My Swing (sharpljp)

[sharpljp]

My swing has taken some very positive changes since joining this community and want to thank you guys again. My takeaway is different now and my swing isn't so flat on the backswing anymore. My posture has changed for the better too. Lots of good stuff.

I played with a friend a few nights ago and he has a similar background as me playing baseball, going over the top and what not. He made a change while playing a few weeks ago and now he hits his clubs straight with a small draw. He struggled especially with a Driver and hits that well too now. 

His change was focusing on not breaking his wrists. 

During the takeaway, I try to keep everything as "one piece." But once i get about maybe to my waist, I break my wrists and kind of cock them (I believe this is what makes the club SO FAR past parallel at the top.) My miss now is a weak fade. Sometimes i scold it with a slice. It FEELS like I just cant get my hands to the ball no matter what. 

But when I kept my wrists "locked", I could not go as far back and I was hitting it sweeter. Does this make sense and should i continue with this swing thought?

[DaveP043]

8 minutes ago, sharpljp said:

But when I kept my wrists "locked", I could not go as far back and I was hitting it sweeter. Does this make sense and should i continue with this swing thought?

A certain amount of "break" at the wrists is necessary if you want to hit the ball out of your own shadow, but too much can be as bad as too little.  What you feel (wrists) locked) is almost certainly not what you're actually doing.  The smart instructors here are going to ask you to post a new video so they can see the reality, instead of discussing your "wrist-locked" feel, so I'll beat them to it and ask you to post a new video.  

[sharpljp]

These two were from last weekend. I still feel like I'm going from "shallow" to "steep" from backswing to downswing which I've learned here is incorrect. Another problem is I tried to cut down on the length on my backswing (it's too long) but it's very hard to. I don't know if others have felt the same way but I really do not feel like I'm going as far back as the video shows. But i am and I guess I should try to "feel" like I'm only going a third of the way back. Also when I get the club parallel to my knees on the backswing, it looks like I'm in good position with the clubface vertical. But from there I'm guessing I need to get more vertical rather then to continue bringing the club back towards my back right shoulder. I think the next thing to try would be a very, very short back swing atleast then I could try to go steep back on the backswing. What do you guys think? Thanks so much again everyone.

 

[sharpljp]

I've always slid/swayed my hips back instead on turning correctly. This is my first golf swing video since doing the "wall drill" and can definitely feel a difference. I've only hit balls 2-3 times since learning the wall drill so the new turn is very new. I feel like I can swing a little more in control now and still hit the ball a long enough way. Thanks @iacas and @mvmac. I have been hitting it fat sometimes though and that's something I definitely have to fix. 

 

 

[saevel25]

Watch your ball position. Middle of the stance is good for wedges. The more the ball creeps back in the stance the more you want to not get your weight forward at impact. Then the more you will flip and hit thin and fat shots. 

Your upper body leans towards the target at the top of your swing. This will require your upper body to tip back a bit to gain balance. It's very hard to correctly get your weight forward from that position. 

Th orange line is your best up. The green line is at the top of the swing. The redline would be a much better position. You can help yourself out by adding a bit of spine tilt at set up and trying to maintain it better. 

[iacas]

Plus in looking at just the photo Matt posted you’re rolling the back ankle.

The red line might be a little extreme. Tough to say on a phone. 5-10 degrees of tilt away isn’t too much to ask for.

[sharpljp]

12 hours ago, saevel25 said:

Your upper body leans towards the target at the top of your swing

I've noticed that my shots seem to be going a lot lower.. especially my woods. So that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the visual man that is a lot of help.

12 minutes ago, iacas said:

you’re rolling the back ankle.

When i was taking swings, I noticed that my weight was on the outside of my right foot which I know isn't right. My main focus was right pocket back to try to turn correctly. How can I get the weight on the inside of my right foot?.. I'm guessing this problem is related to my tilt towards the target instead of away?

[iacas]

3 hours ago, sharpljp said:

When i was taking swings, I noticed that my weight was on the outside of my right foot which I know isn't right. My main focus was right pocket back to try to turn correctly. How can I get the weight on the inside of my right foot?.. I'm guessing this problem is related to my tilt towards the target instead of away?

Make the right moves in a mirror slowly and see what it feels like to you.

[mvmac]

To add to what @iacas and @saevel25 said, check out this thread on the grip, looks very weak to me.

 

[sharpljp]

Really am taking what you guys say and running with it! Yall know your stuff. Going to reexamine my grip and make changes. Heading for the mirror..

@mvmac It is funny that you posted that picture of the golf glove because every glove I've ever used has worn out heavily in the thumb area. Usually, the glove has to be thrown away even though the only thing wrong with the glove is there's a hole and my thumb is sticking out of it (which looks funny). It's really surprising that you say do not hold the club in the palm (just because I feel like I have read to keep the club somewhat in the palm for the left hand, and in your fingers in the right hand). I can't wait to adjust my grip because I know it is so important. Would you say that a good rule for the "left hand V" is pointing to my right shoulder? Also my local pro tells me, when talking about my trail hand, "right hand on top. short term pain, long term gain.".. Would you agree with him? Thanks again man!

[mvmac]

25 minutes ago, sharpljp said:

Would you say that a good rule for the "left hand V" is pointing to my right shoulder?

Yes but more importantly is where the grip lies in the fingers.

26 minutes ago, sharpljp said:

Also my local pro tells me, when talking about my trail hand, "right hand on top. short term pain, long term gain.".. Would you agree with him?

Not sure what that means but the right hand shouldn't be on top. 

First pad of the index finger sits against the aft side of the shaft. 

[sharpljp]

So I've been working hard on my centered hip turn and I'm making progress. I've also been working on my grip which has been expectedly uncomfortable. I know changing your grip is going to take time. I have always had the club in left palm and right hand fingers. 

