Jim Venetos golf swing?

[NeilEv]

On 8/6/2022 at 4:53 PM, Chainlinks said:

This clown still being talked about on wrx shows you how low this forum has sunk

Have you tried it out yourself, or do you just dislike what Venetos teaches on principle? I’ve been using the method for 2 months now and am starting to see real improvement in consistency, without any drop in distance. I’ve gone from shooting in the high nineties / low hundreds down to mid eighties, and my last two rounds I comfortably shot 4 over for the back nine, just by thinking of keeping weight on the left side throughout swing. If I can learn to putt better then scores should drop further. Conventional teaching has failed to achieve anything like this improvement for me, so I’m thankful that I came across Jim’s teaching.
 

The deep closed position, which looks so odd at setup, actually converts to a slightly closed position at impact. To be honest, just keeping weight on left side gives big improvement in strike even without deep closed setup.

 

 Best of all, it’s just so easy, nothing to think about during the swing in terms of movement or positions, and timing issues go away because you aren’t shifting your weight back and forth ( which when you think about it only adds a few mph lateral movement anyway). 
 

that’s my experience anyway…

[NeilEv]

On 2/10/2023 at 6:35 AM, N4865G said:

I have been playing inconsistent golf for over 10 years now. I had number of lessons at the local golf club, but going to the course has always ended up in frustration and losing balls, as they were going all over the place. Then I came across Jim Venetos YT videos and started experimenting with it. Once I got a grip on the basics I started playing the best golf of my life instantly. From hovering around a 100 on a course I manage to score 80-85 now (my putting needs some work though, so there is room for significant improvement there).

I have gone through 3 months of JV subscription and must admit it was frustrating. I was sending my V1 footage to Jim and he managed to cure some of the mistakes I was making, but then he would not comment on several videos I sent at all.

So, I decided to stop the subscription and keep on improving myself with all the basics in place.

My key persistent problem is hitting the ball slightly fat on most of the shots despite having my weight almost entirely on my left side (at least it feels that way). I believe it has to do with staying still vertically throughout the swing phase, so this is something I need more work on.

Otherwise, for me it was a complete revolution. The most important part was that I started enjoying the game all over again.

 

Thanks

Dom

My experience in terms of scoring is similar, in 2 months I’ve gone from shooting high nineties/low hundreds down to mid eighties, with bonus of my last two back nines both being 4 over. I’m a convert to this method. I was impressed with Jim’s responsiveness, when I posted a couple of questions in his academy forums he called me for a phone discussion rather than just swap emails. He really does want to help you improve.

 

Obviously I know things can still go wrong, but it is just so stress free to not worry about how to move the club, when to time a weight shift, how to rotate etc. Just get on the left side and keep it there, and if it goes wrong it’s easy to diagnose why.  My last time out I committed to the stronger grip he recommended, fearing a hook, but no, got lovely draw and increased distance. Hits stuff really does work if you just commit to it.

Neil

[BurntOrange]

On 2/5/2023 at 2:13 PM, BurntOrange said:

So, I have been messing around with the JV swing for a little over a week on my sim. My current handicap is a 9. It has been as low as 6. My problems have always been short game related—not getting the pitches/chips close enough or missing the putt when I needed to make it. However, over the last year or so, my swing has started to leave me. I found JV by accident. 

 

I took it to the course today, not to try and produce a number, but more to see how the ball striking was and to hit driver with it to see. 

 

First, what I saw on the sim:

reduced side spin

increased distance on irons 10-15 yards.

I seemed to produce better shots when I was at a true 45 degree turn.

I think the distance came from hitting it solid each time—center of the sweet spot. So much so, I did not want to quit hitting it.

 

What I saw today at course (and before you ask, I did not keep score—It was a ball striking experiment):

Missed 2 fairways today due to movement in swing—but were in bounds and definitely playable.

3 drives at 300 plus (no wind, however in Texas grass is dead so probably got some extra roll)

Hit one drive in hazard due to hit it through the fairway—fairly new course, bad club selection.

