Brant17

You do alot of things right. Your upper body turns against your lower body on the back swing and you work from the ground up on your down swing which is good. From the DTL view I can tell that your a little underneath the plane but all in all not bad. Your grip my be causing you to hit it high and thin. Try a stronger or more neutral grip. I bet it helps your ball striking.

Here is my swing revised a little since last time. I am still working very hard and have a picture in my mind of what I want my swing to look like in the end. I no it still needs lots of work. I am a perfectionist haha. Making this swing change really put me out of my comfort zone. I started shooting in the 80s! But now I am hitting it better than before! My patterns are much tighter and my swing is much smoother. I am using lots less hands! Let me know what you think! I have a DTL view that I am posting this afternoon. I know it is much easier to teach from a DTL view.

Two things that are most important.... First- your plane is definitely too flat. You should read Hank Haney's book on swing plane. It will really show you the correct path that the club should be on. To start the backswing you should hinge the club in front of you while blending in a turn at the same time. This will keep you on a better plane. Second- The best way to correct your flipping motion at impact is to bow your left wrist at impact. Have your left wrist bowed and pointed at the target then push it through impact instead of flipping it. This is something that has really helped improve my ballstriking. However, when you do this do not forget about controlling your clubface with your right hand. Your swing definitely has potential...

Yea man IDK. I am going to guess that his unreal flexibility has something to do with it. The funny thing is he never had a swing coach. I bet if he would have had a swing coach he would have been taught the traditional ways of swinging and would not be half as good as he is now. haha but who knows. BTW I am almost 6'3 and can't even come close to dunking. haha I guess I wasnt blessed with leaps. However, I can throw I baseball 90mph. I am ex D1/pro player. I actually tried dunking yesterday and failed miserably. And I am have where you are with my club distances. Not even close to 180.

Did anyone catch Lee Westwoods quote on golf channel yesterday?? He said something along the lines of....."If anyone is stupid enough to think that Tiger will not come back and regain world dominance then they are crazy"

My two cents on the whole Tiger situation.... First, I have several friends that are on the PGA tour that know Tiger first hand. As far as the cheating on the wife thing is concerned....Tiger has not done half of what a big majority of the PGA tour players do. Yes, he cheated on his wife! Yes, it was wrong! For people that cannot get over that then that is obviously your own problem. My PGA tour buddies told me that well over half of the tour players cheat on there wives at tournaments. They also told me that the media blew a bunch of the Tiger issue out of proportion. He is obviously in the lime light so there for his mistakes show up more so than other players. And for those of you are thinking it.... I am not saying it is right to go out and cheat on your spouse. I personally don't care what you, TW, or anyone else does in there personal life. second, Tiger is a champion. He always has been. His problems on the course right now are not all in his head. They are more in his swing mechanics. He his trying to make some major mechanical changes to become better. Tiger will become the world #1 again, he will win more majors, and he will go on to be the greatest player to ever play the game.

You have a pretty dang good swing plane. Where are most of your misses? Your take back is sometimes a little bit underneath the plane it should be on but all in all pretty good. You may need to extend your right arm and point it more toward your target on the follow through. Looks good. I am curious to know where you miss when you do? Do you ever have a tendancy to pull your driver left? Not a hook but more like a straight ball pull.

I am going to approach this question a little differently. Keep in mind first and for most that this is not coming from me. I am not a golf instructor nor do I claim to be. However, I take lessons from some of the top golf instructors in the country and have learned alot about the game in a short period of time. On my very first golf lesson I asked my golf instructor the exact same question you are asking this forum. I said..." Why do I hit the ball so good on the range and why do I consistantley shoot in the low 70s when I am playing by myself or with a buddy but I am a mid 80s shooter under pressure? Is it mental? He said and I quote..." No it is your swing mechanics. Your mechanics are not good enough to withstand pressure. When the heat is turned up your mechanics fail. It has nothing to do with your mental game. It has to do with your swing. So lets get it right so when the heat is turned up you dont fall apart" Boy was he right....my mechanics are now 100 percent better and I can now shoot those low scores in tournaments. Think about it....If your mechanics were great, you would know without a shadow of a doubt that you can go out on the course and no matter what situation you are in your mechanics are not going to let you down.

