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Help with this monstrosity of a swing?

russtopher

russtopher

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I'm very humbly posting this vid here, because what I actually look like on video is NOTHING how I feel like I am swinging. Apparently some things I've posted here on THP have been WAY off after my looking at this vid.



I'm a 25 handicap, 2013 was my first full year of playing golf. I see that I have a big hip slide, which feels to me like I'm staying dead centered.

Ugh.

Any tips/advice/drills I could use to make my swing better? Especially ones I can do inside since there's far too much snow here? My abbreviated finish was so I wouldn't hit my garage ceiling :) My usual miss is a big fade. Posture, setup, grip, backswing, tear them all apart. I'm all ears, because even though it's still winter outside I want to spend my time improving.

Seriously, any help from anyone is appreciated. Thanks!
 
Ok sir I am ready to tackle your video.

ive viewed the tape and I'd like to work a few things at a time. First you set up.

1) stand tall with your feet together.
2) move you feet just outside you shoulders
3. Take the club, grip it and bend at the waist until the club touches the ground. Do not extend your arm just bend at the waist until the club touches the ground. Make sure your chest is stuck out, promotes a straight spine.
4) Add a bit of knee flex

The above will put you in an athletic position. Make sure the weight of you body is on the balls of you feet and not your heels. Also look at the ball with you eyes not your face.

Next step hep is the take away. The triangle formed with your two arms. (Straight left and relaxed right) will move as one unit but your shoulders. You currently take the club away with all arms and the triangle breaks down.

Your left eft shoulder needs to turn under or up to the side of you chin. As the left shoulder moves the left arm will follow. The left arm pushes the right as the right should pulls around behind your head.

Once the the club moves past your right foot the right arm will fold, elbow pointing down to the ground not behind you. As the arm folds into a 90* angle or what your body will let you! the shoulder continue t turn. Once the left shoulder reaches the chin the back swing is complete.

All of the above is done while keeping the flex in both knees. If the knees straighten you will stand taller and change the path of the club. Keep a quiet lower body as the upper body rotates away from the ball.

this is all I want you to work on, we have to get you I to a good position to swing the club. Do this for a couple weeks and let us know how you are progressing.
 
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Freddie will get you straitened out for sure. The one huge advise I would tell you is your set up position stance and grip. Basically the foundation of your swing is all over the place. Once you get these things in line you can start to disect some the misses you are experiencing.
 
I hope so Awkward. What I felt like I've been doing on my swing, is NOT what I saw on video. Sway off the ball, looks like my backswing went too far any my left arm broke down, hands too far forward at address, I look like I'm in a karate horse stance.... yeah.

FWIW - I took a few lessons in summer 2013 with a local pro, who had me working on my grip, takeaway and trying to not sway. She also had me change my stance which was actually painful on my back, but she pointed out that I was hitting fat because I was too low to the ground, and I needed to stand taller. Looks like this vid might confirm that I'm still too low with my legs so far apart and bent over.
 
russtopher said:
What I felt like I've been doing on my swing, is NOT what I saw on video.
Click to expand...
I don't think that is so unusual. Seeing our swing on video can be...enlightening.
 
Yeah that's ONE way to put it!!! :)
 
I will say this - since starting this thread, I've begun recording my swing every now and again. That alone has helped me a bunch, even before Freddie's had the time to give his thoughts (which might be "take up bowling") :)

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
 
A car is certainly a good training aid for making sure you aren't too flat.
 
russtopher said:
I will say this - since starting this thread, I've begun recording my swing every now and again. That alone has helped me a bunch, even before Freddie's had the time to give his thoughts (which might be "take up bowling") :)

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I have updated my post
 
Freddie, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to write that up. If I'm reading what you wrote correctly, I should start my takeaway with my left shoulder, or at least feel like I am?

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russtopher said:
Freddie, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to write that up. If I'm reading what you wrote correctly, I should start my takeaway with my left shoulder, or at least feel like I am?

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Correct, an I say the left because if you start with the right you'll have a tendency to stand up. The feeling is like turning to shake someone's hand that is stand to the right of you.
 
Tadashi70 said:
Correct, an I say the left because if you start with the right you'll have a tendency to stand up. The feeling is like turning to shake someone's hand that is stand to the right of you.
Click to expand...

Thank you kindly. I'll work on this for a while and post a vid next week or so.

Sent from my ADR6400L using Tapatalk
 
This is so cool that Freddie is able to help like this. Hope the swing progresses. I find a full length mirror is a good aid to connect what I look like and what I feel. May help correct the bad and reinforce the good. Good luck!

