midwestswing

Couple more things to consider... Ball flight will tell you anything you need to know about your swing. Find an instructor to give you a lesson on the range, not on some trackman or video. In my personal opinion, unless you are getting custom fitted for clubs, the trackman is completely useless. Let's face it, 99% of the golfers you will ever talk to or play with, do not have consistent enough swings to worry about launch angles or spin rates. I know people like to think it matters, but that's the same guys who hits one right off the first tee, fats hits approach, thins his chip, and three putts for a double. I have played with these guys thousands of times. Here is the reason I feel so many players that take a lesson, never go back. An instructors groundwork for a repeatable swing, is fundamentals. Period. When a golfer goes to a lesson, they don't want to hear about fundamentals. They are thinking that the pro is going to give them some tip that will cure all their problems. That is why I recommended working on your grip, posture, and alignment before getting a lesson. This way you don't have to spend the first couple lessons or the first couple hundred bucks, working on stuff you could have mastered at home by yourself. Best of luck!

Put your camera away for awhile and take a lesson. I guarantee you will figure out more from a couple lessons than you will from a year of video tape. Right now you are trying to think your way to a good swing. You need a pro to help you feel your way to a good swing. BIG difference!

I first have to say your determination is outstanding. I would have packed it up after about five topped shots in a row! :) What do you mean by "range session". Were you working on something specific or just bangin balls? That could be your first issue. Here is my advice. Work on your grip at home to make sure that is solid before you try anything else. Then work on posture and alignment with a mirror at home. Next, call a pga instructor for a lesson to instruct you on a specific area of your swing. Next, work on only that specific thing until you have it down pat. Next, get another lesson to find the next area that needs improvement. Repeat. Range sessions aren't about hitting pretty golf shots. They are about fixing a specific swing issue. Don't worry about where the ball goes. Crawl before you walk, and you will be running in no time!

Sounds like you are getting everything to the top and think you should then start your lower body. I think the backswing is finished when the club stops moving backward. Your lower body should have already started doing its job by this point. I have always felt that the lower body starts the downswing before letting the arms finish the backswing. This will help you get separation and if the shoulders and arms are still going back while the lower is already setting up for the delivery, your shoulder will remain "closed" for longer into the downswing. Look at a pitcher. While is arm is going back his lower body is already moving toward the target. The top of the backswing is not a "position" per se. It is a moment captured in time with a camera. Not an actual stopping point. Good Luck!

Not trying to carry this debate further than neccesary but how can you say laying the club off is not a downswing correction for a cupped left wrist at the top of the swing? If you carry that cup through impact, you would hit a high weak shot because a cup in the left wrist adds loft. Seems to me that if Hogan started the downswing with a hip rotation, letting the wrists relax and follow the lower body into impact would automatically release the cup in the left wrist. My personal opinion on the cup in the left wrist is that he would do this in the backswing to keep the clubhead outside of his hands during the first half of the backswing. This would help him drop the club on plane during the downswing. Just my opinion.

It's pretty common that the less loft on a club the more exaggerated the sidespin becomes. Higher lofted clubs put more backspin than sidespin on a ball keeping them flying straighter. Try exaggerating an outside path on the takeaway. A lot of times taking the club to far inside will result in an over the top swing. Swinging more on an outside path on the backswing will help naturally pull your arms inside on the downswing to deliver an in to out path. Good Luck!

I didn't explain correctly. I do not believe that Hogan purposely laid it off the start downswing and I know his left wrist wasn't cupped at impact. I am saying that I don't believe in any way this was a conscious move. If you are going to purposely lay it off to start the downswing, why cup your wrist in the backswing? Just one more correction that has to be made in the downswing. Makes no sense at all.

Grip pressure. With lighter grip pressure the club will hinge naturally. Grip it tighter and you will have to consciously decide when to hinge. I prefer not having to think about it. I just make sure I keep the same grip pressure through impact.

Stand taller at address.

1) Overswinging 2) Grip Pressure

Please forget everything this guy said. Hogan cupped the left wrist to avoid a hook. Why would he go back to a straight left wrist half way down?

