swingcoach

Ok. Thanks for the info. I stand corrected.

Rythm. Most people get to "quick" from the top. Practice rythm on the range and you'll perform better on the course when you can bring that rythm practice. Hitting off that rubber stuff is a little easier because the club doesn't dig into it like the dirt. Your club actually bounces off but right before the ball comes off the matt at the same time = ok shot. The only fix is to make sure you hit the ball with a descending club head, hit the ground AFTER the ball. Retain the wrist hinge and shift the weight to do this. If shot shots, keep weight on the left side the whole time.

Most people look at the longer irons and think that they have to "help" the ball up into the air. When this happens, you are actually exposing the leading edge to the ball. Experiment with hitting the ball with a descending blow even with the long irons.

Tiger even tapes his putts! If you have a camcorder, you can take care of some basic swing flaws, but not everything. The BEST way to swing better is for someone who knows how to swing to tell you what muscles to move and when. i.e. lower body moves the upper body on the downswing and not vice versa. The camera will only help.

Later release with the tee in front. The cause of hitting behind the ball are: 1) Early release 2) No weight shift 3) Spine angle change toward the ball before impact caused by spine angle change on the backswing

Obviously, from all the posts so far, there are differing views of the downswing. Here's mine: Shift from right heel to the left heel – as lateral a shift as you can BEFORE hip rotation. Rotation is lead by the LEFT side not the right. You have to move to the left side first, then use left leg and left hip muscles to rotate. Use the lower body to move the upper body . At the beginning of the down swing, feel your lower body pushing against the ground to twist. - taken from "13 Weeks to Single Digit HDCP" Take a pitcher for example. What would happen if he loaded up on the right side and twisted before he shifted? Same thing in golf. What is the first thing a pitcher moves and the last thing he moves? Lower body first, hands last. Watch any tour player and you will see the same thing. Don't watch the upper body on the downswing because it will look like he's moving his upper body via the upper body. Look at the lower body. Notice that the relationship between his hands and right shoulder remain the same for the first 3 to 5 frames of the downswing.

see... that's why I play golf and not mixed martial arts :)

If the description of your good swing is correct, try some simple solutions before you tear apart your swing. Is the energy of your swing going through the ball or do you aim to get to the ball and fizzle? Whenever my shots push, I just think about a really good finish. How does your finish affect your shot when your finish is AFTER impact? Well, in order for you to stop short of a full finish, you have to slow your swing down at or through impact. In order for you to have a full finish, you have to continue and not disrupt the energy through impact which will most likely come from a full shoulder turn. Now, if your shot goes right to left when you have a full finish, don't use the same solution for a different problem. I mean, don't back off on the good finish to get your ball to go straight. You might be doing something else that's causing a right to left since a good finish IS DEFINITELY a correct aspect of a full swing (unless you need to draw, fade, punch, 1/2 swing in which case you need to adjust your set up, etc. etc. in order to hit your target) If a good finish doesn't fix your push, then we should look at other aspects of your swing.

Hey Bill, first of all sorry if you took my last message as condescending, but I was trying to be funny (hole behind that I saw Tiger putt once). I'll stick to golf and leave the jokes for the comedy forum. Second - " I have to apologize for not reading the whole post , but just real quick - if you look at the hole, your head position will change for every putt depending on the distance = inconsistent, non-repeating. But, if you believe it and it makes you putt better, use it . I'm not that talented so I need measurable motions." If it's a drill, absolutely. If it works, do it. Who's gonna tell Jim to swing like Tiger? The point I was trying to make with the hole behind is that the hole can be in different places depending on the break. Your head wouldn't be in the same place every time. Your shoulder muscles are restricted by your neck muscles. Distance can be controlled by how far you bring your putter back on the backswing. If you're having problems putting, it's probably because you try to accelerate though the ball with the same stroke length. Try a longer stroke with the same tempo: rate x time = distance. If you really want to get good at putting, here's an idea: Putting (distance) is almost purely “feel.” However, we can approach better feel by having one empirical stroke to base all other putts. An example of an empirical stroke is a 6 foot putt. Know exactly what it takes to make a straight 6 foot putt consistently (missed putts pass by 12 to 17 inches). How far back? How far through? What tempo? I mean EXACTLY how far back and EXACTLY how far through with a consistent speed and cadence (count 1, 2, 3). When you have this mastered, all other putts can be based on your empirical putt. An 8 foot putt is going to need a slightly longer backswing and follow through than your 6 foot putt. Test your 6 foot putt on the practice green of every course you are about to play to get a feel of what YOUR empirical putt does on each course. This will give you an idea of the speed of the greens before you play so you can adjust accordingly. Definitely practice all other distances. If you have time to practice 3 feet, 6 feet, 9 feet, 12 feet, by all means, do so. The more distances you know, the better your putts will be. Good luck and I will see you on the green. - Taken from "13 Weeks to Single Digit HDCP"

