My Swing (oudrees)

[oudrees]

I've been Playing Golf for: 15 years but very infrequent.  Just started frequent play

My current handicap index or average score is: Hdcp: 30

My typical ball flight is: High fade

The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: duff, shank, hook, and slice...:)  All of them

---

Videos:

Yesterday was my first time videotaping and I was focusing on steady head as my priority.

Sorry for the DTL being crooked.  Tried to figure out how to stand my phone on my back.

[oudrees]

I am heading back to the range tonight video tape my irons.  I have alot of issues with the first 3 keys, so I am focusing on my head first.  Any help I could get would be appreciated.  The more I have been playing since moving to Florida, the worst my game has gotten.  I feel I am getting more consistent with my bad swing, so the flaws are showing.  I have always been self taught, and apparently aren't a good teacher.

[oudrees]

Now that I am back to work and can type, I will add a little backstory.

I've been playing since high school, but very infrequent.  Maybe 2-3 times a year.  Some years have been more, but probably the past 5 years have been in the 2-3 times range.  I moved down to Florida from Cincinnati, Ohio in May and decided I really wanted to focus on golf.  I love playing, my father in law is down here and he is a bigger golfer and I live in an area where courses are plentiful.  I joined a group of seniors that my father in law plays with that play weekly.  Since joining them, I have seen my scores go up and up.

Just posting my swing took alot for me.  I tend to have a high level of self pride and hate asking for help but the fact that I am the worst player out of 20 senior guys is hurting my pride even more.  Lately, my driver has been my most consistently good club and anything within 120 yards has been my worse.  It is hard to say what my flight path is because my shots go everywhere.  Some are high, some low, some draw, and some fade and that is the good shots.

I am willing to rebuild this thing.  It is going to suck fighting through it and breaking bad habits, but if I want to play frequently I have to get over the hump of being terrible.

[Abu3baid]

Welcome to the club.. I've been getting help for a couple of years and score are only improving slowly, but some people improve faster than others.. As long as you become process oriented instead of score oriented you will be able to stick with it a lot longer.. Usually the ones looking for quick fix don't end up lasting long here nor with their motivation to work at getting better! So, stick with it and you will be competing with those guys in no time!

[saevel25]

I would tweak your posture a bit.

Your arms are a bit too far out from the body. The weight looks to be on your heels too much as well. Though Tiger has struggled with his swing, his set up is always outstanding. You'd probably feel more over the ball and the arms will feel more relaxed.

I'd recommend a narrower stance. That wide of stance really restricts hip turn.

Honestly you have some really good things going on with your swing. Your backswing doesn't have anything funky going on. Your head stays very steady. You just have to the swing to be more athletic in using the hips better. You have very little hip turn at all in the swing. You are just using all arms for the swing.

Also check out this thread,

[oudrees]

Thanks @saevel25 .  I've always been told by people I play with I am close, but my scores always discourage me.  I'll give my posture and hip turn some work at the range today if the rain passes.  It is kind of encouraging that I am hitting the ball as far as I do with all arms.  I generally drive the ball 240-260 when it's straight.

@Abu3baid , it's going to be tough to handle the criticism and bad rounds but it's a must.  I hate to suck and I feel like I am close.  Just need to find that mental part of the game when things aren't going right.

[Bgoods1221]

Welcome bud! As stated above, you have a good base to start with, and good shoulder turn. I agree you could involve your hips more (video below will help with that). One thing that I noticed is that once you start your downswing, your hands unhinge too early and create a casting effect, and that will make your contact a little bit sporadic. Something that could help get you a more consistent ball flight as well as more distance is called "golf lag". Below is a great drill to help you get golf lag and eliminate the casting!

[WillM]

Hey welcome to the website!

There have already been some good comments above and I don't want to clutter you with too much... eventually some of the pros around here will get around to helping you as well. They really know what they are talking about.

Anyway, I would say out of everything that people give you, focus on posture first. Your posture is your foundation and if it is not rock solid then any other changes you make will not be effective.

This video is an exercise but the position shows the basic idea (He also gets too bent over here, use the pics of Tiger above as a reference):

So for perfect posture:

1) Stand upright, lock out knees.

2) Grip club and hold it at hip height with the shaft parallel to the ground

3) HINGE at hips, keeping legs locked. Continue to hinge until club is almost pointed at ball.

4) Add knee flex, until you feel athletic. Keep a little "bounce" in your knees, don't become too robotic.

5) Find neutral with your back (make sure it is flat basically) and then address ball.

