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Without seeing your swing, I can't really say what might be causing your push-fade. However, in relation to your question, I have seen players hit push shots without an in-to-out swing path. That being said, the position of the clubface at impact has an undeniable impact on both the line your ball starts on and the path is travels thereafter. One important thing to remember is that your body, assuming you have any athleticism, will subconsciously alter itself to try and make up for a clubface that is too open coming into impact--that is, your brain picks up that if your clubface strikes the ball in the open position it is traveling on, the ball is not going to take the desired route. So, in a last-minute effort to fix it, your brain tells your body to quickly change something to put that ball in flight. Moreover, this last-minute change can be a little different every time, resulting in inconsistent ball striking....which includes your push-fade. This quick, unpredictable swing alteration is obviously undesirable. So, you need to focus to putting your body, the shaft, and the clubface in the proper positions approaching impact to avoid your subconscious reactions taking over. Without seeing your swing, I will take a shot in the dark and recommend three things to try: (1) Between the top of the backswing and impact, there is point every golfer shifts from "letting the club drop" into "I need to start releasing this club so I can get some power behind this shot." Focus on that shift happening a lot later than it is happening now. Really emphasize a delay. It is hard, but it works....and it cures numerous swing faults; e.g., casting, insufficient weight shift, loss of spine angle, lack of balance, etc. Isn't everything easier when you have more time? (2) Focus on hitting down on the ball. This cures many swing faults as well, and it's a lot harder to hit a push-fade when you are taking a divot AFTER impact and compressing the golf ball. I would recommend doing this not only with your irons, but your fairway woods and driver as well; you might not really be hitting down with your woods, but the swing thought will help acheive more consistent strikes. (3) Finally, make sure your right leg is angled in more at address than your left leg. To do this, feel like you pop your hips to the left at little bit at setup, and lower your right shoulder a tad to help counter-balance. After that, put all of your focus on keeping your right knee angled in during the backswing; don't let it sway to the right, and try not to let it rotate (it should actually rotate some, but you don't have to force it because it will inevitably happen whether you like it or not). PS- Don't try all of these at the same time; instead, try them separately and see if any of them help. Plus, that's way too much to think about at once. Let me know if any of these help.

Nice! The main reason I picked up on the right elbow issue is because I have had that same problem, and I think a lot of people do. That being said, I think the position of the right elbow at the top of the backswing is a result of how you take the club away from the ball during the takeaway and into the backswing. Like a lot of other players, I like to aim for a certain "feeling" when making a swing adjustment rather than focusing on the technicalities. Feel allows me to remember a proper swing mechanic, while technical focuses amp up my brain a little too much, which causes me to lose my athleticism. Okay, back to the point: one of the things that helped me rid this "flying right elbow" was to feel like there was a ceiling above me made out of something relatively soft...life cheese or something, and the goal was to keep my right elbow close while sticking the toe of my club into the ceiling behind my head. Admittedly, this is a weird thought and quite possibly impossible to relay by way of typing. However, if you do understand it and aim for that feeling, you'll see what I mean. From a down-the-line view (and maybe from most other camera angles), it's often difficult to identify some problems with the way you're bringing the club back--that is, it may appear you are on plane, but you are on it for the wrong reasons; i.e., a backswing can be all talk, no walk. Try the "cheese ceiling backswing" and let me know what you think.

Pretty good looking swing, Beachcomber. Couple thoughts: (1) Your right elbow gets a little too far away from you at the top of your backswing. Try keeping that elbow a little closer (somewhat tucked) to your right side. This will shorten your backswing a little bit and lead to more consistent ball striking. Take a look at Jason Dufner's swing for help on this: (2) Also pay attention to your balance and where your weight goes on the backswing. You get a little bit on your toes during the backswing, which makes it difficult to maintain your spine angle during the downswing. Note: your forehead should not go past (to the right from a down-the-line view) the line it sits on at address. Try to feel like you are sitting on a bar stool at the top of your backswing. This will help keep your butt out, and on the line established at address, during the downswing. Getting out on your toes a little bit is probably one of the reasons you hit some shots off the hosel and pull other shots. (3) Finally, work on your sequence a little bit on the downswing. Specifically, make sure you shift your weight to your left foot at the top of your backswing BEFORE you fire your hips. This will also help you maintain your spine angle through impact and avoid sh**ks and pulls.