Hey, what's up there Bill? just a few things about head position and putting... what if you can't see the hole? what do you look at then? what if the hole is behind you or really far requiring a longer backswing? with your head cocked all the way to the left and your arms and shoulders all the way to the right, don't you think that would restrict your backswing? Do on the course what you can practice off the course. You can't predict where the hole is going to be, so might as well not practice looking at something that changes all the time. If you don't make solid contact on the putter face, the ball won't roll properly/consistently. It's much more efficient and repeatable to look at the ball and make solid contact than to look at the hole. If you line up correctly at address, no need to look at the hole or even the ball rolling. Not one single pro on tour looks at the hole while putting (after contact, yes, but not during the putting stroke) But, Bill, if you and I are in a playoff, by all means look at the hole when you putt ;)

Turn your shoulders through impact and keep your left wrist flat/parallel to your forearm. Keep weight on the left foot from set up to impact to follow through.

I have to apologize for not reading the whole post, but just real quick - if you look at the hole, your head position will change for every putt depending on the distance = inconsistent, non-repeating. But, if you believe it and it makes you putt better, use it. I'm not that talented so I need measurable motions.

Get a book called Tour Tempo. This will explain everything about tempo. Should help you out a lot. You're actually running into something that every golfer goes through - the search for the magic move. There isn't one. Your "slow deliberate" backswing will change as you get more experienced. What you need is a measureable tempo.

You're going to miss greens on your approach so, to get par, you have to ship and putt well. Practice chipping to specific distances - 5 yards, 10 yards, 15 yards, 20 yards. This is the fastest way to lower your scores especially if you can hit the driver 270+.

Practice with just one club until you know it very well. i.e. flight, spin, roll, distance, etc. As soon as you can control your chip swing with the one club. Begin experimenting with other clubs. If you switch around, you'll never know what you're doing right or wrong. Different situation call for different clubs, but if your swing is inconsistent, a sand wedge can skull just as easily as an 8-iron. If you never practice chipping with an 8-iron, you won't know how it's going to react on the green and how far it's going to roll.

Watch the cat. Hilarious! He's just watching :) Your swing is missing an integral motion - lower body.

I use a neutral grip with a slight strong bias (left thumb slightly, very slightly to the right of center of the grip)

I've gone throught the same thing. I'm sure every golfer has. The answer to your question is actually another question. How much better do you want to get? If you want to shoot in the low 70's, there's little choice but to perform the correct motion even though it's "uncomfortable" but will eventually result in an efficient, repeatable swing. The only reason a motion is uncomfortable is because you're not used to it, your muscles aren't used to it. However, if it's comfortable but unorthodoxed and works, by all means do it (Arnold Palmer). If you brush your teeth with your right hand and switch to left tomorrow, it will be uncomfrotable, but won't be wrong and also doesn't mean you won't get used to it and do it efficiently in time. Something comfortable unorthodoxed move could get out of wack in a moment and because it's unorthodoxed, a fix will not be easy. If you have a simple, efficient, repeatable swing, flaws will be easier to identify and repair systematically. Believe in one method and stick with it. Give it a chance even if you can't play for a while. Make sure you have a good coach you trust while going through the change.

DITTO! Couldn't add much more. Great answer.

