PingGKEN

What the heck does one need to focus on in order to eliminate this swing destroying move? In every video of my swing, you can clearly see that the first thing to move, at the top of the swing, is the club head going OTT. I can't stop myself from "hitting the ball". My mind just cant fathom being able to move that ball without some effort from the arms. Do I need to emulate some sort of a "Ryan Moore" swing move at the top? Should I purposefully feel like I am turning off my muscles in my forearms and wrists and try to trust that it will happen? Frustrating I tell you.

Dude! This has been me ALL summer. I mean, exactly me. After 3 of those 40 / 60 outings, I said "screw this, I'm taking lessons". I'm trying to build a repeatable swing that I know I can at least count on for a decent shot most of the time. Previously, when I was hitting it well, I didn't know WHY I was hitting it well.

Coming from another "divot virgin", I took a divot yesterday in my back yard and it landed in my pool. It was not fun skimming that outa there, lol. I, too, am starting to try and "hit down" by pointing and pulling the butt end of the club towards the ball on the downswing. Seems to be pretty effective.

I just started taking lessons too. I have had two so far. He uses video and, boy is it an eye opener to actually see what you look like instead of just feeling your way through. I highly recommend an instructor who uses video. Many times I have taken a swing and thought that it was great, only to find it was no where near where he wanted me to be.

Yikes, tell me about it. I am going through the same transition. I'm noticing that you just have to trust your swing. I take a few "back and forth, back and forth" practice swings really trying to feel what my body is doing during those swings. I immediately step up and repeat those same feelings as they are fresh in my mind.

I would say this single thing (dropping into the slot / attacking from inside / let arms fall, etc etc) is the only thing keeping me from enjoying myself out there. I am taking lessons right now and we can clearly see how steep I am coming down into the ball. I chunk / shank it more often than not. When I do feel this "dropping into slot" feeling, it is like automatic. Center contact, butter, whatever you want to call it, the swing just works and the ball is gone. I Just need to groove this feeling...

Thanks for the info. Another resource I like is swingacademy. Its sort of like the youtube for golf swings. http://www.swingacademy.com

I agree with Joejoe. Get your swing on video. I am notorious for having a swing that is well under plane. I took a lesson and our main focus was to start on plane and stay there the entire back swing. When we finally got it on plane, it felt to me as though I was pushing the club away from me on an extreme outside path. Turns out I was spot on!

Same thing here. Out on the course its a totally different mental game. There is a solid goal, a real target, you (hopefully) use a different club every shot, your surroundings change between shots, ..... all of those and more help to keep me focused and not worrying about mechanics and making the "perfect shot". On the range, I'm so worried about hitting it correctly every time, so I can say that I am practicing correctly, that I end up going to sh*t too. I took a lesson, recently, from the pro here and he let me know what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong. We focused on one thing to work on for starters. (Staying on plane in the backswing.) That way, I can focus in on exactly what to practice at the range and not be too worried about the results. For me, when I know that I am being productive, and working on the right things, the range sessions seem to be ok.

Had my first lesson with a pro who is heavy on video review. I am severely under plane on my backswing. We are working on hinging my wrists MUCH earlier in my swing. This feels so wrong to me, but hey, I guess that a good thing! It almost feels like I am picking the club straight up in the air right from the get-go. Also, it really stretches out my left shoulder. (Righty)

Was just going to point this out. My wrists never break on a chip shot. I setup with the "lowercase y" and simply make a putting stroke. Making sure to keep that "lowercase y" intact the entire time.

I'm having trouble visualizing shanking a chip shot. IMO, its basically a putting stroke but using a wedge club. Do you shank putts? Or, are you talking about pitch shots / half swings?

Its been said, but I will reinforce it...lob wedge, set wrists early, steep swing, accelerate through with some good force. Recently, I was 10 feet away from the pin, but buried in some really deep stuff. (Couldn't even see the ball.) I think I swung that club like I was trying to drive 300 yds. Lol

Here is a video of him where he is left handed during the taping:

No way, its that easy?? Just.....swing?

