Comments on my swing (Side On/Slow Mo)

Rekaged · September 8, 2014

Hi guys this is my first post, I had a lesson yesterday and the pro informed me I was stalling my hips on the downswing. I have taken some videos here is a side on shot. I would appreciate any tips you guys can offer. I currently play off a 10.5. The club im using is a 5iron Regular Flex. (CG16)

Thanks

Rekaged · September 9, 2014

Here is a DTL video if that helps

[url="http://youtu.be/S-CsICy73ys"]http://youtu.be/S-CsICy73ys[/url]

skagns · September 9, 2014

Slightly leaning towards the target as you turn into your back swing.

Casting a bit. If you pause your face on swing when your hands at your right thigh, you've already released the club. This is going to cause you to lose speed, shallow angle of attack (possibly scooping or thinning), and quite a weak ball flight / less than ideal trajectory.

For your transition / hip movement, I suggest checking out Monte's video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXoW93m2HcY

Follow through looks great.

Rekaged · September 10, 2014

Thanks for the reply. What exactly is casting?? Im working on my hip turn at the moment.

Reasonability · September 12, 2014

Reka,

OK, you and I are about to go for a nice long ride through this one together! The very first thing you need to know is just how close you are to owning an incredibly good swing. There are things you simply do right. I would hope you NEVER lose such items inside your swing as you make any adjustments. This is important because as you fix anything -- in the process you want to avoid compromising the very good things about your current swing. This is not to soft-sell you, patronize you, or set you up for the "bad news",,,, this is said because you absolutely do some things extraordinarily well. Hats of to you and whomever left a thumbprint on developing your swing up to this point. I hope and trust you will always look for and maintain the following inside your own swing.

First, in the face on view -- look at how well BOTH your arms extend half to 3/4 of the way up your follow-through plane. Notice the orientation of the sternum to the reach of your arms and hands -- how the head is not rolling yet over the front foot -- and that overall posture. That my friend is rare. In the DTL view as you move through the follow through there is further evidence of your commitment to swing AROUND on a plane versus "at" the ball. See how that club exists through and around your body after impact? That, sir, is a thing of beauty.

Next, many golfers sway the hip over the back foot going back - and sway again over the front foot going through... NOT YOU!!! The tiny bit of lateral motion in your hips is absolutely fine. At least a touch of it is necessary as seen face on. But you have completely and totally managed rotational elements to your swing and have done so to the extent lateral sliding effects have been held in check. This is just ideal.

Thirdly -- overall balance and tempo - It's really very nice. Again, however you acquired these elements,,, all very good and I would make it my business going forward to see that such things never leak out of my swing.

As to some basic things I would look at if I were you. Starting with the grip and setup. I don't know if you currently do or do not have a good handle on the following subjects: And btw these comments are in no way intended to condescend -- only to support you just in case you may not have deeply explored certain items deeply to this point....

A) Secondary spine tilt
B) Ways to strengthen and weaken the grip (not in terms of tightness of the fingers so much as the position of the hands)
C) Stance

I am including a link for you. Inside this link I would NOT get too wrapped up in the technical mumbo-jumbo. I would simply go to the middle section and get a feel for the general alignments of the shoulders, knees, hips, AND in your case -- a focus on secondary spine tilt. Its a slight tilting of the body not only forward toward the target line (primary) BUT also a very slight lean away from the target (secondary). It matters. You are a golfer who really knows how to minimize hip sway and stay in posture. This secondary tilt will do something for you that is currently absent....

Notice at the top of your swing as you look at the face-on view... that your upper spine and lower spine are fairly vertical. In transitioning into the downswing, there is a moment there where your more or less vertical spine is almost looking for somewhere to go. This secondary tilt will allow your upper spine to be just a mere touch farter from the target than you lower spine at the top.

This will occur simply because you turned around a spine tilted that way from the onset. This provides someone with your brand of good rotationally based swing characteristics to freely unhinge the wrists through the ball, and the backswing and downswing mechanics become simpler. You already have a grasp of the follow-through plane. This will help you get a little better entry into that plane. We are about to discuss something about the hips as part of all this,,, but before doing so, I want to include that link for the setup... AND discuss the grip for a moment too.