Oh, and check out the monster tee golf mat thread! You won't be disappointed
 
Grabbed the gap wedge I keep in my office at lunch time and tried this out. First thoughts - it's definitely different having a narrower base. I also feel a bit of pressure in my lower back, probably because it's just different. The stance the pro I saw had me in was literally painful; I'm sure any discomfort I have now is temporary.

Starting with my left shoulder is definitely a different feeling. I notice when I do it right though, that the clubhead naturally stays outside of my hands initially, and hey! A flat right wrist at the top! Never saw one of those without manipulation before!

Like I said, very different feelings for me based on the vid in my initial post. I'll be working on just getting in the stance and the takeaway for a while.

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Tadashi70 said:
Correct, an I say the left because if you start with the right you'll have a tendency to stand up. The feeling is like turning to shake someone's hand that is stand to the right of you.
Click to expand...

How's this looking so far guys? I want to make sure I'm practicing the right moves, vs. ingraining something wrong from the get-go. Looks like my head is dipping slightly, and my legs might still be too far apart. The only thing I'm thinking when I do this is "move the left shoulder" and letting everything else follow.

 
OK looks like my head is also turning in addition to dipping. Going to work on that today.
 
Wow! From the first video to the second is a huge difference. The second video is a very good setup. The backswing is much more solid as well. Keep up the good work and you will be a happy golfer in 2014.
 
Amazing turn around. It the turn and take away look good. It does however look like you have a reverse C going on. Your weight is moving forward on the take away and would then go to the back foot on the follow through- you want the opposite. Weight back in the right side during takeaway and then finish with your weight on your left foot. Your posture, turn, and takeaway look really good.


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It looks good, just be aware that you are swing into your left leg. Try to turn your chest over your right leg. (Specifically the inside of the right leg)

But all in all it looks much better.
 
Thanks for the tips everyone, I really appreciate it!

I think maybe I was trying to stay too centered; I just spent the last 15 mins practicing a shorter backswing, and feeling like my weight was going into the instep of my right foot. Is this more along the lines of what you guys meant?

 
Looks good. I noticed that your hands are very far apart in your grip. You want those hands to be tight together and working as one unit. Your really making progress!! Keep it up.


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franzy said:
Looks good. I noticed that your hands are very far apart in your grip. You want those hands to be tight together and working as one unit. Your really making progress!! Keep it up.


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Click to expand...

My hands are very close - I play an overlap and both hands on the underside of the grip are touching, and my right hand is covering my left thumb. I'll spend a little more time on it though, I plan on spending another 15-20 mins tonight working on the backswing.
 
russtopher said:
Thanks for the tips everyone, I really appreciate it!

I think maybe I was trying to stay too centered; I just spent the last 15 mins practicing a shorter backswing, and feeling like my weight was going into the instep of my right foot. Is this more along the lines of what you guys meant?

Click to expand...


Ok that is much better of a turn. Now keep that right knee flexed and we are cooking with crisco.
 
russtopher said:
My hands are very close - I play an overlap and both hands on the underside of the grip are touching, and my right hand is covering my left thumb. I'll spend a little more time on it though, I plan on spending another 15-20 mins tonight working on the backswing.
Click to expand...
The view of your hands looks like the palm of you right hand is sitting below the thumb of your left. That thumb should be snug in the palm of your right.
 
I was going to start a new thread, but figured I'd bump this one since this ties into my work on my backswing.

I've been working on the transition and downswing now, in addition to lots of slow-mo and regular speed backswings using all the tips in this thread so far (weight into right instep, stopping when shoulder reaches my chin, keeping the triangle, starting with my left shoulder). My issue is that I can't hit balls for now, and I didn't want to video a half-swing in the garage since I can't get full extension and realized what I might do there wouldn't be a true swing.

ANYWAYS!

As I mentioned in my OP, my usual pattern is a fade, with a slice rearing it's ugly head when I overswing. I'd like to straighten that out, I'm not too concerned with hitting draws or anything, I just want more predictability. I've read and watched a lot about the hands and right (trail) arm on the downswing, and how that can help with the club path to hit straighter or swing in to out. This video in particular seems to be pretty good, to this hacker's eyes, and I wanted to know everyone's thoughts on it:



Since I'm doing slow-motion swings inside for the next few weeks, is this something that would benefit me to think about/work on? I know I'm asking this without having posted an updated swing vid, which I'll do once I can either get to the range with the heated stalls, or my local range opens for the season. Curious to know Freddie and everyone else's thoughts.

tl;dr - is video good to help get rid of OTT?
 
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