Block Push - Aaaargh!

[stevw]

Tips For Rotating My Arms Through Impact

Guys,

I appreciate this is the wrong board for this topic so, if one of the moderators wants to move me along - no problem! :D

I've just come back from playing 36 holes this weekend. Overall, not too bad, however, I'm finding that I'm block pushing my driver. I had my playing partner check my alignment and everying was 'parallel left'. However, it 'feels' as though I'm not rotating my arms through impact (which is a problem I've suffered with for a while) and, as a result, I'm hanging on to the club too much and steering the ball down the fairway ;) . Worst case I get a push slice, which just about feels the worst shot in golf right now!

Does anyone in the forum have any good pointers/tips/drills for me? :russian_roulette:

Many thanks, Steve

[MidwestPro22]

Normally block are caused by the club getting "stuck" in your downswing because the swing plane is too flat/inside. Obviously it's hard to tell exactly what the problem is without watching you swing. Here's a fairly simple exercise...

 

Extend your target line back about 5 feet and pretend there is someone standing there with their hand extended right on the line waiting for you to shake it. As your taking the club away feel your right hand follow the target line back to grab the imaginary hand extended to you. From there take the club up to the top of your swing and the back down through the targetline making sure you "finish high" and not around your body.

 

This is a common problem and I see it alot. When you start to swing "around your body" it's easy to get your hands stuck behind you and when your timing is bad you are either not going to get the club caught up and block it right or you are going to try to recover too quick and flip those hands over causing that low screaming hook. Anyway hope that helps a bit and hit em straight ;)

[mat562]

Try to feel; that your right forearm is touching your left (asuming you're right handed) through impact.

 

They probably won't touch, but the image will encourage a good rolling release through impact.

[raidernut1234]

at the range, make some swings with a baseball grip, but extend your right hand down the grip so there is 6 inches of separation. no way you can swing without your right hand releasing.

hope it helps, it did it for me

[hoganfan924]

You need to fix your block, not band-aid it by consciously rolling your forearms IMHO. You are probably dipping the right shoulder or pulling the hands down too steeply in transition and getting under plane which gets your path too inside out. Only bad things can happen from that position (unless you time your forearm rotation absolutely perfectly, which is almost impossible).

 

BTW, there are a few great ballstrikers in the history of the game that had very flat backswings and you'll never find one video clip of them getting "stuck," in fact this getting stuck business is a pretty recent phenomenon in the game's history (due to some pretty lousy instruction by some big name guys IMHO). If you look at DTL video of Hogan's and Snead's swings you'll actually find that their hand trajectory path on the downswing was slightly above that in the backswing, you won't see them dipping the right shoulder or pulling the hands down to start the transition, ever!. This is why in the DTL view of many great players you will see the shaft pointing outside the ball when the left arm is parallel to the ground in the downswing.

[Jim_0068]

You need to fix your block, not band-aid it by consciously rolling your forearms IMHO. You are probably dipping the right shoulder or pulling the hands down too steeply in transition and getting under plane which gets your path too inside out. Only bad things can happen from that position (unless you time your forearm rotation absolutely perfectly, which is almost impossible).

 

BTW, there are a few great ballstrikers in the history of the game that had very flat backswings and you'll never find one video clip of them getting "stuck," in fact this getting stuck business is a pretty recent phenomenon in the game's history (due to some pretty lousy instruction by some big name guys IMHO). If you look at DTL video of Hogan's and Snead's swings you'll actually find that their hand trajectory path on the downswing was slightly above that in the backswing, you won't see them dipping the right shoulder or pulling the hands down to start the transition, ever!. This is why in the DTL view of many great players you will see the shaft pointing outside the ball when the left arm is parallel to the ground in the downswing.

 

Awesome post; if the original poster simply keeps his same swing plane and tries to roll the face closed he's going to start hooking the ball uncontrollably.

 

you need to fix your plane, not your clubface.

[progolf4life]

You need to fix your block, not band-aid it by consciously rolling your forearms IMHO. You are probably dipping the right shoulder or pulling the hands down too steeply in transition and getting under plane which gets your path too inside out. Only bad things can happen from that position (unless you time your forearm rotation absolutely perfectly, which is almost impossible).

 

 

Does anyone know what he means by this? Isn't this necessary to create lag?

[hoganfan924]

You need to fix your block, not band-aid it by consciously rolling your forearms IMHO. You are probably dipping the right shoulder or pulling the hands down too steeply in transition and getting under plane which gets your path too inside out. Only bad things can happen from that position (unless you time your forearm rotation absolutely perfectly, which is almost impossible).

 

 

Does anyone know what he means by this? Isn't this necessary to create lag?

