My Swing (DaveP043)

[DaveP043]

I've been Playing Golf for: over 40 years
My current handicap index or average score is: 6.3
My typical ball flight is: slight draw
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: big hook

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OK, I'm taking the plunge.  Even well after I joined TS, I've been hesitant about even looking at my swing on video, afraid of what I'd see.  But as part of the Newport Cup application this year, I have to take some videos on the golf course, and I wasn't discouraged at my swing on the first efforts.  I was completely discouraged at my abilities to line up and frame the videos on the course the first time, but I'll get back out there with a better idea of what it takes if the nasty weather ever ends.

I took these videos on my one and only practice session of the year.  I still have a bit to learn about framing the shots, especially the face-on, but I'll correct that the next time I try.  These shots were all pretty solid, a gentle draw, approximately at my target.  I have my own impressions of what I'm seeing, but I'd rather keep them back until I hear from people who know the golf swing way better than I do.  Just for @Pretzel, this is what an "old fart" swing looks like.  

Videos: 

 

 

 

 

[Club Rat]

11 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

OK, I'm taking the plunge. 

 

12 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

what an "old fart" swing looks like.

Smooth ae a fine wine ...

[Hatchman]

I like...pretty steady.

[Jakester23]

It's awesome you started this thread. I'm not going to give you swing advice your a hell of a lot better than me. I do have a question for you though. What are you taking video with? If it's your phone my suggestion is to film in slow motion. You can see a lot more in my opinion. 

[Pretzel]

7 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Just for @Pretzel, this is what an "old fart" swing looks like.  

Looks pretty good for an "old fart" there! It has a nice rhythm to it. 

[Jack Watson]

Very nice swinging action!  

Edited March 20, 2017 by Jack Watson

[JetFan1983]

Surprised this is your first time posting your swing. Nice!

 

Only thing that really stands out to me is you're not aligned very well with your alignment aid lol  Unless that's by design.

Otherwise it seems like you have too much address weight in your heels and you appear to be standing too close to the ball. I'm not sure if removing those compensations will net result in better golf however. It could make it easier to draw the ball though if you have a more standard distance from the ball. It's easier to pull or fade the ball when you stand that close to it.

Ignore the lines (this pic I found online came with them) but this DTL pic of Adam Scott shows him with less weight in his heels and not crowding the ball so much.

Thanks for posting your swing though, Dave. Nice move!

PS- Disregard everything I said if the pros here don't agree haha.

[iacas]

12 minutes ago, JetFan1983 said:

PS- Disregard everything I said if the pros here don't agree haha.

About that…

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A few little things, Dave, since I know you're pretty well set, so nothing drastic here.

First, after I straightened out your videos…

I'd recommend setting up differently. I don't think it's "too close" to the ball as @JetFan1983 said, I think you simply have a TON of knee flex. Get taller, shift your weight slightly toward your toes a little (you may bend over from the hips and round your back a little bit more), and you'll find your arms will hang away from your body a bit more and the butt of the club will point through the top of your belt, not the top of your thighs.

The TON of knee flex leads to less turning than you're capable of getting (which is why you lift so much), and then your arms being so close to your body leads to…

Your arms being slow to come down because they have nowhere to go. The arms being slow to come down leads to…

The fact that you have to stay super low and super bent over for…ev…er on the downswing.

Both the slower arms and the lack of "exploding" up from the ground leads to a loss of power and speed and thus distance.

(Also, notice how much more she's able to turn - your hips and chest are still pointing toward first base, Jessica's are pointing toward second. This lack of turning leads to… your arms coming off your chest, your exit being way too high, and your hands having to flip over each other. Which of course can lead to your big-ish draw on normal shots [which is why you have to set up so open], as well as timing issues likely leading to bigger pull-draws and pull-hooks.)

So, first I'd get comfortable setting up much taller (knees), giving you more space for your hands and a higher pointing handle.

But then you kind of have a thing where you can work on two things at the same time, and play into the other:

• Pull the handle down faster. If you do this with the saggy knees you'll be even more closed at impact and can hit bigger draws, so that's why you also kind of have to work on…
• Extending the left knee and keeping up a high rate of rotation. Extending the left knee "kicks up" the speed of the hips rotating around. This helps swing your path back to the left, nullifying the added "rightward" path of the previous "pull the handle down" piece. But if you just kick up the rotation of your hips, your right elbow will be stuck even further behind your right hip.

In other words, speed up two parts of your body: the level of your belt RISING as your hips rotate faster/farther, and the rate at which you pull your left arm across your chest.

That's about as simple as I can make it.

At the very least, I'd really address the setup. You're making a lot of things a lot harder from there.

[JetFan1983]

2 minutes ago, iacas said:

About that…

Lol, I was pretty close!

[DaveP043]

Thanks, Erik.  I've had this in my mind for a couple days, and I'll be headed to the club for a little practice today.  I had wanted to get my hands a little further out, give myself a little more room to swing, but wasn't sure how to go about it, now I have a plan.  I'm going to work on being taller through the knees, maybe a little more bend at the hips, the shaft might be a little more upright at address, and just make swings.  After so many years, I'm interested to see how the new address feels, and don't plan to add the next steps in until I start to feel consistent in my set-up.

I'll stop to take a video or two, mostly to check that I'm doing what I want to be doing.  I'll be sure to frame the videos better, setting up a little further away, and will take some slow-motion.  I may not post anything right away, give myself a couple of sessions to work on the changes.  With only a little luck, we'll be (finally) back to playing golf this weekend.
 