Driver - 270-285 (can hit 300 if I torque it, but it's not a shot I often turn to b/c it lacks consistency) 3W - 240-250 3H - 205-215 4i - 193 5i - 180 6i - 171 7i - 160 8i - 151 9i - 134 PW - 120 52 - 105 56 - 95

Neither. I believe that hole bends left and he is just cutting a little off the corner with a fairway wood. Look in the back left corner and you can see some fans standing around the bend along the fairway where he's aiming. As far as my thoughts about float-loading, I like it as long as it's not overdone. That is, using your shoulder turn to take the club back is great; however, it's important to stay balanced at all times and avoid getting sloppy. I like to focus on a deep shoulder turn and my arms seem to react naturally.

I think Robert Garrigus is a pretty good of example of someone being on the opposite side of float-loading. - Look at Garrigus' swing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqAlB-JcApw - Now check out Dufner's swing here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l55LB8oABvQ To really notice the big difference, look at how much more shoulder turn Dufner has than Garrigus at the middle of his backswing; Dufner already has a substantial shoulder turn when the club gets parallel to the ground, whereas Garrigus hasn't even gotten his shoulders to 45° at this point. This is because Dufner's clubhead "floats" back to the top of his swing from the pulling force of his shoulder turn; however, Garrigus pulls the club back more with his arms, and his shoulders kinda play catchup and turn in response to his arms taking the club back behind him. In my opinion, Dufner's move promotes a more consistent impact position because he is swinging with his big muscles instead of his small muscles. Arms can be timed perfectly, but it's hard to do that on a regular basis.

Very interesting topic, and, being a Dufner fan, one I have actually devoted a substantial amount of thought to. During an interview a couple months ago Dufner said, "I can't remember where I picked up the waggle or when it started." He went on to say there's "no thought process about it; doesn't have any meaning or swing thought." Dufner noted, "There's no special reason for it." In my opinion, there's a lot more to Dufner's waggle than he wants us to believe. First of all, Dufner knows exactly where that waggle came from--Ben Hogan. Dufner is a Hogan disciple and stated he has read everything Hogan has ever written. However, we know Dufner's waggle is different than Hogan's waggle, and for good reason. One golfer's waggle will not be beneficial for another golfer because each of us have different builds, swings, and thoughts. Accordingly, Dufner has developed his own waggle based on the principles Hogan laid out for us in his books. As far as the purpose that Dufner allegedly "doesn't have" behind his waggle, I would tend to disagree. While Dufner's waggle is very different from his takeaway, it matches the position he moves into at the point between the middle of his backswing and the top of his backswing--that is, the position Dufner is in at the top of his waggle (hands, wrists, and forearms) matches the position he reaches at the top of his swing. Moreover, as noted in the first post of this discussion, Dufner does tend to be a float-loader. He keeps his hands, wrists, and arms very passive during his takeaway, and arguably throughout the entire backswing. In my opinion, the waggle allows him to maintain this floating backswing while, at the same time, avoiding the potential for the clubhead to remain closed and below plane, causing a laid-off backswing and an across-the-line position at the top. Specifically, the move Dufner makes during his waggle is the move he wants to happen during the middle of his backswing; importantly, however, he wants that move to happen subconsciously, allowing him to focus on a relaxed backswing with passive hands/wrists/arms while, at the same time, making sure the "triangle" he established at address remains intact and rolls clockwise as ONE unit. In sum, I think Dufner has put a lot of thought into his waggle and definitely uses it as a tool for achieving his desired backswing motion. Dufner's waggle allows him to have a very passive backswing, but still keep the club on plane and in a good position...subconsciously. What we can learn from his waggle in developing our own is: develop a waggle that helps you stay relaxed and still make the moves you want to make during the backswing without having to consciously "make" them happen.