 

No, this has nothing to do with creating lag. Stevw needs to turn his shoulders on plane in the downswing (the Hogan pane of glass that goes from the ball through the shoulders at address), not dip his right shoulder and hands in the backswing to downswing transition and get below plane.

 

Lag is in part created by starting the downswing with the lower body rotating (clearing the left hip) while feeling that you are leaving the clubhead behind. Consciously rolling the hands/forearms as a means to square up the clubface is very unreliable and a formula for every possible type of miss (pushes, hook, duck hooks, slices, you name it!) BTW, I believe in holding the left wrist **** late into the downswing but not trying to create lag, aka downcocking as done by Sergio.

[DEGOINS]

So what's the fix? I see you telling him what he's doing wrong but how does he fix it? I think some of you get so caught up in your technical swing talk that you forget to answer the question. If theres an answer there please forgive me but I can't find it.

[hoganfan924]

So what's the fix? I see you telling him what he's doing wrong but how does he fix it? I think some of you get so caught up in your technical swing talk that you forget to answer the question. If theres an answer there please forgive me but I can't find it.

 

Well Shoeter

 

Steve was the one with the problem who posted the thread, he was polite enough to thank me via a PM for my answer and I returned the favor by PM'ing him back with some suggestions. Perhaps you should take a cue from Steve.

[lowballhitter]

So what's the fix? I see you telling him what he's doing wrong but how does he fix it? I think some of you get so caught up in your technical swing talk that you forget to answer the question. If theres an answer there please forgive me but I can't find it.

 

Well Shoeter

 

Steve was the one with the problem who posted the thread, he was polite enough to thank me via a PM for my answer and I returned the favor by PM'ing him back with some suggestions. Perhaps you should take a cue from Steve.

 

 

Hoganfan,

 

My lose is also a block push, from trying to create extra lag.....and dipping my left shoulder (i'm a lefty)

 

The fix I use is to "hold" the left shoulder back at impact.

 

Unsure if this technically correct but it works for me....

 

PS.. always enjoy your factual posts, love the references to Search for the perfect swing it's a great read.

[jcjr34]

Lowball, could you elaborate on the 'holding back' of your left shoulder? I'm a lefty too and find myself in your same position w/ my push blocks. ;)

[juansky]

If you want to get rid of the push/block just do one simple thing. Keep everything as it is. Focus on keeping your right elbow attached to your right side of the body on the way down to impact. If you were to pause the action, it would look like your left arm makes an L shape with the club pointing to the sky on the way down. By keeping the right elbow attached to your right side, you'll automatically strike the ball with an in2out approach and eliminating the out2in swing that causes slices/pushes/blocks.

 

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

[Nogiera]

Not trying to jack the thread....

 

 

But the rolling of the hands after impact, the lead hand's palm facing skyward, does not feel comfortable at all to me...

 

As long as my other hand is attached to the club, I just can't get it to work....In order for me to make a comfortable follow through, i have to have the thumb of my right hand( Southpaw) pointing skyward in order to let my shoulders to rotate naturally....

 

 

Is this wrong?

[Jim_0068]

If you want to get rid of the push/block just do one simple thing. Keep everything as it is. Focus on keeping your right elbow attached to your right side of the body on the way down to impact. If you were to pause the action, it would look like your left arm makes an L shape with the club pointing to the sky on the way down. By keeping the right elbow attached to your right side, you'll automatically strike the ball with an in2out approach and eliminating the out2in swing that causes slices/pushes/blocks.

 

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

 

Um....i really don't know what you are talking about since because:

 

1) Slices are caused by open clubfaces, not out/in swings. Out/in just makes you hit a slight pull-slice.

2) Pushes/blocks (are essentially the same thing different word) these are caused by a normal clubface but a CLUB PATH that is too in/out.

 

I think you need to learn ball flight laws and the not the ones the PGA say are right because they are not. Clubface is 75% of initial direction with clubpath being the other 25%.

[larrybud]

If you want to get rid of the push/block just do one simple thing. Keep everything as it is. Focus on keeping your right elbow attached to your right side of the body on the way down to impact. If you were to pause the action, it would look like your left arm makes an L shape with the club pointing to the sky on the way down. By keeping the right elbow attached to your right side, you'll automatically strike the ball with an in2out approach and eliminating the out2in swing that causes slices/pushes/blocks.

 

Here's an example of what I'm talking about.

 

Um....i really don't know what you are talking about since because:

 

1) Slices are caused by open clubfaces, not out/in swings. Out/in just makes you hit a slight pull-slice.

2) Pushes/blocks (are essentially the same thing different word) these are caused by a normal clubface but a CLUB PATH that is too in/out.

 

I think you need to learn ball flight laws and the not the ones the PGA say are right because they are not. Clubface is 75% of initial direction with clubpath being the other 25%.

