My Swing (chris3putt)

[chris3putt]

I've been Playing Golf for: 8 years, give or take.

My current handicap index or average score is: 14 handicap, mid to high 80's

My typical ball flight is: Straight draw, or straight hook

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: A big pull hook.

Hi! Finally got around to posting a my swing video. Apologies for the quality, and the number of practice swings (didn't realize that my friend had started videoing). Anyway, please comment as appropriate.

Cheers!

Chris.

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Videos:

[mvmac]

Hi Chris. Couple things that stand out to me. Your grip is on the weak side, maybe palmy, I'd make sure the heel pad of the left hand is in a better position. This can also be causing the lack of wrist hinge on the backswing.

Also it seems like all your turn happens during the first half of the takeaway. The left shoulder stops moving down and in causing the head to rise and the arms to lift.

I'd suggest feeling like your left shoulder "bends" down towards your right hip. Keep it going down and in.

Good drill for you to do, can even do this in a mirror. Just put a piece of tape on your sternum.

[chris3putt]

Hi Chris. Couple things that stand out to me. Your grip is on the weak side, maybe palmy, I'd make sure the heel pad of the left hand is in a better position. This can also be causing the lack of wrist hinge on the backswing.

Also it seems like all your turn happens during the first half of the takeaway. The left shoulder stops moving down and in causing the head to rise and the arms to lift.

I'd suggest feeling like your left shoulder "bends" down towards your right hip. Keep it going down and in.

Good drill for you to do, can even do this in a mirror. Just put a piece of tape on your sternum.

Thanks Mike! I was aware of the head lifting, but had no idea how to correct it.

With the left hand grip, I see that you are advocating a longer thumb. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I just started experimenting with this, and it feels like there is more of an angle between the arms and the club shaft when I do this. The arms seem to hang down a bit straighter, too.

[mvmac]

With the left hand grip, I see that you are advocating a longer thumb. Correct me if I'm mistaken, but I just started experimenting with this, and it feels like there is more of an angle between the arms and the club shaft when I do this.

Yes, that's what I meant when I was referring to the wrist hinge. Note how much wrist hinge the player in the blue shorts has with the pics above. The left thumb and where the grip is placed in the hands will help you with this piece.

[chris3putt]

Yes, that's what I meant when I was referring to the wrist hinge. Note how much wrist hinge the player in the blue shorts has with the pics above. The left thumb and where the grip is placed in the hands will help you with this piece.

Great! Thanks for your help - always appreciated.

Now to get in my stupid monkey cage for a while...................

[chris3putt]

Have been spending a fair bit of time working on the two things Mike pointed out in the previous videos; Getting the left hand grip more in the fingers, and getting the left shoulder to come down and in during the backswing. I think progress is being made when you compare the earlier stuff to now.

Couple of things I noticed:-

1. What feels like a huge change in person is actually fairly subtle on video.

2. Making even that small change takes a lot more time than anticipated.

Anyway, here are the updates.

[mvmac]

@chris3putt , how are you hitting it? Has the ballstriking improved?

One thing that stood out to me.

[chris3putt]

Hi Mike. Thanks heaps for the video and analysis. It's great to know what I need to work on next!

Ballstriking has improved, although I still catch the odd one thin, mostly with mid irons. Shot an 83 last week at my home course, which is my best round for a while. We are moving in the right direction!

[chris3putt]

Have spent a couple of hours in the net working on the posture at setup. My lower back thanks TST and @mvmac!

Ball striking seems to be as good if not slightly better than previously, and it also seems that I can swing through the ball a bit faster.

The short video Mike posted in the posture thread about sucking your stomach in has been the swing thought that works best for me, and I plan to keep working on this (plus the pivot turn) for the next wee while.

As usual, your comments are welcome.

[mvmac]

Looking good Chris. The amount of upper back "slouching" is a bit too much so whatever you're feeling for that, you can do it less.

Would also like you look at this thread and make sure the right hand isn't too much on top. Looks like it might be, I feel that if it was more on the side (first pad of the index finger), you would have more bend in your wrist on the backswing/downswing. Will help the contact even more.

