My Swing (Alx)

[iacas]

34 minutes ago, Alx said:

The point was to show that my club is indeed lower but the angle between the clubhead and the ball is almost identical so our downswing plane is tilted similarly. Im just "lower" on it.

That's not relevant, though. You could rotate your forearms from that position and it would change the angle of the line you drew a ton - going across the line or laying the club off more - and yet your arms and elbows and hands would still be in the same place.

The issue is your elbows, arms, hands… The angle of that line is not really relevant.

34 minutes ago, Alx said:

Ok. What does properly mean in this context?

@mvmac talked about it above, too. And in his post written while I was typing this one.

34 minutes ago, Alx said:

Im not claiming my swing is perfect or the future of golf but saying its not working is not truthful.

IMO it's not a good move. I think you're boxing yourself into some bad spots that will severely hamper you in the future.

34 minutes ago, Alx said:

Im hitting the ball really well right now so I dont know what Im trying to fix. Knowing that a change like this will make things so much worse before getting better means I really have to understand what Im trying to or Ill just waste time and revert back. So Im not trying to be a pain Im just trying to understand how to achieve the things youre suggesting.

Between @mvmac's posts and mine, you've gotten the meat of it.

34 minutes ago, Alx said:

The way Ive gone about making changes was to learn from the pros and Im not seeing the difference in elbow or clubhead action so I really dont know what I should be doing different.

That boggles my mind a bit. @mvmac replied while I was posting and he addressed that too…

3 minutes ago, mvmac said:

Hopefully what I've posted helps but there is a big difference on the downswing and a HUGE difference between you and the pros on the backswing, with the how narrow you load the arms and shaft. You're giving up a lot of distance and your ability to keep improving your ballstriking. 

BIG differences.

[Jack Watson]

4 hours ago, Alx said:

Could be but thats sort of why I set up the way I do with the grip and everything. I want to create a tight framework to limit the "mistakes" when I swing and so far it has been working pretty well.

But the steepness is a non issue if the club is delivered at desired lie at impact. Imo.

The steepness is a non issue?  For me absolutely not for more reasons than I will get into. You are trapping yourself by setup/backswing into a situation in which you are pulling down when you are not rotating.  This swing is out of sequence imo.  You will never be able to freely rotate the core because if you did you would miss the ball or collide with yourself.  If you want to get into design look at Hogan he stood close,  but he did not do what you do.  He planed the shaft at impact while having unrestricted core rotation AND his core rotation forces were more in line and directly adding force to the clubhead while yours are not.  Your body and swing are not lined up optimally for maximum force and efficiency.  Hogan was also a very short man and HAD to swing similar to what he did.  You are tall.  You have other options imo that are far more efficient. There's more to things than just overvaluing the concept of planing the shaft at impact at expense of efficiency.  There's been an awful lot of great pros who come in handle higher than address.  

Sanders is much more efficient than you are and able to rotate and his rotation force is very close to in plane with the clubhead.  He's creating better more efficient force on the downswing.

Your clubhead transitions in a direction that is steep too much and it's out of sequence out of plane compared to Sanders.  You are out of sequence a little and the forces are not lined up like Sanders.

I am absolutely not meaning any disrespect.  You have great conditioning and can do things most could never do.  THIS IS OBVIOUS.  I think it's why people are offering help.  I just think your potential is going to be limited if you continue this way.  IMO your athletic potential is very high.  I understand you want a tight framework to limit mistakes and it's a good idea to have but at what cost?  

Your choices are making things more difficult not easier imo.

4 hours ago, Alx said:

I can see the similarities but some key differences. 

I know you said you might not have advice but still what would be the problems youd think the differences cause?

Biggest one is you cannot maximize your athleticism since you are trapping yourself into an incorrect action on the downswing.

Your rotation is not active enough which makes things harder to execute and less efficient.  You will be limited in both power and control.  Look at Sanders right arm from face on view in my pic.   That clubface/path is totally locked in because of the forces.  He has way more sustain than you.  You are very limited in rotation which is going to require more manipulation to succeed.  IMO you will tend to have issues with clubface control and speed.   You are making things more difficult not more efficient.  Also see above comments.

4 hours ago, Alx said:

s working well for me too so as a whole its definitely functional despite not being textbook.

I never said your swing was poor.  I just think you are limiting yourself due to the obvious flaws.  Someone like you has a high potential and you are on here arguing against people who know better.  That's just my opinion.  I would never comment except to point out how much better Sanders is and also would  not comment if you would not have been so adamant that what you do is so effective.  We can see you are not pro. If you are happy with your current level nothing needs changing but I get the feeling you know your potential and you know you can do more.

Again I don't want to come off as overly critical but it's obvious you have the capability to do better.  Why limit yourself?

You have a pretty decent move now but you have the potential for a fantastic one if you work on the right stuff.

 

 

[Jack Watson]

seriously?

1 hour ago, Alx said:

The way Ive gone about making changes was to learn from the pros and Im not seeing the difference in elbow or clubhead action so I really dont know what I should be doing different.

Wow.

[mvmac]

@Alx put this together to follow-up on my last post.

 

[Alx]

9 hours ago, mvmac said:

@Alx put this together to follow-up on my last post.

Thats really helpful, thank you. Ill try some things when I get the range well see how it goes.

 

11 hours ago, iacas said:

Between @mvmac's posts and mine, you've gotten the meat of it.

Hope so.

 

11 hours ago, Jack Watson said:

I am absolutely not meaning any disrespect.

I never said your swing was poor.  I just think you are limiting yourself due to the obvious flaws.  Someone like you has a high potential and you are on here arguing against people who know better.  That's just my opinion.  I would never comment except to point out how much better Sanders is and also would  not comment if you would not have been so adamant that what you do is so effective.  We can see you are not pro.

seriously?