 

Right, and because the face orientation causes most of the initial direction, one could swing out/in with a face open relative to the line (and obviously, relative to the path), and hit a slice that starts right of the target line.

 

Eg. Swing path is out/in 10 degrees, and clubface is open 10 degrees relative to the target line (20 degrees relative to the path). The ball will start right of the target and slice violently even though the path is out/in.

 

Now, is that called a push-slice? It sure LOOKS like a push slice.

[stevw]

I'm still having problems with a block right and it's beginning to creep in to my long irons now so any help is very much appreiated.

 

For me, it feels like an over eager lateral slide to the left makes my right shoulder dip 'under' which leaves me feeling trapped. Does this make sense to anyone? If so, could someone please post tips to resolve.

 

Would hitting balls with my feet together help or the feeling that I'm more rotational?

 

Many thanks,

steve

[Shooter McGavin]

Steve,

 

I know exactly how you feel. I imagine you have more of a two plane armsy(down the line) type of release correct? This is a problem that crept into my game about 2 months ago. I was dipping my right shoulder so much it would lead to a big ol' block or i would even hit fat sometimes. I tried working this out myself but no to no avail and i got so frustrated i decided to take a month or so away from the game. This past week i finally started hitting again and i actually haven't been blocking but i know it's just a matter of time before the bad habits come back. The difference is that this time i'm going to go see an instructor. I'd like to know some tips for this as well. If you or anyone else knows of any i'd love to know.

[Skaffa77]

You know I face the same problem (push/block, slice) with my long clubs and it haunted my game this whole summer. Got so frustrated that I almost quit. My tee shot would leave me in terrible positions. The more I tried to "rotate my forearms through impact", the worse I got.

 

Here is what I figured out (and I'm not a teacher or anything near a pro - just my observations):

 

Backswing - I was pulling the club too far to the inside. I didn't realize it until someone observed my swing, but one of the negative results what that my left shoulder dipped changing my spine angle and consequently affected my downswing.

 

Downswing - I was doing several things wrong. First, my hips were overactive (right foot would already be on it's toe before hitting the ball). They were just turning so quickly that I simply blocked myself. Part of the result of the hips and my dipping left shoulder on the backswing was that my right shoulder would dip excessive on the downswing. This made it nearly impossible to square the clubface and it also result in me hitting "up" on the ball which caused me to hit super high shots. Second, I was (actively) trying too hard to come from the "inside". This action also caused me to get blocked and again made it impossible to close the club face.

 

Fix - Still a work in progress, but I've noticed some positive results. My shots are starting online and I'm closing the clubface better at impact without trying to excessively rotate my forearms.

 

First, I'm trying to start my backswing a little more straight back (down the line) and allow it naturally to move inside with the rotation of my shoulders.

 

Second, on the downswing, I'm trying to not actively pull the club to the inside. I'm trying to allow the club to come down the line on the nearly the same plane I started my backswing. It feels like you're coming over-the-top, but ironically in watching my swing, it's apparent that it's naturally coming slightly to the inside without being over excessive.

 

Third, this has taken me the most time...I'm trying to get my hips out of downswing action and let them turn naturally and in sequence with the rest of my body. This literally feels like I'm swinging my shoulders (no hips), but in watching my swing, the hips are still turning with the downswing and the weight shift from right foot to left foot seems to be in better sequence.

 

Not sure if this will help, but maybe you'll read a few things that might sound familiar and it'll give you a couple ideas to try. Good luck!

[scores]

You need to make sure you have a right angle at the top of u r back swing go look at Dana's swing he posted. Its almost perfect at the top!! If that right elbow is out you will be forced to block it in u r case the left elbow (lefty). You really have to change your back swing and u r turn (shoulder to accomplish it also shorting the swing: If you yank the club inside yourclub covers to much realestate on the way back then you drop to the inside I do it I hate it!! then swing out.

 

I have been working on this all summer Yep the shoulder's following thought helps out a lot.

 

swing under u r swing plane is the cause in to out!!

 

best of luck bud!!

[Rockfish]

So what's the fix? I see you telling him what he's doing wrong but how does he fix it? I think some of you get so caught up in your technical swing talk that you forget to answer the question. If theres an answer there please forgive me but I can't find it.

 

Well Shoeter

 

Steve was the one with the problem who posted the thread, he was polite enough to thank me via a PM for my answer and I returned the favor by PM'ing him back with some suggestions. Perhaps you should take a cue from Steve.

 

Perhaps YOU should take a cue from,,,,,,, yourself ? :beruo:

 

Shoeter did asked you a question and you give him a snotty response ?!?! Nice going. :russian_roulette:

 

So Steve, how'd the hogan advice work for ya ? :cheesy: