My Swing (bankquant)

[bankquant]

I've been Playing Golf for: 3 or 4 years

My current handicap index or average score is: 90 to 110

My typical ball flight is: high fade

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: mishits, slice with driver

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Videos:

Down the line (PW or 9i):

Down the line (driver):

First swing is a slice, not sure about 2nd but the last swing is a slow, straight, slightly pulled ball

Face on view (driver):

I tried to get a front shot when the guy behind me left but I had to be quick cause others were waiting, didn't have much time to adjust the angle so you cant really see the setup. The ball is on or just inside my front foot and I keep my feet slightly open naturally but this is also recommended in the 'stop slicing your driver thread' .  I'll try to get a better angle once I can convince my wife to come and film me.

You can see me look at the club head after the first swing. I actually hit off the top of the club head and left a big scuff mark. The 2nd shot I sliced somewhat bad. I think the others and the last one where slight fades or moderate slices.

[bankquant]

I got some screen grabs of my first DTL driver swing. I'm not really seeing too much wrong with it. My swing path is  a little steep (butt of club is point inside the target line on the downswing).

Maybe someone else can point out what I'm doing wrong.

Setup

Takeaway

Full load

Downswing1

Downswing2

Contact

[Abu3baid]

I think it would be helpful if you took video's with a little better camera angle. From your screen shots you are coming in pretty steep and across the ball causing the fade and slice (I know because this is my biggest problem as well). If you take better video I'm sure it will make it easier on others to help you identify what your biggest priority is. Good Luck!

[bankquant]

I think it would be helpful if you took video's with a little better camera angle.

From your screen shots you are coming in pretty steep and across the ball causing the fade and slice (I know because this is my biggest problem as well).

If you take better video I'm sure it will make it easier on others to help you identify what your biggest priority is.

Good Luck!

Yea I wasnt really that happy with the camera angle but it was the best I could for the time being. I'm trying to think of something i can use  as a tripod without actually buying one.

My swing is a little steep. What are some drills to get the club back on plane or even underneath it?

Also, do you think a stiff or x-stiff shaft would help?  The downswing2 picture looks like the club is really bent and lagging far behind...Might be part of the reason the club face is staying open at impact.

[Abu3baid]

Yea I wasnt really that happy with the camera angle but it was the best I could for the time being. I'm trying to think of something i can use  as a tripod without actually buying one. My swing is a little steep. What are some drills to get the club back on plane or even underneath it?   Also, do you think a stiff or x-stiff shaft would help?  The downswing2 picture looks like the club is really bent and lagging far behind...Might be part of the reason the club face is staying open at impact.

I have read that the flex is a little over rated in terms of impact on club face position at impact.. Are you hitting pull fades or push fades? It looks to me like a classic over the top swing like many of us have.. The reason for better angles is to get a better look at your posture and how the club is traveling in both the BS and DS.. Because of the angle it also looks like you are less than over the top as you really are..

[boogielicious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Abu3baid

I think it would be helpful if you took video's with a little better camera angle.

From your screen shots you are coming in pretty steep and across the ball causing the fade and slice (I know because this is my biggest problem as well).

If you take better video I'm sure it will make it easier on others to help you identify what your biggest priority is.

Good Luck!

Yea I wasnt really that happy with the camera angle but it was the best I could for the time being. I'm trying to think of something i can use  as a tripod without actually buying one.

My swing is a little steep. What are some drills to get the club back on plane or even underneath it?

Also, do you think a stiff or x-stiff shaft would help?  The downswing2 picture looks like the club is really bent and lagging far behind...Might be part of the reason the club face is staying open at impact.

Check out the drill I am doing in the post below.  In this drill, I start off going to the top then come down to different points in the swing slowly.  A4 is the top, A5 is left arm parallel to ground on the downswing, A6 is shaft parallel to ground, etc.  My focus is first to flatten the shaft from A4 to 5.  Then be on plane or inside plane at A6 and getting my weight forward and my right arm straight. Then I pivot my hips at the same rate as my arms are going. Lastly, getting my hips to rotate so at A8 - 9 they are aimed at target.  A7 is impact.  I start off slow, then repeat with a smooth slow transition.  I finally put a ball down and hit at 50%, 60% and 70% speed.

I got this drill from my Evolvr instructor (the first part) and another poster who was working on the same thing.  There are four views, 7 iron, face on and down the line, and driver face on a down the line.  Note the camera angles.  From down the line, it is aimed at my toe line and about hand height at set up.  This helps my instructor see where my club is with respect to the swing plane.

http://thesandtrap.com/t/75473/my-swing-boogielicious/72#post_1131691

Please also note that these are the things I need to work on.  Once you post some more video, there may be priority items you need to address that are more important to your swing first.  We call these 'priority pieces'.