[url="http://perfectgolfswingreview.net/AddressSetup.htm"]http://perfectgolfsw...ddressSetup.htm[/url]

As to the grip itself. To my eye your right hand is turned a bit too far clockwise. There is an ideal grip for everyone and it is a bit individual. However, when the hands feel like a single "unit" on the handle -- there is this incredible feeling that the club, hands, handle, elbows, and sternum can leave during the takeaway just like the pros do it. There is a shaft/arm angle formed by the grip based on how deep the handle sits in the left palm versus being wrapped in the fingers, This shaft/arm angle helps you set up better and will generate a great sense of distance from the sternum to the ball. The hands can become a unitized "set" inside this sort of a "system". When its correct, you feel that it can't go wrong if you wanted it to.

So, to help you with the grip itself... I would google it, study it, and fiddle with it until its perfect. And when it is.... I promise that you will know it. For me personally, I base my grip on what Ben Hogan wrote about in his book called

[center][u][b]The Modern Fundamentals of Golf - 5 Lessons[/b][/u]. [/center]

Now I don't EXACTLY grip it like Ben, nor do I swing it like him, and for sure I am no Ben Hogan. But it is a fabulous reading and provides the foundation of all the "stuff" we're talking about here. If you don't have the book, I highly recommend it. You will end up reading it cover to cover in one day.... but be prepared.... you end up stopping at every passage to go try things out.

OK, we're coming down the stretch here. The hips.... (evidence of what is happening is found by watching the top of your cap and a pole in the background). I partly agree with your instructor. But I would offer something to go with what he may be trying to get you to do. Several things here need to be looked at.

1. In the DTL view first - stop your video right at the moment of impact (or at least somewhere very close to it) and look at your posture, and observe that vertical pole in the background. Just pause it there and let that picture sort of burn into memory for a moment. Notice also how if you were to draw a straight line through your shoulder sockets at the top... notice that line would be relatively horizontal and not quite 90 degrees to the spine.

Now, click on the scrolling bar at the bottom of your swing while its paused, taking you right back to the address (at the beginning of your video).

So overall... You should notice that your posture is actually changing from address to impact. Your shoulders are turning just a little too horizontally during your backswing, and that your rear end has advanced forward toward the ball and away from that post in the background in the downswing.

2. In the face on view... stop the video frequently from takeaway to the top and from the top back down. You will notice the head is moving up and down a little bit. You will see this by watching the top of your cap.

3. Notice going into impact (face on) that the head of the club is advancing rapidly through impact and that little bit of backward bend in your right wrist which you had at the top is straightening. This is casting, Sometimes golfers cast from the top by sort of throwing the club with the hands and losing that right wrist angle immediately -- and some do what you do which is to release that "set" of the hands a touch early. In an ideal iron strike, the hands and wrists unhinge as the handle makes it more toward the lead leg as seen face on -- the shaft has a little forward lean, and this angle in the right wrist is simply transported from the top back down.

Centrifugal force from the weight of the club and the swing motion allows the wrists to unhinge, and there is no early "casting". As mentioned there is a hint of forward shaft lean seen in the face on view from this brand of transporting the right wrist set down.

So here is where the pieces (with practice) can all tie together...(and please don't forget Hogan's book...you won't be sorry!)

That secondary spine tilt will allow you deepen the rotation of your tail hip a touch in the backswing. IN YOUR CASE I WOULD BE A LITTLE CAREFUL ABOUT OVERLY BRACING AND STIFFENING THE TRAIL KNEE IN THE BACKSWING. Maintaining a bit of flex in that knee will allow the hip turn to deepen a touch and help you get to that position at the top where the upper spine is a touch farther from target than the lower spine. The trail hip inches just a little bit back and away from the toe line in this process. You will see this in future DTL views by watching the trail hip pocket -- this and things like how the rear end stays back behind the heels just a little more/longer in the downswing. The width of your backswing arc around that secondary spine tilt allows you to transport a slightly better grip to the top whereby that right wrist is bent (or cupped) at the top, and the lead wrist is flat.

As you progress with this there will soon come the time where you will search for what specifically to do In transition. At that point you can THEN just start things off with a gentle opening move of the hips and things will just "want to flow" without casting or rushing things. Some golfers like at this point to feel like the right shoulder moves toward or near the ball. Almost any golfer focuses on getting the right elbow to pass in front of the trail hip through the strike, and most all quality swings carry the feel that the hands and handle travel in front of the sternum DEEP into the backswing and actually they travel once again together for most of the down and through swings.

