mdouet

The two ball drill sounds similar to the drill I use where I put a tee in the ground in front of the ball and try to hit it out of the ground, really helps hitting through the ball instead of at it.

I have never had a problem hitting hooks. I have alway struggled with making solid contact and getting the ball in the air. Now I seem to have fixed that because I can make solid contact, but with a neutral grip it goes right, with a strong grip it seems to be going straight (so far). Like I said, only time will tell if it's just a false positive. I will take the advice given and talk to my instructor about it, thanks for everyone's help.

Like I said I'm just getting back from a year layoff and my swing was totally shot when I got back into it, so I got lessons. I have been struggling since then to get accustomed to a neutral grip but it just keeps getting worse and worse, and now that I switch back to my comfortable strong grip (that I've used since I started playing golf) I am hitting it straight again.

Well with a strong grip I'm hitting them straight (right at the pin) vs way right with a neutral grip. I'm going to stick to my strong grip for a week and if my swing starts to go south again I'll switch back to the neutral grip and grind it out and try to figure out what I'm doing wrong in my swing. I'd prefer to fix it in my grip because that's something I can see and control much easier than my swing path.

Haha, me too. ;) BTW, noticed you're from LA, what part? I'm orginally from the Lafayette area.

I could care less about losing distance at this point, I just want to keep the ball in play and out of the trees on the right. I would kill for a hook right now, anything other than a slice would be a delight!

My goal is to be able to consistantly hit the ball a reasonable distance and keep it in play so I can actually play the game instead of play "golf swing" on the range (been playing that game for over a year now). My question is, what is so bad about a strong grip, if it's working for me, why would I want to use a neutral grip? To me it's better to use something that's comfortable to you so you will be able to use it easier under pressure. My swing has absolutely no feel at all when I use a neutral grip, when I use a strong grip I know exactly where the club is and feel the slot as I make my downswing. I'm pretty sure using a neutral grip was forcing me to cup my left wrist, I felt like I had to to make a full turn back. Switching back to a strong grip fixed this, which is why I think my push/slice went away.

I recently got a lesson from my course's pro to get my swing back on track after taking a year off (swing was a wreck when I quit last year and wasn't much better this year). The first thing he changed was my grip, he said my grip was too strong and that I need to adopt a neutral grip. This felt horribly unnatural, but I stuck with it as I saw good results at first. Then out of the blue I became a pusher of the ball, I'm talking 45 degree pushes out to the right. I also started severly slicing my long irons and woods, badly, can't keep anything on the fairway now. I read some books and they all mentioned that a slice can be cured by adopting a strong grip, so I went back to my old comfortable strong grip and now my pushes and slices are gone. I've been fighting with my swing for a week, going to the range every night and getting horribly frustrated at the results, and it was all because of a change my instructor forced me to do. I know if I go back to the same instructor with a strong grip he will spend our whole $60 session telling me to switch back to a neutral grip, should I find myself a new instructor, or am I getting a false positive my switching back to my strong grip? Is it possible that the strong grip is just better suited for my swing or is my instructor right and I need to change my swing to resolve the pushes and slices (if this is the case I give up because I've been trying to do this for a week and my swing has just gotten worse)?

This guy has the strangest golf swing I've ever seen (save for Charles Barley), I can't believe the shots he makes with that swing.

Sounds to me like you pulled a groin muscle. I've done that before and it's not fun, you just have to wait it out.

Thanks for the recommendations on the books, will definitely check those out. As for motivation, I have plenty of that, I've been hitting the range every night this week trying to improve my swing. I just want to be able to have a good enough swing where I can get the ball in the air and have it go somewhat straight so I can play a round and enjoy the game. I feel like I'm halfway there, if I can just get rid of this push I would be set.

I was searching on google and found a couple other causes of the push shot that might be causing it for me: - Ball too far back in stance: I tend to do this especially with my wedges, I'll try to move my ball a little forward next time I hit a push to see if this helps. - Stance to wide: This could definitely be the case, I tend to have a rather wide stance because I feel unbalanced if I narrow it too much. I'll make this adjustment next time I hit a push to see if it helps. If there are any others let me know, I'd really like to get this figured out, this is the only thing keeping me from playing, I'm getting the ball up in the air and my distance is good, I just need to be able to hit it straight.