The primary purpose of the different clubs is for distances. The secondary purpose is for lies. If you have to use an iron out of the rough, you are sacrificing distance for a better lie but still advancing the ball toward the green. If your 3H is almost as far as your 5W, then you might want to "spread" the distances by either different equipment (different lofts, shafts, brands, etc.) or figure out if your swing needs some work. Some people hit their 4 iron just as far as their 3 iron. Which one is correct? 3H goes as far as 5W. Which one is representing your swing correctly? Are the lofts a good spread? Do they have the same shafts? "What I was wondering was if the head shape favors a particular lie over another." The 3 wood is more sensitive (needs better lies). It would be better to hit the hybrids out of questionable lies if distance is not a factor. How well do you hit your driver?

mistake - outside inside path with open face causes PULL slice. sorry.

I've been through this a few times. The best, most repeatable cure I know if from coming back from shanks (without a camera) is to start with really short swings. Make sure that you rotate your shoulders through the swing. Don't try to close the face with your arms and forearms. Move your shoulders WITH your lower body. A shank is impact on the hosel - too much lateral motion and not enough rotation. Most people try to create an artifical "rotation" through the wrists. This may seem to work, but it will instill a swing motion that requires split second timing requiring hours and hours of practice and STILL will not guarantee a consistent stroke. Use the body, let the arms hang on for the ride :)

From downline, your wieght is too far toward your heels and lower back is curved the wrong way. Everything else is pretty good, hands can move forward a bit more. 1) Weight over the heels - this will cause you to raise up at the top of the swing since you will be moving your center of gravity backwards when you move your arms on the backswing. You may also dip forward to keep yourself from falling backwards on the backswing 2) Lower back - this back position promotes a reverse curve in the lower back promotes a reverse pivot at the top Hope that helps.

June 13, 2007 - What produces different ball flights? NOTE: All scenarios assuming right handed golfer. There are 2 main causes of differing ball flights: 1) Face angle at impact (assuming correct club path) - closed face will produce a right to left flight, open face will cause a left to right flight 2) Club Path Through Impact (assuming square face angle) - inside out will cause a right to left flight, outside in will cause a left to right flight Different combinations of each will produce more extreme flights - PULL HOOK and PUSH SLICE. 1) Outside-inside path + Open face = Push Slice (ball goes right with a left to right flight) 2) Outside-inside path + Closed Face = Pull Hook (ball goes left with a right to left flight) 3) Inside-outside path + Open face = Slice (ball goes straight/slight right with a left to right flight) 4) Inside-outside path + Closed Face = Hook (ball goes straight/slight left with a right to left flight) Even if your face angle is square to the ball and target at address, you can still have an open or closed club face at impact. Open Face - Hands traveling too fast with late release. This can happen because of hand speed, hip rotation speed/sequence or delayed wrist action. Closed Face - Early release or club head traveling past the hands at impact. This can happen because of slow hand speed, not enough hip rotation or early wrist action. Another factor is ball position: 1) Ball too close to target - Right to left flight 2) Ball too far from target - Left to right flight 3) Ball too close to feet - Right to left flight 4) Ball too far from feet - Left to right flight And, YES, there can be a combination of any cause (i.e. open face + ball too close + inside-outside path = shank). So, what can we do to minimize these variables? 1) Correct Left Hand Grip at address 2) Correct Hand Position at address 3) Correct Ball Position at address 4) Correct Posture at address 5) Develop a consistent Rhythm a) Speed - overall speed b) Tempo - Ratio between backswing and downswing c) Sequence - Start the swing from the ground up, feet, knees, hips, shoulders, arms, hands, club head Knowing these variables will not help you very much if you can't eliminate variables. You can only begin to eliminate possible causes when you have a consistent swing. You may think the cause is one thing, but it's really another. When you change one thing, and don't have a consistent swing, you might have swung the club a completely different way and thought that the "fix" didn't work. That's why golf magazines are still flying off the shelf. Take a look at the most recent cover and I'm sure you'll read "Get Rid of Your Slice Forever" or "How To Hit Far and Straight".

You shouldn't change your swing plane with any club. If you think about your spine angle and your club shaft plane at address as a 90 degree angle, the longer the club, the less forward angle you will have. The shorter the club the more your upper body leans toward the ball. This relationship between your spine and the ground determines your swing plane. In addition, if you have a 2-plane swing, you have to "drop" your hands from the top before beginning the downswing (classic swing) If you have a 1-plane swing, you have to take-away with 1piece and resist "raising" your arms closer to your head at the top. Keep your left arm parallel to your shoulder line.