I feel your pain man. I posted a little bit earlier with sort of the same reaction. I have a quick tempo and, even when using the "fastest" 21/7, I was already wanting to begin my downswing well before the second chime. Being a drummer, I was so keyed in on the beat and matching it up perfectly. It was throwing everything off. I think, instead of trying to sync with the sounds, maybe we can just ingrain the sound beforehand and practice without the beats??

I am aware that tempo is one of the most important things in a swing. I read a few threads here about "Tour Tempo" and decided to give it a try. Being a drummer I thought it was a natural thing to use to try to help me with my tempo. The book assumes, though, that the reader has a slower tempo than the pros. I have a very short back swing. My swing is usually just past 3/4 most of the time. It works, but because of this, I guess my tempo is a bit fast. Even the 21/7 beat is quick for me. I take the club back at what I feel is my normal pace and I feel like I want to start my downswing before the second beep. I did not have a good time at the range as you can probably tell. Dont even get me started on the 24/8. It felt like and eternity. I took the club back at my normal pace and I was in John Daly territory when I heard the second beep. I became too focused on trying to slow everything down so that I could match up with the beats that it just threw everything off. I had no rhythm because my back swing was so slow and then I felt I had to rush the downswing to match the third beat. has anyone else with a fast tempo had success with "Tour Tempo"?

Thats funny you made this thread. I was just about to post one just like it after my range session last night. I started out ok and then decided to turn it up a notch and go full swing. Shots were getting closer and closer to el hosel. I was just going way too fast. I wasnt allowing time for my left hip (righty) to turn back. My arms were on their way down already before my hips were cleared. I changed it up to where I felt a rhythmic "Laaaa .... Deeeee... DAH". "Laa" is the back swing, "Deee" is my left hip turning back. "DAH" was the downswing. The more I spaced out the lah dee dahs, the more power I had in the swing it seemed. Dead center hits, even some near the toe too. (And I never toe shots!) This confirms for me, that, tempo is definitely the key.

A common thing with me and long irons / woods / driver is the thought of having to "crush it" with these clubs. You know, since they are the distance clubs? So you need to hit em hard, right? Well, that is farthest from the truth. I find if you slow it down and take nice and easy swing, you'll have better results.

Take the flip flops off, get a bucket of balls, record the swing while hitting real balls. I'm sure we will all see a totally different swing.

I agree with this. I had the same issue last year. Everything was left, super duck hook, pull, hooks, it was bad. I didnt know what was going on. I took a lesson and my instructor said: "You are closing the door, but never opening it." Once I "opened the door" (Opened the clubface), I started hitting them much straighter.

I dont know if what I've started doing is a forward press.... ....I sort of kick my right knee towards the target an inch or two to begin my swing. I try to use what Shawn Clement demonstrates in this video: (GREAT video by the way!)

At the range yesterday I had the same experience. I hit a partial wedge (80yds) and it DID get to the target no problem, but I said to myself after the shot: "That seemed like way too much effort to get that result" I felt like I rushed the shot and I put a lot of power into the downswing just to get it 80yds. I then took another shot at the same target. I made sure to focus on my tempo and lengthened the swing just a tad. I watched as the ball landed on the same spot, but I had this feeling of "boy that was easy". It was like slow motion, but there was more power. Awesome feeling. I really want to try and bring this process to the rest of my clubs. Especially the driver!!

Hey, I finally had a chance to hit the range yesterday (its winter here) and I had to quit early due to this nagging pain in my chest. At the end of last season, I had this muscle pain just below my right nipple, if you will . This is after not swinging a club will full force in a few months. I thought it would heal up, but apparently not. It was killing me towards the end of my session yesterday. If I chunk it really good, I guess I can pull that muscle? Has anyone else ever had such an injury? You would think that a pulled muscle would have healed itself by now?

Good luck. I am trying to stop casting as well. I have trouble "letting go" and trusting that the club will release itself based on its momentum. I focus so much on "hitting" the ball that I force the release way too soon.