Unable to complete backswing when ball is there.

[boogielicious]

9 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Oh, good heavens! You are so far inside I can't imagine how you managed to hit the ball! Still, this is how video is such a help. You can actually see what you are doing instead of relying on feel.

That is Erik. He is scratch and was demonstrating a concept.

[iacas]

11 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Oh, good heavens! You are so far inside I can't imagine how you managed to hit the ball! Still, this is how video is such a help. You can actually see what you are doing instead of relying on feel.

For goodness sake… watch the video. Hell, just watch (and listen to) the first ten seconds of it.

[iceman777]

Was at the range yesterday . Have yips with driver , from the top of backswing . . After being on the forum , decided not to focus on the ball . Took one practice swing .  Smooth of course .  Then set up to the ball , looked at a spot about one foot in front of the ball ( as a trigger ) . .  Then , with eyes open , started backswing  . After taking arms back about quarter way through , closed my eyes and  kept them closed through the rest of backswing  AND  down through the ball  . Hit , the longest , straightest drives in 5 years . Of course , since I didn't want anyone to see me hitting with eyes closed , I wore sunglasses . lol.   Hope I have the guts to try this on the course .

[Mr. Desmond]

1. Relax the arms/body going back. Typically, too much tension exists. Let it go a bit.

2. Noticed I do not finish when the backswing tempo is increased. For me, I've got to think slowish to top - it's not, but I'm trying to gain a nice rhythm that allows me consistency. When I do this, sequencing is bettter to the top and in the downswing.

[gregsandiego]

2 hours ago, iceman777 said:

Was at the range yesterday . Have yips with driver , from the top of backswing . . After being on the forum , decided not to focus on the ball . Took one practice swing .  Smooth of course .  Then set up to the ball , looked at a spot about one foot in front of the ball ( as a trigger ) . .  Then , with eyes open , started backswing  . After taking arms back about quarter way through , closed my eyes and  kept them closed through the rest of backswing  AND  down through the ball  . Hit , the longest , straightest drives in 5 years . Of course , since I didn't want anyone to see me hitting with eyes closed , I wore sunglasses . lol.   Hope I have the guts to try this on the course .

I can try this eyes closed stuff but I'll probably miss the ball entirely. I think there is a lot of visual feedback necessary to hit.

[Hacker James]

1 hour ago, Mr. Desmond said:

1. Relax the arms/body going back. Typically, too much tension exists. Let it go a bit.

2. Noticed I do not finish when the backswing tempo is increased. For me, I've got to think slowish to top - it's not, but I'm trying to gain a nice rhythm that allows me consistency. When I do this, sequencing is bettter to the top and in the downswing.

+1 on the tension bit.....a mental image I sometimes use when things tighten up too much is to "float to the top" on my BS. Just sort of "let it rise", hesitate and hold for a split second, and "let er rip" on the DS.

[gregsandiego]

1 hour ago, Mr. Desmond said:

1. Relax the arms/body going back. Typically, too much tension exists. Let it go a bit.

2. Noticed I do not finish when the backswing tempo is increased. For me, I've got to think slowish to top - it's not, but I'm trying to gain a nice rhythm that allows me consistency. When I do this, sequencing is bettter to the top and in the downswing.

I bet if I drank 3 shots of tequila that tension would vanish. But then I'd have another accuracy problem.

[Mr. Desmond]

On 6/28/2017 at 9:04 AM, Hacker James said:

+1 on the tension bit.....a mental image I sometimes use when things tighten up too much is to "float to the top" on my BS. Just sort of "let it rise", hesitate and hold for a split second, and "let er rip" on the DS.

As you know, it is all a balance. I see some people relax and their body is all over the place, then tight, and their body and arms are slow and lack fuidity.

I've tried control for too long (tension) and found if I relaxed going back while controlling the body frame with proper posture and finish my sequencing, and then going down with fluidity, the speed gains and consistency are tremendous. Still you've got to have a swing and good sequencing. I'm going through a period of more fluid hips to gain speed. But that's not the first sequence of the downswing.

That hesitate move - my arms stay at top, but the transfer is taking place below - a simple move really before the lead foot posts and you crank those hips open.

For OP, all I can do is empathize, because I'm going through the same issues. But relaxing the arms and shoulders allows one to finish the backswing and make a full swing.

I began doing more shoulder flexibility work.

Edited June 29, 2017 by Mr. Desmond

[harveys]

I have the same issue...going on 3 years.  I barely take 1/2 a swing.  My practice swing is free, easy and with a great shoulder turn.  Put a ball in front of me and it's another story completely.  I've been thinking all along that it's mental but perhaps its not.  My practice swing is just that...a swing.  With a ball there, I am no longer swinging, I'm trying to hit the ball.  Any suggestions would be welcome.

[iceman777]

Harveys  ,give the eyes closed routine a shot , or just try keeping them closed at least until you have started  the downswing . It eliminates concentrating on hitting the BALL

[Buckeyebowman]

On 6/27/2017 at 9:12 AM, iacas said:

For goodness sake… watch the video. Hell, just watch (and listen to) the first ten seconds of it.

Mea Culpa, everybody! As far as watching the vid goes, why bother? The still makes the problem obvious enough! What I needed to do was read the OP's text a bit further. I got caught up in the visual, and lost sight of the textual.