[iacas]

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

Thanks, Erik.  I've had this in my mind for a couple days, and I'll be headed to the club for a little practice today.  I had wanted to get my hands a little further out, give myself a little more room to swing, but wasn't sure how to go about it, now I have a plan.  I'm going to work on being taller through the knees, maybe a little more bend at the hips, the shaft might be a little more upright at address, and just make swings.  After so many years, I'm interested to see how the new address feels, and don't plan to add the next steps in until I start to feel consistent in my set-up.

You will probably be surprised at how much it takes. Your knees may feel almost "straight."

1 hour ago, DaveP043 said:

I'll stop to take a video or two, mostly to check that I'm doing what I want to be doing.  I'll be sure to frame the videos better, setting up a little further away, and will take some slow-motion.  I may not post anything right away, give myself a couple of sessions to work on the changes.  With only a little luck, we'll be (finally) back to playing golf this weekend.

My advice is to get at least one video where you exaggerate "straight" knees too much. 

[DaveP043]

Well, after one range session, I'm not unhappy.  Comparing today's vids with the previous, I was definitely standing a little taller, more bend from the hips (visible as a less vertical back), and have more space between my hands and my legs.  It felt VERY uncomfortable (as I expected), almost stiff-legged, but the camera tells me I still had plenty of flex.  I was able to make solid contact most of the time, but my direction was pretty erratic.  Again, I'm not surprised, consistency should come with practice.  I also felt a bit fatigued pretty quickly, my lower back is being used in ways different from the its been used for quite a while.  Again, something that time and practice should improve.

I hadn't planned to post progress photos or vids this quickly, and just as well.  For whatever reason, everything I took tonight is upside down, and I'm not smart enough to fix that.   Its enough that I can see some progress, good motivation to keep going.

 

[dennyjones]

52 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

 For whatever reason, everything I took tonight is upside down, and I'm not smart enough to fix that.

What are you using for a camera, phone?  If so, what app.   I have an android phone and was using the basic camera.   When I tried to download it to Kinovea the video was upside down.   I couldn't figure it out.    I switched to Hudl Technique to analyze my swing.   It's phone or tablet only but I highly recommend it.  

[DaveP043]

15 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

 I also felt a bit fatigued pretty quickly, my lower back is being used in ways different from the its been used for quite a while.  Again, something that time and practice should improve.

Update, after a good nights sleep, my back was a little stiff this morning, kind of near the base of my ribcage.  Again, no surprise, no real concerns, just using muscles differently.

15 hours ago, dennyjones said:

What are you using for a camera, phone?  If so, what app.   I have an android phone and was using the basic camera.   When I tried to download it to Kinovea the video was upside down.   I couldn't figure it out.    I switched to Hudl Technique to analyze my swing.   It's phone or tablet only but I highly recommend it.  

I'm using my Samsung S5, using the basic video.  I did a little experiment, took a short video with the charger port to the right, and another with the port to the left.  With both Kinovea and V1, the vid taken with the charger port to the right worked properly, the one taken with the charger to the left came out upside down.  Problem solved for next time (as long as I remember)

[GolfLug]

24 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

Update, after a good nights sleep, my back was a little stiff this morning, kind of near the base of my ribcage.  Again, no surprise, no real concerns, just using muscles differently.

Not to be captain obvious but yeah, IMO the anatomical re-distribution of stability will engage your mid (and even upper back) a lot more in comparison.

I would suggest getting a back 'roller' and use it regularly (get the stiffest one you can find that has rubber/foam on top of heavy plastic 'cylinder', not the full squishy one.

You have such a mature swing already. It's a tough transition but like anything else, matter of working through it.     

Edited March 22, 2017 by GolfLug

[iacas]

16 hours ago, DaveP043 said:

Well, after one range session, I'm not unhappy.  Comparing today's vids with the previous, I was definitely standing a little taller, more bend from the hips (visible as a less vertical back), and have more space between my hands and my legs.  It felt VERY uncomfortable (as I expected), almost stiff-legged, but the camera tells me I still had plenty of flex.  I was able to make solid contact most of the time, but my direction was pretty erratic.  Again, I'm not surprised, consistency should come with practice.  I also felt a bit fatigued pretty quickly, my lower back is being used in ways different from the its been used for quite a while.  Again, something that time and practice should improve.

Make sure everything feels relaxed, too, Dave. If you're tensing muscles to stay in a position at setup, you're doing it wrong. You should feel almost no tension or anything in your back or core when standing at address. Or in your hips.

And yeah… the direction will be erratic at first because of the saggy knees and the hands rolling over quite a bit. The better posture will eventually be key in helping to minimize the overtaking rate and closure of the clubface by adding stability to the pivot.

[DaveP043]

I wouldn't say I felt tension at the time, other than mental tension at swinging with my knees locked (I know they weren't, but it felt that way).  It was more that I felt fatigue a lot quicker than I normally would, and that makes sense to me if I'm using muscles differently.  

[iacas]

1 minute ago, DaveP043 said:

I wouldn't say I felt tension at the time, other than mental tension at swinging with my knees locked (I know they weren't, but it felt that way).  It was more that I felt fatigue a lot quicker than I normally would, and that makes sense to me if I'm using muscles differently.  

Okay.

I'll help you with phase 2 in May if you're able to get through phase 1 by then.