6) BAM, perfect.

Again, I am an amateur that does not know nearly as much as the pros on here but I thought I would give it a shot to help you. FOCUS ON POSTURE FIRST.

[oudrees]

Here are some videos of me at the range tonight. I had to hurry because a storm was rolling in.  I didn't get time to review my videos as I was swinging.  I tried to get more over the ball, but not sure it worked.  I seemed to be hitting the ball pretty well though, but it was off turf today.  My wife and kids are heading to the beach for a couple days tomorrow, so I will have plenty of time the next couple days to practice.

8 Iron

[oudrees]

My 8 iron DTL was my first club tonight, so rotating my hips was fresh in my mind. It looks like I forgot it by time I got to the driver ** sorry for the 9 secs of thinking before I swung the 8 iron. :)

[Duff McGee]

Like everyone else has said, we are merely amateurs like you, but I notice that you are starting your backswing really far outside of the ideal swing path. I've seen people do that but then "get back into the slot," but it doesn't look like you are getting back on plane. Again, please take what I say with a grain of salt. I could be very wrong.

[oudrees]

Like everyone else has said, we are merely amateurs like you, but I notice that you are starting your backswing really far outside of the ideal swing path. I've seen people do that but then "get back into the slot," but it doesn't look like you are getting back on plane. Again, please take what I say with a grain of salt. I could be very wrong.

From comparing to the Key #1 video above, it looks like I am starting my swing with all arms for the couple frames them engaging my hip rotation. I guess that would make since why I would be outside the right plane. Seems like I need to start the lower half sooner

[Duff McGee]

That's probably one of the reasons but I've played for quite awhile without a good turn and am usually too inside while you are too outside. It seems like you just need to concentrate on bringing the club back more on an arc.

[mvmac]

I would tweak your posture a bit.

Your arms are a bit too far out from the body. The weight looks to be on your heels too much as well. Though Tiger has struggled with his swing, his set up is always outstanding. You'd probably feel more over the ball and the arms will feel more relaxed.

I'd recommend a narrower stance. That wide of stance really restricts hip turn.

Honestly you have some really good things going on with your swing. Your backswing doesn't have anything funky going on. Your head stays very steady. You just have to the swing to be more athletic in using the hips better. You have very little hip turn at all in the swing. You are just using all arms for the swing.

Also check out this thread,

Agree with this post, get the weight more centered (might feel like it's toward the toes) and get the eyes down.

5) Find neutral with your back (make sure it is flat basically) and then address ball.

And disagree with this part and the video.

[oudrees]

Lot's of good info.  I'll be heading back to the range tonight then playing tomorrow and Sat.  I assume I should be practicing off grass, but does hitting on turf hurt at all?  I am guessing turf may not be giving me correct feedback on my adjustments.  I get free range balls at the local turf range, so it makes it a little easier to convince the wife about my practice sessions.

[saevel25]

Lot's of good info.  I'll be heading back to the range tonight then playing tomorrow and Sat.  I assume I should be practicing off grass, but does hitting on turf hurt at all?  I am guessing turf may not be giving me correct feedback on my adjustments.  I get free range balls at the local turf range, so it makes it a little easier to convince the wife about my practice sessions.

Mats are fine. They just allow you to get away with slightly fat shots.

---

If you are going to fix your set up. I would do mirror work. Go through your preshot routine and set up to a ball. Then check in the mirror. If it doesn't look right, then stay in the set up and move till it looks good and get a feel for it. Then repeat, trying to get the feeling of the set up you want. Your set up should be fixed pretty quickly. You could even do it with out a golf club.

This video is related to your turn. Watch @mvmac turn so his head stays steady. His right hip goes back around him. Notice how much hip turn he has compared to where his arms are at in this drill.

For you it might feel like your hips turn more around your body since your current swing has a bit of sway to it. Like someone is tugging your right pocket and pulling it directly backwards.

[oudrees]

Well now I want to head into the restroom at work and work on my setup.  Most guys walking in would think I'm crazy, some would understand  :)

I'll work on some setup stuff in the mirror before heading to the range tonight.  See if I can get comfortable in the correct spot.

[mvmac]

Well now I want to head into the restroom at work and work on my setup.  Most guys walking in would think I'm crazy, some would understand  :)

I'll work on some setup stuff in the mirror before heading to the range tonight.  See if I can get comfortable in the correct spot.

Haha, I've definitely gotten "caught" working on my golf swing in bathroom mirrors.