unscathed

Here's one: workability.

It always puzzled me... didn't Earl always use to jingle change in his pocket and hoot and holler while Tiger was trying to hit a shot? I'm not saying it's right, but a camera shutter shouldn't be that much different.

Kekoa, not to h/j your thread, but are you the same Kekoa as the one on S2ki? Don't really know of any good swing coaches in the OC, btw. The best swing coach for the money is a video camera with slo-mo play back, IMO. :)

3Jack, Wow... thanks for the in depth play by play. I apologize for the film quality - I'm using consumer grade equipment, so we don't exactly have the Phantom v5 at my disposal, so... Allow me to address a few of your comments. First and foremost, your comments are unbiased and objective to a T. All the things you point out I see in my own swing. Setup - I've tried many spine angles in the past. What you see in the video has worked best for me. It's been pointed out that my lower back makes a 'S' which subjects me to lower back injury in the long run. I'll be trying to modify that so as to not injure myself. As for the actual spine angle, with my current set up the lie of my irons are dead on. With my anatomical proportions, if I were to lean forward and bend my knees any more than they are already, I'd have to mess with getting my lie angle changed, but not before hitting some pretty bad pulls. (Greater spine angle -> greater knee bend -> club toe up -> "normal" from clubface would be left of target line -> pull) I figure this set up works and I'm still able to swing athletically through the ball, so there's really no reason to change it. If you watch Tiger swing his driver nowadays, his set up is fairly upright as well, but that all changes during his transition to the downswing where he hits Mach 3. Top of Swing - I've worked hard to reach this position consistently. My left wrist used to be cupped because I was one of the beginners who thought I was hinging the wrist by cupping it. Also, I used to be on a very flat swing plane, but that's since been changed. First move down - This is a very recent change to my swing. People would say that I'm lunging and casting the club which I didn't feel at all. I started to experiment and it turns out that the sensation that created the correct path is really deceiving. I feel like I'm making a very very minor loop behind me as I'm turning my hips. Simultaneous with this loop is the turning of my hips. I understand that if I were to overdo this loop action that I'll pull the ball waaaay left, but if done right, this creates a sensation of a charged clubshaft I've never felt before. Let me address my hips now. If the critics had to nitpick at Tiger's swing, and believe me, this is only what they're saying - I'm not saying anything of the sort (Tiger, in the 1 in a million chance that you're trolling this forum and the 1 in a billion chance that I make it on tour, I'm not bagging on your swing AT ALL - I'd hate to be on your black list even before making it on tour) - they'd say that Tiger swings better when his lower body is in sync with his torso. It's when his hips outrace his shoulders by a gross amount that he starts to lose a little of his accuracy. Now magnify that 1000 fold and you've got my situation - now THAT is true Army Golf as Tiger would say. Tiger's swing is a combination of Indiana Jones' skill with the whip, the accuracy of an electron microscope and the ballsiness of Phil Ivey at the WSOP Main Event. My swing is that of a scratch golfer (hit the ball, scratch head, ask "did you see my shot? where'd it go?") so I prefer the consistency of a more pendulum like motion that still exerts enough force into the back of the ball than that of a whip. I understand that I'm losing some power by not clearing my hips more, but I'll take consistency over power. Afterall, a 170 yard 7 iron and a 290 yard (with roll) driver is long enough to hang with the big boys out on Tour. I plan to hone my short game, dial in my putting and watch what I say and write about Tiger on the internet and with any luck, I'll be playing alongside some of the greats of our time when they graduate to the Sr. PGA tour. :) Thanks for the spot-on critique! -Gabe

Thanks for all the comments. I've taken you guys up on posting the video on swingacademy so you can see the swing in slowmo. here's the link: http://www.swingacademy.com/SwingAna...ol.aspx?id=482 Not sure why, but swingacademy's video of me has some crazy timing/rhythm problems so refer back to the youtube video for my real swing rhythm. (how many forum junkies can spell "rhythm" correctly??) Ganja - my driver usually carries about 250-260 with a clubhead speed of 108 average. I'm no long ball hitter, but I can usually get home in two on your every day par 4s with a comfortable short iron. TourSpoon - good eyes. I do usually start a few inches outside of the ball. I'll look into bringing it back on-line, but when I used to do that I had a tendency to come across the line at the top. Thanks again for taking your time to view my video.

