Any feedback would be greatly appreciated

[Dan_E]

Hi Everyone,

 

I'm finally about to bite the bullet and get professionally fitted for a set of irons, a fairway metal or two, as well as getting a shaft fitted to my driver (the only modern club in my bag) to fit my swing, as well as match (as best as is possible) the swing weight and feel of whatever irons I end up with.

 

At the moment, after taking a few months off for a minor injury, I'm hitting my irons consistently in a way that hasn't been possible for me in the past. The one change I've made is focusing on a flat wrist both at the top of my swing and at impact (I honestly never even realized it was that important, but watching old videos - I was cupped at impact for just about every sliced/shanked/topped shot). The perils of being self-taught...

 

The first video is from ~ February (I'm on oz, hence no jumper), the second two are from earlier this week.

I record mostly in 240fps @ 480p and all three videos repeat a few times from 'regular speed' to '1/8 speed' - however each video is under a minute.

 

 

 

 

I was trying to hit slight draws with the 6 irons, might have slightly overcooked the second one, can't remember, but overall I'm happy with the way I'm hitting them - I'd like to smooth the way my feet move after impact and maybe get slightly shallower with my position a the top, but generally I'm happy with the consistency more than anything and hopefully timing and more precise accuracy will come as I start to practice most days like I was last year.

 

The problem I'm having and have had ever since I started trying to improve my game two years ago, is that because my driver feels (and is) so much lighter than my irons (which I love the weight and feel of), I almost always get too quick, resulting in all sorts of miss-hits. Whenever I go to hit driver after hitting even one iron shot, whether at the range, or on the course I almost always struggle with this. At the range, I can usually sort it after a few shots - not very practical. Going from driver to my irons almost never causes the same issue in reverse, their weight and balance just feels right.

 

I did demo a heavier and stiffer shaft (x-flex, no idea the make or model) about a year ago and absolutely loved it, just couldn't afford it at the time (I believe my current shaft is the s-flex Trinity Alida that came with the 2013 Razr Fit Xtreme). Has anybody else had similar issues when their irons and fairway metals/driver were too far apart in weight, making it hard to switch tempo to hit each consistently? Really hoping getting fitted correctly will make a difference.

 

Like i said, any advice regarding club fitting and generally about how to improve my swing would be greatly appreciated.

[deserter]

i just registered here yesterday, so this is my first post. Let's see if I can make it count.

I looked at your swing and made my conclusions (I'll come back to them a little later) and decided to illustrate them with a comparison to Hunter Mahan's swing. (attached image)

First off, the address position: I've drawn the blue lines to mark the posture.

Second picture: Club about perpendicular to the camera. The red line is the plane your shoulders are turning on, the yellow line the plane the club is on at this point. Notice that you and Mahan both have the same relationship between the planes - the club is more upright than the shoulders.

Third picture: At impact the green line is the impact plane

Fourth pic: Follow through shoulder plane - the white line.


Do you see that, overall, Mr. Mahan's lines are much closer to parallel than your's. They are crisscrossing wildly with the club being a lot flatter in the backswing than at impact. The same with shoulders. It's hard to change your angles by that much and get it right in time for impact. I'd suggest that simply rotating back with a steeper shoulder plane would help tremendously with this. Try to feel your right shoulder moving behind you and up and your left shoulder moving down and in front. You should be able to see your left foot without the left shoulder obstructing the view. This will naturally bring your club more upright, closer to the impact plane.

Second thing of note is foot action. You push forward with your right foot in the downswing which results in you breaking posture (the blue lines). Your upper body is actually at a good angle at impact but it's all twisted (literally) with the core and legs being upright. Look at the contrast with Mahan who keeps his posture much better. Try to do absolutely nothing with your right foot in the downswing. Simply move your left buttock next to the right buttock. After that I don't really care what happens in that area, just whack the ball.

To recap this:
1. Steepen your shoulder angle in backswing. (This will feel awkward and take a few sessions to get comfortable with.)
2. Stop pushing your hips under your upper body with the right foot, instead start pulling the left hip beside the right hip. (You'll find that the right foot push is so ingrained that it takes a lot of effort to get rid of.)

Disclaimer: I'm not a pro or a coach, just a student of the game and universe. Everything I say should be taken with a pinch of salt, even if I believe in myself.

[Dan_E]

[quote name='deserter' timestamp='1410509825' post='10105721']
i just registered here yesterday, so this is my first post. Let's see if I can make it count.
[/quote]

That's awesome, I really, really appreciate the time taken to do that and will definitely try your suggestions (and given them enough time to not just write them off). I had sort of noticed the twisted spine issue, but wasn't really sure what it meant, good to hear confirmation. By turning the left shoulder down/steeper, is that in effect allowing for a steeper backswing while still keeping on or close to the shoulder plane?

Will put those images you've kindly done up and whack a few good videos of Hunter's swing on my phone to use as a guide on the range (I know he has a reputation for being a good swing for amateurs to replicate and I mostly understand why).

[deserter]

[quote name='Dan_E' timestamp='1410511721' post='10105749']
By turning the left shoulder down/steeper, is that in effect allowing for a steeper backswing while still keeping on or close to the shoulder plane?
[/quote]

Yes, it is. (Tip: A good way to get a feel for how your shoulders ought to rotate would be to stand upright and twist 90 degrees to the right, then bend towards the ball.)

I expect the backswing club plane to steepen naturally as the shoulder plane steepens.

As a result the red and white line will be closer to parallel. The yellow and green line will also be closer to parallel.
So generally the less you have to shift those planes from top of the swing to the impact (ie. them being closer to parallel to start with). It will require less athletic ability (ie. skill). Which is good.

[fowlerscousin]

swing looks good