Tax Man Golfeth

I just started playing golf last spring, and my swing has gone through some major changes. I started off duck hooking everything, then got to where I was hitting pretty well, and then got to the point where most of my iron shots were straight pushes - especially shorter irons - and my driver consistently had a wicked slice that started straight. My 4W goes straight as an arrow provided I hit it clean. I still average 3++ putts/hole, so that accounts for a lot of the (made-up) handicap! So I was thinking and started looking into "D-Plane", and I might have found some solutions to my issues... if the swing is an inclined arc, and if the clubface stays square to the arc, then at the bottom of the arc the clubface is square to the target line, assuming you set up square. The bottom of the arc ought to fall somewhere just forward of center of your stance I reckon because of the lateral movement forward during the swing. So assuming you set up completely square to the target (where the target line would be tangent to the bottom of the arc)... You're supposed to hit the ball first with your irons (ball in middle of stance), so the club is on the way down, and should be traveling in to out along the arc, with the clubface slightly open at impact (but square to path). ...and so I hit a push. And with shorter clubs like wedges the arc is shorter and the push is more pronounced. Makes sense. You sweep with the fairway woods, which to me means you put the ball at the bottom of the arc. Path and face are square; ball flies straight. Driver was the toughest thing to figure out; you put the ball way forward in your stance, in front of the bottom of the arc and hit the ball on the way up, which means the club must be coming out to in. If you manage to hold the face square to the line, you still hit a slice. I don't know how you shift the arc so far forward that it's traveling square AND up into the ball without changing your stance. So now I'm experimenting with different address positions and I'm having some success (two days in a row, so we'll see...). When driving, I'm setting up several degrees closed (not just moving my rear foot back, but rotating my stance as if I'm hitting an imaginary ball in the middle of my stance that's behind and inside the actual ball), so the target line is tangent to the impact point on the arc, as opposed to being tangent to the bottom of the arc. The drives immediately started going straight and far, one after the other. That's right... aiming right cured my slice (for now). Counterintuitive. Makes the finish position slightly awkward - got to work through that. My iron shots were going straight, but were just pushed right. So I set up slightly open and they go where I want. I post all this because it feels like a breakthrough, but I was curious to get others' input here. I don't want to mask swing faults, but I do want to find a swing that makes sense mechanically. ......... As an aside, this site has lots of info on it. I'm not sure if they ripped off a book(s) or what with the graphics, but I found it helpful. Still reading through it... http://www.craftsmithgolf.com/Free%20Lessons.htm

Tape works (and doubles as cheap impact tape), or cardboard instead of paper. I use cut-up beer cartons sometimes because it's thin and stiff. (and readily available.. lol).

I hope you have your chiropractor on speed dial! ...all kinds of bones in your hand and wrist you could fracture. ..then the shock travels up your arm, shoulder, upper back, traps, lower back.. right on down to the ground. I like the idea though. Anything more... giving... that you could use?

I like this one best. :-)

Were you putting your thumb along the right side of the shaft for leverage and pushing with it? I used to do that on my longer clubs and driver and I fought a nasty duck hook, which still appears from time to time, especially when I get tired. I try to keep it at 11 o'clock as they say to do, but sometimes my grip just doesn't feel "right". Also, I have very large hands. I hooked every club in my bag until I put on jumbo grips. Something to consider.

I was about to say... whenever I want to get my feelings hurt I put a strip of wide blue painters or masking tape in line behind the ball. You'll know right away when you hit fat. :-) You can also put the tape on the clubface to see the impact spot. Or you can lay down a hunk of cardboard behind the ball.

Craigslist is your friend. Got my 4w, putter and both Titleist wedges for $100.

I'm happy when my ball gets up in the air and flies in the general direction of the green. :-)

Improve to the point that keeping an honest score is worth the effort. Do this enough times to develop a real handicap, and let that handicap be 20. Strike the ball well most of the time. Eliminate 4-5 putting. Get avg putts down to 2.25. Play well enough to keep up with random business foursomes and not be a drag. :-) Have fun.

Correction - Golf Galaxy had them on Black Friday week for $12.50/doz, plus there were $100 off $400 coupons. So

it's "you're", as in "you are a gay troll". Not that there's anything wrong with that. lol. Now go away.

i'm experimenting with something similar on my drives. I've heard you're supposed to try to keep your elbows close together throughout the swing - there are gadgets that promote this, there's tips about putting golf tees under you armpits, etc. IACAS has several posts about keeping your right/back elbow close to/forward of the side seam in your shirt. All of these things point to a "lower" right elbow at the top of the backswing. When I use this as my swing thought drives and long irons seem to go farther, truer. Less slicing on the driver.

Driving to me feels like chopping down a tree. My right hand tends to rotate to a very strong grip... behind the club driving into the ball. Keeping the right hand on top of the club does not feel intuitive. Irons feel like more of a swinging motion the shorter they get and a "normal" strong grip is easier to maintain. That's just me, and I'm still learning.

Well I took an old ping Anser putter and put an x stiff adila driver shaft on it, flattened the lie a bit and now I use it whenever I need to drive off the deck into the wind. The ball screams out nice and low about 335 yards before briefly ballooning up and landing softly next to the pin. Great for those mid distance par 4s and also the occasional "one club" tourneys since I also putt with it. I'm only a 30cap because when it does happen to land in a trap you're in trouble. That thing just will not lay open!!!