My Swing (Cantankerish)

[Cantankerish]

I've been Playing Golf for: 9 months

 

My current handicap index or average score is: 20-25 handicap
My typical ball flight is: the variety pack
The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: take your pick

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Videos: 

Hi all.  I played golf a tiny bit in my teens and then again in my 20s, but I never got past hacking and praying.  Since May I have been actively pursuing this elusive action.  I am so humbled by all of it.  What you can not see in these videos is the 13-year old girl behind the camera who has a professional grade swing.  My swing that you see is just where I am at the moment.  It has changed numerous times over the past nine months as I search in the dark for a path.  I am finally in control of my drives after taming a world-class push/slice.  The club you see there is a TaylorMade R15, adjustable, stiff shaft.  I have it set to one weight to prevent a fade and the other in the center - if that makes sense.  I do not know if that is any longer the correct position.  The 7-iron is an Adams Golf Tight Lies with a graphite shaft.  I don't know the flex.  I have never been fit for clubs.

I really do not at all what to change about my swing.  I can not look at my own videos and see anything useful.  Thank you all for helping a poor soul who has perhaps foolishly decided to invest myself into this game.  Sorry if the angles are not quite right.

[Nave]

You have got a nice swing.

The only feedback I can give is for your last video "driver caddie view".

I'd call it quiet rear leg.
Your rear leg appears to stay without much rotation even after the follow-through.
It may be more natural for your rear leg to follow your hip rotation and end with your knee facing the ball direction - in the video it looks like it faces to the side.

The benefit would be that you gain more power if that back leg follows your upper body rotation and you avoid overstretching your hip/back muscle.

However take my feedback with a grain of salt, as your body is different than mine and maybe you should stick to what works for you. Also, I could be seeing it wrong because of the camera angle.

 

Edited February 18, 2019 by Nave
added picture

[iacas]

Three quick notes:

• Caddie view is the same as face on. Down the line views are just that… down the line.
• Your down the line videos are well off: https://thesandtrap.com/b/playing_tips/filming_your_swing
• Your weight stays back. See Key #2 videos and information here on the site:

[Cantankerish]

This angle might be more instructive.  I can see that we did not quite get the last one right.

@iacas, thank you for the direction on weight distribution.  I can already see what you mean from the videos.  I suppose that is my first goal, and it looks like a big one.  Can you tell me, what is the direct benefit of that element?  In other words, how can I measure the results of my attempts to mimic that motion?

@Nave, I am having a hard time seeing the issues with the rear knee.  Maybe as I become more familiar I will be able to see it.  Apparently, I have bigger fish to fry atm.

[klineka]

Is there a reason your feet are very very closed to the target line? 

Based on where you are lined up it looks like you are aimed at that net/trees on the right but the ball flight comes out way left of where your feet are aimed

Were you trying to hit a specific shot shape on that swing? Laying an alignment stick down along your intended target line might be helpful to make sure you are getting lined up the same way every time while you work on other things like getting your weight forward.

 

  

Edited February 18, 2019 by klineka
formatting

[Cantankerish]

9 hours ago, klineka said:

Is there a reason your feet are very very closed to the target line? 

Based on where you are lined up it looks like you are aimed at that net/trees on the right but the ball flight comes out way left of where your feet are aimed

Were you trying to hit a specific shot shape on that swing? Laying an alignment stick down along your intended target line might be helpful to make sure you are getting lined up the same way every time while you work on other things like getting your weight forward.

 

 

Shot shape, yeah.  You could say that.  The closed stance is a remnant of the tools I employed to force a draw.  And it has worked, so I have been reticent to stop.  You will notice that the 7-iron has a stance that is much closer to straight.  I will still fade my irons if I do not keep my wits about me during address, grip, and backswing.

 

On another note, I got a chance to do some preliminary work on shifting my weight to the front leg.  And by extension, I presume that I should be turning my hips left - at least that is what Erik's videos are recommending.  I still do not know what result I am looking for, though I suspect that it is primarily a power thing.  At any rate, this completely hoses my ability to make consistent contact.  I find myself lower to the ground at impact.  Is that normal?  Am I retraining muscle memory from scratch?

[iacas]

16 hours ago, Cantankerish said:

On another note, I got a chance to do some preliminary work on shifting my weight to the front leg.  And by extension, I presume that I should be turning my hips left - at least that is what Erik's videos are recommending.  I still do not know what result I am looking for, though I suspect that it is primarily a power thing.  At any rate, this completely hoses my ability to make consistent contact.  I find myself lower to the ground at impact.  Is that normal?  Am I retraining muscle memory from scratch?

