chaserp75

Update #2: Picked up a new driver over the weekend with a stiff flex shaft. Took it out on the range today and it seems to have cured my slice. Just about everything was straight. Had a couple draws and a couple fades mixed in there too. Maybe the stiff shaft legitemately helped - my SS clocked in around 105 mph & the driver used in the above vids was a regular flex but felt even softer than most regular flexes I've tried. Then again, maybe it was the placebo effect. All's I know is it felt good :) That all said, I won't sit here and pretend I have a good swing, I know I have a long way to go. So I still very much look forward to any feedback since posting these updated vids! Thanks again everyone!

@iacas Updated swings at full speed, using driver. Head-on and DTL views. Been some time since my original recording. Since then I have tried strengthening my grip significantly and try the "reverse motorcycle rev" swing thought but I still see myself cupping the left wrist at the top of my swing. I also see the shaft getting ridiculously steep to start the downswing but I struggle to shallow this out. There are times where I get it all together and when I've been able to straighten it out, it's carrying 275+ which feels good, but I struggle mightily with consistency. Irons have been pretty good and consistently straight recently, but the drive has been a combo of slices, hooks, and the occasional straight/fade that goes a long way. Sure appreciate the help guys!

Can't wait to hear how it goes! Good luck out there!

I love your point here! Prior to this epiphany I was so frustrated because I took lessons, watched endless YouTube vids, read every thread on this forum as well as others, etc. just trying to figure out how the heck to hit that stupid ball. All of those lessons and instructions are incredibly important. You can't hit it good if you swing completely wrong, you have to have a general sense of form. My "the ball is in the way" theory is not to say that all instruction should be disregarded. Quite the opposite! It is exactly as you say, changing your train of thought from "hit this ball" to "swing the club" allows the instruction and tips to come to fruition. I felt as if I was fully equipped from a mechanical side of things and it felt great on practice swings but as soon as it went from being a "practice swing" to "I'm trying to hit this ball" everything fell apart. It was incredibly frustrating.Thinking on that "swing the club" vs "hit the ball" made me have the realization that "hey, what I swing like the ball is not even there like I do in my practice swings?" To test this, I would setup at address, literally close my eyes and just swing. I was hitting the ball better with my eyes closed than when they were open. And that's when it all came together. It's a mental thing more than anything for me. I literally have to feel like the ball is not there, it simply happens to get in the way of my swinging club. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, @Rainmaker I very much appreciate it! So true! Prior to this I would try to muscle the ball as far as I could with the driver and lift the ball as much as I could with irons rather than just letting the loft of the club do the work for me. It feels good to have broken this barrier, as you say :) Now if I could just translate that to the course on a consistent basis I'll be a happy man and can start working on game strategy rather than sitting there thinking "gosh, I hope this ball goes in the air this time" lol! This was a huge realization for me. I realized that while in baseball I had to be laser-focused on the ball if I wanted to hit it, in golf, the ball is stationary and it is not moving anywhere in the process of my swing. Theoretically, once I've setup at address, I don't need to see the ball anymore because I'm already positioned to hit it, and it's not going to move on me. It's simply just in the way at that point. Thanks for sharing, @phillyk!

Had a bit of an epiphany today. This may or may not be helpful to any of you but it has dramatically improved my ball striking with all clubs. This is my first year golfing. My background is over 20 years of baseball. Breaking that muscle memory to build a mechanically sound golf swing has been hell. I slice everything off the planet. Today I tried to relax my muscles as much as possible and just swing the club. No swing thoughts, no straining of any muscles, no manipulations, just freely swing it. Not "hit the ball" like I would in baseball. I changed my focus from the ball to my club instead. Mentally, it was as if the ball was not there, it was simply in the way of my swinging club. Dear lord. The difference was night and day. I went from slices/shanks to towering & dead straight iron shots. My driver went from a 100yd banana slice to a consistent 250+ yd dead straight bomb. Consistently. Every club. My thinking is that if you have some natural athletic ability, your body knows what to do to hit the ball. You just have to let it do its thing. Swing the club. Don't worry about the ball. The ball just gets in the way of your club. Hope this helps someone like it's helped me. Cheers!

@mvmac thank you so much for taking the time to take a look at my swing and for the feedback. I really appreciate this! Your link to the Grip post was super helpful. I'm really looking forward to trying out that drill in that video too! Thanks again :)

These are softer swings. Tried slowing things down to make better contact but still struggled.

I've been Playing Golf for: this is first year My current handicap index or average score is: haven't played a round yet My typical ball flight is: on the ground The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: slices & rollers Videos: