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Totally different swing for the driver? Do you do this?

Why would you not want to finish your swing all over the front foot? Seems like you're not getting through the ball if you are standing over your back foot?



Edit: Already covered!
 
Your replies here echo many of my thoughts, thank you for commenting. My instructor is definitely qualified, but sometimes we have communication difficulties. I manage global networks and he's an accomplished carrier athlete, I suppose communication difficulties are probably expected, but I've never had an issue like this.

H8tobogie said:
Have you ever analyzed your numbers, SS, AoA, etc, Nate?
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Umm,.. I'm not sure what this means. I can tell you that I was on Trackman last week with my 7 iron. My 7 iron swing speed was 88.2 MPH, ball speed 116.8 MPH. Smash Factor with a 7 iron was 1.32. Face to path -.3 Face angle -.6. The shot was 2.1 foot right of the target, with a total carry of 172.0 Yards, total distance 183.8 yards. i took a picture of the screen.

i haven't put my driver on trackman in a long time because I'm reluctant to pull it out at lessons due to the situation I described in this thread.

Whiskey
 
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Smallville said:
Why would you not want to finish your swing all over the front foot? Seems like you're not getting through the ball if you are standing over your back foot?



Edit: Already covered!
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Many people said this, and it blows my mind as well! Every other club my instructor tells me that I need to hold my finish on the front foot until the ball lands so I can tell if I properly kept my balance through the swing. Now suddenly he's saying to keep all the weight on the back foot with this one club? It makes no sense. It has to be something like he doesn't literally mean that, but we practically had an argument about it.

Whiskey
 
Different setup, similar swing (I might swing harder at a driver). I still do a little forward press with my driver just helps me release it a little better.
 
Wiskey said:
My instructor is definitely qualified
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I don't know why you think this instructor is "definitely qualified". Do you mean that he has some sort of certification ?
A competent golf instructor does not make learning the swing overly complicated, and certainly does not suggest "two swings, one for driver, the other for the rest of the clubs". I think you should take a lesson from a different instructor.
 
Im going out on a limb here and I do believe in giving benefit of doubt before passing judgment on someone (especially an instructor) . Just perhaps its possible the instructor in this case is repairing something for the student.
 
rollin said:
Im going out on a limb here and I do believe in giving benefit of doubt before passing judgment on someone (especially an instructor) . Just perhaps its possible the instructor in this case is repairing something for the student.
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By advising him to do something so fundamentally wrong, that isn't seen by any successful golfer, ball striker whatever you want to call it? Nah
 
I have always wanted to have the "same swing" with all clubs and just vary my setup. I never was able to make it work. I would tend to get steep with my driver.

I've recently taken lessons and he's got me doing what your instructor says. There are pros who hit up on the ball and who hit down on the ball. I've been hitting down on the driver, which is fine (especially for accuracy) but I lose distance. Hitting up on the ball I gain 20+ yards easily, but my accuracy is worse because I'm still learning.
 
I start with more weight on the back foot and slightly leaned back on my driver than compared to my other clubs. From there, while swinging through, I extend through a tad bit quicker to try and hit the ball on the upswing as opposed to striking right at the bottom or a bit on the down.

It all depends on the clubs really.

Driver - hit on the slight upswing, ball on front foot heel

5 wood, Hyrbid, 3-6 irons - hit right at the bottom, ball about 1/4 stance off front foot heel

7-Wedges - hit a bit on the down, middle of the stance if not slightly behind depending on lie and club.

For each their own though. That’s just what works best for my swing and I position the ball accordingly.


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Get a new instructor, that's some of the worst teaching I've ever heard.

There is no swing in golf that is totally different than the others, they are all fundamentally the same, even driver.
 
I used to think I needed to swing differently and it totally messed me up. Now I just try to swing as consistent as possible no matter the club and am so much more consistent.
 
It's hard enough to learn one golf swing and get good at it - that's what my instructor tells me so when we work with driver, we are working on the same fundamental principles as any other club. The only thing that varies is the distance I am from the ball and ball position relative to other clubs. Outside of that, my driver swing feels just like any other full swing club.
 
Imo its technically suppose to be the same swing. However there is always (every time by everyone) a "but" or a "except for" or even lol a "however".
As soon as one adds any of those to the term "its the same" we can make the argument that its not. If it was the same there would be no "buts" or except for" or anything. It would simply be the "the same" and that would be all.