I'm a "by the numbers" kind of guy. You will need a handicap of +2 or +3 at your local club to have a shot. I'm not going to lie, going from a 9 to a +2 in going to be VERY difficult but hey, if you can devote the time needed, I say go for it. I would definitely agree with playing some local tourneys to see where you sit.

Bump and run motion with a longer backswing and normal width stance. Use for recovery only. High winds you are much better off hitting more club, choking down, and swinging easier. Let the club loft flight it lower. If you try and put an aggressive swing on it into the wind, you are very likely to balloon one short. A high spin tour ball will make this even worse.

Here is my opinion on the downswing. I'm fully aware that I may be attacked and persecuted for the following statements but this is how my swing FEELS. I repeat, FEELS. I feel that starting the downswing with the lower body with a conscious effort will cause more harm than good. From personal experience, this has resulted in spinning out with the hips, and or getting stuck. Now, I am not saying that there is no lower body action to start the downswing but I feel that most of this has been achieved before my backswing is complete. I feel as though the lower body in the support system for upper body to swing the club as fast as I can while remaining balanced. From the top of the swing through impact, I am really just trying to maintain the HINGE in my right hand, ensuring forward shaft lean at impact.

Lateral movement in the downswing can get you blocking everything. Stay behind the ball and you WILL release it. No thought required. Good Luck!

Signing up for group lessons is a huge step in the right direction. If I had to give you some advice, I would learn from a professional. Magazines and books are fun to read, but there is no substitute for hands on lessons. You are a teachers dream in the fact that you don't already "know" everything about the swing. X-Factor, swing accumulators, one plane vs. two plane. All the crap that will tie your brain and body in a pretzel. Go into your lessons with an open mind and open ears and you will be off to a great start! Best of luck!

I would say muscles only matter to the extent that they help you coil. The farther you take the club back, the more distance to accelerate the club coming down. Distance is a result of speed + quality of clubface contact. Think speed, not power.

Make sure you aren't trying to murder the ball with your woods. People who slice tend to overswing. Stay balanced and let the club do the work. Good luck!

If I am not mistaken, a pull is an outside/in swing path with a square to the path clubface. I would check to make sure the shaft is even with your toe line when the shaft is parallel to the ground. I'm not sure what you mean by bringing it a little "inside" already but I can tell you that nothing good happens when the clubhead gets inside even a little. Practice half shots working on a good takeaway. Once you get the ball started on the correct line, move to 3/4, and then full swings. Good luck!

My guess would be the opposite of what would cause you to hit your right shoulder in the backswing. Collapsing the left arm. Check to see if your right arm in collapsing in the follow through. Just a guess.

Sorry, I would like to add the correction that if you are too tall or short for standard clubs, you do need clubs that you can comfortably swing. I am 6'2" and swing standard length clubs. Also, if your hand me downs are graphite irons or senior flex wood shafts, then you will struggle finding consistency of any kind if your swing speed is to fast for them. Like I said, look up a pga pro. If you keep your eyes peeled, some manufacturers will provide a free fitting during demo days. Good luck!

I would say no, no, and no. Look, no offense but as a 20 handicapper, your swing is not grooved enough to benefit from custom shafts and your set up is probably not consistent enough for custom lie angles. I am a 2 and play stock clubs. Work fine for me. I would spend whatever money you were going to use to buy new clubs and buy some lessons. You will get more enjoyment out of a better golf game than shiny new clubs.

Good players have bad rounds, but great players forget all about them.

When I practice, i take a 3 iron and sand wedge to the range. Sand wedge for less than full swing and 3 iron for everything else. A 3 iron will tell you more about your swing than anything in the bag. Oh and I spend twice as much time on the short game than banging balls. Anyhow, I think what saddens me most watching other players on the range is the amount of swing thoughts in their rehersal swings that looks more like a robotic dance move than an athletic motion. I know these "swing junkies" will spend their whole lives looking for a "secret" that doesn't exist. Sorry if I offended anyone with the last sentence.

1. Elbows close throughout swing = keeps my arms in front of my chest 2. Keep clubface looking at ball throughout backswing (Feeling) = no need to try and square clubface on forward swing 3. Aim to the center of greens on approach shots 4. Play the golf course, not your playing partners 5. Never compound mistakes. Play for a bogey and move on. 6. And most importantly, practice your short game and putting. This will give you more success than any swing thought!