Posture at setup

[bortass]

I took some video of my swing the other day. It's the first time I've filmed a shot in years and I'm also just getting back into things after stopping to play in 2014. I am slumped over at address with a rounded back and shoulders being low. How big a deal is this?

 

I think I need to straighten out my back a bit by bending more at the hips and not my over-abundant waist. Video below if you want to see what I'm describing.

 

Thanks for your time.

 

[crapula]

I don't see it as an issue. Your lower body gets closer to the ball during the backswing and it makes you stand up/ lose address angles.

Left hip moves too far forward and the right hip moves forward.

 

[hurley999s]

back line doesn’t appear to be an issue. I wouldn’t try to correct it by bending more at the hips because that will put your butt out even further and get your pressure on your toes (ie off balance).

To me, it looks like the club is too short for you and you’re simply reaching for it.

[bortass]

Last I knew they are either +1 or +1.5 inches. At least the PW in that set matches my other PW which was longer than standard. The outlier would be if I changed the length in my older irons to standard after a fitting. I know they were fit to +1 or +1.5 when I first bought them in 2004 but I went to a fitter in 2009/10 and he changed them some....

[AsianTigerWoods]

That's what I was gonna say as well, club looks a bit short for you. But address doesn't look too bad. Just try to drop your arms straight down from your shoulders at address, nice and relaxed. Don't move your head.

[MaineMariner]

My son is also named Bort.

[bortass]

That's kinda funny. So is your handle for the Maine Mariners hockey team that ceased to exist in the late 80's/early 90s or for Maine Maritime Academy?

[bortass]

I will see if the clubs changed. I had a lengthy thread here years ago and I know I talked about the club fitting that may have changed things from my original specs for slightly longer clubs. I just gotta find it and see what I wrote.

[MaineMariner]

The old AHL team! I'm from Maine originally and was (and still am) a big hockey fan.

[bortass]

@MaineMariner I saw them a few times in the 80s.@AsianTigerWoods @hurley999s I looked at what I wrote back in 2011 and found some answers. My original irons from 2004ish were +1 inch based on just my height. I'm about 6'2. Years later another fitting said I should be standard length, so I had the clubs cut down. February of 2011 I went for a fitting with Ace of Clubs near Boston. He was very highly recommended on this board. It was a dynamic fitting on a LM and he changed a few things with my clubs such as new shafts but left them at standard length.

The club in the video is a 7i from a set I got off eBay back in 2012 or so. They look to be standard length as well. I did have them bent to match the lie angles of my previous irons. My clubs are flatter than normal in case that matters.

[hurley999s]

I would ask you how does your posture feel with a 4iron in comparison? Length is a tricky one and really should come down to strike location (look up Howard Jones’ tune up thread for more details), but I just have to think with another inch on that club your posture would be a lot more balanced and relaxed.

just a suggestion if you’re a tinkerer..not at all suggesting that 100% they are too short, but to me they certainly look it. Well that club does at least.

Along these lines, what a lot of people do these days is smaller increments from club to club. Typically they’re 1/2” different each. So what you find is people find that a 4i/5i are comfortable, but the 8/9/w are too short. Or, the 8/9/w are good and the long irons feel too long. So for many people, half inch steps just create too big of a range across the set.

One possible solution is to find the one club that feels right to you and you hit well, and then build in 3/8” increments from there. This can make a set for you that the long irons are not too long, but the short irons and wedges aren’t too short.

just something to look into. Otherwise, your posture doesn’t look bad. I only got on the club being short bit because any changes you’d make (bring butt/pelvis a bit more underneath you), from the looks of it, the club wouldn’t be touching the ground.

[bortass]

@hurley999s Interesting, I'll keep this in mind for the future. Right now I'm in a 'if it's not broke, don't fix it' mode. Starting to play again after takings a few years off, so I'm just trying to get my swing back. I may revisit the club lengths at some point once my swing stabilizes. I'd look into another fitting to see what changes may be recommended. Slumping like that just looks bad to me. It's not a 'good look', lol.

[hurley999s]

As long as you are balanced, that is the key. If your weight/pressure is too much on the heels or toes, you will make compensations during the swing so you don’t fall over.

A good checkpoint I use is from Gankas (and others but he’s the first one that comes to mind):

from a DTL view (yours is slightly askew), at setup if you video yourself, freeze it at setup and draw a line down from the back of your right tricep (armpit area) and it should intersect the knees and balls of the feet. If the line isn’t lined up, your balance is either too much on your toes or heels.

[hurley999s]

Oh and by the way, don’t worry about the slumping itself, unless of course it is due to club length. But as a whole, it’s actually a good thing for many. Check this out:

[bortass]

Interesting video. I'll have to take a look at things if I get the camera set up correctly.