Whether those "buts" refer to ball position, longer swing arc, shallower arc, stance distance from the ball, whatever else have us, that supposed same swing is technically different due to those things and it can (and probably does for most people) feel different regardless.

i think very many would say that the swing feels different as we make our way from shortest to longest club in our bag. Changing proportionally just a little bit as we step into the next shaft lengths and club weights and arc changes and ball positions..

Same swing with all? In some ways yes...."but".... and there it is again lol, so maybe it can be considered different.

In fact isnt this what one length irons are basically all about? The whole thing is really an unwinnable and almost sort of fun debate.
 
rollin said:
In fact isnt this what one length irons are basically all about? The whole thing is really an unwinnable and almost sort of fun debate.
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I think the concept of one length irons is a solution in search of a problem.
Specifically, the reason various club lie angles are used to is to allow a player to utilize the same fundamentally sound address technique (and swing) for a variety of club lengths.
 
I use the same swing and the couple lessons I did take, the instructor said to do as much. Most all YouTube videos I have watched, they say as much also. My advice is get another instructor. LOL

FWIW The only thing I vary between clubs is how long my backswing is and my set-up (positon of the ball in my stance). My woods off the tee have a long backswing (club pretty much to parallel with a strong shoulder turn from photos I have seen of myself) and ball to about my front heel, my irons are pretty sawed off (similar shoulder turn, just not as wide) and ball middle of (and even slightly back off on short irons) stance. The sequence though is pretty much the exact same thing (as far as I can feel/tell), especially how I transfer my weight and how I start my swing. I can say with absolute certainty, all my swings (at least the ones I don't go full bone head on) end with most of my weight on my front foot ~shrug~
 
I never really noticed if my swing is different.. my stance, sure, with the ball a little more forward, tilting back a little to swing up on it.. but a lot of those things you mentioned make sense

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Driver I just try to stay behind the ball which put my AOA up a couple degrees. Every other club I stay over the top of the ball.

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Wiskey said:
Many people said this, and it blows my mind as well! Every other club my instructor tells me that I need to hold my finish on the front foot until the ball lands so I can tell if I properly kept my balance through the swing. Now suddenly he's saying to keep all the weight on the back foot with this one club? It makes no sense. It has to be something like he doesn't literally mean that, but we practically had an argument about it.

Whiskey
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Be careful with an instructor who can’t tell the difference between a “feel” and actual physical/musculoskeletal movements. He’ll hurt you. I have one real golf injury in 32 years of playing, and it was from trusting a teacher who didn’t understand that his feel wasn’t real. This was about 20 years ago. I did what he said, and messed up my shoulder. Couldn’t swing a club for 3 months. Had to do rehab. It still bothers me every now and then- gotta exercise it right to keep it from acting up.

If your guy thinks that is what is actually happening in the golf swing (staying on the right foot, no transfer and no posting on the left) go find another teacher. He doesn’t know what he is talking about.


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I don't swing any different. One swing with all the clubs. Keep it simple.

 
In order to optimize driver you should have a positive AOA.

But there’s lots of golfers that don’t (probably the vast majority of them). Lots of them are very good golfers that hit the ball a long ways. It can actually be helpful to have a negative AOA if you are a low spin player.
 
Smiter said:
In order to optimize driver you should have a positive AOA.

But there’s lots of golfers that don’t (probably the vast majority of them). Lots of them are very good golfers that hit the ball a long ways. It can actually be helpful to have a negative AOA if you are a low spin player.
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You can arguably say that each swing with every club is different. But, basic mechanical movements remain constant. Obtaining a positive AoA with your driver while having a descending strike with an iron can be achieved by swinging similarly. Ball placement and subtle setup changes can get you there.

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InTheRough said:
I don't swing any different. One swing with all the clubs. Keep it simple.

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Jack was one to transfer his weight to the left in the transition, and then post so hard through impact that he would fall back onto his right foot. Did that whenever he really wanted to pound one, which was often. Great use of the ground to maximize vertical leverage and to create a faster release and more clubhead speed.

He definitely didn’t keep his weight on his right foot at all times. It was actually a double shift. Middle, right, left, right.


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