Things will accelerate and happen in the downswing -- and with your good swing they should happen very very well. But the setup and grip "stuff" covered actually leads you to the point at the top where there is less vertical motion in you head. The distance from your sternum to the ball will remain more constant, and the slight deepening of the hip turn will help keep the rear end backed a little out of the way -- for the natural and simple downward flow of the arms through the shot where those wrists can effortlessly unhinge with a little more forward shaft lean. This will enable you to strike the ball first and THEN take a nice straight shallow divot.

DRILL: Place an alignment rod or shaft across the shoulder line by crossing the arms across the chest as would be the case when performing sit-ups. Assume an address posture (with secondary tilt) with the rod across the chest and make your turn. Pause at the top and look in a DTL mirror. If the shoulder turn is correct, you will see the rod does not point level to the horizon. It will not point straight down to the target line through the ball, either but it will be more or less inclined and on plane. In that mirror you will see that your shoulders are perpendicular to the spine.

And, if you pay attention to turning the shoulders at 90 degrees to the spine angels set up at address... although it will feel strange at first --- your head will stop rising and falling. Why? Because what you will actually be controlling is the distance from the sternum back down to the ball. If that distance if filled up by the arms down through the club to the ball -- its important (even though you're rotating) to maintain a matching distance from your sternum to the ball from address to impact... if you change the posture by turning the shoulders improperly -- its almost impossible to consistently find that right distance again at the moment of truth (impact). Note: you may feel that the left shoulder moves down, right shoulder up...something may be found that triggers the turn of your shoulders WITH the spine angle.

At first, many golfer feel like this whole secondary spine tilt stuff is going to widen the backswing arc almost too much. You may wish therefore to learn to trust it with half swings and shorter clubs at first and work your way up to the driver. It will come to you most assuredly. There will come "feels" with this such as how the right elbow passes in front of the right hip -- and how the down-force pressure of your weight grows into the inside of the trail leg going back, etc.)

So for ALL the words on the page... lets simplify this.

1) grip and setup -- focusing on the ideal grip where at least the right hand is not turned too far to your right. secondary spine tilt and general alignments are in the mix here.

2) Using the secondary spine tilt and a slight deepening of hip rotation in the backswing to be in position for a little better transition. This will need to include turning the shoulders perpendicular to the spine.

3) Transition with a slight hip turn and trust that the right wrist can remain bent deeper into the down swing as the right elbow passes in front of the right hip - that "set" of the hands and arms unit and structure at the top can more or less be transported down and naturally unhinge.

If you maintain those great things you already do... dose these new elements into it... you should see amazing results. All I would add is that grip and posture changes,,,, they sound simple on paper... it can take some getting used to. If there is a little one-way miss or frustrations along the line... its just part of the learning curve. As you continue to take lessons... I would tend to believe your instructor will give you nothing but pure support to such a progression. He may want you to focus only on one or two bits of this at time. I sort of threw the whole big picture on you here.... but this way you and your instructor can nibble away at it in pieces together. He may have wanted to begin with the hips... OK by me. Got to start somewhere I suppose.

I personally believe that once the grip and stance are good -- ALL which follows and flows from it will be made ten times easier.

Hope this helps. Pardon and spelling/grammar issues.... will check back in later and make corrections and edits as I need to step away temporarily here.

Rekaged · September 12, 2014

You my friend are an absolute legend. thank you so much for taking time out of your day to go over my swing. Gives me heaps to work on. I really appreciate it.

Reasonability · September 12, 2014

Absolutely!

I see a few edits worth making and will do so shortly. There is a fellow from areas near your side of the world you may wish to get to know via PM or following him on this forum. His screen name is Kiwi2.

...Great guy. Really cares and shares. Keep an eye out for him and you won't regret that one either, OK... its back in for some light editing (not to worry, things won't change dramatically).

Dinosaur · September 14, 2014

Some might say it is fortunate that there is no shortage of "legends" on the forum. Some are acclaimed instructors, by either reputation, kudos, or self; others as described by Clint Eastwood in his role as Dirty Harry. The best thing is that one is able to discern, pick, and choose.

Reasonability · September 14, 2014

[quote name='Dinosaur' timestamp='1410723852' post='10116147']
Some might say it is fortunate that there is no shortage of "legends" on the forum. Some are acclaimed instructors, by either reputation, kudos, or self; others as described by Clint Eastwood in his role as Dirty Harry. The best thing is that one is able to discern, pick, and choose.
[/quote]

So well put my friend! We both know what its like to be warmly treated, respected, rejected, talked "at" versus "with", share a fun story or two, and through it all -- still come up smiling!