Abu3baid

[VIDEO]http://youtu.be/VATuKqd_Xdw[/VIDEO]

Very Easy!! Fred Couples So Fluid and it just seems so natural and powerful.. I love it!

I've been Playing Golf for: 2 Years My current handicap index or average score is: - I'd like to think it's below 100 My typical ball flight is: fade The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: push with a fade slice everyone once in a while / mishits Pictures: This was how I used to swing about 3 months ago and I have been working hard at revamping/changing my swing to something that is more traditional and feels better. I was taking the club too inside and I was way too flat because I wasn't lifting my arm at all. Then when I tried to clear my hips on the way down I was never able to do it. I wasn't happy with my swing, nor my inconsistencies and that is why I have been on a path to change. As soon as my slow motion video of my swing is up I will post it so that maybe, just maybe you can help me move towards my current goal of playing in single digits consistently. Thanks for your participation! Abu3baid

I wasn't saying that you had a swing flaw because of where your elbow position was. I was just trying to point out that you seemed constricted from the time you get to the back of the swing till the time you release the club after you hit the ball. That's why I suggested that you try the turn the driver around drill (or what ever it's called http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOFnJFPL2x4 ) I just want you to feel what it feels like to swing freely with very relaxed muscles, because from your video it looks like you are very tense from the top and thru the release. This drill is something that I feel has helped me greatly in moving more towards a real swing (which I am still working on of course :) ) Thanks and sorry if none of this advise applies to you.

Yes, I agree.. However I think we are all mostly learning and the beautiful thing about golf in my opinion is that you can try out any tip and if it doesn't work out you can just move on to the next tip.. I think we all need to be cautious for sure!

I think you should pay attention to the following two positions in the back of the swing. I should have flipped the pictures, but that's ok. Take a look at the bottom one first and look at the difference of where your shaft is pointing as apposed to Rory? Because you are taking it flat (but it doesn't seem like it is too flat) this is forcing you into the crunched up position at the top in the first picture. Compare that first picture with Fred Couples and see how much space he has to work with and the 90 degrees formed by his arm and side of his body? The first one you can work on by just taking it back to the half way and just look at the butt of the club and make sure it is pointing inside the ball just to feel and see what it looks like and try to always be there on your take away. The second drill you can use is stand about 1 foot away from the wall and take the club back and if the club head touches the wall that means that you are too flat. Also, continue to the top of the swing and start your downswing. If you start your downswing with your arms like you are doing now your club will hit the wall, so practice starting your swing with your right knee and hips and then let the arms drop and follow. The club head at no point in your take away or your downswing should touch the wall, if it does then you are still not doing something right. Let me know and let us discuss some more. Regards, Abu3baid

Hello, It looks to me like you are not really taking a swing, but more like trying to push the ball to the direction you are trying to send it. You seem like you are just tense the whole time. Take a look below and compare your positions to Fred Couples one of the more fluid hitters in the game. The first thing I want you to notice is the position of your right arm at the top of your swing. It's almost like you are trying to keep it tight to your body on purpose. Look at Fred and the 90 degrees that is formed at the top of his swing? The next is look at your position at the end of your swing and where your hips are pointing and compare it to Fred where he completely just lets it go and momentum automatically takes him to that position. What I think you should work on for starters (and I am no expert, just speaking from my own experiences), I want you to feel what a real swing feels like. So, just flip that driver around and I want you to whip it like a whip and I want you to hear that swoosh sound of the whip. Forget the ball, just try and make that snapping swoosh sound while holding the driver backwards. just forget about mechanics and everything that has to do with a golf swing and just try to make the loudest sound possible and then try and make a louder sound with the next one. Just see how that feels and then I want you to compare it to your swing now and the sound you are making. Let me know how that goes and we can discuss.' Abu3baid

What I meant was that my ball striking is much better on the artificial turf than on the real grass and that is why I am promoting practicing off the real thing, except for driver as that doesn't matter either way. I am able to hit 10 to 15 nice shots in a row before a bad one sneaks in. Also,that at is why I said 7 thru pitcher, because once I get to the 6 and 5 I just can't controll that big fade.. I will post my swing very soon though because I am really looking for good feedback to help me transition my hits to the course.

