My Swing (Killa)

[Killa]

Untagged Video on Hudl Technique

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Play this Other video with Rok Stern

Untagged Video on Hudl Technique

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Play this Other video with Rok Stern

 

so my friend who is a golf instructor (trying to be a pga pro instructor) took the time and measured me. In our club they have adopted a theory where everyone is either a slider, a spinner, a launcher or any combination of those three. They measure you up and you go through some drills and you see where you end up. I’m mostly a spinner/launcher, but there would be nothing wrong with me being all three things at the same time (like Rose for example)

with that being said we tweaked my grip a bit (moved it a bit more to my fingers and my right hand is a bit more laid off)

the major things that I am working on now are correcting my back swing  (my club was way too open on the top) - my main issue was that I kinda just leaned my left shoulder forward instead of rotating it down and right. Also my takeaway was too closed and I was pulling my hands back away from my body - that was because I misunderstood the principle of depth that I was linked to in a video above. I didn’t get depth from the turn but cheated by pulling my hands back

 

the thing I’m working on the downswing now is more hip turn at impact - was pretty much square whatever I did in the past and that should help me eliminate the flip (the flip wasn’t real bad but it was close)

 

currently I’m still going too far back on my backswing or better said I load my wrists too much. I can do it “right” in front of the mirror and with practice swings but I have to think 3/4 swings when I’m hitting the ball to make it close to correct. And the last (but not least) thing is I need to shallow my swing more. I just watched a great video on that by Chris Como and will try to work on that next week. 

[Killa]

So a couple of months passes without pretty much any golfing. Last couple of weeks I played once and hit the driving range 4 times. 

 

I played lousy but the score wasn’t THAT bad considering. It was 107 but I started with 2 OB on the first 2 holes and then carded an 8 on a par 3 that went PW 5 yards too short into a bunker (droped straight in from about 50 yards high) where the ball ended dug in, hit it ended up covering it completely, took an unplayable inside the bunker for a penalty shot, failed to get it out, got it out with my 6th, chipped and 1 putted... I rarely have any trouble from greenside bunkers and I got close to the hole on the next 2 times I got in so that won’t become a habit. 

 

Anyway... still trying to shallow out my swing. I can do it on my practice swings, but when I hit a ball I’m still coming over the top, or the best scenario is coming in neutral. Here are two images 10 seconds apart, 1st is a practice swing, 2nd the actual shot. 

[billchao]

2 hours ago, Killa said:

Ok then I might not be as steep as I thought. But I still can’t come from the inside on most shots even though I get a draw here and there. 

 

 

That's not from your most recent swing, is it? Yes, the above is shallow enough, but a still picture doesn't tell the whole story. What's the hand path? The club path? The movement matters.

This is what I see from your swing:

Lack of hand depth - hard to swing out from here. You basically have to swing steep just to get the clubhead back to the ball.

[Killa]

8 hours ago, billchao said:

That's not from your most recent swing, is it? Yes, the above is shallow enough, but a still picture doesn't tell the whole story. What's the hand path? The club path? The movement matters.

This is what I see from your swing:

Lack of hand depth - hard to swing out from here. You basically have to swing steep just to get the clubhead back to the ball.

 

The screenshot you took is from December. 

 

This is last week (as the above)

 

 

Edited April 11, 2019 by Killa

[Killa]

Ok two new videos. While I kinda like how I think the swing improved, the results simply aren’t there. 

 

The problem is that last summer I was battling a constant fade/slice, but I could play with that, my rounds constantly breaking 100. Now I just don’t know where the ball will go. My swing pattern includes everything from a hook to a slice, even though a slice is mostly the result of sockets (that I now hit waaay too often, and I never had a problem with that in the past. 

 

It’s hard to play golf when your shot zone includes both of the adjacent fairways with an 8 iron...

Also something I’ve noticed is that I often hit the ball fat, so that is something that is in dire need of fixing. 

 

 

 

I did see in improvement in my putting and short game even without much practice, just by improving my mental game - taking a bit more time to read the green, even on chips, and really focusing on holing out every putt and chip, while in the past my thought was always just get it near even with 10’ putts. So while my last round still had 2 3 putts (pretty fast greens), it also had 4 1 putts. 

[Killa]

The last couple of days I was working on my hip rotation in the backswing.  Staying centered and feeling like I want to push my pelvis into my right leg. 

It feels wierd but in a good way. That also helps me to start the downswing more with my hips and not going on my toes too soon. I’m still over the top though. 

Oh and I’ve shifted my weight more on my heels. Not that it’s on my heels now, but I was way too much on my toes before so now I feel much more in balance. 

 

No video today because there isn’t such a big difference but more a note to myself so I can go back and remember what was working in a few months. 

[Killa]

Two videos. Both DTL both 7 iron. I really like the new balance I have. And I get much more depth in my swing. And that’s a big change from 2 months ago. 

Now I got to keep at this and then figure out how to get more forward shaft lean at impact. My guess is that if I can do that it will also eliminate or at least reduce the early extension. Because my balls fly extremely high right now. And I’m not flipping...

 

 

[iacas]

More lean is gonna be tough with that "shallow to steep" type move. It's turning around the corner pretty hard, it's gonna want to flip.

[Killa]

On 5/1/2019 at 2:04 AM, iacas said:

More lean is gonna be tough with that "shallow to steep" type move. It's turning around the corner pretty hard, it's gonna want to flip.