[chris3putt]

Thanks Mike. I was trying to channel my inner "Arnold Palmer" circa 1967, but probably got the 1995 version.

I'll add the right grip into the things to work on now list.

[chris3putt]

Coupled in with the grip and posture changes that Mike has suggested, I have been working on getting the left arm in alignment with the shoulder slant at the top of the back swing, rather than turning and lifting my arms above the slant as I have done. A big help has been to use a strap around my chest linked to another around the upper right arm, which physically prevents me from lifting during the back swing. I've tried putting tees in my armpits, but this works better for me.

The swing thought is simply "turn only, no lift".

[golfaddict1]

Wow, what a transformation that last video is from first. So much better!

Personally I think you can afford to stand a little futher away from the ball, add a touch more knee flex and bend forward from the waist more. The fact your upper back is hunched suggests your arms want to be lower and closer to the ball so do some work in the mirror getting your spine straighter at the top. You're also standing up through impact; another clear indicator you feel too close. It'll probably feel like you're standing too far away at first, but you need to have your weight in the balls of your feet, not the heels.

You're also losing out on lots of power and more control by not using your body and wrists to the fullest. It's a very 'armsy' swing. I would work on keeping your left arms glued to the side of your chest throughout entire backswing, which will encourage a flatter more rounded plane and get you turning your shoulders more.

Let your hands do what they want to do naturally and dont try to steer the club, which I suspect is what you're doing now, hence the lack of hinge and lag in your swing. Grip the club much much lighter (like you're holding a tube of toothpaste) and let the club 'flop' into position at the top. It'll feel very unsecure and uncontrolled at first, but if you let your hands and arms become much more passive in the swing and use your bigger muscles to do the hard work you'll find your distance, striking and consistency improves massively. Also, having more relaxed, laggy wrists should encourage you to rotate your hips and shoulders through impact more, so you 'whip' the club through the ball. Remember, its a golf SWING not hit.

Basically everything I mentioned is demonstrated perfectly by Sam Snead in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BosPcRZHOsI

And finally, your setup in the video is good for an iron, but for a driver you want a slightly wider stance, spine slightly tilted away from target (to encourage and upward swoop at impact) and a little more weight in your right foot.

A lot to think about there so sorry about that! Just work on one thing at a time. The quickest and easiest fix is your stance and posture and distance from the ball.

[mvmac]

Here's the drill. Basically soften or fold the right arm to A2 and then turn all the way to A4. Notice how the right knee flex doesn't change much. It will change a little but you'll feel like it stays the same from 1-2.

Quick note, long term I would like to see more right wrist bend, dorsi flexion, on the backswing. I feel the lack of wrist bend "widens" out the wrist angles too much on the downswing and causes you to stand up quite a bit. So with this drill make sure to have some right wrist bend at 2.

[chris3putt]

@golfaddict1, th anks very much for your insights and the effort and time you put in to writing them down. Lots of good stuff in there and it dovetails nicely with what Mike has been instructing.

@mvmac , can't thank you enough for your help. As LSW states, I think I finally have found a place where the golf swing is taught systematically, with each key building on top of what has gone before, rather than the haphazard form of instruction which seems to be the norm under the traditional golf lesson format.

Anyway, enough gushing. The next month or so of practice is all detailed out in the videos you've supplied. Onward and upward.

[chris3putt]

Soooo. I've been working on the arm & pivot sequencing drill that Mike demonstrated in his last post. It will need ongoing work, particularly with completing the turn with the hips, and the arms are still lifting a bit. Also have to watch that I don't drop back into my poor posture at setup. But aside from that, progress is being made.

I've also included a Face On video of the complete swing after work on the sequencing drill.

Gotta flare the feet more! Probably the stance could be a touch wider, also. But again, I'm pleased with the progress.

[chris3putt]

Still working on the arm/pivot sequencing drill. Apologies for the glitch midway in the video.

Seem to have some improvement in Key #1 - my head still comes up during the downswing, but not as much as it has done.

Also with Key #2. I haven't seen the sole of my right shoe at impact like this before. Usually it's still fairly flat.

All constructive feedback most definitely welcome.

[mvmac]

This is pretty darn good Chris. Next step would be to add more right wrist bend.