Ringer

Hey there everyone. I finally got another video put together. Sorry I've been so busy but I just haven't had any time. In this video I wanted to talk about a technique I use with my students and myself to help make the mental connection with the physical. This will help you recognize when you are doing what you want to do, and permits you to produce the same swings with the ball as you do in your practice swing.

Interesting read. I tend to just teach my students to focus on finishing the golf swing. Focusing the mind on something other than golf really.

I stand pretty square but depending on how short the pin is on the green I may open up a bit. THE #1 thing I do to help spin the ball is hold off my finsh. I do not release the club. You'll find this really helps to put spin on the ball and hit it higher.

That is why your ball curves. The more you go left, the more the ball will curve.

Most slices are caused by people learning to swing with a STRONG grip. They must then BLOCK it and not release properly. I have cured more slices by teaching a neutral grip and releasing to a proper finish than any other lesson I give.

I have a sense there is something else going on here with your move but I would need to see it. Most people find themselves much more pain free with this move since it allows for the whole body to flow together rather than creating resistance.

Interesting thread. A few points. You shouldn't be looking at your swing anyway. Your distance will tend to be a little long until you get used to it. On putts that break you should putt the ball to a spot away from the hole however much you think the putt will break. Also pick a spot short of the hole for downhill putts and pick a spot past the hole for uphill putts. Left arm FEELING like a dominant side is prefered over the right side. The stroke is much smoother and because of a smooth acceleration the ball will tend to come off with less jump. An "All shoulder" stroke is the feeling most commonly taught since it minimizes the moving parts. Distance can be a very difficult thing to feel with this stroke since there is little sensitivity to the speed of the club in your shoulders. You simply don't have nerves in your shoulders that really feel the pull of the club.

LOL.. dunno about Sergio.

So here is my swing. Do you think the advice I have given over the years shows up at all in the swing I am making?

The only training tool I have really is a rating system. You must learn to grade yourself 1-10 on how well you performed the task. Every once in a while you need to purposely do it WRONG. That's where learning really takes place. Demonstrate to yourself what a 1 is then a 10.. then a 5.. then a 7.. etc. It's the best tool there is really because it doesn't require a camera or teacher. Only your own ability to observe and evaluate yourself. That is the gateway to mastery.

You are probably setting up on your toes or reaching to get to the golf ball at setup.

I do what I can to help people out. Now if I could just find a way to make philanthropy pay my way through life I'd be sitting pretty.

Hey folks... a thread in another forum prompted me to make this little improptu video. Thought you all might gain something from it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89UIm6p6uT8

There is no difference. That is in fact how I fix students grips. Rotate the face to match their hands, then ask them to square the face to the ball.

YES!!! You learn to block (holding the forearm rotation) in order to keep the face square through impact. Meanwhile your body is turning and pulling the club inside. Voila.. cut/slice. Understand the direction the club travels as it strikes the ball is going to cause friction on the ball which will rotate the ball. That rotation is then sidespin.

I would like the file that you uploaded to the websie.

I would like to get a hard copy of this swing because the video is real jumpy on the site.

You are swinging UP for your release and leaving the face open just a bit. That will cause a push cut. Learn to DRIVE _LOW_ and _THROUGH_ the ball during your release.

You need the right kind of ball with a pretty lofted wedge. A steep angle of attack at the ball usually by using an open stance with an open clubface. Choking up on the grip to steepen the angle of attack even more and a hard hard hard release with maximum acceleration through impact.

I think it's not bad advice but may not be for everyone. It will cause the ball to go on a higher trajectory because there will be more energy applied below the balls CG. A higher trajectory will cause the ball to land more steeply and stop quicker on the green.

Square shoulders are over-rated. It's your axis tilt I'm worried about. I'm willing to bet as soon as you get your tilt right, your shoulders will be just fine.

I usually use white or brightly colored tee's but I'm not sure it really matters. People don't seem to care, in fact sometimes I get asked if they can use it too. Just make sure you pull em out before you leave.