 

Yeah I’ve been trying to keep it shallower for a while now but I’m just not able to start the downswing with the hips and keep rotating while hitting the ball. 

 

For example here is my practice swing and my real swing, literally 10 seconds apart. I know the practice swing isn’t ideal but it’s a hell of a lot better looking than my hitting the ball swing. 

A soon to be pro suggested the “feel” that I “release” the club faster and it has helped, because it’s not casting the club but rather the feeling that I don’t have to tighten my wrist for so long. So I can swing my hands faster and let the club catch up later. 

 

 

 

I think it’s all in the hips and shoulders for me right now. The backswing and the top of the swing in my practice swing are pretty much where I want to be. I might still over rotate on my actual swing but it’s improved a lot. 

Then if I start the downswing with my hips I don’t hit the ball correctly and I always stop the rotation and prematurely extend instead of rotating till my hips are open. This has been a really difficult change for me as I seem to grasp what I want to do and I am able to do it without the ball but put a ball in front of me and I’m duffing it all over. 

[chspeed]

1 hour ago, Killa said:

A soon to be pro suggested

 You have an actual pro, and a top one at that, telling you what to work on. I'd focus on that.

Instead of shallow to steep, go steep to shallow.

 

 

[Killa]

12 minutes ago, chspeed said:

 You have an actual pro, and a top one at that, telling you what to work on. I'd focus on that.

Instead of shallow to steep, go steep to shallow.

 

 

I am working on that since last August. And it starts with the hips. 

[Killa]

@iacas

how is this change looking?

 

 

 

I’m still goat humping but I really like how the top of my backswing looks in these two videos. I feel like this backswing sets me up in a very good position, and basically I’ve been working on that and the beginning of the downswing today. 

 

My hips still only go to parallel and then stop and wait for the club but my focus now (as it has been for quite some time) is the backswing and the start of the downswing. 

[iacas]

On 5/11/2019 at 1:20 PM, Killa said:

@iacas

how is this change looking?

I’m still goat humping but I really like how the top of my backswing looks in these two videos. I feel like this backswing sets me up in a very good position, and basically I’ve been working on that and the beginning of the downswing today. 

My hips still only go to parallel and then stop and wait for the club but my focus now (as it has been for quite some time) is the backswing and the start of the downswing. 

It's better.

Part of why it "looks" a little better than it really is… is because of part of the reason why you're able to shallow out so much.

I don't mind the right elbow being higher, though in transition I'd love to see it get lower than the left elbow, without the shoulders contributing to the shallowing. If you look, you'll see the shoulders shallowing in transition, and that's part of what "fakes it" a little bit more than what you really are doing.

I'd say about 60-70% of this is "real" and 30-40% is "faked" with the shallowing shoulders. Which directly tie into the hips going forward (EE).

Film this for me if you would please:

• Put your butt against a chair, your golf stand bag, a table, something.
• Swing back to the top and stop.
• Feel like the club shallows while your right butt cheek remains in contact with the chair or table or whatever.
• Slide your butt forward 4-5" or so along the chair/table/etc. as you swing down keeping the club shallow and turn through. Your left butt cheek will re-connect early in the downswing and your right butt cheek will leave the chair/table, but keep something in your butt/hips area in contact with it the whole time.

Film that for me and post that from a DL view.

[Killa]

@iacas ok so this was really hard to setup and do. This was my best attempt of about 10 recorded tries. 

 

I did it at home with a chair to practice but it was much easier without a ball to hit. 

And I couldn’t hit a 7 iron for the life of me today afterwards 😢

 

[iacas]

That's fine - it wasn't supposed to be "easy."

But… the club shallowed, yes, and then steepened like crazy. It was actually worse than your normal swing. Do you see it flipping over, the forearms rolling right over?

[Killa]

 

8 hours ago, iacas said:

That's fine - it wasn't supposed to be "easy."

But… the club shallowed, yes, and then steepened like crazy. It was actually worse than your normal swing. Do you see it flipping over, the forearms rolling right over?



 

Yes it looked horrible and this isn't even the worst video. I got shallow at the top, but then it went vertical almost immediately. And I'd understand it if I at least could hit the ball with my "corrections" but I couldn't hit it for the life of me. 

There was one thing that could be off though - the range was pretty bad because they had a tournament going on and everyone warmed up before I got there so I couldn't set the ball perfectly so I might have been standing too close to the ball. 

This is getting frustrating as I've been working on my full swing for the past 2 years but I hardly see any score improvement. I mean when I compare my first video in this topic and my last one (without the bag) I like the swing much better, but other than a bit of distance there is just no consistency for me. 

[iacas]

Like this:

 

 

[trainsmokegolf]

On 5/18/2019 at 3:30 PM, Killa said:

 

 

Yes it looked horrible and this isn't even the worst video. I got shallow at the top, but then it went vertical almost immediately. And I'd understand it if I at least could hit the ball with my "corrections" but I couldn't hit it for the life of me. 

There was one thing that could be off though - the range was pretty bad because they had a tournament going on and everyone warmed up before I got there so I couldn't set the ball perfectly so I might have been standing too close to the ball. 

This is getting frustrating as I've been working on my full swing for the past 2 years but I hardly see any score improvement. I mean when I compare my first video in this topic and my last one (without the bag) I like the swing much better, but other than a bit of distance there is just no consistency for me. 

Don't give up number one.   These breakthroughs take a long time.   Get more competitive situations under your belt,  you will learn to deal with the nerves better,  and you will see better players- their technique and it will rub off on you.