carland's swing

[carland]

The instructor working with me has me taking the hands to the inside on the takeaway. He wants it to feel like the hands pass over the right foot or brush the right front pants pocket while the wrists hinge upward. The wrist hinge keeps the club on the shaft plane in the takeaway. Is there a downside to this sort of takeaway? Here's my swing:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUzngMrQKak

I go thru periods of hitting it well but then lots of pushes or push-slices with a low trajectory.

[cloran]

I don't see anything wrong with the take away. This swing looks pretty nice to me, but I can see where you may have issues from time to time. You really load up on the right side and need a big lateral move to get back to impact. When you don't get it done you end up with your pushes, slices, etc.

How long have you been working with your instructor? What are you trying to accomplish with him/her? Is there a specific pattern you are after?

[nothere]

I noticed your left wrist is really bowed at impact this could account for a lower trajectory as it can deloft the clubface, and in certain golfers it can have the face open depending on how it's done. I agree with Cloran that it's a pretty good swing and i like the takeaway.

[carland]

I worked with the instructor a lot in 2001-2002. He helped a lot and got my handicap as low as it's ever been. After that I got married, practiced less, took no lessons and bought into the Cameron Strachan idea that I should forget about everything technical and just focus on the target. Here's his web site: www.cameronstrachan.com/.

That led to disaster. My backswing got way too vertical and I hit tons of weak pull slice type drives. I was only able to keep it in the 80s because I had played for so long that I could still avoid big numbers.

So last summer I went back to the same instructor. I'm starting to hit the ball more solidly, but I still have some pretty poor ballstriking days. I want to get back to where I break 40 for 9 holes 75% of the time instead of 20% of the time. My recurring faults are lifting my left arm too vertical at the top of the backswing and failing to shift my body towards the target on the downswing. The instructor wants me to feel like my left hip is even with the outside of my left foot before impact. I never get there.

[cloran]

If you try to keep your upper centers more centered during the back swing you'll be able to slide far enough forward through impact. Right now your head starts behind the ball (fine), moves a little farther back (ok), and up (hmmm), then back down through transition... but it's quite a ways to move. After impact it hangs back.

EDIT: Please take my critique with a grain of salt... I'm no Pro.

[carland]

What do you mean by "upper centers" - the sternum? I'm not TGM or ABS fluent. What you're saying makes sense. If you don't move away from the target on the backswing, then it's easier to slide forward on the downswing. What do you do to keep from moving backward - a SnT lean left on the backswing? Thanks.

[gmbtempe]

carland,

You have a great swing and you have to be very close to being a good ballstriker. Not many people have the club in as good a spots as you do. I do think on the takeaway you have the in and back but need more "up". Club stays on the shaft plane (bottom red line) for a long time then shifts up. I dont think its a killer though. I think there is a little to much movement off the ball if you look at your eyes at the top it seems like it would be hard to see the ball with your right eye?

Anyways whoever is working with you is doing a good job.

Attachments:

[carland]

gmbtempe, how do you keep from moving off the ball? Do you keep the right leg from moving at all in the backswing or lean left like in SnT?

[gmbtempe]

Aug 20, 2010 15:07:05 GMT -5 carland said:

gmbtempe, how do you keep from moving off the ball? Do you keep the right leg from moving at all in the backswing or lean left like in SnT?

Just a disclaimer as I am no pro and learned everything about the golf swing the past 16 months, before that I just swung, hit and hoped.....and last night I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn.

But,

I think part of it is the lifting that occurs to get the club to the top after keeping it low and in........

But.

I think a bigger part of it is understand how the weight is shifted in the swing, its not moved, its a product of the knee bend and hip movement.

Try this drill, stand in front of a mirror with your weight 50/50. Bend the left knee so it moves towards the ball and straighten your right knee (not locked). The hips will open naturally with this movement. I would imagine you will see you have not moved your head at all. Now just mix in a little shoulder turn and thats it. The weight has been moved as much as it needs to in the swing and your head should have stayed very centered. Your is not moving crazy but the eyes vision tell me its off just a tad.

[carland]

Thanks. I'm going to give the drill a try. It sounds like an SnT move.

[gmbtempe]

Aug 20, 2010 15:31:18 GMT -5 carland said:

Thanks. I'm going to give the drill a try. It sounds like an SnT move.

Golf Machine, but SnT is an offshoot from the golf machine. Just think 50/50, but when you throw the arms and club in there if you were standing on pressure plates I am sure you would be 65/35 at the weight in the most rightward position.


at about 1:50 of this video the little drill Lynn Blake is doing is showing how the knees work in the swing. Its good stuff.

picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/f3-LWaf0mE7r435SgIJKqg?feat=embedwebsite

[cloran]

Aug 20, 2010 14:15:41 GMT -5 carland said:

What do you mean by "upper centers" - the sternum? I'm not TGM or ABS fluent. What you're saying makes sense. If you don't move away from the target on the backswing, then it's easier to slide forward on the downswing. What do you do to keep from moving backward - a SnT lean left on the backswing? Thanks.

Upper centers: Head and sternum (a point in the middle of both).
If you work on picking a spot on the ground, ball, whatever when you take address just keep focused on that spot in the back swing. Don't move your head back. If you keep it steady your sternum will stay in place as well... then at the top of the back swing, you can focus on sliding your hips (lower center, or COG, mid hip/pelvic area) towards the target along with the sternum and head.

[carland]

I had another lesson earlier this week addressing my low trajectory, pushes and push-slices with my driver. The instructor worked on getting my left hip over the outside of my left foot before impact. He had me pretending to hit 100 yard drivers. I don't why it worked but I slid my hips forward more than when I swing at normal speed. But I was still blocking balls to the right. So he wants me to work on the hip slide AND making sure my arms keep up with my body in the downswing. So it's hip slide and arm swing.

I worked on it yesterday. When my arms kept up with the hip slide, I hit it straight or slightly pulled it. When my arms didn't keep up, I hit more bad slices. Here's my "after" swing from the lesson:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tL2qdzLhFNQ

[imperfectgolfer]

I think that you have a perfect takeaway, and I do not think that you take your hands/club too much inside with too little up. Your clubshaft remains very close to the clubshaft-at-address plane during the first half of the takeaway and that's perfect.

See - www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jqJ9R2LypY&NR=1



Note that Stuart's clubshaft remains very close to that white line during his takeaway. His clubshaft only steepens after he passes the end-takeaway position.

Jeff.

[carland]

Another lesson last week. Instructor likes the backswing plane (my tendency is to let my arms get too high at the top), but still critical of my hanging back with my lower body on the downswing. From a face on view, he wants the left hip to slide laterally enought to be over the outside edge of the left foot at impact. If he draws a vertical line up from the outside of the left foot, the left hip should be touching that line at impact.

I struggle to get the feel down. The instructor wants me to practice hitting driver 100-150 yards so I have time to shift my hips. Has anybody else worked on this swing issue? Here is a video of my "after" swing taken at the end of the lesson.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=62Rhf7ZJXlg