Used his system out of sand in one bunker in—solid shot from fairway bunker—botched the putt.

Chipping I have to watch some more videos.

 

 In short, I was very impressed with the striking and ease of the swing.

I am looking into his academy now.

Going to try it some more on the sim. 

 

So hate on it, like it, doubt it—whatever, to each his own.

For me, I was actually excited about a game again that I have played for the last 39 years.

 

I will try and give an honest update down the road on where I am at with the swing or if I abandoned it.

 

On 2/10/2023 at 12:35 AM, N4865G said:

I have been playing inconsistent golf for over 10 years now. I had number of lessons at the local golf club, but going to the course has always ended up in frustration and losing balls, as they were going all over the place. Then I came across Jim Venetos YT videos and started experimenting with it. Once I got a grip on the basics I started playing the best golf of my life instantly. From hovering around a 100 on a course I manage to score 80-85 now (my putting needs some work though, so there is room for significant improvement there).

I have gone through 3 months of JV subscription and must admit it was frustrating. I was sending my V1 footage to Jim and he managed to cure some of the mistakes I was making, but then he would not comment on several videos I sent at all.

So, I decided to stop the subscription and keep on improving myself with all the basics in place.

My key persistent problem is hitting the ball slightly fat on most of the shots despite having my weight almost entirely on my left side (at least it feels that way). I believe it has to do with staying still vertically throughout the swing phase, so this is something I need more work on.

Otherwise, for me it was a complete revolution. The most important part was that I started enjoying the game all over again.

 

Thanks

Dom

 

On 2/11/2023 at 2:17 PM, scopek said:

An update: I’ve been working on his swing path drill. He’s very picky so it’s taking me longer, but that’s a good thing. I’ve noticed that when I’m going to a 7 iron I’m starting to make some nice contact. Hardest thing for me is being more lead side dominant as my tail side wants to hit at the ball, probably from years of being trail side dominant. BUT I really believe that if I can get this, it’s going to be a game changer and way easier to maintain. Negatives is that you really need to turn off a lot of instincts that’s I’ve always considered more “athletic” movements. We’ll see….

Well I have been going back and forth with the JV swing. I have not given him any money or joined his academy yet. I have just been going off the free videos on YouTube. This morning on the sim it kind of all came together a bit. I had been fighting the swing and switching back and forth during my rounds—you can imagine how that went each time. 

 

This morning I saw a video that he spoke about trail foot way back—beginner, middle ways—intermediate, and level—expert who does not have a tendency to come over the top.

 

I have a tendency to come over the top; however, seldom sliced the ball—just pull hooks.

 

The fight I was having with the JV swing was I did not realize I was still taking club back more along line with ball vs shoulder line.  As soon as I started dragging it down shoulder line and over my right shoe, contact improved greatly. Ball flight and slight draw was there as long as I had the club face lined up properly for target.

 

I admit it is quite an odd feeling dragging club back what feels like 45 degrees back (and very may well be, did not record the swing) and throwing it out on downswing at same line.

 

The struggle with the swing may be over now that I got my old golf tendencies out of the swing.

 

Will update again as the quest continues.

[Towjumper]

I've been playing for about 3 years, give or take, and was really frustrated trying imitate the traditional golf swing. Going down the Youtube black hole at home one evening, I saw a JV video. Started watching more and then decided to give the online academy a shot for a few months and see what happens. I'm not sure how these folks are cutting between 10-15 shots off their first round after trying this on the range for a few sessions, but that is definitely not the experience I had. I actually took my average of between 90-95 and immediately turned it into a 105, quite frustrating actually. In all fairness, Jim does request that you not even go play a round for a couple of months while going through this change but I like to play no matter what I shoot. I kept at it for about 2 months and progressed pretty well to the 7i and just kind of abandoned most of it. I did however, take quite a few of his principles that he teaches and integrated into what I have already learned. I don't close the hips or shoulders near as much as he teaches, but I did keep the swing path and keeping the shoulders closed through impact. While I have actually had a huge increase in distance, 15-20 yards on average with all my clubs, hitting the woods and driver with the JV method is damn near impossible for me. I also did take his lessons on the bump and run, bunker shots, and putting and implemented them with a good amount of success. To me, those specific areas were worth the price all by themselves.

