swing plane problems

[nyjets2806]

i was playing golf today with a friend of mine who was having alot of inconsistency on his swing and when i watched him i could see his problem. basically the problem was he would get to the top of the backswing and instead of dropping his arms down on plane to start the downswing he would just start swinging them down, which was leaving them well outside the ball causing alot of shanks and hooks (because of a compensation i suppose). i tried to tell him to start the downswing with the hips but it wouldnt work for him. anyone else know what causes something like this, i hadnt seen anyone do that before.

[Diggitydog]

so different than an over the top move?

That hip move takes a long time to learn. It's super hard to explain and for me I didn't really understand it for a couple years after hearing about it. Could be that I'm a slow learner. j/k But I did I have to experience it for a period of time before I could do the move. To me the hip / lower body starting the downswing is a finely tuned move that creates more torque between your lower and upper body. It's one of the big differences between guys hitting it 220 off the tee and 290 off the tee.

[Elvisliveson]

The best advice I ever got from a pro was that the arms should always remain passive in the swing, which is done with your body. You simply turn your body away from the ball and then turn it back and through with the arms remaining as passive as possible. Over the top moves that cause things like shanks and slices are because the player is doing the opposite; that is, he's concentrating on swinging the arms first and foremost, which can be death for the golf swing.

[sonicblue]

Have your friend bring the club to the top of his backswing and stop. Stand to his left (if he's a righty) and grab the clubhead. Have him start that little subtle hip move, while feeling the club remain at the top. That should help him get the feeling of not only starting the backswing properly, but get him to start to feel the concept of clubhead/wrist lag. Basically, you want to "leave the club at the top" while the big muscles begin the downswing, and then those big muscles fire the club down and through.

[Diggitydog]

sonicblue. Now that sounds like a good drill to help with this subject. Good one. I'm going to try that for my "Over the top" neighbour.