[bankquant]

Made it out to the range today and I think I got some better camera angles. I was trying to work a draw for almost all my shots today so you'll see me lining up with my feet pointing to the right of my target line (stick). I was trying to mentally think about swinging to the right while having the club face pointing down the target line. However, with the stick there I kept naturally swinging down that line which resulted in a lot of pulls. The crazy thing was that once I took away the stick it was so much easier to pick a target for the face and a target for my swing. Maybe I had it backwards and I need the stick to stay on my swing line and I'll just pick a target for my club face instead...Either way by the end I was hitting some nice high draws.  I was having a little trouble with my irons today but it was the most consistent I have felt with my driver in a long time, don't think I hit a single slice. The biggest miss today with my driver and 3w was a pull with a little took much draw..not quite a hook.

First is DTL with an 8i (i think). I need to get a notebook and start making note of what I'm recording in order

Next is my 3w DTL. I wanted to include this one because its kind of indicative what happens on the course for me. I usually hit much better on the range then when I'm playing (most people probably do) .  This was a swing where I lined up to hit and draw and felt like a took a couple good practice swings and then something just went completely wrong on the actual swing. I'm not completely sure what happened but I think I might have raised up my head and ended up topping it

Heres another DTL 3w.  If I remember correctly this was a straight pull

Now for driver ...this was my first ball hit and it was not pretty but I think I can probably learn more from my bad shots than my good so thats why I'm posting it

This next one was better and started off straight down my target line with a slight fade. Better but not great considering I was setting up for a draw

Face on driver... This was after I removed the stick and started hitting them much better. Everything was either dead straight or with a slight fade or slight draw.

Also note, the ball is just inside my left foot...because of my stance it looks like its a little more inside that it actually is.  Definitely notice the head sliding back and then forward from this view...Something I'm going to have to try to work on next time

[bankquant]

Been going through my swings frame by frame to see where I went wrong. Definitely noticing the steep downswing compared to the setup and the lateral head movement.  Will have to continue to work on this.

One thing I noticed which is kind of weird is how close my Driver mishit look to the high fade at the moment of impact

Mishit:

Good contact:

[iacas]

One thing I noticed which is kind of weird is how close my Driver mishit look to the high fade at the moment of impact

Yup…

[bankquant]

Yup…

Thanks, that thread makes a lot of since. The mishit was probably about an inch diagonally near the bottom heel of the club.  The setup is nearly identical but you can see a little more of my left forearm in the good contact pic. I guessing my left shoulder stayed a little higher in that swing while the right arm/shoulder came underneath, creating a slightly less outside to in swing

Going to try to make it out to the range again today and try to work on flattening out my swing so its a little bit more of a sweeping motion from in to out.  Also need to work on keeping my head still.

[bankquant]

Went to the range again today and primarily focused on trying to flatten out my swing path. I was also trying to focus on keeping my head from moving laterally but I think next time I should only focus on 1 thing at a time. Not sure which is more important at this stage though.

Also, I'm going to look into getting a tripod for my camera. I've been setting it up on a chair and trying to prop it up but the angles dont always come out right.

I feel like it was another solid day (compared to what I'm used to) for my 3W and Driver.  The consistency I'm used to seeing with my irons has dropped off somewhat but I guess thats to be expected when I'm working on changing my swing.  I feel like I was over-exaggerating the 'in to out' swing in my practice swings but when I look at the video maybe thats actually how it should be at full speed. When I went from the practice swing to the full swing I was still coming over the top somewhat...slightly less than before. The cumulative effect however straighten out my 3W and Driver and I was seem much larger draws than I'm used to in my irons.

I attempted several swings, hitting a ball at 50% power but I pretty much shanked every single one of those. I find it very hard to practice at slow speed because the tempo and sequence of my swing falls apart.  Not sure if I should only practice at 70%+ power or keep working at the slow speed stuff until I get it and then move back up to high power.

I'm going to have to take a few days for recovery because my back and arms are not used to hitting this many balls. The slow motion swings and holding certain positions at the top are really straining my back. I'm determined to fix my swing but I feel like I may have jumped in too quickly since I havent really played much in over 6 months.

PW DTL - in to out practice

PW Face on practice

3W DTL practice

3W Face on practice

Driver practice (DTL & face on)

[bankquant]

Taking a few days off to rest my hands and back...also I think I'm getting a cold so it might end being longer

I've been coming up with a list of drills to do , some at home and some to do at the range next time I go.

However, I'm a little unsure about one.  At the very top of my back swing my head tends to sway back due to the increased tension in my core...It like an automatic response to take some of the tension off and maintain the spine again..

My question would it be advisable to practice tilting my up body toward the target at the top of the backswing to keep the head steady.  The combined backswing pull away from the target with the feeling of tilting toward the target cancel eachother out and keep my head steady.  Is there a better way to practice this?

The other drills I'll be working on are:

Slow motion swing from in to out. Trying to over-exaggerate

Breath out throughout swing and keep mouth open. Do not clinch, swing smooth.