That's a great question. I want to know something about fairway pitching/chipping - I see this all the time with the pros where it looks like they bladed their shot, but it ends up biting like a rabid dog on the green and spins back towards the pin. I've pulled it off a couple times, but I have no idea how I did it. Answers? (sorry if I've just HJ'd your thread...)

Hello everyone, I've become a frequent visitor to the site, but I haven't posted a video yet. I finally got around to it, so here's my driver swing from 2 days ago. Please lemme know what you guys think. Thanks!

Ringer, Wow... I've never seen an instructional video I didn't think was gimmicky and trivial, but this video has proven to be insightful. You've obviously done a TON of analysis on how the hips really move in the golf swing and really cleared up the topic as opposed to muddying it some more. I've been trying darn hard to figure this out, but instructors always tell me that I look like I'm lunging at the ball. In reality, I'm only clearing the left side without altering my spine angle like you mentioned in your video. Thanks again for providing yet another piece of the golf puzzle - I'll be subscribing to your YouTube videos now.

you guys ever heard of Miura Golf?

only one word comes to mind: Solid.

I'm not usually one for golf gadgets and gizmos, but a specific product comes to mind and I think incidentally, Butch Harmon's the endorser of this product. Basically, the gadget is a laser stuck to the butt end of the club. As you swing, the laser dot should follow a straight line from the ball all the way back to the top of your backswing. Your downswing should follow pretty much the same path (straight line) back to the ball and through impact. Lay down a club in front and behind the ball, grab yourself a laser pointer and lemme know if your swing looks any better. :)

I completely agree. Pros know what to look for and common causes for less than optimal ball flights. Everyone's swings are different because no two people have the exact same build. A good swing coach will take a Jim Furyk-looking swing, concentrate on the essence of the swing and discard the less important bits and make players like Jim Furyk a tour caliber player. If you know what to look for in your own swing, I'd say invest in a camcorder with a slo-mo frame by frame playback function. Golf lessons with any worthwhile pro will run right around $45/half hour - the camcorder will soon pay for itself.

here's a swing thought that might help: turn your left knuckles down towards the ground at impact. This thought promotes proper release which is key to maximizing distance. If you've released properly, chances are your impact position was also pretty good. Impact is not something you can really practice, IMO - it's a split second. You can practice everything that leads up to and follows impact and that should be enough to help you flush it.

Hmm.. let me give it a try... I found out that it's best to analyze a swing with both a down the line and a face on video so that you get more than just 2 dimensions to work with. Be that as it may... It seems like you're coming up on your backswing. I'm guessing if you were to show us a face on video, you've probably got some lateral swaying movement as well. The good news is aside from that, that's really your biggest problem. With a more upright upper body position at the top of the backswing, you're pretty much forced to "lunge" back down at the ball from "tall" back to "normal". If you don't time it just right, this tall to normal movement will promote a severe out to in swing as well as a deep divot due to the excessive vertical movement. You hear the pros say "turn AROUND your spine." This is the most applicable swing tip for you. Don't allow yourself to have any sort of lateral movement, turn your back to the target and bring your arms up like you have been to complete your backswing. You might even feel as if you're reverse pivoting a little, but unless you're really overdoing it, chances are you aren't really reverse pivoting. Like I said earlier, don't worry about changing your downswing, do everything you're doing from the top of your backswing through the follow through except the lunging action. You should be cured after that. Hit a few buckets, down a beer and post back in the morning. :)