Your plane is off man. That is the thing you need to concentrate on first. You are coming way underneath the shaft of your club. If I could somehow draw a line from the shaft up through your body you would see just how far underneath you are taking the club. To start the backswing....try hinging the club in front of you with your wrist while blending in a turn at the same time. This should help get you back on plane. Your swing doesnt look all that bad. Before working on correcting all those little mistakes get your plane right first.

Bubba is truly an amazing talent. He is from my hometown so I have seen him play many times. Most people do not realize how athletic he is. He could throw a baseball 90mph from the left side, dunk a basketball in highschool, and he is obviously one of the most flexible players on tour. What a fun player to watch!

Thank you for the comments guys. I have a DTL swing coming. HAVOC- You are 100% correct. I have watched enough pro swings on youtube to see that my take back needs work. It is difficult for me to make a change because I can go out and shoot mid to low 70's consistantly. I know that if I try to change and get out of my comfort zone I may lose my game for a while. However, that change is much needed to take my game to the next level. My take back is something that I have had in the back of my mind for a while and I needed to hear that from someone else. I am going to mess with it for sure. Distance is not an issue with me at all but I could use some more control. Thanks for your comment. Quinn 07- I am an ex D1 college and Pro baseball player and ballstriking comes easy to me. I guess that is why I picked up the game so quick. Idk though. My first 18 hole round I shot an 88. Once I figured out my short game shooting in the low 70s became pretty easy.

This is my before swing. My new swing is at the bottom of the page after several changes. Going through changing my swing was very hard. I stopped shooting in the 70s. In fact, I stopped playing all together. It was king of frustrating. Now I no how Tiger is feeling. haha. Well, now that I am comfortable with this new swing I am hitting the ball much better and have started dropping my scores again. Thank God! I am lots less handsy now and much smoother. My patterns have really gotten tight lately!

Thanks man! I no that sounds crazy to drop so fast but it's the honest truth. I was a former D1/pro baseball player so I had natural ability. I just could not figure out how to transfer my driving range success onto the course. I had a bunch of people tell me that I strike the ball similar to a pro golfer on the range but on the course I would hit hooks, fades, fat shots, thin shots, and everything in between. It got so frustrating that I almost quit the game. One day I had a friend of mine tell me to go out and play 18 today and approach the game with ease. He said dont think about your swing, dont hit range balls just play. I went out that day with intentions to swing much easier than normal and play easy golf. Ever since then I have been a very good player. My moto now is " Im just going to go out and punch it around the course" And thats what I do. I never try and muscle up on a shot, and never try to do anything that is not within my ability. I just try and play the game very easy and stay within myself. Try that...It may work for you.

Pretty solid mechanics. Can definitley see why your a 4.

Today I went in between a strong and neutral grip and shot -1. This was the best I have ever struck the ball in my life. Everything was flushed. I am going to stick with this for sure.

My 2010 goal was to break 70 and I finally did that last week. I shot a 68. I am a very consistant 71 to 75 golfer. But I had never broken 70. I am going to set some new goals for 2011.

I struggled with the exact same thing for about a year. I could put the ball anywhere I wanted on the range but couldnt hit a fairway or green on the course. I was at a point that I over did it on the range. It is all a mental thing with me. After a few months of bad rounds I decided that I would not hit anymore range ball before I played and see if that worked. All I do now is stretch and get my muscles loose then step on the tee box and play. I went from an 11 to a 3 hanicap in a matter of 8 months. I dont think about my swing anymore when I play. I just try and feel my shots and go with it. I have not hit a bucket of range balls in 4 months. I just play the course. My mental approach to the game is sooo much better now. Just a tip....if you ever get up on the first tee box and are thinking about your swing you need to go home. At least that holds true for me.