 

If you are a seasoned golfer you probably wont get a whole lot out of this and are probably pretty skeptical. For me specifically; getting the short game videos, learning the in-to-out swing path, and learning to keep my shoulders closed were absolutely worth the 2 months of access to his full video catalog. Am I going to be a scratch golfer? Absolutely not, but I have improved enough and working to more consistent is part of the draw of golf for me. Shooting between an 80-85 on average is good enough to get around the course and not be embarrassing when golfing with new folks.

 

I would recommend JV to new golfers to get some very important fundamentals down and then evolve to find your own swing.

[iacas]

8 hours ago, Towjumper said:

In all fairness, Jim does request that you not even go play a round for a couple of months while going through this change

 

Woof.

 

8 hours ago, Towjumper said:

I would recommend JV to new golfers to get some very important fundamentals down and then evolve to find your own swing.

 

 

The thing is… I'm not sure if those are "good" or "fundamentals" to other more (for lack of a better word) "traditional" swings.

 

I see golfers nearly every day who pull their trail elbow too far around their bodies, and it's a heck of a thing to fix. From what I understand, the JV swing is very arms-driven, and so to do that, you use your arms and pull them around your body a good bit.

 

If you're content to stay at the level you're at, and don't want to move beyond the basics of JV… then great. More power to you, and welcome to golf, and glad you enjoy it. But if you want to go beyond, my fear would be that you're learning things that you'll then have to un-learn later on or in relatively short order.

 

[Towjumper]

2 hours ago, iacas said:

The thing is… I'm not sure if those are "good" or "fundamentals" to other more (for lack of a better word) "traditional" swings.

 

Feel free to correct me but an inside out swing path, finishing the swing with your weight on your front foot, and having closed shoulders at impact are all good fundamentals of a "traditional" golf swing.

2 hours ago, iacas said:

 

I see golfers nearly every day who pull their trail elbow too far around their bodies, and it's a heck of a thing to fix. From what I understand, the JV swing is very arms-driven, and so to do that, you use your arms and pull them around your body a good bit.

 

If you're content to stay at the level you're at, and don't want to move beyond the basics of JV… then great. More power to you, and welcome to golf, and glad you enjoy it. But if you want to go beyond, my fear would be that you're learning things that you'll then have to un-learn later on or in relatively short order.

 

You are partially correct about the arms but in my experience, it was only in the back swing. I still utilized my hips during the downswing. Don't recall in my post stating I was content to stay at the level I am currently at and in fact stated I would like to shoot between 80 and 85 on a consistent basis which by definition is an improvement from where I am currently at. Additionally, I did state that I abandoned almost all of the swing I learned and kept what was working in conjunction with the traditional skills I had learned from an instructor previously. 

[iacas]

22 minutes ago, Towjumper said:

Feel free to correct me but an inside out swing path, finishing the swing with your weight on your front foot, and having closed shoulders at impact are all good fundamentals of a "traditional" golf swing.

 

Shoulders closed is not, no, and if you want to be that vague about it, then "holding the club" is "fundamental" too, as is "standing to the side of the ball" or "bending forward" or some other things.

 

There's more to it than that.

 

22 minutes ago, Towjumper said:

You are partially correct about the arms but in my experience, it was only in the back swing.

 

Right, but where you "put" the arms, where they move to, is creating (it seems to me) a bad habit that you'll then have to un-learn.

 

22 minutes ago, Towjumper said:

Don't recall in my post stating I was content to stay at the level I am currently at and in fact stated I would like to shoot between 80 and 85 on a consistent basis which by definition is an improvement from where I am currently at. Additionally, I did state that I abandoned almost all of the swing I learned and kept what was working in conjunction with the traditional skills I had learned from an instructor previously. 