[iacas]

31 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

Mea Culpa, everybody! As far as watching the vid goes, why bother? The still makes the problem obvious enough! What I needed to do was read the OP's text a bit further. I got caught up in the visual, and lost sight of the textual.

Huh?

The only video in this entire topic is a video BY ME, in which I am DEMONSTRATING something.

You should have watched the video before saying this:

On 6/26/2017 at 9:30 PM, Buckeyebowman said:

Oh, good heavens! You are so far inside I can't imagine how you managed to hit the ball! Still, this is how video is such a help. You can actually see what you are doing instead of relying on feel.

That video is NOT the OP. It is me demonstrating something, and watching the first ten seconds of the video… or five seconds… would have clued you in to this amazing fact, even if you hadn't noticed that the "poster frame" shows it was filmed at Golf Evolution.

You didn't get "caught up in the visual" because you had no clue what the "visual" was or who it was a visual "of." It's ME. Not the OP. And when people pointed this out to you, you still didn't get it.

I'm glad you contribute, but when you hardly read enough or you don't watch a video for a few seconds to see what it actually is, your posts don't add a lot to the conversation. It's like you're the party guest who walks over to a conversation that's ten minutes old, hears the name "George," and starts talking about George Washington because clearly that's what they're talking about… when they're talking about something that happened in the state of Georgia and you not only mis-heard it a little, you didn't understand the conversation to begin with.

You're a great contributor when you read, @Buckeyebowman, and you have a lot of experience to share. Give yourself the benefit of knowing what conversation you're entering before trying to help, please.

[Russx5]

I've always played with a 3/4 swing.  Just my natural swing.  I've tried to go with a full swing but the yardage I gain isn't worth not having any idea where the ball is going to end up.  Usually not in a good spot.   

[gregsandiego]

On 6/30/2017 at 10:36 AM, harveys said:

I have the same issue...going on 3 years.  I barely take 1/2 a swing.  My practice swing is free, easy and with a great shoulder turn.  Put a ball in front of me and it's another story completely.  I've been thinking all along that it's mental but perhaps its not.  My practice swing is just that...a swing.  With a ball there, I am no longer swinging, I'm trying to hit the ball.  Any suggestions would be welcome.

I didn't catch this, yes you sound like me. Too bad your on the East coast or we could get together and compare. Maybe form our own support group.

10 minutes ago, Russx5 said:

I've always played with a 3/4 swing.  Just my natural swing.  I've tried to go with a full swing but the yardage I gain isn't worth not having any idea where the ball is going to end up.  Usually not in a good spot.   

Different issue. I'll be happy to back it down a bit when I can do that consciously. 

[Buckeyebowman]

22 hours ago, iacas said:

Huh?

The only video in this entire topic is a video BY ME, in which I am DEMONSTRATING something.

You should have watched the video before saying this:

That video is NOT the OP. It is me demonstrating something, and watching the first ten seconds of the video… or five seconds… would have clued you in to this amazing fact, even if you hadn't noticed that the "poster frame" shows it was filmed at Golf Evolution.

You didn't get "caught up in the visual" because you had no clue what the "visual" was or who it was a visual "of." It's ME. Not the OP. And when people pointed this out to you, you still didn't get it.

I'm glad you contribute, but when you hardly read enough or you don't watch a video for a few seconds to see what it actually is, your posts don't add a lot to the conversation. It's like you're the party guest who walks over to a conversation that's ten minutes old, hears the name "George," and starts talking about George Washington because clearly that's what they're talking about… when they're talking about something that happened in the state of Georgia and you not only mis-heard it a little, you didn't understand the conversation to begin with.

You're a great contributor when you read, @Buckeyebowman, and you have a lot of experience to share. Give yourself the benefit of knowing what conversation you're entering before trying to help, please.

OK, OK, already! Yes, I made a mistake. But I don't know what the OP looks like, and the still from the vid DOES make the problem rather obvious. Sorry I didn't notice the details, but I don't have all day to spend. A couple hours in the evening is the most I can spare. So sometimes I do tend to hurry.

Thanks for the compliment, and I will try to do better in the future.

[iacas]

5 minutes ago, Buckeyebowman said:

OK, OK, already! Yes, I made a mistake. But I don't know what the OP looks like, and the still from the vid DOES make the problem rather obvious. Sorry I didn't notice the details, but I don't have all day to spend. A couple hours in the evening is the most I can spare. So sometimes I do tend to hurry.

NO!

You're still not getting it, and at this point, I give up.

[gregsandiego]

1 hour ago, iacas said:

NO!

You're still not getting it, and at this point, I give up.

This is kind of funny. Can i try?

@Buckeyebowman

The video in this thread had NOTHING to do with my  (OP) swing. 

The "STILL" is not me, has nothing to do with the issue.

 

 

[Hacker James]

I  really don't have a horse in this race, but in defense of @Buckeyebowman, I can see where some confusion might exist. The video, while containing some great information regarding width and depth of a backswing, in my opinion does not really address what the OP is asking as to why HE cannot make an adequate backswing with ball present and maybe @Buckeyebowman is having trouble at seeing the connection or intent of the video.  Only Greg knows if it adequately addresses his concern.  The video is great as to the "what" but maybe not the "why". Just my observation and I may be completely wrong.