Here is an old YouTube video I remember watching and this is why o started to put it in my left palm. 

The centered hip turn is a 100% must. It doesn't feel natural but I know for a fact that it must be done (thanks @iacas @mvmac). But, if I can, I'd like to put the club more in my left palm.. like Jack says. But at the same time and above all.. I want to do things correctly. It may be uncomfortable today but if it helps my golfing future then I'll take the bumpy road and work until it feels right. 

Is the club in left fingers that crucial? Thanks everyone as always.

[Secretmove]

I watched three swings you took, all with all due respect, they are cringe worthy/awful.  I respect the courage to put yourself out there, but nobody in these forums is going to be able to show you how to swing by grabbing your club and forcing you to feel the correct posture, back swing, down swing, the correct geometry of all 10 positions in the swing, P1 through P10. 

Get thee to a pro, anyone will do, a certified teaching pro at Golf Tec or at a local golf course, and get thee to YouTube and watch slow motion swings of the tour pros, start trying to copy some moves.  If you can't afford a pro, just pick an instructor on YouTube, I highly recommend Mike Malaska or Monte Scheinblum, although Monte's videos are aimed at me, the scratch player.  Pick an instructor,watch all his videos,  and stop hitting balls until you find a swing model to copy.  You are currently rehearsing disastrous moves, the more you do, the more impossible to correct. 

[iacas]

Way be a jerk, @Secretmove.

Many, many people have diligently worked on their swings based on the advice given here.

I'm a relatively well ranked instructor myself.

[mvmac]

55 minutes ago, sharpljp said:

But, if I can, I'd like to put the club more in my left palm.. like Jack says. But at the same time and above all.. I want to do things correctly. It may be uncomfortable today but if it helps my golfing future then I'll take the bumpy road and work until it feels right. 

Nicklaus can sometimes explain things that make sense to him that can get misinterpreted, like when he says he releases immediately form the top. He's not referring to his hands/wrists, he's talking about his body. Anyway, do what Jack did, be careful how he explains it. 

You can see the grip is resting on the heel pad of the left hand, it's not in the middle of his palm.

From a Golf Digest article he did.

Good illustration here.

http://www.golfchannel.com/video/jack-nicklaus-lead-hand-grip-tip/

1 hour ago, sharpljp said:

Is the club in left fingers that crucial? Thanks everyone as always.

Yes 

[Secretmove]

Ledbetter's book "The A Swing" just arrived from Amazon with torn jacket and plentiful yellow highlighter from the previous owner.  I glanced through.   According to Dave, there is an epidemic, world wide, of people grabbing the grip in their left palm.  He calls that the worst swing fault in the world. 

There are several things Jack published in his manual appropriately entitled "Golf My Way",  picked up also by Golf Digest in little blurbs absorbed by millions, which were either insane or plain physics wrong.  It's a tribute to Jack he became the best golfer in the world, despite the nonsense in his head. 

Hogan's 5 is the bible on the grip, not that it matters in this case.  Oh, what the hell, one step at a time. 

I've seen a guy go from hideous to very good, after he floundered on a forum for years, finally he PAID a reputable pro who WON pro tournaments, including the Australian Masters twice, and spent a thousand for lessons.  People were ragging and ragging on that guy to get a pro, he was not improving at all for years, terrible swing, and then he kinda disappeared for a couple months and came back with the new resolve to listen to only his pro, and a banging new golf swing, hitting all the impact and post impact positions P7, P8 like sweetness itself. 

I've actually met and played golf with a guy who WON the worst swing in America award, I think from Golf Digest.  I was at the country club, warming up for a round with my Father in Law, and I see this insane person on the range, I asked and was told, "don't laugh, don't say anything".   All the members had to go through the same, it was really funny and stifling at the same time.   Then it turns out he was in our group.   He was an old man at the time, probably dead by now.  Head strong guy, for sure.   Successful at some business, dressed like Doug Sanders.  Red sweater and matching shoes. 

[billchao]

1 hour ago, Secretmove said:

Ledbetter's book "The A Swing" just arrived from Amazon with torn jacket and plentiful yellow highlighter from the previous owner.  I glanced through.   According to Dave, there is an epidemic, world wide, of people grabbing the grip in their left palm.  He calls that the worst swing fault in the world. 

There are several things Jack published in his manual appropriately entitled "Golf My Way",  picked up also by Golf Digest in little blurbs absorbed by millions, which were either insane or plain physics wrong.  It's a tribute to Jack he became the best golfer in the world, despite the nonsense in his head. 

Hogan's 5 is the bible on the grip, not that it matters in this case.  Oh, what the hell, one step at a time. 

I've seen a guy go from hideous to very good, after he floundered on a forum for years, finally he PAID a reputable pro who WON pro tournaments, including the Australian Masters twice, and spent a thousand for lessons.  People were ragging and ragging on that guy to get a pro, he was not improving at all for years, terrible swing, and then he kinda disappeared for a couple months and came back with the new resolve to listen to only his pro, and a banging new golf swing, hitting all the impact and post impact positions P7, P8 like sweetness itself. 

I've actually met and played golf with a guy who WON the worst swing in America award, I think from Golf Digest.  I was at the country club, warming up for a round with my Father in Law, and I see this insane person on the range, I asked and was told, "don't laugh, don't say anything".   All the members had to go through the same, it was really funny and stifling at the same time.   Then it turns out he was in our group.   He was an old man at the time, probably dead by now.  Head strong guy, for sure.   Successful at some business, dressed like Doug Sanders.  Red sweater and matching shoes. 

I'm sorry but what does any of this have to do with @sharpljp's swing?