It's mostly a contact thing, actually.

You don't make "consistent contact" now - that's why you're a 20.

[Cantankerish]

Okay, I watched the videos linked and several others.  I have been doing some practicing with shifting weight to the front on the downswing.  With the irons, I am more or less pleased with the results.  It feels natural and as far as I can tell it is working.  I am having a problem making it work with driver though, and this is not new to me.  I used to be a slider until I worked it out.  But now that I am focusing on shifting the weight to the front, I am definitely sliding again.  And I can feel that it is a crappy swing. Possibly the larger issue, is that I can not really understand what goes on in the weight shift with driver.  That is - I can see the difference when I see my own video versus someone who is doing this correctly, but I just do not understand how I can get my weight on my front foot the proper way.

 

Is this a common issue? Is it a complicated series of movements that I need a trainer to lead me through?

[Cantankerish]

I have been trying to work on the weight shift a lot.  The change in height has me hitting behind the ball sometimes, but I assume that will get corrected.  I can not say if I am definitely shifting my weight though, especially on the driver.  Also, I have been opening my hips more.  I presume that this is a good thing - not sure, but it just kinda happened as I was trying to shift my weight.

Am I on the right path here?

[Effington]

I don't have much constructive to add, but how is the driving range into the water?  Does it have yardage indicators?

[Cantankerish]

The water is not great.  There are no markers, but it would hardly matter since the balls only go 3/4 normal distance.  You don't notice it, actually.  But any distance eval has to be relative.  It is fun to belt one over the water on occasion though.

 

At the moment I can actually see that I am still not shifting my weight forward enough.  And I am striking the ball with my club vertical, rather than hands first with the club head lagging, which I think is wrong.  I really wish I could get some feedback.  It's kinda silly for us noobs to be leading each other around.

[billchao]

12 minutes ago, Cantankerish said:

At the moment I can actually see that I am still not shifting my weight forward enough.  And I am striking the ball with my club vertical, rather than hands first with the club head lagging, which I think is wrong.  I really wish I could get some feedback.  It's kinda silly for us noobs to be leading each other around.

What exactly are you looking for? At the moment you know you need to work on Key #2 and you know you're not doing it enough. That's pretty much all you need at this point, don't worry about all the other stuff for now.

Check out this thread out if you haven't already:

 

[Cantankerish]

I have read it, yes.  Thanks for mentioning it.

I suppose I am looking for confirmation about my guesses - and they're all guesses.  It seems like you are confirming my guess that I have not solved #2 yet.  But that is not the entire story.

Is "moving your weight forward" the same motion that produces the "hands before head" strike angle?

 

[billchao]

30 minutes ago, Cantankerish said:

I suppose I am looking for confirmation about my guesses - and they're all guesses.  It seems like you are confirming my guess that I have not solved #2 yet.  But that is not the entire story.

Is "moving your weight forward" the same motion that produces the "hands before head" strike angle?

It can. Some things are fixed "as a bonus" without directly addressing them when working on other pieces. The important thing is to focus on Key #2 stuff and not worry about other flaws. If you get good at this piece and Key #3 becomes your priority later, then you'd shift to that.

You have to give things some time to change, too. How are you working on the weight forward? What drills are you doing? You should film yourself practicing when you get a chance.

I think this is a good video for you:

 

[Cantankerish]

 

 

For the record, these are from a few days ago.  I have been working on shifting my weight forward and lagging the club head. I almost did not bother putting them here because, looking at them, I appear to be doing the same damned thing.  Annoying. 

[billchao]

Work on that. Will help you with the weight forward issue.

[Cantankerish]

Okay.  That is a good place to start. Thank you very much.

 

I have a question on this topic though.  Well, tons.  But I am wondering if the same exact sequences are true for driver and irons.  I hit myy irons pretty average for an amateur (that 7-iron goes 150-160 - same as everyone else I play with). But I hit the driver kinda far compared to my friends (I am averaging over 280 now that I get proper contact more often), and I do not know why.  I can plainly see I am hitting irons differently than what is on these instructional links.  They are very helpful.  But the demonstrations are with irons only.  I do not have the same level of detail on hitting driver.

Should I be approaching the two differently? Am I hitting irons very wrong and driver closer to correct?  If so, should I be focusing on practicing irons?

...mysterious sport is mysterious...

[phillyk]

Ok, so set up. Feet way closed, too far apart that its limiting your weight shift, and you are swinging along your chest line at set up. So you need to match your chest and feet lines and narrow the stance a bit. Next ball position which might be the cause of the high ball flight you said in the other thread. You need to get the ball set up just inside your left foot, its outside the foot now. Start with the basics.