KellyBo & Gray -- Diary of taking Lessons

Yeah, that helps. That's kind of what I was thinking. Quiets the hands somewhat. Thanks KB, I'll try that this afternoon.
 
Here's another view of Russell's swing. Bobby is an "old timer" and I'm sure he learned this from some even older timers while learning/teaching at Sea Island.

 
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Might need to try that as my irons are very inconsistent lately.
 
I've always fought an extremely flat swing plane issue causing me to pull the club too far inside. This causes some inconsistent and ugly results. My main swing goal for the 2013 golf season is shown in this video:

 
OG, I have also struggled with a flat swing plane over the years. What has worked (at least for me) is to start with my hands low at address and try to maintain good posture (stand straight bend at the hips and don't let the shoulders droop) this does two things it gets your hands closer to your body and that should help keep the clubhead from getting behind your hands(helps keep you from fanning the club open). It should also give you the feeling that your shoulders are beginning and controlling the swing. Try this on the range with half swings and experiment with the hand position always keeping good posture and work up to a full swing. This may also let you know you are trying to take a backswing which is too long for you.

disclaimer: this is just something that has worked for me and may not work for you, you may want to consult your PGA pro!

OG I posted this before I went back and read the top of the thread, so disregard this if you have already got things you are working on in your swing. I should have read more before posting.
 
OG, I have also struggled with a flat swing plane over the years. What has worked (at least for me) is to start with my hands low at address and try to maintain good posture (stand straight bend at the hips and don't let the shoulders droop) this does two things it gets your hands closer to your body and that should help keep the clubhead from getting behind your hands(helps keep you from fanning the club open). It should also give you the feeling that your shoulders are beginning and controlling the swing. Try this on the range with half swings and experiment with the hand position always keeping good posture and work up to a full swing. This may also let you know you are trying to take a backswing which is too long for you.

disclaimer: this is just something that has worked for me and may not work for you, you may want to consult your PGA pro!

OG I posted this before I went back and read the top of the thread, so disregard this if you have already got things you are working on in your swing. I should have read more before posting.

majBC -- This actually makes good sense to me. Does this mean standing closer to the ball to lower the hands? The reason I ask, is my pro told me that I was standing too close which was not allowing enough room for my hands to clear. It was causing me to block the club opening causing stuff like hosel rockets etc. Maybe the open face was caused by too much inside/flat roll of the wrist which caused this and not the actual distance to the ball? Interesting.
 
I like that video Bill, thanks for posting it. I know swing changes are difficult for an old hooker like yourself, good luck my friend.
 
I'm loving this thread, especially the video's you guys come up with. Lot's of great info, thanks.
 
Bill I got the tools for that backswing when I come down. We'll cure that sucker!
 
Ole Gray you just need to stand where it is comfortable for you to reach the ball with your club with your wrists hinged up try to hold the hinge while the club is soled on the ground (if that makes sense) the hinge brings effortless power and is a hinge not a roll of the wrist. It feels like the arms and therefore the club only move if your trunk moves, that way the club can never get behind you or behind (inside) your hands. It is only a drill and will seem very mechanical at first its like your arm are attached to your shoulder and can't move independently. This will give you the feel of a shoulder swing now the hands can and do release to add power but that part should come naturally if you are like me and tend to roll your wrist. Hope this helps OG. Hope this is a little clearer than mud.
 
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You can do it OG. Keep up the hard work

I like that video Bill, thanks for posting it. I know swing changes are difficult for an old hooker like yourself, good luck my friend.

I'm loving this thread, especially the video's you guys come up with. Lot's of great info, thanks.

Thanks guys! I appreciate the positive vibes :thumb:



Bill I got the tools for that backswing when I come down. We'll cure that sucker!

Hot dang! I get MarcH in the house for about six weeks this summer :bananadance::blob::clapp::golf2::thumb::thankyou:. Looking forward to you coming down to JawGa!