I have lived next to Boo Weekley all my life who is one of the best ball strikers on the pga tour. He plays with an extremely strong grip. Basically he is a freak of nature when it comes to ball striking. I started off playing with a very strong grip as well. I actually struck the ball much better with a strong grip than when I tinkered around with a few other grips. My question is this....Every golf lesson I have ever been to my instructor tells me that I will have problems unless I change my grip to more neutral. I was just curious to you guys thoughts on what grip to is best and what most of the tour pros use? Despite being a 3 handicap I have only been playing golf for two years. So I am still learning the ends and outs of the game. I would love to hear the grips some of you guys use. Thanks

Playing with your buddy on a Sunday afternoon is completely different than playing competitive golf or with a big group of people for money. You are not adding the mental pressure in with your score when you just go out and play for fun. That's why so many people talk about the mental part of the game. There is no pressure involved when you play 18 with a buddy one afternoon. To be a great golfer you have to be able to handle the mental pressure of competition. I am not saying that if you shoot par everytime on your home course that you arent a good golfer. That's awesome. And yes, on paper you would be a scratch player. I don't disagree with that. Most people will never touch par in there lifetime. However, a true scratch or + player can shoot par on any course, under any conditions, with hundreds of people watching them, and lots of money on the line. Just sayin... Its the truth

People do not understand what being a true scratch golfer means. Going out and shooting 72 by yourself, on your home course, on a nice cool afternoon does not mean you are a scratch golfer. I have played a bunch of golf since my baseball career was ended due to a shoulder injury and my definition of a scratch golfer goes like this....If you can go out on any course in your entire area from the back tees, playing in competitive atmosphere and consistantly shoot par or better then you can be considered a scratch player. I hear so many people say that they are a 1 or 2 handicap but when they get with a group of people and play they usually shoot around 82, 83. This is because the whole game changes when you play with people in competition. My sports background has allowed me to actually play better in competition. I play better when something is on the line. Most people I know play worse in competition because there muscles tighten up and there swing completely changes. Being loose is the only way to overcome that.

Honestly man, I think its a very nice swing. Your club stays pretty much on plane the entire time, your hips clear nicely, and you seem to striker the ball with a clean descending blow. From that angle I don't see any major problems. You may be bent over a little to much. Try working on your posture a bit. How do you feel you are striking the ball?

Not true at all! Talent does exist! I was a D1 college/pro baseball player and now that my career is over I picked up golf. I average 70 to 75 on most courses and I have been playing golf for only a year and a half. All of my buddies who did not play pro ball and who have been playing golf for the last ten years may break into the high 70s every once in a while. I am not trying to brag on myself because I really dont care and I no that I will probably never be a touring pro. This is just an example of natural ability taking over to make me a better golfer than the average person.

Guys, I am a pretty solid player. I have been back and forth from a 4 to 8 handicap over the last year. Lately I have a struggled with a constant fade. I have never had this happen to me. It doesnt matter whether Im hitting a wedge or a driver it is going to fade. It is not really a bad thing but I have lost a lot of distance and I have completely lost the ability to draw the ball. Does anyone have any suggestions for me or things I may can try? I am not coming over the top. That is for sure not the problem. I am really confused on by all this. Thanks

Yes! I had a powerful insideout swing and all of my homeruns were hit to center/righcenter. I got drafted, played at FSU, ect.... I guess because of my swing, I was able to come back after my baseball career and become a pretty good golfer. Growing up I had lots of coaches tell me that my swing was not fundamentaly correct because I had a lot of bat lag and pushed the ball to center and right. I never rolled over a pitch. I also never hit under .320 for a season. I beleive there is more than one way to skin a cat.

I struggled with a hook or almost a pull for about 6 months. I went from an 7 handicap to a 3 once I fixed it. I have always been told that swinging inside out is the correct swing. However, there is a thing called coming to inside and getting flat. Make sure the shaft of the club is completely inline with with your arms and in front of your body on the take back. Going too inside with your club on the take back can get you caught in "no mans land" which causes pulls with the short irons and blocks right with the longer stuff. What helped me was backing up against a wall and attempting to swing the club on a backswing without hitting the wall. Yes, that is a little exageration but it will give you the general idea.