Shots going to the right

[progolf4life]

Calling: Slicefixer or any other person who knows the golf swing

If you guys really want to help read this first:
I'll start of by saying that I know a lot about the golf swing, I am a low handicapper, and I know what i'm doing wrong but I need some drills to correct the problem.

With my long irons my shots are sometimes a push or a straight shot that starts to fade and are a little weaker then they should be. With my short irons they are going straight with a little fade most of the time which I do not like because I am a straight ball hitter. With my short irons I can also tell that my trajectory is not as piercing as it should be, so I know once I get to the longer irons that there will be a problem.

My short irons have a medium boring trajectory and same for the long irons. I was wondering if this was a good trajectory or is the optimal trajectory one where the ball slightly raises throughout the flight? With my long irons they trajectory is a low boring trajectory. My long iron trajectory is a little lower then I would like it.

Here are my questions in a simple format:
1) How do I get a more piercing trajectory with all of my irons
2) How do I raise my trajectory throughout my set without changing equipment
3) Which trajectory is optimal: A boring trajectory, or one where the ball slightly raises throughout the flight?
4) How do I stop the pushed irons shots and the iron shots that start of straight and fade to the right?
5) Does anyone know of any good drills to stop the above question from happening?
6) When coming in contact with the ball where should the lets/lower body be? A picture of these would be of great help.

Heres what I know:
1) I know that when I push my shots it is because my swing path is coming from too far inside.
2) I know that the slight fade comes from correct clubhead path throughout the swing but when I come in contact with the ball the face is slightly open.
3) I know that I am releasing the club because I finish my shots.
4) I know that weak shots can be cause by casting the club.
5) I know that pushed shots can be cause by sliding of the hips instead of turning through it and a late release through the shot.

Edit:
I just realized that I used to go slightly past parallel with bowed wrists and had a very hard time hitting consistent shots. When I lightened up my grip a lot I could hit decent shots and got great distance but it was very inconsistent. Because of the loose hand the club came on the inside and one of the main things I had to do was to clear my hip. You guys may find this similar to Tiger Woods swing flaw that he had on the first day of the tournament that's going on right now and it was discussed on The Golf Channel. Recently I haven't used that lightened grip which would make it impossible for the club to come on the inside there my hands were always blocked and thus the right side came into play.

With that said I only took the shaft back to parallel today and it did feel different but it didn't help the problem at all. I was having all the same problems as when the club was bowed. I am guessing that it is because I am not used to feeling the proper release of the club with this shortened swing, well shortened for me. And my grip has been rather strong lately so that could also promote the blocked shots. When I have been saying that my grip has been strong lately I am talking about grip pressure and not the actual grip itself.

[onkelbenz]

I'm having similar problems of going past parallel (especially with my woods) and blocking / push-fading. I normally have a nice draw on my irons but when I get past parallel its a push-fade. The ball starts out straight but fades badly! It tends to get so bad that I hit it 270 yrd out but 50 yrd right! (Thats not the 320 I've been hoping for....) Notice that I have a strong grip and hold my clubs well in the fingers instead of my palm. I'm right-handed.

 

My teaching pro says that when I get past parallel I loose tension and coming back to parallel on the downswing I result in an open club face and/or slightly over the top move.

So his major objective is to stop me from getting PP! His approach of cure is to get me to swing in a wider arc that stops earlier. It works for some time (the lesson) then I'm losing it again...

A drill he gave is to push my left hand and stretch the left arm when I'm at the top (not past it!) with my right hand. Also he likes me to swing up on a slightly steeper arc (as you mentioned swinging too flat doesn't help at all!). Important when practicing this, however, is that you don't shift the center of the body past your right knee or you're staying behind the ball instead of making a proper transition. So basically, get a wider arc in the arms and you can't lose it PP!

 

Another tip he gave me: to loosen my grip I should use some tape (+1 on the left hand and +4 on the right). I'm currently on the research on this here because I've only read about that in respect to hooking so far?!

 

Hope this helps, other tips / drills / opinions are greatly appreciated!

OB

[progolf4life]

It's nice to see that i'm not the only one :drinks: . Today when I golfed I basically did what you were told and extended my arm out, and at first it worked but after awhile the fade came back. I am pretty sure that was due to the fact that I was tired though. I also realized what my main problem was. During the transition down I stayed on my right side too long which resulted in the shots to the right. When I fixed this the ball flew nice BUT too low for my liking.

 

Do you guys have any tips on how to raise the flight a bit?

 

 

 

I appreciate the post onkelbenz.

[onkelbenz]

Another thing I realized in last nights range session: Check the line of your shaft during the upswing, you know, putting a tee in the butt of the shaft and see where it points to. I was up to a foot outside (far) from my target line when pushing!!! Way too flat, especially with 3w & driver! So I did some swings with the tee in the butt (of the club, that is) trying to keep it on target line and ooops - back on track! :crazy: And at the same time I practiced keeping my head down trough impact, watching the spot where my tee stuck in the ground until after impact - and my little draw was back again, too! :drinks:

 

I'm not saying I'm cured yet but I now know what to work on and groove in! Best thing is it's some universal swing thought not really driver specific so I can practice it with all clubs. I hate hitting driver for more than 4-6 shots in a row - it ruins my tempo.

 

OB

 

PS: By the way, is there a rule that forbids that tee in the shaft butt during a (competitive) golf round? As long as the total club length doesn't extend 48 inches...

 

edit: spelling