I use one club and try to get the balls to end in the circle. This means I have to get creative sometimes. If I have a lot of green but a lob wedge I may have to try to blade it like a putt, or put the ball really far back in my stance. If I have a club with not enough loft then I have to really play a bounce out of the rough or even putting side spin on the ball and hit it on a hill. The point is that you have to become creative and are confronted with a different situation each time.

I grab 8 tee's and put them in the ground in a circle around the hole 3 feet in radius. Then I take 10 balls and sprinkle them all around the green. I try to get all of them in the 3 foot circle but don't allow myself to leave until I get 9. Make sure you sprinkle them in all different situations too. Don't just hit from one spot. You aren't given the same shot over and over again in golf so you shouldn't practice it that way.

Well first off let me say that the point of my post was to give a SIMPLE intention that when followed through would produce the physical action he was seeking. Then I simply asked a question to get them to think about how the action is really any different. For your sake I'll get a bit technical. The original post was intended to find out how to keep the club going through the impact area with driving force toward the target as opposed to a glancing blow which would cause sidespine. Now, the one thing all driving shots share in common is a steady application of force on a singular plane. That is to say, you cannot push a car sideways very effectively. You have to get behind it to push it. Similarly you want to apply force along the plane the club is swinging on and not attempt to divert it's path in mid swing. The single most telling body part that tells me when someone has diverted the swings path is the right shoulder. If I see it traveling down toward the ball on the forward swing then that means that the entire aparatus from hands to shoulders must be moving toward the ball. If that is true then that means it must be all traveling on a similar plane and providing that force that we're looking for on plane . Afterall, how can the arms go one way and the shoulders go another? They're all turning around the same point.. which brings us to my next topic. The arms and the shoulders all rotate around our spine. Because of that, the angle our spine is tilted will determine the majority of where our arms and shoulders go. That being said, and coupled with the above paragraph it should be evident to you by now that spine tilt is the #1 contributing factor in determining the swing plane. I don't determine swing plane just in terms of upright or flat either. The traditional concept of inside to out, or outside to in is simply a directional shift in the plane based upon the point of view that we're observing it from. This gets us into the issue of parallax which is another disucssion altogether... but bottom line is the plane at which the club is swinging is sigular... it's direction might shift from backswing to forward swing. Hmmm, I think I'm just murkying up the water here so let me give you an example. The most common mistake people associate with the golf swing plane would be the Over the Top move. Now, the way most people try to resolve this is with a "drop into the slot" or "pump drill". Both of these concepts work on two things which are NOT the problem. Dropping into the slot is trying to get the arms to work independently of the body while the pump drill is trying to get the hips to work independently of the arms. The reason why either of them have any success is because unwittingly they are changing the spine tilt. Ah yes, back to spine tilt. The spine angle/tilt is determined by where the lower body is (hips) and where the upper body is (head). If the head stays back and the hips go forward then you increase the tilt. An OTT move is nothing more than the upper body shifting forward before the lower body does. So, getting back to the main point. Spine tilt, axis tilt, spine angle.. whatever you want to call it, it is THE DETERMINING FACTOR in direction of the swing plane. Have a swing plane problem, change the tilt. Now, there are any number of other factors that will change the tilt but they are all either going to change the position of the hips or the head. Flaring the left foot out, flaring it in, pulling your right foot back, putting your feet together, keeping your head behind the ball, even trying to keep your shoulders aligned to the target at setup. These are all ways of manipulating your spine tilt. Ok, now lets tie all this back into my advice offered first. When you throw the ball underhanded to the right of the target, what is that going to do to your spine tilt? It forces your head to stay back a little more and shift the hips forward a bit more.... making your spine tilt away from the target a little bit more. The right shoulder and arm then follow a direction around that spine tilt you created forcing them off in a direction to the side of the target. All of this is subconcious, but happening. I am suggesting this (mostly with imagery) to get him and anyone reading this to think about how they are going to change the position of their spine. It's all in an effort to get them to work on letting the right shoulder drive toward the ball, allowing the arms and club to swing on a singular plane with no manipulation required.