68begin

OK, I will do that.

Thanks iacas. I did focus on those two things. But, that post was over a year ago and after having worked on those things, and others, I was still slicing a lot of my balls (woods, hybrids and irons). That was the reason for going back and analyzing my swing. What I mentioned in the first post of this thread are two things that I've come to recognize as problems for me; at least I think that they're problems. I was just trying to see if what I was saying sounded like it was on the right track to getting a better swing.

Hi, I've been working on my swing this year and, frankly, although it's more consistent that it used to be, it's still a long ways from where I want it to be. My main problems are slicing the ball and shot inconsistency. Sometimes I hit shots that I really like, but other times, I'm just stuck asking myself were in the world that last shot came from...... Recently, I've started to analyze every aspect of my swing, which may be a mistake, but it's the route that I'm taking now. I've found 2 things that I was doing that are contributing to my slice and, I think, my inconsistency; one is my take away, per se, and the other is leaning in towards the ball on the take away and the downswing. On the take away, my natural tendency (I'm not sure why this is my natural tendency, but it is) is to turn my hands clockwise from a 12 o'clock position to about a 2+ o'clock position. I do this almost immediately when I start the take away. As I finish my take away and start my downswing, slowly, I now see that my clubface is far from square when I make contact; it's more in the 2 o'clock position, which I know is not good, but which validates for me that the position of the club face shortly after the start of the take away is going to be the position of the club face at contact. I've stopped making this clockwise wrist rotation, keeping my hands more or less in the 12 o'clock position relative to my upper body and it has helped a lot. The second thing that I do on the takeaway is to lean in towards the ball. Again, I'm not sure why I do this, because I have a pretty good bend in my legs, but I think it has to do with the fact that I really want to power through the ball (read "Kill") when I finally make contact and I think that, somehow, I associate getting closer to the ball with hitting it harder; again, total speculation on my part, I really have no idea why I do it. But, I do now know that leaning in means that I have to swing at the ball from the outside in, because I've shifted my body position forward (horizontal to the intended ball flight path), so I cut across the face and that also imparts spin to the ball and gives me a slice. I'm working now to stop leaning in at the take away and the downswing. I try making half swings with my butt up against a solid surface, so I can feel what it's like to keep that part of my body in place during the swing. Are there other exercises that I can do to get this ingrained in my muscle memory? Is there any type of equipment that would help me in this respect? Any other suggestions? Does it sound like I'm on the right track with these two changes? Thanks.

I'm back with another question. I still slice my drives, frequently. An instructor was watching me the other day at the driving range and he said: "you hit long, but when you go off, it always goes to the right - right?" I replied yes. He said, "It's because your right arm is too strong; try a stronger left hand position on the club grip." So, I rotated my left hand clockwise on the grip; so that the crease formed by my left index finger and my left thumb pointed towards my right shoulder, and it helped quite a bit. Why is this? I've reasoned that on the downswing, with a weaker left hand grip; say one where that crease is pointing towards the button of my jaw, when the club head is striking the ball, the bones of the lower left arm are aligned so that they point back at your body, instead of pointing in the direction of travel of the hit ball. With a left hand grip that is stronger; rotated clockwise on the grip, the bones of the lower left arm are somewhat more aligned with the direction of travel of the ball and this may contribute to equalizing the effort of both hands when the ball is struck since a righty generally has more power in his right arm than in his left. It certainly makes your left arm/hand feel stronger on the grip at the time of impact. I realize that the bones of the right arm are also aligned so that they point perpendicular to the line of travel of the ball at the point of contact, but since the right hand is getting ready to supinate, it is in the process of moving into a much stronger position than the left. I also find that when I apply the power in my swing primarily from the rotation of my hips and shoulders, I tend to slice far less often. I'm reasoning that this is also because I'm coming closer to equalizing the power in both hands at the point of impact, due to the fact that I'm deemphasizing my arms on the downswing. Am I anywhere close to describing why a stronger left hand grip can help remove the slice for a righty golfer? 68begin

Thanks mvmac, but why is this the case with irons? What is there about irons; particularly the steeper lofted irons, that makes them less sensitive to a swing that usually causes a slice with a driver off the tee? By moving my hips forward and keeping my hip turn in place, will I decrease my angle of attack? It's not clear to me why this would be the case since it seems to me that I would, mostly, be moving my whole swing arc forward. Sorry for the double post; being new to this forum leaves me with some posting things to learn. I assume that a negative angle of attack is one in which the club heel is forward of the tip and that a positive angle of attack is one in which the club tip is forward of the heel. I can see how both angles could produce a slice if the slice is coming from the up and across motion of the club; up and across imparting a clockwise rotation to the ball for a righty; down and out imparting a counterclockwise rotation (hook).

