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Getting the belt to point to the target

Adam Hartzell

Adam Hartzell

Yup, I'm a lefty.
Joined
Jul 20, 2011
Messages
1,805
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Location
Shelby Twp, MI
Handicap
26.4
Let me start by saying I'm left handed 32 years old and I stretch every morning.

My natural stance is to have my left (back) foot open at a 30° angle which caused me to over-rotate my hips on my back swing and a wicked slice. Over the last two years, my coach has managed to shorten my shoulder rotation to the point where my right arm stops just above parallel to the ground and to get my left foot perpendicular to the target line. Straightening out my back foot was the most recent change he has made and it has really helped. All of this has led me to the best back swing I've ever had and very consistent ball striking.

Now he is trying to work on my finish and getting my belt buckle to point to the target. Currently the best I can do is to on my finish is to get my belt buckle to point about 10° closed to the target, unless I set up Bubba Watson style and move my right foot back a half step to that I'm open to the target when I address the ball. It always seems that the line my belt buckle is pointing down is almost exactly where my ball is heading.

I always feel like setting up open to the target at address is just a quick fix to the real problem. I just don't know what that problem is. My normal ball flight is a fade and I can force a draw when I really, absolutely, do-or-die have to. So I'm not looking to change my ball flight, just the direction it starts out on.
 
It sounds like your pro has you moving in the direction. What has he told you about getting you belt buckle pointed at the target? You say you want to change the direction your ball starts on. What is its current direction? Also how are managing ing to hit this Draw you speak of?
 
He is trying to get me to keep my front leg posted and rotate my hips with a little more power without having my right foot sliding open to the target by rotating on my heel. I hope that makes sense.

My normal, relaxed swing ball flight starts off heading just right of the target and then fades back to about 5-15 yards left of the target depending on the club. 15 yards for a hybrid or 5i, 5 yards for a wedge. That is usually where my buckle ends up pointing too. This is with a slight out to in swing path that was verified on video and a Trackman.

When I force the draw shot, I'm able to do it by swinging inside out and rolling my wrists over a little more than usual. This starts the ball out left of the target and will usually land right on the target line. This is a shot I have been spending a lot of time working on as it does not feel natural and really needs to be forced to pull it off.
 
They way I like to work on improving my rotation through the shot is by trying like all hell to pull the ball to the left. I've found that my rotation improves immediately and I actually get very good contact.
 
I'd like you to try something for me and then report back. Square up your back foot and drop off the line 2". open your right foot a bit. This will give you a solid base to swing into. With an open back foot your weight will have a tendency to get to far left. When you turn you want to turn into the inside of your left leg.

I want you to release the club on every swing. And I want you swing down your body line created by your feet. Be sure the shoulders and knees are square to target line even though your feet are pointed slightly left.
 
If in understand this correctly, this is how my feet should be positioned. Please excuse the poor pic that I did in MS Paint since I'm on my work PC and don't have anything better. I'll keep my shoulders and knees square and my swing will follow the in to out path that my feet are creating.

11964981046_3fd868634f_z.jpg
 
Adam Hartzell said:
If in understand this correctly, this is how my feet should be positioned. Please excuse the poor pic that I did in MS Paint since I'm on my work PC and don't have anything better. I'll keep my shoulders and knees square and my swing will follow the in to out path that my feet are creating.

11964981046_3fd868634f_z.jpg
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bingo my friend
 
At the range right now and just loving this tip. I can't begin to describe how well it's working.
 
Adam Hartzell said:
At the range right now and just loving this tip. I can't begin to describe how well it's working.
Click to expand...
Glad to hear it, let me know once you are done
 
Alright after two large buckets, I'm in love with this change.

At first I was pulling every shot almost to the point of a hook. It took me a bit to get the timing down on the release. Once I had it all in sync, I was hitting a nice high draw with some ease and the buckle and ball were pointing right down the target line. I had the launch monitor set up to confirm this since I was hitting in a dome.

There were still a few shots where I didn't swing through the ball and left the club face open and hit a push fade, but my buckle ended up pointing at the target every time.

I really felt like I was swinging more freely and nothing was forced. I wish there was someway I could repay the swing tip.
 
You can, by enjoying the game. I love hearing stories like this. I like watching and playing good golf. If my tip makes that a reality for you then I'm all good.
 
I wanted to bump this thread just to give another big THANK YOU, for helping my swing.

I've got a driver fitting scheduled for this Thursday, so I wanted to get in a lesson with my coach before and we met up last night at the dome. I brought the Vetcor Pro and laptop, and he was thoroughly amazed to see me hitting a nice baby draw on command. I can still go to the fade whenever I need to, but I'm lacking some control and it still turnS into a slice on occasion. My coach gave me some tips to work on that and they mostly revolve around how I'm gripping the club.

My shots with the long irons, hybrids, and fairway wood are now 5-10 yards off of center instead of 15-25. I'm feeling really good about putting a driver back in the bag after not playing one for the last six months.
 
Adam Hartzell said:
I wanted to bump this thread just to give another big THANK YOU, for helping my swing.

I've got a driver fitting scheduled for this Thursday, so I wanted to get in a lesson with my coach before and we met up last night at the dome. I brought the Vetcor Pro and laptop, and he was thoroughly amazed to see me hitting a nice baby draw on command. I can still go to the fade whenever I need to, but I'm lacking some control and it still turnS into a slice on occasion. My coach gave me some tips to work on that and they mostly revolve around how I'm gripping the club.

My shots with the long irons, hybrids, and fairway wood are now 5-10 yards off of center instead of 15-25. I'm feeling really good about putting a driver back in the bag after not playing one for the last six months.
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Nicely done, keep at it.
 
Adam

Just curious - was this being applied to the driver, or to all your shots? Just wondering, because I hit my irons almost dead straight, but I have always struggled at times with the rights with the driver.
 
BIGBALL said:
Adam

Just curious - was this being applied to the driver, or to all your shots? Just wondering, because I hit my irons almost dead straight, but I have always struggled at times with the rights with the driver.
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All shots actually, though I currently don't own a driver. It has really helped he hit more down on the ball too which I believe is adding the extra backspin I'm seeing on the launch monitor and a more accurate ball flight.
 
Adam Hartzell said:
All shots actually, though I currently don't own a driver. It has really helped he hit more down on the ball too which I believe is adding the extra backspin I'm seeing on the launch monitor and a more accurate ball flight.
Click to expand...

Yea, see that is where I get in trouble.. I hit down on the ball, and I am a good iron player. But I really struggle hitting up with the driver. When I had a lot more SS I didn't worry about it, because I had good length and was pretty accurate. But now through some physical limitations the SS has dropped and I need to get a more upward angle of attack to get the most distance with the big stick that I can.

Regardless - congrats on the improvement - it is a great feeling!
 
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