Two Awesome Swing Thoughts

[podunker]

These thoughts are actually from an old golf instruction book written by Gerry Hogan, but man did they really work for me.

1. keep the left hand on top of the right for as long as you can on the downswing.

(Great for helping me not cast the club and holding the lag as long as possible. Don't worry you will square it up at impact if your grip is right and keep turning your body)

2. imagine the club is a hatchet with the cutting edge facing down when you grip the club normally. On the downswing you are trying to chop/hit the sharp edge of the blade into the back go the ball. This keeps you right elbow tucked in on the downswing and the left hand on top of the right.

He explained it like this I think. Put your hands together right out in front of you with palms facing each other like your praying. Take your back swing and rotate your left hand on top of your right all the way to the top.  On he downswing keep your left  hand on top and try to chop the backside of the ball with the bottom of the hands. You have no choice but to keep your right elbow tucked into your side if you want to hit it,  two hand karate chop the back of the ball.

I don't know if it will help anyone or not. For me, too many swing thoughts can just kill me. One/two is max for me.

These two thoughts have been awesome for me to make solid contact more consistently.

I know, they only work if you have the other key elements right...........but I love them.

[iacas]

Edit: see the last paragraph first, please. I'm not sure if you meant left hand when you typed right hand, @podunker . If so that changes things quite a bit.

I'm very glad that these things work for you. I'm glad you've shared them. "Feels" and "Swing Thoughts" work for some and don't work for others. They're very unique and personal. I've given the same mechanics lessons to two people who felt it in polar opposite ways. "Feel ain't real."

That said…

1. keep the right hand on top of the left for as long as you can on the downswing.

(Great for helping me not cast the club and holding the lag as long as possible. Don't worry you will square it up at impact if your grip is right and keep turning your body)

At the top of your backswing, the right hand is "under" the left, in a supporting role. It's supporting the weight of the clubhead, it's bent back a bit, etc. To me, putting the right hand on TOP of the left would be casting, or throwing out that bend, and would shift the sweetspot OUT and then result in a swing well to the left with a higher overtaking rate than normal.

I am personally trying to feel the right hand staying underneath, with the palm continuing to face upward longer.

2. imagine the club is a hatchet with the cutting edge facing down when you grip the club normally. On the downswing you are trying to chop/hit the sharp edge of the blade into the back go the ball. This keeps you right elbow tucked in on the downswing and the right hand on top of the left.

He explained it like this I think. Put your hands together right out in front of you with palms facing each other like your praying. Take your back swing and rotate your left hand on top of your right all the way to the top.  On he downswing keep your left  hand on top and try to chop the backside of the ball with the bottom of the hands. You have no choice but to keep your right elbow tucked into your side if you want to hit it,  two hand karate chop the back of the ball.

Now you're just confusing me. Every time you typed "right hand on top" did you mean to type LEFT hand on top? Certainly if the right hand is going on top the elbow will tend to fly out, NOT stay against your side.

Original post edited so this is not particularly relevant/applicable. Parts may still be, though.

[mvmac]

Yeah @podunker the right hand on top bit doesn't make sense.

[podunker]

Oops........it is suppose to read left hand on top....not right......sorry.

Man I should have proof read that.........Eric can you fix it or can I do it somehow.

It makes no sense as written.

[mvmac]

Fixed.

[Gaetano Fasano]

On 28/6/2015 at 7:38 PM, podunker said:

On the downswing you are trying to chop/hit the sharp edge of the blade into the back go the ball

Hello @podunker and thank you for sharing this.

How would you chop the ball? more vertically? more horizontal? or obliquely?

I usually image to do something similar but I struggle with the driver, woods and long irons (I tend to hit the ground with the club head before the ball) probably because I try to chop too vertically.

Do you have any comments / suggestions for using this feeling with long clubs? 

Thank you in advance!

[JediFish]

Wow... literally changed my swing for the better today. The thought of keeping my right hand on top really paid off (I'm a lefty). I feel like it really helps me keep my hands at a good impact position in the aspect of forward shaft lean. I was having a hard time with thin shots due to weight transfer and flipping my hands. So I watched Key 2 a lot and threw this little thought in and was hitting better than I have in weeks today at the range. Thanks for the tip!