DrMetal

Thanks for the feedback. Would you mind expanding a bit? Are you talking about the movement of the right (trailing) elbow, as in needing to keep it tucked in? I think I've been given that advice before, to keep the right elbow tucked in. This prevents the right shoulder from going too far out? Maybe that's what I need to work on.

Thank you for the feedback. Yes, I can see that. How would you suggest correcting that? To be honest, I don't think much about what my shoulders are doing in the backswing. During my backswing, I pretty much just concentrate on a few things: keeping my eye on the ball, keeping my left (leading) arm straight and strong, and swinging fast with good rotation. I really don't have a great concept of shoulder control. Appreciate the help!

@iacas @Vinsk @saevel25 Sorry for the bad initial angle, I hope these are better. They're two different attempts, but this is essentially my 7 iron (I average a distance of 150-160 yards, which I'm ok with, I'm not a long hitter). My biggest concern is this 10-15 degree pull. Would love to have any of your feedback. Thank you for all you do! This a great forum! Face on View (155 yards, 11 degree pull left) Down the Line View (7 iron, 161 yards, 12 degree pull left)

I see what you're saying. So I should work on turning more in my back swing, so that I don't have the swing my arms so far back?

I've been Playing Golf for: 10 years My current handicap index or average score is: +24 My typical ball flight is: pull if I hit if strong/well, slice if I hit it weak The shot I hate or the "miss" I'm trying to reduce/eliminate is: pull. I'm pulling my irons. Videos: I would love to have some feed back. This is a 7 iron, I'm using a SkyTrak launch monitor. This is one swing, and the attached screenshot is from the SkyTrak for this particular swing. I'm most concerned with my pull. I'm pulling the heck out of my irons. The swing feels good, I feel like I'm making good contact, getting good distance (170 yards with my 7-iron), but I just cant stop pulling.

Ok. So I have this problem: If I place the ball in the middle of my stance (when hitting my irons, like you're supposed to), I just can't seem to make good contact. I'm chunking it; it seems like I'm hitting way behind the ball, and my clubhead is not yet at the bottom of the swing trajectory (ie where it's supposed to be when contact is made). I'm not sure why this is. I think it may be because I'm not bending enough at the waist, leaning forward. I may be standing up too straight. If I place the ball forward in my stance (by as much as 3-4 ball lengths, especially with my long iron), I get nearly perfect contact . . . but with a hook/pull tendency.

If you place the ball too far up in your stance (when hitting irons), are you more likely to hook it or slice it? I think the answer is hook it, right? Assuming a straight and consistent club path in your swing, after your club head nadirs out at the bottom of your swing and you enter into your follow through, you start to close the face. So if you place your ball too far ahead in your stance, you will tend to hit is with a more closed faced, resulting in a hook. Does that sound right?

I agree! I can't help but wonder though: There are many great players with a deliberately slow backswing. What are they doing differently, why so slow, why does it work for them? Is a deliberately slow backswing necessarily a bad thing?!

Do you think a slow backswing is a swing killer? I've played with a slow back swing for years, thinking better to be slow in the backswing, to allow more time to think, to straighten and tense up the leading arm. But lately, it seems to be hindering me. I was tensing up too much in the backswing, not getting enough 'spring' in the foreswing (was getting 130 yards with my 7-iron, terrible). As soon as I sped up my backswing (to say 50-75% of that of my foreswing), I got the spring back, more power, even straighter, 7-iron = 160 yards.

Makes sense, thank you.

Ok. But if you're trying to stop the ball past the hole, on a downhill putt, there's certainly a danger in going past it too much, no?

In his book, Broadie states that for downhill puts, your target should be beyond the hole. Do you guys agree with this? When putting downhill, if you set your target beyond the hole, is there no concern you may hit well past it, leaving you a lengthy 2nd put?

Awesome! Thanks for sharing. The 3 beam strips you have there are to support the impact area right? Are these made of the cell foam? Don't worry about them breaking with impact? Do you need it?

