My Swing (rjf190)

[rjf190]

Hey guys-

I've been playing golf very inconsistently for the past 3 years or so, so I recently decently to try an “easier” swing (Stack and Tilt).  Although I’ve seen some great improvements over my previous swing, I am still very inconsistent.  The quality of the videos isn’t the best, but I’ve posted a DTL and head on shot.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Randy

[14ledo81]

From the DTL view, it looks like you are hitting a nice push draw ball flight.

What do you struggle with?

Also, you might want to start a my swing thread.  Maybe one of the mods will move this for you.

[rjf190]

I've been Playing Golf for: 3 years

My current handicap index or average score is: 100+

My typical ball flight is: all over the place

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

Hey guys-

I've been playing golf very inconsistently for the past 3 years or so, so I recently decided to try an “easier” swing for me (Stack and Tilt).  Although I’ve seen some great improvements over my previous swing, I am still very inconsistent.  The DTL video here is actually of a couple decent balls that I hit, but in general my misses are all over the place.

The quality of the videos isn’t the best, but I’ve posted a DTL and head on shot.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Randy

---

Videos:

[rjf190]

thanks! i just started a my swing thread and hopefully I will get some help there

[boogielicious]

@rjf190 ,

Thanks for posting.  When you say "bad shots" are they off line or short/fat shots?

[rjf190]

Thanks for replying. To be honest, it's a combination of both (some fat/thin and some push/hooks). It feels like I'm not hitting the ground in a different place every time. Any suggestions?

[Hammer 4]

Welcome to TST rjf. one thing I notice in your vid's, is that you tend to move your head a bit, that could be the cause of hitting fat, or thin shots. Also, at address, you appear to have your weight mostly on your left side, and your hands look as though they might be kinda flippy. My old eyes can't see that well, unless the vid is in slow motion.

There are certain things you need to do, to stike the golf ball well, and consistently.  Here's a link that can help you.

http://purestrike5sk.com/videos.php

Good luck, and enjoy your stay.

[boogielicious]

+1 on @Hammer 4 's comments.  Check the videos out and start with steady head and/or weight forward at impact.  Remember to really work on one thing at a time and be patient.  Fat/thin shots are usually and indication that your weight is not forward at impact. This can be caused by moving your weight and head back during the backswing, but there are other causes too.

For the camera shots:

Face on: Line up that camera perpendicular to where the ball is.

Down the line:  Set up to your ball, then lay the club down at your feet parallel to your hitting direction.  Then go back and line up the camera so that it aims directly at the club with the club in the center.  This will give viewers the best angle to look at your swing.

This article explain filming more.

http://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/filming_your_swing

[Etzwane]

It's a good starting point but some aspects of the address position make it harder to perform a "simple" swing.

First, it looks like that you have you entire upper body forward of center to get the "weight forward". In fact the head should remain centered and the "weight forward" is obtained by sliding the hips towards the target. The entire concept of breaking the body movement into rotation, tilt and extension is to maintain the base of the neck centered (to keep the low point of the swing stable and to be able to rotate faster). With the head forward, the swing would be overly steep and the head has to backup in some way in the downswing to shallow the club.

The feet should be flared out, in fact the legs should be flared out (to keep the knees roughly inline with the ankle and avoid putting too much lateral pressure on them). That nicely guides the hips to turn diagonaly when the leg straightens (I mean, not straight back behind as it would tend to cause sway) and maintain the hips relatively centered while rotating. It also help feeling pressure maintained on the forward foot.

Last, you're standing too far away from the ball and do not keep enough connection between the upper arms and thorax. This promotes independent arm and wrist movements. Try to have the upper arm resting on your chest (I guess there is a range of acceptable positions depending on the individual, maybe as a start try to have the middle of the upper arm touching the thorax). In the backswing there is little arm movement, the upper arm don't lift at all (or barely) and the right elbow does not bend more than 90 degrees. The hands goes up and the club get steep enough because the upper body is tilted and we try to maintain the inclination to the ground. That is the hardest part for me in this swing as the backswing feels a lot tighter and shorter (in length and time) that what I'm used to.

[Pancho Lefty]

Is there a reason why you're choosing to stack & tilt with irons? I ask because I utilize the stack & tilt with my driver & 3-wood, but no other club. Even with those 2 clubs, there's still a weight shift.

[mchepp]

You need to work on keeping your head steady. From A1 to A4 your head is going forward. It needs to stay steady, or relatively in the same position. Take a look at this thread.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/62804/steady-head-drill-and-how-painting-mental-pictures-can-help-your-swing/

[mvmac]

Both threads merged.

Yeah your head is going too far forward in an effort to "load" the front leg. Then the head stays forward and you can't really get in an effective position from there. You need to work on the pivot, HOW the body has to move rather than stacking your lead side.

[rjf190]

Hi everyone!

Thank you for all of the feedback, it is much appreciated. In fact, I took this advice to the range this weekend and was able to make much more solid contact and was a lot less erratic. I was able to take some better videos and was hoping to get some more specific advice. A couple thoughts:

1) I often feel like the club comes back too far and comes off path and i lose a good angle with the left arm. Any suggestions for keeping the angle at the top of the backswing?

2) I've tried very hard, but still feel like I have way too much movement in my bottom half, thoughts?


Thanks again

[Hammer 4]

One thing I see is that instead of swinging the club back, you pick it up. You should also be making a shoulder turn, along with your hips during the takeaway. And yes, you still have some movement there too.

[mvmac]

1) I often feel like the club comes back too far and comes off path and i lose a good angle with the left arm. Any suggestions for keeping the angle at the top of the backswing?

I wouldn't worry too much about #1, if anything it's a reaction to what I'm going to recommend next.

2) I've tried very hard, but still feel like I have way too much movement in my bottom half, thoughts?

I would say there is still too much movement of the head towards the target and too much movement of the hips away from the target This would be the next piece to help turn the hips (and get the weight further forward on the downswing). You'll almost feel like you stay "flexed" over a little longer on the backswing to find a happy medium.

Do this in a mirror and compare it to the top of the backswing position in the recent video you posted. Your left shoulder doesn't travel back far enough. In S&T; lingo, ideally you tilt, turn and extend at the same rate. You leave out the turn, tilt a bunch at first and then extend.

[rjf190]

Hey guys-

So I went to the range last night with these new tips in mind but I still wasn't hitting the ball very consistent.  I had a 7 iron in my hand and the majority of the shots went not very high and only about 115 yards but they were straight.  These shots felt like I was hitting the ground first, then the ball.  Therefore, I tried sliding my hips more on the downswing but the ball would push immediately to right and not travel far at all.  What am I doing wrong?

Because i was the only one there I wasn't able to take the best videos, I apologize for the quality.  Thanks for the input

[Etzwane]

I'd continue to work on "Steady Head" with the videos that mvmac posted. You could have someone with a club or an alignment rod touching the base of your neck from behind you so you can feel what it's like to maintain that point almost fixed, first with short swings and no club then with a club (make sure the person is safe!). Otherwise you can aso use a pillar or a wall, head agains the wall, no club, arms crossed against the check and make backswings and throughswings, shorter swing first.

[CarlSpackler]

Your head is definitely moving towards the target in the backswing and then away from it at impact. I think this might be a video that can help you see what your head is doing while hitting a golf ball. It's quick and inexpensive. Good luck!