Ah, Putting... one of my many pet peeve topics when it comes to what many golf instructors tell you to do. "Don't peek - keep your eyes down even after the ball leaves the putter." I tried doing just that, but I found that my putting became just a shot in the dark and a prayer that I get it close. After much exploration, I've discovered a better way to go about it and since my discovery, I've become a MUCH better putter. And lemme tell you, it had nothing to do with "not peeking." Not peeking is like telling a billiards player to keep focusing on the tip of his cue even after the cue ball has left the tip. That's like telling a basketball player to take a few looks at the basket before the shot, but from then on out, focus only on the index and pointer fingers of his shooting hand. Just doesn't work. My stance is an isosceles triangle with the golf ball bisecting the base of the triangle exactly - which means the putter head would be a golf ball's radius behind the midpoint of the base of the triangle. After lining up the putt, I focus on the leading "edge" of the ball, take a few "pictures" of the hole as Tiger likes to say, pull back the putter head square (my eyes are still on the leading edge of the ball - since I know what the putter's going to do on its way back, I shouldn't need to watch), then watch the ball leave the putter face, THEN FOLLOW THE BALL WITH MY EYES TOWARDS THE HOLE. Most times, it goes in - or if it's a lag put, I usually don't have too much more work to do. Don't get too anxious and look too early, but don't feel as if you need to keep your eyes on the spot where the golf ball used to be. Just my $.02. :)

Sweet! Fellow Boilermaker! Fun story for you. My senior year after finals were over, my buddy and I went to play Ackerman one afternoon as a twosome. The starter asked us if we would mind having a 3rd person join us. We said not at all. We get to the first tee, and we're about to tee off. Then, the 3rd golfer pulls up in his golf cart. Turned out being President Jischke, the president of Purdue University. Had a great time! Where are you interning at, btw?

Please lock. Thank you.

Apologies for not running a search prior to authoring my own Plane thread. I was pointed to this thread with the help of iacas. This thread discusses more of the basics of the two schools, but I'm curious as to how many have tried both and which one they prefer/had the most success with. So far, I'm pretty sold on the 1-plan method, but the shoulder turning down almost makes me feel like I'm reverse-pivoting. Anybody else have that feeling? Your thoughts?

I was at the range the other day. As I hit my last ball, a young Asian man and his swing coach took over my hitting mat. This man's swing was about as close I've ever seen to Tiger's. I ended up watching for a good couple minutes until I was once again inspired to cash in for another medium sized bucket. His swing coach watch me swing a couple times and told me to put down my club and go into my backswing. He shook his head and told me not to swing my arms, but rotate my left shoulder downwards instead. The balls I ended up hitting we just as straight and I felt that this swing was easier to time as there's really only one BIG moving part as opposed to two. I discovered that MY swing wasn't "wrong" - it was the two plane swing (arms and elbow go up and down, body does the turning) versus the one plane swing (turn shoulders which move the arms - body and hips are in sync with the shoulder movement). Which swing do you guys use and which one are you more consistent with?

You gotta believe the guys on tour are swinging very very hard. 125 mph doesn't come from just weight transfer and momentum alone - it's that extra Tabasco that they serve up with it. Take a look at all those pictures of Tiger at impact or just before he's about to stripe the ball. That face, to me, doesn't look like someone who's swinging without using any strength. Just like Iacas said, it's more about staying in balance.

Titleist drivers are relatively unforgiving. I have the 905R (the one with the 460 cc head). I constantly have to concentrate 100% in order to make a good swing to send the ball off on the correct flight. Sweetspot shots are rewarded; mishits are punished. I also have the Cleveland Ti 460. You can probably score one for pretty cheap right now. This driver is pretty much the opposite of the 905R. Decent shots still go pretty straight and pretty far. Watch out when you flush it square on the sweet spot though... earplugs are recommended, and no, you didn't just break your driver's head.

Actually, Tiger almost never swings at top speed. During his clinics, he's always telling the spectators that he usually dishes out about 80% of his power so that he stays balanced and in control. He's also said that if he needs to, he can reach back in the bag and come up with another 10-15% power if he needs to bomb it long - never 100%. He's got another gear most others don't have. I think it's technique... yes, I said it. Tiger's still human, so movements will vary from swing to swing - especially at 125-130 mph.

Tiger changed from his 275 cc Nike to the 300 cc Nike, then to the Ignite which was when he started using the Diamana shaft. He made these changes because people were bombing it past him and he realized that he was holding himself back. (Remember Lefty's "inferior equipment" comment?) A popular theory is that it's easier to bomb and gouge from 200 on in than to have to hit an approach shot after a shorter drive. Tiger never had "knee replacement surgery," he's still got the same one Momma and Poppa Woods gave him. He did undergo knee surgery though. As far as Tiger spraying his drives, I'm sure he's making more changes to rectify that problem. This is just an oil change as compared to an engine swap for Tiger.