 

I'm just pointing out that sometimes I think these "pre-built swings" that "simplify" things (my words, not yours) are often counter-productive if you want to move beyond them. They require un-learning things you learned, and actually delay the process in favor of a small quick gain.

 

I read what you wrote, and if you're happy with what you've chosen to do, that's great. I'm not talking about you specifically, more "in general" or swing theory type stuff.

[Towjumper]

3 minutes ago, iacas said:

 

Shoulders closed is not, no, and if you want to be that vague about it, then "holding the club" is "fundamental" too, as is "standing to the side of the ball" or "bending forward" or some other things.

 

There's more to it than that.

 

I'll defer and assume that you are more experienced and knowledgeable than I am concerning this specific point. Some quick googling told me the point of the closed shoulders at impact was to produce a draw which is a more powerful shot than the fade.

 

3 minutes ago, iacas said:

 

Right, but where you "put" the arms, where they move to, is creating (it seems to me) a bad habit that you'll then have to un-learn.

 

 

I can only speak from personal experience, it was really easy to unlearn only swinging the arms during the back swing.

3 minutes ago, iacas said:

I'm just pointing out that sometimes I think these "pre-built swings" that "simplify" things (my words, not yours) are often counter-productive if you want to move beyond them. They require un-learning things you learned, and actually delay the process in favor of a small quick gain.

 

I read what you wrote, and if you're happy with what you've chosen to do, that's great. I'm not talking about you specifically, more "in general" or swing theory type stuff.

I'm all about learning an getting better, I appreciate the feedback and you taking the time to respond.

[DaveLeeNC]

I am not a Venetos disciple but some of what he teaches is applicable to my issues, I think. I tend to turn too early and aggressively and then have to stall or make other compensations as I approach the ball. Jim teaches a pretty still upper body on the downswing (I'm not sure that it is as still as he claims, but compared to what I have a tendency to do ....). 

 

How exactly to do go about trying to 'not turn' (or whatever JV calls it) the upper body going into the ball. Do you focus on just arms? Do you somehow 'try' to keep your shoulders closed at/through impact? How do you go after this? 

 

Thanks. 

 

dave

[BigEx44]

10 hours ago, DaveLeeNC said:

I am not a Venetos disciple but some of what he teaches is applicable to my issues, I think. I tend to turn too early and aggressively and then have to stall or make other compensations as I approach the ball. Jim teaches a pretty still upper body on the downswing (I'm not sure that it is as still as he claims, but compared to what I have a tendency to do ....). 

 

How exactly to do go about trying to 'not turn' (or whatever JV calls it) the upper body going into the ball. Do you focus on just arms? Do you somehow 'try' to keep your shoulders closed at/through impact? How do you go after this? 

 

Thanks. 

 

dave

 

JV only wants you focusing on "stillness"

1) He has you set up with your weight left and pre-turned for your backswing (with the shoulders/torso)

2) Because of that, on the backswing, he wants you to "be still" as you only need to bring your arms back (no body movement required) to be in a good BS position.

3) Then on the downswing you let the club fall into the ball.  There's a turn through the ball but only as a result of the body reacting to the arms swinging past the body.  And yes, he wants your shoulders closed at impact.  He has you do that by doing a "shoulders closed" drill as your practice swing.  Eventually, this builds an "automatic" closed shoulder into your swing.

[DaveLeeNC]

53 minutes ago, BigEx44 said:

 

JV only wants you focusing on "stillness"

1) He has you set up with your weight left and pre-turned for your backswing (with the shoulders/torso)

2) Because of that, on the backswing, he wants you to "be still" as you only need to bring your arms back (no body movement required) to be in a good BS position.

3) Then on the downswing you let the club fall into the ball.  There's a turn through the ball but only as a result of the body reacting to the arms swinging past the body.  And yes, he wants your shoulders closed at impact.  He has you do that by doing a "shoulders closed" drill as your practice swing.  Eventually, this builds an "automatic" closed shoulder into your swing.

