RIduffer swing

[riduffer]

Well no complaints with the weather today in RI (except for the remaining snow). It was sunny and in the 50s, which feels tropical this time of year.

I hit some balls today and worked on the drill denny suggested. Big improvements with the short irons (which is all I brought to the range). It felt very strange to swing left like this...and even stranger to see the ball flying straight! Contact was much better (I usually struggle with thin contact) and the ballflight was predominately a small fade. Thanks denny!

Didn't have the camera with me today, but I will video this week.

I have a question for gmbtempe (but anyone else please feel free to chime in). You mentioned earlier I was not rotating my arms enough. I can definitely see how my club shaft steepens dramatically during the backswing, as opposed to setting over the right shoulder (as I see in good golf swings). It looks like my right shoulder starts to move up instead of turning.

Is this what you meant by the arms not rotating? Is my right elbow not folding correctly or something? Just curious because it looks like my clubshaft is getting way steeper than what I see in swing videos of other people (i.e. gmbtempe, iteach, richie3jack, etc.)

Thanks again guys.

[gmbtempe]

I like it know the way it is, you could use a little more rotation of the left forearm in the backswing which would keep it more on plane but I like how it looks now. It does look like you come out of your flexion a tad early, meaning you could feel like you turn behind the ball a little more.

It does look worlds better.

[riduffer]

OK I'll stay the course. Don't want to complicate things.

[riduffer]

Went to the range Sunday afternoon and did not hit it well. Started out hitting everything thin and, toward the end of the session I felt like I was struggling just to square up the clubface. Was pretty hung over from my pal's wedding party, so maybe I should've just taken the day off.

Thin shots are a recurring problem for me. Gets really frustrating hearing that "clack" sound, especially with the half-frozen range balls.

Ok first off, the holy chicken-wing.

[tightdraw]

hard to judge too much from these vids. Still some things seems reasonably clear. You move your head off the ball so that at the top your UCG is just inside your right foot. You lift your arms on the backswing and there is not much rotation in your hips which also rotate very level. Your overall backswing is too steep in my opinion and thus so is your angle of descent leading unsurprisingly to either fat shots or thin shots. That being the result of the combination of movement to the right and a very steep swing plane.

I can't emphasize enough how valuable it has been for me when making substantial changes to forget about the full swing and see if i can get the core parts down. I know if i am sound from something like P3 to P8 I have the foundation in place. If I don't get that right adding movement from P3 to P4 then making the very demanding transition move from P4 to P5 is only going to make it worse not better.

so were I you i would work on P1, then getting to P2 where the club is parallel to both the target line and the ground; now here is the hard one, getting to P3 with the hands drawn in and the left arm parallel, all these moves keeping the COGs over the ball as best as possible. you must do this in slow motion always.
then hit balls from there only.
frankly i wouldn't even hit balls yet. i would make sure I got in a good P6 positon, then a good P7 and P8 positions with the butt of the club pointing on paralle to the target line but on the left side of your rotated body, not the right.

[riduffer]

thank you tightdraw. What do you use as a guideline to compare your swing to? In other words, what are you using to check if P1 is correct? Software program or something?

[tightdraw]

I have been taking darome instruction and so my model is MOG swing basically and videos of I have of myself set up correctly and in all the right positions.
don't know if that is helpful to you.

[riduffer]

yes, thanks tightdraw, that's what I meant.

[riduffer]

Just an update on the thread. Weather has been rough here in New England, and the dome in my area is now closed indefinitely (I'm guessing they had some damage from the snow storms).

I have been hitting balls a couple times a week at an outdoor range in MA, but the balls are half-frozen and many are cracked, etc. They can't pick the range with all the snow, so they're filling the ball machine with whatever they have. Tough to get any reliable feedback.

I have filmed a couple times, but it looks like I'm still fighting the same issues. I have received alot of great feedback in this thread, but I am honestly having trouble processing it all and trying to come up with a MAP for improvement.

[jamo]

I believe you mentioned on another forum that you live near the Rhode Island/Massachusetts border. It might be kind of a drive, but you might want to check out Forekicks in Norfolk: www.forekicks.com/content/index.cfm?fuseaction=drivingrange

It's a soccer dome and they set out mats during weekdays. If there is no other (indoor) option, a bit of a drive once in a while might be worth it.

[riduffer]

Thanks, I'll check that out jamo. I remember you talking about Forekicks last winter.

I was going to Eagle Quest Dome in West Warwick, RI, but after the storm they put up a sign saying "closed until further notice." No details on their website last I checked.

BTW, we should try and play this spring if you're up for it. I worked at Swansea CC last year and played there alot. Have you played Swansea? I also remember you were trying to get out to Triggs, but not sure if you ended up going.

[riduffer]

Jan 23, 2011 0:38:13 GMT -5 dennyalberts said:

are those your old swings on mr map 76. your swing has really improved.

I put up some videos of my Dad's swing on MrMap76 too, just so there's no confusion.

But, yes, I agree that my swing looks much better since shortening the backswing.

I should thank iteach (Dan) too, since he was kind enough to PM me with some tips that helped me achieve the better looking swings in the second set of videos. Dan suggested I try to make 3/4 swings feeling like my right arm stayed straighter, and elbows close together.

As you might expect, I struggle a bit timing the shorter swing. Feels like I overaccelerate, or get out of sync alot, but I think that will improve with practice.

Overall, the biggest problem for me is thin shots with the irons (has been for a long time). Generally, my direction is pretty good, but I'm not hitting the ball solid on a consistent basis. Thin shots aren't the worst thing in the world (I broke 80 several times last season hitting every iron shot thin), but I just wish I could start flushing the ball!