close face or what??

[Twan013]

hey guys, just have a question about my skills (or lack thereof)... my ball has the habit of going far right when i take a swing... my first instinct was to turn the clubhead inward, and my brother told me not to do that, but instead to put my right hand basically on top of my left hand... ok, bad explanation.. he said i should rotate my right hand on the grip, and leave the left where it is... but that feels unnatural to me... anyway, when i was playing with another group of guys, they told me to close the face up... which was my first instinct... so who is right in this situation? the second time i was out at the course, i did it "my way" and seemed to have straighter flights (in all of my clubs)... but i was also using a totally different set of clubs from the first time... so i don't know if it was my technique or the clubs...i think i have enough power to give the ball distance, but i just want to confirm the path...

also, with my new set of irons, which are standard length, how can i train myself to squat down more so i can get under the ball? everytime i hit with an iron, i hit the top of the ball, and it rolls and bounces down the fairway.. that's why i feel like i need extensions, but everyone tells me i just need to crouch down lower... but when i do that, after the backswing, i have the tendency to stand back up when i go for the swing... just because it feels unnatural and uncomfortable...

[Logie]

To be honest mate, after reading that i think you should book 1 or 2 lessons and get a Pro to take a look at you.

Your getting conflicting information which is confusing you even more.

I dont think i have ever read anything that said you should have a closed face at setup, A) its going to hinder your release and B) its either going to go straight and left, and left and very left.

[sonicblue]

When goflers reach a certain level, they can entertain certain "fixes" for problems, when they know they can keep everything else constant. Beginners need to focus on the fundamentals. Be very wary of someone telling you things like, "well, if the ball is going way right, just close your clubface down/left." That should SCREAM "quick fix" for you. NOT that everyone should have the same swing, but as a general rule, say to yourself, "have I ever seen a golfer on TV do that?" There are some "signature swings," but for the most part, the pros do a LOT of things all the same. You should strive to follow their form, at least until you're SURE you can find your own way to do something (but I wouldn't recommend that until you're probably a single digit or better).

Ditto on the lesson. Go get some quality advice to get you started on the road to good fundamentals.

[geezer]

This might help with the thinning the ball thing, It's what I was told when I went for my first golf lesson anyway. My instructor explained that the reason thin shots occur is not because the clubs might be too short (which they werent as I am of average height), but because I wasn't retaining my height through the swing. Think about it. If you set up to the ball with the sole of the club on the ground behind the ball and a certain ammount of flex in your knees (particularly your right knee), you need to maintain that height through to impact to return the club to its original position.

Try setting up to swing and then go through to the top of the backswing and have somoene check that you've maintained the flex in your right (trailing) knee. Better yet record your swing and then view it yourself. If your height changes during the swing through to impact, that is when and why fat and thin shots occur.

By no means am I a golf instructor, but I'm just trying to articulate what I was taught. Hope this helps.

[Twan013]

yeah, that makes perfect sense! what i'm saying is that i know i have that problem... how can i train myself to stay down low?

[geezer]

I don't know of any exercises that can help you with this. The way my instructor taught it was by just having me repeatedly feel like my right leg was maintaining flex as I swung while he observed and told me if it was straightening too much. It was just a feeling thing for me though, didn't really take long to sort out as I picked it up relatively quickly.
Sorry I can't be of more help. Where are all the swing masters of the site when you need them, eh?

[supercow]

You need to either find a really good golf book or professional... normally, the reason why people tend to 'stand up' during the swing though is because their initial setup/stance is wrong. For example, they may be too close to the ball and in order to create the room needed to swing freely they need to stand up to give their arms/hands room to move through.