tshapiro

Oh my, you are full of yourself

I see, so your game is to be the critic of other people's posts. I've made a handful of posts recently and everytime I do you are to right there to tell me I'm wrong. We'll, I have a lot of success with my approach and really don't care if you don't agree. We are all welcome to share our thoughts on these forums but you riding my every post is taking the enjoyment out of it. It is more realistic that there are many approaches to the golf swing than just one single method. If you think you have locked in on the single version of what's right and wrong than your are not nearly as smart as you think you are. Share your thoughts and let me share mine. But, please don't be poised to tell me I'm wrong with every post. You don't know my background and it's not my style to get into a credentials pissing match.

Sorry, I don't agree

First, your cast iron taylormade's don't take to adjusting well. You may have trouble finding a club fitter that will do it. If you want clubs that you can tinker your best bet are forged club heads. A couple of things to keep in mind when looking for new clubs: Shafts have a big impact on the feel of the club and your ability to generate max club head speed at just the right time. If you're looking for improvement do analysis on your current shaft and the shafts you consider buying A lot of your success with clubs will be mental - if you like the way it looks at address you'll swing easier. Theoretically, a players cavity back is more consistent than a blade. To my eye, a blade sets up better so I swing them better. I also like the way they feel at impact. I personally believe that golf is something we do for fun and it's ok buy clubs that you enjoy... even if they don't make you 'better'.

Even without seeing your video I can tell you that these are very typical swing symptoms. The fix is very likely that you are not getting your weight forward in your downswing. And, you are probably leading the downswing using too much arms verses weightshift->hipturn->droparms->release wrists. The proper weight shift and sequence flatten your swing and almost everyone has to work at developing the skill to do it.

A few observations... As you reach the top of your back swing, your head has tilted forward and you are lifting your club. You are doing this instead of truly coiling your shoulders around your spine through the end of your backswing. In addition, you are not getting your weight forward through impact. So, you are missing out on the 2 primary power sources: weight shift and rotation. In addition to moving your head away from the target in your downswing, you attempt to push the club with your right hand just before impact. Without a good forward weight shift, your attempt to do this (move head away from target and push with right hand) just neutralizes your swing speed (equal and opposite principle). Good news with all of this is that you have a lot of opportunity to build swing speed just by improving your basic fundamentals.

You're kind of like that guy who keeps giving you unsolicited advice on the range

Absolutely, but a lot of players simplify things by thinking in terms of one side being the leader.

Become the master of the 2nd shot. In other words, get very good with a 7 wood off the deck. It's a very easy club to hit accurately and you'll easily hit it further than most will be hitting their irons. On a long par 3 tee off with it, par 4 it's your 2nd shot, par 5 it's your 3rd shot. It's an equalizer if distance is your challenge.

Since an optimal golf swing leverages the legs and core for power the choice of right arm, left arm, or both to use to time, transmit and direct that power into the club swing is totally up to the individual golfer. Since the club should be swinging faster than your muscles can pull or push somewhere through impact, just after impact should find your right arm relaxed with its weight being 'flung' down the swing path regardless of which arm muscles were used to get it to that point. Left dominant is generally more controlled but has the potential to leave the power of the right side untapped. Right dominant is generally easier get your body into it but introduces potential timing and direction issues. Swings that utilize both require a customized orchestration of both which is more complex. None of these are better than the other as the best players are using a variety of these. Personally, I have mastered left and right dominant swings and they go exactly the same distance. Each one has advantages and disadvantages, but, it is not a power thing - it's simply technique as the legs and core are the primary power source for both. One thing that is common for all top players - they all have a fantastic sense of kenamatic sequence and timing regardless of whether they're thinking right or left. For your average Joe, I recommend a hybrid - left dominates upper body, right dominates lower body. This promotes coil and uncoil while removing the timing issues for those who cannot live of the range.

Best downswing thought - Hit the ball in the hole.

What I find is the further forward the ball the more room I have to shift my weight. So, all full shots have the ball forward.

You are very welcome

This is a fundamental that is that ruins so many golf swings before they start. Let's look at why. Bending at the waist is physically easier - it takes less work from your legs to bend over and your body naturally avoids work. The big problem is that you are out of balance by the time you reach the top of your backswing and worse... Your upper body weight is not over your legs which means a ground up swing is dead. Through your transition your weight needs to be firmly planted over your loaded legs so 1) you can linger in your transition in balance until your forward weight shift happens and 2) So that your lower legs are in a position of leverage to get your weight moving and to have enough spring to keep pushing until your weight has made it all the way to your left foot. So, if you don't love your swing check for this setup flaw. So, many people who swing over the top don't realize they had no chance way back from their setup.

Good to hear. An observation for you... When you start getting your lower body into it guess what? You start doing work! And that takes fitness. Some people have an illusion of an effortless golf swing. But in reality, it's effortless for your wrists but more work for your legs and core. So, keep is mind as you go from hitter to swinger your fitness, core, and lower body strength demands go up.