An interesting idea! makes sense, I'll give it a shot. Thanks for sharing!

Is there a way to make a golf matt more realistic? To take away the bounce, make it feel more like real ground? I have a regular mat with a lot of bounce. I'm not looking to replace it. I was just wondering if there's a hack I could do to make it feel more like the ground?

This seems to help me the most: focusing on a point (whether it be on the ball, or a little ahead of it). I definitely try to focus on the ball. It's hard for me to think of nothing during the downswing. My brain wants to think about something, if even just one thing! It's hard to turn your brain off, after so much thought has gone into the grip, the address, the backswing, etc.

I figured this much, but I can't help but think about something during my downswing. For all the thought that goes into everything before (the grip, the address, the backswing), isn't it hard to just completely shut your mind off during the downswing? You definitely can't think about everything during the downswing, but if you had to pick 1 or 2? eye contact with the ball? maintaining your grip?

What do you think about during your downswing? It's such a small, finite amount of time (half a second?). If you try to think about everything (maintaining your grip, your stance, your shift in weight, etc etc), you end up not thinking about anything! I've found the best results (best contact, right distance on the ball) if I concentrate on 2 things during my downswing: 1. keeping my left arm (leading arm) relatively straight and powerful (dragging the wet mop) 2. and keeping my eye on the ball (head down) during the downswing. thoughts?

I may have not illustrated it correctly, but I definitely meant open face. But in either case: if you had a slight open aspect or a slight closed aspect to your club face at address, is it possible that this could actually help you? It just feels more comfortable in my backswing. I feel like I can get things going, helps me rotate the toe of the club up into the air and come down with it hard. I get good results, nice straight shot and appropriate distance. But I'm worried that I might be developing a bad habit, I might be getting good results just serendipitously

Lately, with my longer clubs (>=7), at address, I've been opening the face just a little bit, and bending the shaft forward just a little (see picture). I think I'm doing this, b/c I like to stand close to the ball, and I'm compensating for the longer club (vs for instance a 9 iron). But doing this---having the face open at address just slightly, and the shaft leaning forward just slightly---feels great! My backswing feels easier, my hips and shoulders go into motion more easily, and I'm striking the ball better (and it seems to be going straighter, face squares up at contact). Is it a good idea to keep doing this? (opening up the face slightly at address before the back swing), or am I developing a bad habit!?

Thanks. That makes sense. So, what should I do about the 'strong grip'? I've gotten pretty accustomed to it, and it does work for me, but I'm worried that I may using as a crutch, and ultimately it'll hurt me. Go back to a neutral grip? Or something in between, maybe just a slight strong grip to give me that feel?

Great thread! Curious what you (and others of course) might think about the 'strong grip', where you left hand is turned over, so the logo on your glove is facing out, and you can see 3 knuckles....for the purposes of correcting a slice? I noticed a lot of instructional videos suggest it. I've tried it. Of course it works to get rid of the slice, but then it results in a bad hook. Could you possibly use something in between a strong and regular grip, to correct the slice, but not hook it as much?

Makes sense. Would you advising using that (your tilt angle) as a means of straightening out your club path, and hence your ball flight?

So I was trying to correct my slice, saw this video: That suggested tilting your torso to the right (rear, towards the ground), as in the screenshot below: The tilt worked! Now I have a mean hook. I noticed that if I exaggerate the drop of my rear shoulder (before I initiate my back swing), the result is a bad hook. If I bring the shoulder up (in other words just a slight tilt down), I get a straight shot. So in essence, can I modify this tilt (can I adjust the level of my rear shoulder) to guide the direction of my ball?! Why does this work by the way (in straightening out your shot)? Is it b/c dropping the rear shoulder before the back swing gives you a sort of 'head start' in initiating your shoulder rotation? (I definitely feel like my shoulders are rotating more in the backswing, and hence in the downswing as well).

Can I ask: what do you mean by the toe rolling up? I think I might be doing this (I cusp my left hand during my take away).