As a beginner, I got a recommendation from my local golf course to try the Titleist DP Solo (last year's DP ball). So far, I've been through a box and a half of them. Once I get my swing under control (yes, I'm an eternal optimist..........as well as an experimenter), I'll start looking for a ball that could Improve my game. Right now, my swing needs a lot of work and with balls going out into the hinterlands from all parts of the course, I'd prefer to loose an inexpensive ball to an expensive one.

This, as I'm sure others have said, is a very helpful thread. I'm a beginner (play righty) and have been slicing my drives consistently; sort of 200 yards out and 50 yards to the right. I've reasoned that the only way that I could be doing that is to be hitting the ball down and across, but I haven't been successful in finding a way to correct that. I've tried moving my feet relative to the ball, but that has resulted in either hitting under the ball; standing too far forward, or topping the ball; standing too far back. I know, in my mind, that with the arc the club makes, on the downswing it will be traveling down and out until it's at it's apex, where it will be down and square, and from that point on, it will be traveling down and across; hooks, straights and slices. So, since I'm slicing, I've reasoned that I'm hitting the ball past the apex, when it's moving down and across. I hadn't focused on the fact that moving the hips forward and pivoting the hips in place (instead of letting them drift back) is a means or moving the swing arc forward, while keeping the feet/ball position in place. I'm dying to try this out at the driving range and on the course; I'm almost certain that it will make a big difference for me. Thanks again for starting this thread. I have a related question. Why is it that I can get away with my old swing (hips drifting back during the backswing) with my irons, but not with my driver or fairway woods? Are the irons, more or less, AoA insensitive for some reason? Since a lot of us are taught to start off with the higher number irons to work on our swing, isn't it almost counterproductive when you're trying to develop a consistent, reproducible swing? For me, clearly, a swing that works OK for my irons, is not working at all for my driver. Allan

Thanks for the links, mvmac. I'll work on those two points.

Here's an attempt to post my swing................... This is from my very first day. It's a smoother swing now, there's less left foot movement and there's less up-and-down motion. But, it' still, basically, the same swing.

mvmac, being new here, I'm not sure how to post my swing. I have a short video of my swing on my very first day, is that what you're talking about? I will try to upload it, but it's larger than 5mb.

Hi, I've been playing golf for about 2 months now. I've had some lessons from a Club Pro, hit the local driving range fairly regularly (2 times/week), have played 2-3 par 3 courses to work on my short game and have played 4 9-hole rounds so far. My short game with the high lofted irons is my best game. My worst is with the driver. With almost all of the woods and hybrids, I have a tendency to slice the ball, so that it goes off to the right (I'm a righty). I don't have that problem with the irons (6-SW), so I'm not sure where it's coming from. I get good shoulder and hip rotation, I keep my left arm straight on the backswing, I keep my head down and I look attentively at the ball when it's being struck. So, I'm not sure what's causing the slice, but it happens way too often with the wood and hybrids,. Any help here would be greatly appreciated; thanks. I've been Playing Golf for: 2 months My current handicap index or average score is: NH (not enough rounds played yet to get a handicap; am a member of GHIN; typical 9 hole scores are in the mid-50's.) My typical ball flight is: unpredictable The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: Drive Videos: [Delete this, Embed Videos Here]

Thanks CarlSpackler and Brian W. I have some questions, so I'll start asking them on new threads.

Hi, I just started golfing about a month ago and, so far, I like it a lot. I have a starter set of clubs that I like (Callaway Strata), have had them re-gripped for my large hands, and have read Ben Hogan's first book (over and over). I've played 5 rounds of golf so far; all 9-hole rounds (3 different courses), have had three lessons from a Club Pro and try to hit the driving range once or twice a week. I also play some par 3 courses to work on my short game. I typically par one or two holes per round (usually the par 3 holes), play one over on another one or two and double or triple bogey (or worse) the rest of them. My scores are, generally, in the mid-50's. 20 percent of my shots are horrendous, 70 percent are not great and 10% are remarkable, in a positive way. It's the remarkable shots that keep me coming back to the game. Developing a consistent swing is my greatest challenge. When my swing is "on", the ball flies as it should and, generally, where it should. When it's off, I'm usually out in the woods looking for my ball. I have a strong tendency to slice my drives. My irons are my best clubs; particularly the short irons. My putting is not too bad and my pitching is OK. Favorite clubs are my 6, 8, 9 and PW. Least favorite is my Driver. I'm 68, 6'4" and 180 lbs. I've played other sports in the past, am in pretty good shape for my age and would like to improve my game as much as I can. Looking for help and advice; thanks. 68begin