mfillyaw

I've recently been working hard on getting my weight forward at impact. It has shown some great results! I consider myself a great iron player but had been having contact issues recently, and had lost my sweet little draw I used to have. I was playing a practice round last week and really focused on getting my weight forward. Pure strikes after pure strikes, but I had a few go straight right because of an open clubface at impact (there's no slice or fade to it, the ball just starts right and stays right). Went out and played a round yesterday and basically the same thing happened. Started out great, but after a while my hands couldn't keep up with my body and the clubface isn't squaring. Any tips to help the clubface come through the ball and keep it from going right?

Sorry should have provided some context and details of what I've been working on. I made a major switch in how close I stand to the ball this offseason (if you watch the 2014 and 2013 swings on the first page you can see the big difference), this resulted in a much more upright steeper swing path. It worked for a few range sessions, but then I started hitting hosel rockets 1 out of every 5 or so swings. So on the iron swing above I backed away from the ball a bit and worked on a shallower swing plane. Still not in love with where the shaft is pointing at the top, but I like where my hands are. The driver swing has never changed much, just thought I'd post it as well.

Couple shots. Analyze, praise, critique. Let me hear it.

yes that makes sense. shows you how much I know.

Yea I've hit the 588 CBs a bunch at golf shops and love the feel. I have cleveland TA 2s now and would like to stick with them as a brand. What do you think a fitting session and shaft lengthening would cost me?

My yardages seem to line up with the 110 column. Maybe I'm reading this wrong? Obviously I don't swing my PW the same speed as my driver. Really I'm just looking to confirm that Dynamic Gold S-300 are a good shaft for a high swing speed golfer.

They aren't old or "antique" clubs by any means. The set I'm looking to buy are Cleveland 588 CBs. They would be my playing set of irons, not a collectible. Which is why I'm trying to do as much research as possible before investing.

Dynamic Gold S-300 is a pretty good shaft correct? I have a fairly high swing speed 110+ for irons.

I'm considering doing this. I really don't have the money to be spending $1,000 on brand new clubs. I've found a set of cleveland 588 CBs for a very reasonable price on ebay and they seem to be in fine shape. Are there any complications with getting clubs fitted after they have been used for a few years? I can still get the shafts lengthened and everything correct?

Been to the range a few more times to try and work on my weight shift and eliminating lateral backward movement in the hips during my backswing. I'm too ashamed to post the vids. The top of my swing is a mess. I'm across the line by miles. Right elbow flaring out. See below: Where as last year I was in a nice compact, laid off position at the top: I need to get back to this!

bend your knees? posture is a little rigid dont you think?

ha, i was wondering who that was! Unfortunately temps have dipped back into the 20's here in Mass and I haven't been able to get back to the range. The heaters this range has do well to heat up my body, but my hands are frozen after 2 minutes if its not closer to 40. Been relegated to putting and mimicking my swing in the apartment.

good stuff, thanks, will try to update during my next range session

no worries. I'm enjoying my discussion with saevel. your input would be greatly appreciated as well!

Right, I thought this video was focusing on this issue. How big of an adjustment do you think this will be? This is the most I've ever delved into analyzing and improving my swing and I'm committed to doing what I have to do to improve. I just want to get an idea of how frustrating this adjustment could be for me. Any idea? I really am not worried about my distance. I can hit the ball pretty far already, but I do think the weight back is what causes some contact issues for me. Really appreciate you spending your morning talking with me, enjoying this discussion.

wow, certainly a lot to remember. it is crazy to see just how forward his weight is. I always thought getting your weight and hips forward would lead to a slice. do you know of any drills that helps with getting the left hand forward, ala the belt buckle drill in the video you posted a while back when we were talking about hip rotation?

is this what they mean by taking the hands out of the swing? I've been working on letting the club head just fall through the impact zone without and guidance from the hands. I'm very comfortable doing it with short irons and have noticed some great results. but with anything longer than an 8 iron I struggle. both of these side profile vids were 6 irons. It also looks like rory is using a shorter iron, maybe a wedge. Do you think his shaft angle would be the same at this point if he was using say a 4 or 5 iron?

What do you mean by casting/flip motion?

yea I have trouble controlling my draw a lot of the times, so much that it enters into "hook" category.

maybe try to hit more down on the ball? It looks like you are scooping at it. trying to help it get in the air. This is more pronounced in your driver swing, which obviously you don't want to be hitting the ground too much with a driver. But I still think your iron swing could stay down more. your head moves up a good amount right after impact. Don't be afraid to hit the ground and take a little earth with your iron shots.

Definitely some good observations, Thanks Guys! First thing I noticed was how narrow my base was. I think a wider stance will be a good start to a better weight balance. I was really surprised to see how far back my weight and upper body were leaning at impact. I compress the ball like crazy and take some major league divots so I thought I would be more forward. Gonna focus on keeping that left heel down and weight forward. What do others see/think?

2014 2013 It's not night and day, but I think theres a noticeable difference between how much my shoulder move back and forth.

I never said the draw was the reason for my inconsistency. The #1 reason I believe, I was and am inconsistent, is the amount of wasted movement and sway I used to have in my swing. I also thought standing so far away from the ball was causing problems. So I decided I would tidy up my swing and stand closer at address, that resulted in a more upright, out to in swing, which obviously produced the cut for this particular range session. I by no means would consider my natural shot type a cut after one day at the range, as you can see here in the northeast we are still a ways a way from golf season. Once I get out and play a few rounds I will see what feels more comfortable this year.

Agreed. I'm not worried about the cut, excited to have greater versatility now. Thanks for your input!

I've been Playing Golf for: 10+ years My current handicap index or average score is: Not official but 6-8 My typical ball flight is: Draw The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Snap Hook, and Chunking it Videos: This is a bit of a "new" swing for me. As I said above, last year my typical trajectory was a draw, I loved that but it required me standing very far away from the ball and a lot of sway in my upper body. Which I think was contributing to a lot of inconsistency. When I pure irons they are a beautiful sight, but I thought if I got closer to the ball and eliminated some of the unnecessary upper body movement I would be more consistent. This range session produced a lot of high cuts. This is my 2013 swing that I describe above. As you can see there seems to be a lot of wasted movement, and I'm standing much further away from the ball. Tell me what y'all see.