Hello, I practice because there is something for me to work on. Don't get me wrong, I do like to just hit balls as well, but I hit them with a purpose and that is to improve my "golf game" on the course! I will be at home and every so often I will tell my wife that I have made a discovery and she just laughs (because apparently I am always making discoveries), so first I test this on the range and if I am successful with it I take it out to the course (and then usually back to square one). Also, when I practice it is usually for a specific club and to fix a specific thing! I have to admit something though, because the range I go to is not off of real grass I hit my 7 - pitching wedge perfect every time, unfortunately that doesn't translate into perfect hits on the course, so I do suggest practicing off of real grass when ever possible. The range I go to is perfect for practicing the driver only!! (IMO of course) So, yes there is definitely a relationship between my practice and playing. I will usually hit a bucket and then go play nine! Regards, Abu3baid

I just wanted to also mention a great drill that I use to help me and give me instant feedback as well. Using your driver! Stand with your back about 1 foot from the wall, then start your take away until you get to your halfway position as in the picture. If your club hits the wall then you are taking it far way too flat, work on getting back to the halfway point without hitting the wall with the club head. After that take the club all the way back to the top of the back swing and your club head should not have touched the wall at all up to this point. If at any point your club touches the wall then you are doing something wrong. Once you are able to get to the top of the back swing without touching the wall then you have done well. Finally, the downswing. You might have guessed. If you drop your hands and you push your hips out and turn correctly then the club head should not touch the wall. If the club head touches the wall then you are either casting or most likely coming over the top. You don't need to take a full swing during this whole exercise. This is just meant to be a way for you to get instant feedback on what you are doing and if you are doing it correctly.. Please try and let me know what kind of feedback you are getting from the wall. Who would have thought, a wall teaching us how to play golf? Regards, Abu3baid p.s. I just found this. It's a bit more than what I am saying to do, but it's pretty much the same idea. For me, I just use it as a feedback, but what he is suggesting will probably work even more. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yw5zapFf11o

I think a good short game is obviously key to posting low scores and not many people will argue with that. Actually, all the facts point to it, as you can easily pull the statistics of the top 10 in driving distance & top ten in Fairway% vs. the rank of those that have won the tournaments this past year. I'm sure the more telling statistic is going to be the GIR% & putting stroke average & winning tournaments. Sorry, couldn't pull those stats for ya.a Regards, Abu3baid

Hello all, Played for the first time since revamping/changing my swing.. Small 9 hole course in Riyadh KSA. Started with hole 6 Bogy on the par 3 number 2 Bogy on the par 5 number 4 - I hit the best three hybrid in a while but long into the pond.. No one ever hits it into pond here, so that was just me not thinking I could ever hit it the 220 yards into the pond. I think the 3 hybrid is becoming one of my best clubs. Triple bogy the par 4 number 5 hole - this really was an unfortunate breakdown.. I need to work on eliminating that sort of thing I hit par on all the other holes and I two putted every hole today. So that means i shot a 5 over today on the 9 holes, what a disappointment I look to improve in a few days. Abu3baid

Dear Blaylock6502, The one thing I wanted to point out is the different between where your club is during the mid way point in your take away as compared to the plane. You are basically taking it back around your body a lot more than Rory for example. In my experience, because this is one of the things that I am working on fixing this promotes an outside to in golf swing. The reason in my opinion is because you try and overcompensate with your arms to bring them back into plane on the way down, and thus you end up over using them in the beginning of your swing. I might be inaccurate in my analysis, but this is what I am currently experiencing. There are two thoughts that are really starting to take over now in my own swing. The first one is make sure that the club in this halfway position is pointing towards the ball or behind the ball like Rory's is right now, and the second is shifting my weight back to the right foot and through to the front foot on the way down. I can tell you from my experience that when the club is inside the ball like Rory's is that when you are coming down you don't have as much trouble clearing out your left side, and thus you are more able to come from the inside rather than that over compensation causing you to come around your body with your hands. Take a look at the picture and let us discuss some more. Abu3baid