Gotta admit I was impressed after Derrick made the balls touch after Brian dared him to do it, that was flat out amazing. The guy obviously has some skill.

One drill that I started doing that seems to help with this as well is placing a broken tee in front of my ball, forces me to hit through the ball, which doesn't let me stay stuck on my right side like I seem to be doing. I started hitting alot straighter after doing this drill and focusing on going to a full balanced finish. I still have push shots now and again so it's not engrained yet, but I'll keep at it until it is. Thanks for the help.

Well I took your suggestion and focused on getting a full turn back (making sure my shoulder meets my chin at the top of my backswing), but I'm still hitting a ton of push shots. I think my issue is either that I'm not releasing the club properly or I'm not turning through the ball (staying stuck on my right side). Any other suggestions?

To generate lag I tell myself to "let my hands win" through the swing.

Funny I learned with a strong grip and my instructor switched me to a neutral grip. I can relate to the alien feeling you talk about, it feels so odd to swing this way and I want so bad to go back to a strong grip cause it just feels right. I fight this temptation and force myself to use the neutral grip cause when I do (and trust it) I hit many more pure shots. I noticed my last range session that it's becoming more and more comfortable, before I know it I'm sure it will feel as comfortable as my strong grip.

Not too sure about hitting a stinger shot, but I sure do hit alot of "stinkers" out there.

I've been playing for over a year and am still struggling to find my groove. I have range sessions where I can do no wrong, then I have sessions where I can't get the ball in the air. The best you can do as a beginner is focus on the fundamentals, seeing a pro will help you in this area. As a beginner I recommend you start off by working on your ball striking with your wedges and short irons before moving to your long clubs and driver, keep practicing until you can hit pure shots (I recommend using contact tape to see where you're hitting on the club face). I would also only work on a 3/4 swing, focusing on tempo and not trying to murder the ball (I still fight this urge, especially when my practice session is not going well). Just keep at it, and be realistic about your results. Remember, just hitting one pure shot more than your last session is progress (don't focus on the mishits). *reminds self to reread this post next time he wants to quit*

PW for me. As a beginner it's the club I am focusing on the most to get more consistant ball striking, I always feel comfortable the most with this club in my hands.

Well that might be my problem right there, when I start mishitting the ball I tend to go back to a shorter swing, so this could be the cause. I was also very tired at the time (100 degree heat index here in Houston), so I do think fatigue played a huge factor in me not making a full turn. I'll be sure to keep that in mind next time I hit the range.

I recently go back into golf after taking over 7 months off (was getting frustrated with my swing). After a couple of weeks of range time (and a refresher lesson from my pro) I finally got my swing back, at least for my wedges and short-mid irons (been focusing on just these clubs to work on crisp contact). I can now hit the ball high and straight, which is a huge improvement, so during my last range session I decided to move up to my 6 iron and I immediately started hitting push shots, so I figured I'd go back to my PW and figure out what I'm doing wrong (figured it was due to the longer club), but when I went back to my PW I was pushing with it as well, I was hitting it pure and straight before, what happened? One thing I will mention is it was very hot that day and I was nearing the end of my bucket of balls, so fatigue could have been a factor there, was just curious if anyone can think of anything that would cause push shots after moving to a longer club?

Well now I'm confused, I thought a closed club face was when the toe is too far to the left (if you're right handed), and that a weak grip is when you rotate your hands counter clock wise on the grip, wouldn't that close the clubface even more?

Best advice given in this thread!

I'm certainly no expert, but if your clubface is too closed at impact you may want to strengthen your grip (not grip it tighter, but position your hands more clockwise on the club so your thumbs are to the right of center on the club). I have the opposite problem (clubface is too open at impact), so my instructor switched me to a more neutral grip and it seems to be working wonders so far (hitting em high and straight), just feels damned uncomfortable after hitting with a strong grip for over a year.