My Swing (SoundandFury)

[cedrictheo]

I have struggled with the same backswing pieces that you are dealing with. You have to fix it otherwise the downswing will not clean up. Some ideas and feels that worked for me. First off at address I felt like both my arms were bent (not straight) and hanging very relaxed. Then I would feel very little forearm rotation, almost as if both arms and the clubhead face the target a long time (this makes sure club does not get sucked inside which happens from rotating the forearms away from the target). Then I would feel like I was picking up the club and making the shaft as steep as possible through my right elbow bend. The key here is to keep right elbow in front of the shirt seem as you rotate your body to get depth. The whole backswing felt very steep and very upright, like I was picking the club straight up with my arms.

[mvmac]

Out of curiosity, would the glove/towel under the right armpit be a good drill to try?  Giving it a shot now and definitely seems to force me to fold my elbow.

Btw JPK, if you're ever in SoCal and want to play for money, I'll happily spot you 4 strokes.

Yeah I think that would be a good one for you.

Then I would feel like I was picking up the club and making the shaft as steep as possible through my right elbow bend. The key here is to keep right elbow in front of the shirt seem as you rotate your body to get depth.

Well said, thanks for the input Cedric.

[boogielicious]

Out of curiosity, would the glove/towel under the right armpit be a good drill to try?  Giving it a shot now and definitely seems to force me to fold my elbow.

Btw JPK, if you're ever in SoCal and want to play for money, I'll happily spot you 4 strokes.

Instead of a towel, you can bunch up your shirt under your armpit and get the same feel.  I have seen Pros to that.  You can do this on the course too.  One player, I can't recall his name, did it on every full swing.

[SoundandFury]

Alright.  If this isn't at least closer, I quit (until I see Mike).

[mvmac]

Yep that's much better.

Also have you seen this thread? Check that left hand.

[iacas]

Just record the swing without looking back at the camera. Then review it later to see if it was right. Otherwise you're going to train yourself to stand up and stuff like you're doing in that video.

[SoundandFury]

Just record the swing without looking back at the camera. Then review it later to see if it was right. Otherwise you're going to train yourself to stand up and stuff like you're doing in that video.

Thanks Erik, will do.  I'm definitely feeling the elbow fold more.  Question is have now is how I keep the club face from fanning wide open.  I can feel (and see on video) that when I let the right arm fold correctly and lift the club to the top, it opens the face up.

[SoundandFury]

Been working on lots of slow motion backswings.  Seeing Mike on Friday, but would love some feedback to see if I'm on the right track.

[billchao]

Been working on lots of slow motion backswings.  Seeing Mike on Friday, but would love some feedback to see if I'm on the right track.

Definitely looks better. You're still doing that standing up thing. It might help if you put a golf ball on the ground (couch cushion?) or just focus on a spot on the ground where a ball would be to simulate more of a "real life" condition.

Have a good time with your lesson.

[SoundandFury]

Thanks dude.  It's a dog bed actually, my wife would f'ing murder me if I was using one of the couch cushions for golf practice.

Agree with putting a ball down.  I can see my head moving, plus the more "real world" the better.  Probably why it's coming along better in my office than on the course.

[billchao]

Thanks dude.  It's a dog bed actually, my wife would f'ing murder me if I was using one of the couch cushions for golf practice.

We wouldn't tell

Agree with putting a ball down.  I can see my head moving, plus the more "real world" the better.  Probably why it's coming along better in my office than on the course.

Yea, making a change is hard. You want to make it as close to a real situation as possible.

You should practice like that on the range, too. Slow motion backswing to the top, make sure you're doing it properly, go back down. Then do it again, slowly, then back down. Then again, slowly, and instead of going down, do a slight pump and hit the ball. The point is to change the backswing, so your focus should be on the movement, not where you're hitting the ball. The purpose behind hitting the ball is just to try to translate your new feel into a real swing.

[SoundandFury]

I hear you.  I've always been such a shitty practicer, e.g., get to the range, hit a good one, hit a great one, hit a bad one . . (WTF), hit 50 balls in 20 mins trying to get back to the first couple of good ones.   Working hard on quality over quantity.

One question, not sure if you can see but it looks like my club face is wide open at the top.  Is that something I should worry about now, or work on ingraining the backswing, then fixing the face position, then downswing, etc.?

[billchao]

I hear you.  I've always been such a shitty practicer, e.g., get to the range, hit a good one, hit a great one, hit a bad one . . (WTF), hit 50 balls in 20 mins trying to get back to the first couple of good ones.   Working hard on quality over quantity.

It's a common mistake for a lot of people. I used to "practice" the exact same way. I'm sure Mike will show you what to do, or ask him about it when you see him.

I think I've posted this before:

One question, not sure if you can see but it looks like my club face is wide open at the top.  Is that something I should worry about now, or work on ingraining the backswing, then fixing the face position, then downswing, etc.?

I wouldn't worry about it for now.

[mvmac]

Agree with what @iacas and @billchao are saying, don't move your head/eyes off the "ball" when you're doing these practice moves. Also don't loosen your grip, notice how it's almost coming out of your hands.

[mvmac]

More knee flex at A1

Adding more flex in the right arm. Feeling was that it folded into the body. Also keeping the right clavicle "down", if it scrunches up it makes it really hard for the right elbow to rotate and stay in front of the shirt seam.

From 2-4 feeling the hands work up as the left shoulder worked down. Also making sure the right elbow stays in front of the shirt seam by feeling the elbow work more "under".

Continuing the same feels to A4. Going to feel more space between the right hand and right shoulder, not a swing thought, just a reminder on how it's going to feel different. Look at the difference with the lower body as well, much more dynamic on the right.

No swing thoughts here but really nice changes to the downswing.

Pulls on the left, push draws on the right.

[SoundandFury]

More knee flex at A1

Adding more flex in the right arm. Feeling was that it folded into the body. Also keeping the right clavicle "down", if it scrunches up it makes it really hard for the right elbow to rotate and stay in front of the shirt seam.

From 2-4 feeling the hands work up as the left shoulder worked down. Also making sure the right elbow stays in front of the shirt seam by feeling the elbow work more "under".

Continuing the same feels to A4. Going to feel more space between the right hand and right shoulder, not a swing thought, just a reminder on how it's going to feel different. Look at the difference with the lower body as well, much more dynamic on the right.

No swing thoughts here but really nice changes to the downswing.

Pulls on the left, push draws on the right.

Thanks Mike! Had a fantastic lesson, looking forward to working on everything we went over.  It's crazy how awkward the top of backswing position felt and how much better it looks when I actually see it...

[SoundandFury]

Today's practice session.  Resisted the urge to hit full shots (which was pretty damn hard, considering I just got new irons), and focused solely on going from P2 to the top.  Swings thoughts were steeper shoulder turn and right elbow pointed down.

[mvmac]