 

Thanks for the response. I assume that this is the closed shoulder drill that you are referencing. 

 

 

dave

[BigEx44]

56 minutes ago, DaveLeeNC said:

 

Thanks for the response. I assume that this is the closed shoulder drill that you are referencing. 

 

 

dave

 

Yes, exactly right.

[TomScht]

The swing is not easy to do if you have been shifting your weight and hips and slicing your whole life.  I've hit 500-1,000 balls with the JV swing, but 50+ years of traditional swinging is hard to erase.   My best shots come when I can truly abandon my old concepts and just do what he wants.  On the course that is less than 50% of the time - but as I see the good results coming from doing it exactly right, my percentage grows.

[Tanner25]

How does the swing affect the front knee? Have a bad trail knee which might help take pressure off of.

[Towjumper]

4 minutes ago, Tanner25 said:

How does the swing affect the front knee? Have a bad trail knee which might help take pressure off of.

 

I spent a decade and a half on jump status and believe me my knees are done for! I didn't have any issues with my front knee, but my plant foot is really tender after a longer range session. May be totally unrelated.

[tm3]

18 hours ago, Tanner25 said:

How does the swing affect the front knee? Have a bad trail knee which might help take pressure off of.

I think the JV instruction is "70% of weight on the front foot" in addition to the staying still.  My guess is it would be up to you to decide if holding the weight on the front like that hurts your knee.

[toddlasher]

On 4/1/2023 at 2:31 PM, Tanner25 said:

How does the swing affect the front knee? Have a bad trail knee which might help take pressure off of.

I strained my left knee using this technique for a few weeks.  
 

I was absolutely puring my irons though 

[DataGolfer]

Venetos is one part "No Turn Cast Drill" and five parts performance art.

 

Anyone who doesn't realize this... as they say in the South... bless your heart.

[NoTalentLefty]

 things the JV swing helped me with was  keeping more weight on front foot at start of swing tho I do shift now and keeping my back as long as possible in my downswing . I’ve abandon the rest. I am an upper core type player in the words of Dr Wright and Larry Rinker . Still practicing with the a closed stance as well but only as a teaching aid. 

Edited August 27, 2023 by NoTalentLefty

[DaveLeeNC]

55 minutes ago, golfman1023 said:

Venetos is one part "No Turn Cast Drill" and five parts performance art.

 

Anyone who doesn't realize this... as they say in the South... bless your heart.

 

I totally agree that there is a lot of smooth marketing content in Jim's videos. But this does not look to me like NTC - it looks to me like presetting Stack and Tilt. 

 

His videos had value to me in making me better aware of how over-active my lower body is during the transition. Due primarily to arthritis in multiple joints, I cannot do enough swing drills to make that big a swing change these days.

 

dave

[DataGolfer]

So, do the Venetos "preset stack and tilt" then.

 

But there's no magic... you're just hitting a 3/4 punch, similar to what I would do with a flip wedge.

 

NTC does the same thing...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[hoganben]

On 8/9/2022 at 4:19 PM, Krt22 said:

Zero prejudgment, just going by the video in the OP. It's an awful swing pattern, period. It might help a long time slicer finally hit the elusive draw, at the expense of loss of distance and severe back pain. The guy is hitting a swooping hook with a 9i for crying out loud lol

why would it give severe back pain?.have you tried it?.did it cause you severe pain and a big hook?...didnt bother mine at all because the setup and swing causes less torque on the body than a regular swing and I hit it straight or with a slight draw. Can you not see that even by watching the video? There are always guessers on forums.

[hoganben]

On 8/27/2023 at 7:34 AM, toddlasher said:

I strained my left knee using this technique for a few weeks.  
 

I was absolutely puring my irons though 

no one ever hurt themselves with any other golf swings..lol .ps..The fact that Jack N. , Tom W and Greg N all have fake left hips is just a coincidence.

