My Swing (Ned_the_tortoise)

[Ned_the_tortoise]

I've been Playing Golf for: 3 years total with lots of breaks in between
My current handicap index or average score is: Average score is 80
My typical ball flight is: Straight - slight draw
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: thinned shots and hooks

My golf has been getting better recently but I seem to always suffer from a few poor contacts in each round, typically this is where I hit the ball thin. I have changed my swing so much over the years but this has always been my bad shot and I dont know what causes it. With the driver and hybrid my bad shots are hooks, this results in me normally going out of bounds at least once per round.

I have spent a lot of time on trying to shallow my swing plane, and getting into a good position at the top.

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Videos: 

 

 

[downbylaw11]

from your face on view it looks as though youre releasing the club a little early, and hitting the ball on the upward arc of the follow through as opposed to making downward contact on the ball with your divot coming after contact with the ball

a quick fix for less thin shots would maybe be to move the ball just ever so slightly further back in your stance with your irons. for a more permanent fix I would try to work on holding off on your release to create more lag.  the pump drill is probably a good drill for that.  I like your swing though, and your takeaway looks fantastic although it's probably the slowest I've ever seen.  are you planning to speed it up or are you just going to keep it the way it is?  technically speaking, it looks picture perfect, but I think a more balanced tempo might help you in the long run

[Ned_the_tortoise]

Hi Downbylaw11,

Thanks for your comments, I'll work on the lag and see if I get an improvement in the balls striking.

I have been using a slow swing for a while, all I can say is that whenever I speed it up I start losing balls left and right, I cant think of any disadvantage of playing a slow backswing, I just think it helps me maintain control.

[downbylaw11]

well, I can think of disadvantages regarding balanced tempo or the fact that if you take too long, your body might forget what it's supposed to be swinging at lol.  ive experimented with slow backswings before and hit some crazy shanks.  But if it works for you, then more power too you because youre looking to be in really good positions throughout.  

you actually inspired me to work on a slow backswing at the range yesterday because i've always had a hard time getting into the correct positions when I used my natural fast tempo.  I had very good results despite the fact that I hate the way it feels. I'm hoping to work on it and gradually build up muscle memory and hopefully get it closer to my natural tempo, plus I don't like the way a slow backswing looks.  heck, I can can stop half way back, look to see if im in the correct position, then complete my backswing and downswing and hit great shots without losing distance when im doing drills, but who would be caught dead playing a round of gold with a 3 second pause in the middle of his swing?  it's funny how golf can be a game of vanity rather than results sometimes.  at least for me. 

[Ned_the_tortoise]

14 hours ago, downbylaw11 said:

 it's funny how golf can be a game of vanity rather than results sometimes.  at least for me. 

 

lol me to, I want a good looking swing almost as much as I want an effective one !

 

I have watched my swing so much that I have lost a sense of how it looks to others, does a slow mo swing look unpleasant, I must admit I dont like the look of Ryan Moore or Hideki's golf swing (two players who I think have relatively slow swings) but I think this is for other reasons (very steep swing of ryan moore and pause at top for Hideki) . 

I dont find a slow swing feels strange as it is what I use when I practice at home (normally because I have to be careful of avoiding the lamp shades ;). I do find it very difficult to pause at the top and I dont think this is something I do in my swing, although I can do this in practice swings, on the course it feels weird - like I lose momentum.

I am going up the range tonight to work on two things, firstly I want to remove the forward head movement I get on my backswing ( i only noticed this when I uploaded the video) Im thinking this cant be good for consistency, and increasing the lag, I'll post a video of the results tonight :) 

[iacas]

Don't move the ball back in your stance. That is the start of a vicious cycle…

You hit thin hooks because you're way too deep here.

Your left arm should be further to the right.

"Out" more.

[Ned_the_tortoise]

On 19/08/2017 at 0:28 PM, iacas said:

Don't move the ball back in your stance. That is the start of a vicious cycle…

You hit thin hooks because you're way too deep here.

Your left arm should be further to the right.

"Out" more.

Thanks for the input.

Can suggest a drill or a feeling to make this happen

 

[downbylaw11]

On 8/19/2017 at 4:28 AM, iacas said:

Don't move the ball back in your stance. That is the start of a vicious cycle…

You hit thin hooks because you're way too deep here.

Your left arm should be further to the right.

"Out" more.

can you post a picture of what you mean by 'out more' 

[mvmac]

10 minutes ago, downbylaw11 said:

can you post a picture of what you mean by 'out more' 

Like @iacas said, further to the right (when looking at the pic). Out meaning out towards the ball, opposite of hands in.

Not exactly the same position as the pic posted but the left arm is more "out" here.

 

@Ned_the_tortoise, I'd also recommend checking this thread out. Your weight is back on your heels at address with the eyes a little too far up. Your first move on the takeaway is for the head to go down and towards the ball (so you can see the ball). Head/eyes "down" more and get the weight more balanced, will help or at least give you a better chance with the downswing arm position.

 

[nevets88]

Something like less headcover in the lead armpit.

[Ned_the_tortoise]

31 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

Something like less headcover in the lead armpit.

Thanks but can u explain what is meant by less headcover in lead armpit 

 

 

 

[nevets88]

15 minutes ago, Ned_the_tortoise said:

Thanks but can u explain what is meant by less headcover in lead armpit 

 

 

 

See how his hand is pushing his shoulder tight to his armpit? You want LESS of this.

See the glove or whatever in the armpit? You want that to drop sooner than it is currently.

 

[downbylaw11]

36 minutes ago, nevets88 said:

See how his hand is pushing his shoulder tight to his armpit? You want LESS of this.

See the glove or whatever in the armpit? You want that to drop sooner than it is currently.

 

is this so he can have the arms further away from the body at impact.  this creates more power right?

[nevets88]

17 minutes ago, downbylaw11 said:

is this so he can have the arms further away from the body at impact.  this creates more power right?

I'll defer to @mvmac and @iacas et al, generally whatever piece they prescribe is good for everything - power, consistency, etc...

[iacas]

5 hours ago, downbylaw11 said:

is this so he can have the arms further away from the body at impact.  this creates more power right?

It's not about that for @Ned_the_tortoise.

[downbylaw11]

what is it about for him then, because so far i see a couple of posts comparing his swing to rory mcilroys and basically saying, 'be more like this', without any explanation as to why or what he should hope to achieve by making the change.  

[iacas]

8 minutes ago, downbylaw11 said:

what is it about for him then, because so far i see a couple of posts comparing his swing to rory mcilroys and basically saying, 'be more like this', without any explanation as to why or what he should hope to achieve by making the change.  

His left arm is too far in, which is a big part of why he hits hooks and thin shots.

[Ned_the_tortoise]

14 hours ago, mvmac said:

@Ned_the_tortoise, I'd also recommend checking this thread out. Your weight is back on your heels at address with the eyes a little too far up. Your first move on the takeaway is for the head to go down and towards the ball (so you can see the ball). Head/eyes "down" more and get the weight more balanced, will help or at least give you a better chance with the downswing arm position.

@mvmac Interesting that you should mention this, the weight is further back in my feet based on an instructor telling me that my forward head movement is caused by weight being too far forward in my feet. Maybe I am overdoing it but I try and get the weight in about the centre of my feet. I dont think my head moves so I can see the ball, instead, I get the feeling that if I don't move my head forwards then I feel too upright at the top of the backswing. I am working to reduce this though by simply acknowledging it and realising that I don't need to bend forwards. The clip below shows some progress (I think)

 

6 hours ago, iacas said:

His left arm is too far in, which is a big part of why he hits hooks and thin shots

Thanks again @iacas for your guidance :)