Maintain a constant grip pressure

Uphill lie swing for flat swing plane

[bankquant]

I was going to wait until thursday to go to the range but my new driver arrived early and I remembered the draft is today. So I went last night even though I still kind of have a cold

I got a new Tour Edge Max D-45 driver for $58. It seems like a great investment so far. I'm not sure if it was the recent practice I've been doing at home to really swing in to out and keep my head still, or maybe that I was swinging much slower than I normally do because I was afraid of scuffing up the driver on the first use or that I was also swinging slow because I have a cold but I was hitting about 9/10 solid shots compared to my usual 1/10.  Don't remember hitting any slices with it, hit a couple straight pushes and a few pull hooks but for the most part they were almost dead straight carrying about 250 to 280 while I only felt like i was swinging 60%

Hopefully I can repeat the swing next time I go and get some video of it.

[bankquant]

Got my wife to come out and film me this time ...apologies for the slightly shaky video. I ordered a tripod as soon as I got home haha

I consolidated everything into one video because its much easier to upload.

I'm liking my new driver, its so much louder than my old Adam's tight lies driver and the ball really seems to fly off the face.

I'm probably going to need much more repetition with my swing changes. When I swing without consciously thinking of keeping my head from sliding back or my swing going in to out I fall back into my natural swing very easily and come over the top of let leave the face open.

Its hits like the 2nd Driver swing in the face on view that really drive me crazy... I basically hit the ball on the bottom heel of the club and I have no idea why.

[boogielicious]

Got my wife to come out and film me this time ...apologies for the slightly shaky video. I ordered a tripod as soon as I got home haha

I consolidated everything into one video because its much easier to upload.

I'm liking my new driver, its so much louder than my old Adam's tight lies driver and the ball really seems to fly off the face.

I'm probably going to need much more repetition with my swing changes. When I swing without consciously thinking of keeping my head from sliding back or my swing going in to out I fall back into my natural swing very easily and come over the top of let leave the face open.

Its hits like the 2nd Driver swing in the face on view that really drive me crazy... I basically hit the ball on the bottom heel of the club and I have no idea why.

Looks better, but you still drift a bit back.  Keep practicing the centered turn drills from that thread.  One feel I used was to feel my right side stretching up as I get near the top.  My head was dipping.  That really helped me.

[mvmac]

Looks to me like you need to pivot more, can see from this swing that you've only turned your torso about 70 degrees. Also notice how your left knee doesn't move inward at all.

I'd like to see you move your left knee down and in more to allow the hips to continue their turn. Will also free up the left shoulder to move down and in. This will put you in a much better position to swing more OUTward, less INward on the downswing.

[bankquant]

I was able to get out and play 18 holes today (sort of 27 because I started playing 2 balls on the back 9) on a course I've never played before.

I went out without any warm up because I was a single and there were a couple 4-somes about to go off so I jumped ahead of them. First drive was low straight pull but was ended up playable. Ended up getting a triple on the first hole which I attributed mostly to not knowing the speed of the greens but then I had a long string of bogeys, usually always in a position to make par followed by a tap in bogey.. Definitely not my best day putting but my balls striking was much better then the last time I went out.

On the 7th hole my new laser rangefinder that isnt even a month old stopped working (it kind of worked in fits and starts for the rest of the day) and at the same time I stepped in an ant hill and got bit a couple times...Shot a 9 on that par4 and then followed it up with an 8 on the next par5.  Ended up shooting a 53 on the front 9. I felt like I got back it my groove on the back nine and started playing 2 balls because no one out front or behind me.  I made a few bad decisions because it was an unfamiliar course and the wind was playing tricks on me. Since I was playing 2 balls I didn't adjust my club if I came up way short or too long with the first hit I just tried to play it with the original club selection I made. I shot a 53 and a 52 with my 2 balls on the back 9.

The last time I was out, which was my first round in about 6 month I shot a 110 and I was playing from the white tees on about a 6000yard course. This time I shot a 105 or 106 shooting from the blue tees on a 6911 course. The overall score wasn't much better but I felt a lot better about my game. My ball striking was much better. I may have shanked 1 or 2 shots. I think I only lost a single ball off a tee shot and I never saw that ball in the air, it may have landed somewhere playable but I just had no idea which way it went. Most of my drives were low, straight fades.  There were a couple that went dead straight or even slight draws and rolled out well past 300 yards. My iron ball striking was pretty good but I misplayed the wind or just set up wrong several times.

My tripod should arrive on Tuesday or Wednesday so I hope to get back to the range it get some better footage and really work on my swing path.

[bankquant]

Got my tripod in the mail today so I can finally get some better angles...just wish I had a camera that could capture over 60fps

Lets start off with the ugly first... This is what bothers me the most and besides the slice its the worst part about my swing. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong here compared to my good swings.

I hit 2 off the bottom heel of the club and then the next one off the top toe of the club. These were my first few swings with my driver after practicing laying it down or flattening it out in the downswing.

Next is the good swings. I think I narrowed my stance slightly compared to the bad swings but other than that didnt change anything.  Almost all started out right on line and either went dead straight or had a slight fade near the end.

I really need to figure out these mishits and get some better consistency. Not sure what is happening.