think you described it very well.  I took a couple of backswing positions (one proper, one elbow back), and I can see what you mean about not being able to get the right elbow moving toward the ball if it is slid behind you.  Pretty excited to try this tonight.

Thanks!!

[14ledo81]

@mdl ,  just wanted to expand on your feel a little bit.  I was looking at things in the mirror just now, and something came to me.  How about the feel of keeping the right elbow pointed at the ball during the backswing?  If the elbow slides behind, no way it can point at the ball.

[buckshot4227]

  14ledo81 said:

@mdl ,  just wanted to expand on your feel a little bit.  I was looking at things in the mirror just now, and something came to me.  How about the feel of keeping the right elbow pointed at the ball during the backswing?  If the elbow slides behind, no way it can point at the ball.

I used this.  Seemed to work rather well.  The other thing I did was looked in a mirror face on and made sure I could see my right elbow down below my left arm.  Even at the top of my backswing.

[mdl]

  14ledo81 said:

@mdl ,  just wanted to expand on your feel a little bit.  I was looking at things in the mirror just now, and something came to me.  How about the feel of keeping the right elbow pointed at the ball during the backswing?  If the elbow slides behind, no way it can point at the ball.

Hadn't thought of that.  I could see that being a feel that could work for sure.

Trying it dry I'm not sure I like it for me for what it feels like it'll encourage as far as other positions I'm trying to achieve.  But different feels work for different players, and even the same player at different times, so I could see that working for some guys.

[mvmac]

Excuse my attire

[14ledo81]

  mvmac said:

Excuse my attire ;-)

Attire looks great. :) Thank you. Very helpful.

[14ledo81]

Well...wish me luck. One of my buddies asked me to play this morning. He has a group of guys staying with him, and they wanted to play. I rarely play with anyone, and when I do, it is usually just my one golfing buddy. Hopefully I can put up a decent showing.

[CarlSpackler]

Good luck!

[14ledo81]

Just got back. Did well enough. We played scramble format, so I did not really keep track of any stats. I did hit a nice 9 iron from 130 to about 5 feet, and sunk the putt.