Braced right leg at address, leisurely transition, downswing that starts with a shift onto your left foot combined with a hip twist followed by a relaxed swing. Do this with the ball setup aligned your left armpit (or inside your left heel) - this creates room for your weight shift. Until you learn to begin your downswing swing with your lower body you will struggle because leading with your lower body creates an inside out swing path - not anything you do with your arms. It is true that it is possible to create an inside out swing path by controlling the angles of your left arm and wrist (while maintaining a relaxed right arm). This will give you a good short game. But, you will endlessly struggle with your long game until you get your lower body into the mix. So print the first 2 paragraphs of this post and take it to the range year after year until you get it right because this is the answer you are searching for.

Awesome to hear!

Think of it this way - I do the timing/rhythm with the tee'd hybrid before I start my sequence with the short irons off the grass. I like to take the contact with the ground out of the equation. And, the longer club intices me to swing where by I can 'force' 9 iron.

Practice swings are deceiving if you have swing flaws. They are good for timing and feel but not for ironing out swing mechanics. First off, a practice swing allows you to stand upright and sway past your ball position. This gives you a much more forgiving sense of length and time. It also allows you to chili dip your swing path. But, when you have to setup to the ball you feel confined. With a real golf swing you need to create length and leverage with coil, wrist hinging and weight shift. And, this all needs to be done with the same sense of timing, kenamatic sequence and relaxed wrists you had during your practice swing. There's no single recipe for how to address it all and this is the essence of golf. My recommendation to fix hit reflex - braced right leg at address to give your hips leverage in the downswing. Ball position just inside the left heel - not center. Approach your transition leisurely and slow. This will give you time and leverage to begin your downswing with a minor weight shift and hip twist followed by a relaxed swing.

More than any mechanic, I find that timing and rhythm are more disruptive if they are off. I find the easiest club to get your lower body to be working in sync with your upper body is a low tee'd hybrid. So, I begin my sessions with easy tee'd hybrids until the blood is pumping and my timing and 'umph' are dialed in.

Swinging without a ball falsely gives you more time because the ball doesn't come up on you when you've failed to get your weight forward and hips turned early enough. At the top, pause your left arm as you allow your weight to drift forward which will allow your hips to turn. As you feel your weight approaching your left side with your right knee approaching your left than swing away. Your should feel powerful as your lower body will be in a position of great leverage. You won't have to fake that finish anymore. Toughest thing will be to retrain your natural instinct of uncloiling to a weight shift hip turn swing motion.

Looking at your vid I can see that your poor lower body action forces you to get creative getting the club head back to the ball. And, your swing finish looks decent but forced. Your weight is still back away from the target through impact. The fact that you sort of snatch it from the top means you are all arms with a central rotating body - this can give you shanks as you swing more powerfully. But, as you've learned, you can finesse some body positions and make the whole thing work - at least during practice. I'd like to see you swing more athletically. At address, establish a better right leg brace that can later be used early in your transition. Be looser as you approach your transition. Flow into and out of your transition (don't dominant the downswing with a pull from your arms.). As you get to the top allow your weight shift and hip turn get an ever so slightly head start to your swing. With tour weight and hips turning ahead of your swing you will have more power coming from your large muscles - which will begin urging you to relax your wrists. All of this will naturally allow you to swing more inside out without you forcing it. The big problem with forcing positions is you don't gain the power benefit had you done the proper preceding action. In a nutshell: reach the top leisurely, give yourself time to begin the weight shift and right hip turn. As your weight reaches your left foot and your right knee is approaching your left knee swing away. Make sure your ball position is forward just off the inside of the left heal - this will prevent you from feeling jammed up with you new forward weight shift (drift).

You can definitely tell if it was a solid shot. Typically, a solid shot gives you good ball compression vs. a slap. More importantly, you can develop the lower body action/timing which gives you that compression. For irons, I prefer to practice with blades because of the feedback. You can also get a feel for you swing path through impact, club face angle, and divot location.

The cage poles are all 10 feet and I have the mat just outside the cage. So, it's about 13 feet away.

Thought I'd share my hitting cage (from Allsports-us.com) which I've had for the last 10 years. It became apparent to me very quickly upon begging golf that a trip to the range was not going to provide me with enough repetition to build a winning swing. If nothing else, I can get in about 100 swings before work. I can easily hit 500 balls on a weekend day. The most important thing I've gotten out of this setup is solid and repeatable timing. And for me, timing centers around getting my lower body to do work and and getting onto my left in a smooth fashion. Contrary to what I've read other people say I can certainly tell the ball flight. I can open the club face and pop the ball up high. In fact I like to do that because the club make minimal contact with the mat. When taking that fade or pop up onto the course I have a lot of confidence because I've done it thousands of times. And, I can hit driver, fairway woods, etc. as well. I highly recommend a setup like this for anyone who is serious about their swing. And, as you can see, this this is still going working great after 10 years. In fact, I've rebuilt the fence twice since I've had this net.