None was taken as disrespect. My reponses are not "arguing against" as I said before I was just trying to explain the reasoning behind doing things the way I do. 

Ive never told anyone to swing the way I do or claimed what Im doing currently to be the perfect swing. As Ive said many times now I was just explaining why I do certain things and how I see the swing to try and give context which imo is pretty relevant in a thread like this.

The part about "not seeing differences" was a bit misleading. Ofcourse I can see its not the same on camera but to me it looks like the same angles aiming to a different ball position. The action is no different.

 

 

I appreciate the input. Guess I know what to work on next 

[iacas]

What @mvmac said.

[Alx]

Did some mirror work before hitting the range. Tried to find a feel for getting the separation disccussed above.

I was hitting the ball really well but I was hesitant to really go for the shots. To be expected. Takes a while to control the speed again.

I felt really different on the actual swings and my clubhead control was a bit better or easier I guess. Cant be sure how well I was doing the feel on the actual swings as I did not take video. Had a round to play the next day and did not want to throw my self completely off. Baby steps.

Took the feel to the course and while I was a bit shorter than usual...

 57%fw, 67% gir, 83%ngir (3 shots on the fringe)

played my best round ever of 77(+5). Putting was good on the first half and horrendous on the 2nd. I guess I lost around 6 strokes on the 2nd nine. It was bad... Was quite a windy day and on our course it really makes tee shots tricky. Off the tee the strokes lost were mainly from holes where the wind was really making it hard. Head on gusting winds took 30-40m off my usual driving length. No penalties so I managed it well but in hindsight I shouldve hit a few more irons off the tee.

Im being ambiguous about the feel as I dont want to jinx it. Going to keep doing the mirror work and see how it goes.

 

tldr. Nothing concrete yet. Played best round ever with new feel that works on mirror. No video, could be the same as before but feels very different.

[Alx]

Ended up taking a pretty long hiatus from golf. I had a nagging back injury around the shoulder blade that I'd been ignoring for a while and at the end of last year it was starting to really effect my swing. I did see one of our club pros a few times during the winter so I had something to work on but I really tried to stay away from hitting balls to let everything heal properly. 

Been at it again for a few weeks. Ball a bit further away. Weaker grip. Trying to take the club back a bit more up than to the side, I feel like this is coming mainly from the grip change rather than me actually doing things different. Overall Im definitely hitting the ball better than ever.

 

 

 

 

[Alx]

Trying to tone down the fade a bit. I tend to drag the handle through impact starting with mid irons and that leaves the face open. As I get to the longer clubs it can sometimes produce some impressive slices... Working on trying to let the club release a bit more with the longer clubs.

Played my season best 9 holes the other day +1. Definitely the best 9 holes I have every played. I was hitting the ball so well, it did exactly what I wanted it to. Probably the best shot of the day was a beautiful 3 wood. From a downhill lie a perfect arrow straight shot. Kicked left from the front of the green and ended ping high at the edge of the green. Got a really unlucky lie with the ball infront of a dandelion tuft sigh.

 

It was getting a bit dark so the frames are getting a bit smudgy. This was a baby draw. 

 

[Alx]

Another round in the seventies today(77). Hitting only irons off the tee. Hitting the ball really well but my wedge distance control and longer putting are just terrible. Definitely something I have to start working on.

So shockingly what Ive practiced is working well and what I havent isnt...

 

Heres a comparison to the swing from the end of last year. A few pointers:

-ignore the alingment stick, its doing nothing pointing at nothing

-on the left my stance is more closed to neutral and on the right very open

-ball position on the left is centre of stance and on the right more towards the lead foot

-both shots are straight

 

[Alx]

Ive been working on my woods recently. Really trying to get that AoA more up with the driver and just hit more drives in general. I generally dont need the driver or on the shorter courses so its really something Ive sort of neglected but I realize its what I have to do to shoot lower scores.

Coming along pretty well.

 

ps. Ive been hitting the ball really well recently. My irons have been on point and Ive gotten a lot of looks for birdie and even eagle putts. I havent made any eagle putts cause I cant putt for the life of me... but I did make a hole in one on the 170m par3 at my home course .

 

[Effington]

Not sure if the lighting has much of an impact, but you can definitely see the difference in your swing when you line them up next to each other like you have.  Glad to hear you're seeing positive results.

[Alx]

Long time no updates.

Took a few months off after last season. Didint feel like practicing having ended the season on such a low note. I also had a nagging pain under my left scapula that was really bothering me. Nothing more than overuse but note to self Dont let them get that bad...

Taking such a long time off also allowed me to come back with some fresh thoughts and feels. At the tend of last year I was feeling kind off stuck with my thoughts if you will. Not sure if it actually effects anything but atleast I feel more free right now.

 

Anyways... to the swing. Ball much further away, hands higher and much more space at impact.

Better? I think?

Cold day swing, cant wait for summer temps.

 

Stance is a bit closed on these. My swing follows the leg line quite well. 

Not sure how to describe it but I feel like with a closed stance I can turn more freely without having to worry about yanking it left.

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by Alx

[Alx]

Ive been meaning to update this thread for a few years now but just havent gotten around to it. Back in 2019 I had to deal with some health problems that sidelined me from golf or really any physical activity. Luckily the timing was perfect for recovery since we cant really play golf at all in the winter months anyways, apart from indoor training and thats kinda pricey.

Beginning of last year I went from a fade to a draw. Not because I necessarily wanted to draw the ball as a stock shot, but I wanted to get more control over my swing in general.

Here are some small draws with a 22hybrid.

 

 

 

And some drivers