[KNOWMOREDOUBLES]

24 pages on the Jim Venetos golf swing.  I guess the guy is doing all right for himself.

[DaveLeeNC]

8 hours ago, KNOWMOREDOUBLES said:

24 pages on the Jim Venetos golf swing.  I guess the guy is doing all right for himself.

Not necessarily the case. Pick the right 2 people and the right question, and those 2 people could easily generate 24 pages of discussion which would be of no interest to anyone else on planet earth.

 

dave

[TomScht]

WARNING!.. The Jim Venetos swing is not for old people.

I signed up for 3-4 months of lessons and my left hip started hurting.  On his discussion site, there was another guy asking about hip pain.  Jim's answer was "If you do it right, it won't hurt."

Well, here I am more than six months later and IT STILL HURTS. Right where the bone goes into the socket.  The Venetos swing sets your right (rear) foot back so you are facing 45 degrees to the right.  Then you swing to 45 degrees to the left, keeping all your weight on your left leg.  Well, you keep that up and it's going to grind away what cartilage is in there and that's what happened to me.  I've got a lot of bone-on-bone.  When I stand, I have to put the weight on my right foot, when I walk, if I don't limp, I feel like I should. A year ago I never thought about arthritis pain, now I do every day.

Okay, so maybe I didn't "do it right," but still...  this has been a high price to pay.  Venetos should be on the lookout for this but if he continues to blow it off, here you go.

[Nels55]

8 minutes ago, TomScht said:

WARNING!.. The Jim Venetos swing is not for old people.

I signed up for 3-4 months of lessons and my left hip started hurting.  On his discussion site, there was another guy asking about hip pain.  Jim's answer was "If you do it right, it won't hurt."

Well, here I am more than six months later and IT STILL HURTS. Right where the bone goes into the socket.  The Venetos swing sets your right (rear) foot back so you are facing 45 degrees to the right.  Then you swing to 45 degrees to the left, keeping all your weight on your left leg.  Well, you keep that up and it's going to grind away what cartilage is in there and that's what happened to me.  I've got a lot of bone-on-bone.  When I stand, I have to put the weight on my right foot, when I walk, if I don't limp, I feel like I should. A year ago I never thought about arthritis pain, now I do every day.

Okay, so maybe I didn't "do it right," but still...  this has been a high price to pay.  Venetos should be on the lookout for this but if he continues to blow it off, here you go.

 

I don't like the position that Jim Venetos gets into at impact.  It looks like a recipe for lead hip pain to me:

[Tanner25]

Good for you for saying something, it happens where certain swings can create pain, sometimes long term.

Edited December 9, 2023 by Tanner25

[scopek]

I really gave this swing a decent try. In short, I do believe this can be a very good swing and believe from reading other's report on his internal member board that it's a God send for many golfers. My issue was that I really struggled with turning off my athletic instincts. You really have to be disciplined to not want to do what feels natural. Now I understand what feels natural is not always a good thing, but the swing felt so unathletic that it just never felt right. Sure, I was starting to have a consistent ball flight. But I actually enjoy the feeling of movement and it just wasn't enjoyable to hit balls, if that makes sense. Again, I genuinely believe this is a great way to go for a lot of golfers, but just wasn't for me. 

Edited December 11, 2023 by scopek

[Nels55]

5 minutes ago, scopek said:

I really gave this swing a decent try. In short, I do believe this can be a very good swing and believe from reading other's report on his internal member board that it's a God send for many golfers. My issue was that I really struggled with turning off my athletic instincts. You really have to be disciplined to not want to do what feels natural. Now I understand what feels natural is not always a good thing, but the swing felt so unathletic that it wasn't fun. Sure, I was starting to have a consistent ball flight. But I actually enjoy the feeling of being athletic and it just wasn't fun to hit balls. Again, I genuinely believe this is a great way to go for a lot of golfers, but just wasn't for me. 

Have you looked into Milo Line's stuff on Youtube?  Definitely an athletic motion there...