Carland

I have worked for a while on getting my left hip over the outside of my left foot by impact, which I am starting to do a little more consistently. Now I'm working on keeping my shoulders feeling more square at impact and less open. I'm having a hard time with this move. It seems like looking at the ball instead of swiveling my head would keep the shoulders closer to square at impact. But I'm trying to figure out why shoulders square v. shoulders open matters if both techniques work for really good players. My index is 6.4 and I want to try to make real improvement this off-season instead of hanging up the clubs until next spring then struggling to get back where I left off.

Same with David Duval. Head swivel didn't stop him from being No. 1 in the world or winning the British Open. At the same time, when I look at swing sequence photos of pro golfers, most have their heads facing the ball at impact rather than swiveling. Here are Jack Nicklaus and Tiger Woods: So both approaches work. I'm just trying to figure out the pros and cons of both ways.

Thanks. I've been thinking more about head position at impact since reading Kris Tschetter's new book about her college days working with Ben Hogan. She wrote that Hogan instructed her to move her body in this order in the downswing: legs & hips then shoulders then arms & hands and last the head. When I look at a picture of Hogan's head, it is facing the ball at impact and not swiveling down the line. Are there problems caused by swiveling the head at impact?

iacas, do you believe that it is preferred for the shoulders to be square or slightly open at impact? Also, do you prefer the head point straight ahead at the ball at impact or swivel down the line? Thanks.

Is this an accurate image for thinking about the spin on a golf ball in flight? The horizontal axes tip like the wings on an airplane. When the ball is turning to the left, the horizontal axis on the left side of the ball is lower than the axis on the right. When the ball is turning to the right, the axis on the right side of the ball is lower than the axis on the left.

Here is one summary that I found (AA means angle of attack and HSP means horizontal swing plane as in "does the swing plane angle to the right/positive or to the left/negative at impact): A rule of thumb calculation [for hitting a straight shot]: When hitting down with a negative AA (iron shots or shots on the ground) you need to shift the HSP to the left by approximately ½ the amount of the AA. When hitting up with a positive AA (tee shots) you need to shift the HSP to the right by approximately the same amount as the AA. http://www.planetruthgolf.com/Forums...c/Default.aspx So, for a straight shot, it sounds like with irons the club path should start a little left of target because you hit down on the ball with an iron. With a driver, the club path should start a little right of the target because you hit up on the ball that is teed up. Is this correct?

Is there a simple one or two sentence summary of the D-plane?

I had been starting my drives either straight or with a little pull and then they would fade right. Using the "new" ball flight laws, I made a conscious effort to swing more from the inside on my downswing and I started to hit draws and drove the ball longer than I usually do on my home course. I tend to hit my irons straight or with a draw. When I tried the same "fix" with my irons, the ball started down the target line and then hooked badly. So I applied the ball flight laws when teeing off and ignored them when I hit irons. Overall, I hit the ball pretty well. I think the problem is that I don't understand the "D-plane." The "new" ball flight laws can be summed up pretty simply: "The ball mostly starts on the angle of the clubface and curves away from the direction of the club path." But I can't figure out a quick way to sum up the D-plane. I know the D-plane articles say to swing the driver to the right of the target line for a straight shot and the irons to the left of the target line for a straight shot. But I don't understand John Graham's videos explaining the concept. Thanks.

Can you explain why? Thanks.

Since the "new" ball flight laws that say clubface angle determines 85% of the ball's initial direction and since the ball stays on the ground during a putt, isn't a square putterface at impact the most important thing for hitting a straight putt? According to the new ball flight laws, straight-back-straight-through versus an arc path don't really matter as long as the putterface returns to square impact, right? If that is correct, then on short putts I'm going to focus on square impact alone.

Sorry. When looking at my takeaway from the down-the-line view, he wants my left arm to stay close to my body so it is closer to parallel with my torso instead of having my left arm hang straight down and farther away from my body. I went back to the Stack and Tilt book last night and read about what they recommend for hitting a draw. Here it is: face open, ball back, weight forward. I'm going to give it a try tomorrow at the range before my Sunday round. I wish there was a Stack and Tilt instructor in the Chicagoland area.

6-iron. You mean the club is too vertical at address, right? I see that too. The instructor wants me to hinge my wrists up and make my hands pass over my back foot during the takeaway. The idea is to get my backswing flatter at the top while not sucking the club too far to the inside on the takeaway, which he says keeps me from turing my shoulders more. I know in the Stack and Tilt book, one of the pros (Axley?) is quoted saying that he tries to make his hands pass over his right foot. Going back, the instructor doesn't want my left arm vertical to the ground in the down the line view; he wants it closer to my body. When I put a pen on the shaft at address from down the line and then look at the takeaway, the club appears to stay on plane. But I could be missing something for sure. Otherwise, I would be hitting it better. I'm bummed to see that I'm leaning back. I am trying to slide my left hip over the outside of my left foot - another Stack and Tilt idea. I'm not trying to use my hands or wrists at all during the downswing. How do I get the hip slide right? Iacas, what do you see? Thanks.

No comments or criticisms? When I do hit driver well, it's a pull-fade. When I hit driver badly, it's a push-slice. Not fun.

http://s746.photobucket.com/albums/xx107/Carland/ This is my most recent video from GolfTec. I am working on hinging my wrists up in the takeaway to keep the clubhead on the shaft plane during the takeaway, turning my shoulders more and sliding my left hip over the outside of my left foot before impact. I go from hitting it pretty well to feeling like I can't get my hands through at impact, resulting in blocks to the right. I am interested to hear any criticisms. Thanks. My handicap is now 7.9 and is going to get higher. My last four scores are 77, 88, 88 and 89.

Here's a link to a new Golf Magazine article with a more conventional critique and fix of Tiger's swing: too outside on the takeaway; too flat at the top and too steep at impact: http://www.golf.com/golf/gallery/art...5892-1,00.html