Ole Gray you just need to stand where it is comfortable for you to reach the ball with your club with your wrists hinged up (if that makes sense) the hinge brings effortless power and is a hinge not a roll of the wrist. It feels like the arms and therefore the club only move if your trunk moves, that way the club can never get behind you or behind (inside) your hands. It is only a drill and will seem very mechanical at first its like your arm are attached to your shoulder and can't move independently. This will give you the feel of a shoulder swing now the hands can and do release to add power but that part should come naturally if you are like me and tend to roll your wrist. Hope this helps OG.

I will work on this drill and I do appreciate any and all advice, to help get my sanity back :D.
 
One thing to keep in mind OG is you are trying to quiet the hands (eliminate the opening the club face on the way back or some call it fanning it open). It is as if the club head is directly in line with your sternum and the only way to open the club face is by moving the shoulders. For me this did two things it got my hands to stop manipulating the club face and it let me feel what a true shoulder turn feels like. Again hope this helps.
 
One thing to keep in mind OG is you are trying to quiet the hands (eliminate the opening the club face on the way back or some call it fanning it open). It is as if the club head is directly in line with your sternum and the only way to open the club face is by moving the shoulders. For me this did two things it got my hands to stop manipulating the club face and it let me feel what a true shoulder turn feels like. Again hope this helps.

What you are saying makes a huge amount of sense. It ties everything together aka Steve Stricker type swing. I love to watch this dude in motion. One smooth piece of work!
 
Ole Gray you just need to stand where it is comfortable for you to reach the ball with your club with your wrists hinged up try to hold the hinge while the club is soled on the ground (if that makes sense) the hinge brings effortless power and is a hinge not a roll of the wrist. It feels like the arms and therefore the club only move if your trunk moves, that way the club can never get behind you or behind (inside) your hands. It is only a drill and will seem very mechanical at first its like your arm are attached to your shoulder and can't move independently. This will give you the feel of a shoulder swing now the hands can and do release to add power but that part should come naturally if you are like me and tend to roll your wrist. Hope this helps OG. Hope this is a little clearer than mud.


Are you talking about this type of drill:

 
OG that is it, but I pre-hinge and then return the club to the ground before taking my backswing. I think the way the video shows may be a better drill than the way I do it. I like to pre-hinge the wrist as it seems to keep my arms, wrists and shoulders connected. I know I said your hands and arms don't move indepently but they actually do, it is just that for golfers like us who use the wrists too much or in thr wrong way must always fight that.
 
Ole Gray, have you had a chance to try the hinge drill and if so does it seem to help?
One thing that seems to always help me no matter what the swing problem is hitting balls with my feet together.
I tried it the way he does it in the video and it is easier for me to return/sole the club on the ground and then continue. It is probably better for you in the long run to do it his way. It is harder so it must be better for me, my transition tends to get fast so this could be the reason it is harder for me to do when holding the club higher.
 
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Ole Gray, have you had a chance to try the hinge drill and if so does it seem to help?
One thing that seems to always help me no matter what the swing problem is hitting balls with my feet together.
I tried it the way he does it in the video and it is easier for me to return/sole the club on the ground and then continue. It is probably better for you in the long run to do it his way. It is harder so it must be better for me, my transition tends to get fast so this could be the reason it is harder for me to do when holding the club higher.

Yes and my ball striking is really coming around! The video has helped me to think about lifting the club up, instead of my old habit of rolling the club behind me and getting stuck on the downswing. I will keep working with this along with the feet together drills. I love the feet together drill as it teaches me to turn instead of slide.


Thanks for asking and have a great weekend :thumb:
 
That's a good video. I've definitely been a "roller" in the past, and my pro and I are working on fixing it with this exact type motion.
 
OG I posted in my lesson journey about the parallel drill that I used the other day, also posted a video. This really helped me turn and get the club back into the proper position as well as rotating by body. This is because the only way to get the club back is to use the body's coil/turn to get it there.
 
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