Still hitting lots of blocks, hooks, occasional shank

[Snarkesor]

Was wondering if any of you guys see anything glaring in my swing that could be causing these issues.

 

Here are two recent swings:

 

 

I feel like I’ve got a lot that’s technically sound in my swing, but I just can’t get over the hump with it. Would appreciate any advice.

[SNIPERBBB]

You've got the Furyk swing going on without the loop at the top and pretty steep coming down.

[Krt22]

Seems like you may have overdone the one piece take away/keep the face pointed at the ball and get the club way behind you with just body rotation, I'd try hinging the wrists way earlier and more vertical. Perhaps a little too much forward lean at setup as well.

[wagolfer7]

The club face is closed at the top. I'd look at your grip to start with. And also do some research on the wrist positions. Your left hand at the top should be more in the "serving a trey" position than straight up and down. And the right wrist should be more flat.

 

You are doing a lot of good things in your swing. The takeaway is a little outside, but depending on your swing philosophy, I wouldn't say that's your big issue. Just need to get that club face more square at the top position, it is closed at the moment. Getting the wrists in better position at the top would be a good start.

 

 

 

I'm not going into a ton of detail on the wrist position - there is a ton of threads on it already, as well as great Monte videos on YouTube.

 

[Barfolomew]

Put a regular speed swing up easier to see your timing then slo mo

[mylesb21]

Blocks, hooks and shanks are all caused from a club head that is traveling too far from the inside. Essentially, you’re club is approaching the ball from the inside and continues to travel left after impact.

 

What’s helped me correct this flaw is to practice starting the ball on your target line (not left of it), with the clubhead traveling to the right immediately after impact. You want to feel your arms exit low and right after impact. Take a look at Kevin Chappell’s swing as a great reference for the exit positions I’m referring to.

[Snarkesor]

> @Barfolomew said:

> Put a regular speed swing up easier to see your timing then slo mo

 

Here’s a full speed from today:

 

(And yes I realize, it’s time to buy a better fitting t-shirt...)

 

Thanks for all of the suggestions everyone. Definitely think there is something going on that’s funky with my wrist hinge.

[Red4282]

> @mylesb21 said:

> Blocks, hooks and shanks are all caused from a club head that is traveling too far from the inside. Essentially, you’re club is approaching the ball from the inside and continues to travel left after impact.

>

> What’s helped me correct this flaw is to practice starting the ball on your target line (not left of it), with the clubhead traveling to the right immediately after impact. You want to feel your arms exit low and right after impact. Take a look at Kevin Chappell’s swing as a great reference for the exit positions I’m referring to.

 

This 100%. Too much in to out. For me, id like you to straighten out your path via rotation. Your shoulders are fairly square to target line, a little better rotation with open shoulders should bring path back on line.

 

[Snarkesor]

> @Red4282 said:

> > @mylesb21 said:

> > Blocks, hooks and shanks are all caused from a club head that is traveling too far from the inside. Essentially, you’re club is approaching the ball from the inside and continues to travel left after impact.

> >

> > What’s helped me correct this flaw is to practice starting the ball on your target line (not left of it), with the clubhead traveling to the right immediately after impact. You want to feel your arms exit low and right after impact. Take a look at Kevin Chappell’s swing as a great reference for the exit positions I’m referring to.

>

> This 100%. Too much in to out. For me, id like you to straighten out your path via rotation. Your shoulders are fairly square to target line, a little better rotation with open shoulders should bring path back on line.

>

 

Interesting- so should i should aim to get my shoulders more open at impact?

[mylesb21]

> @Snarkesor said:

> > @Red4282 said:

> > > @mylesb21 said:

> > > Blocks, hooks and shanks are all caused from a club head that is traveling too far from the inside. Essentially, you’re club is approaching the ball from the inside and continues to travel left after impact.

> > >

> > > What’s helped me correct this flaw is to practice starting the ball on your target line (not left of it), with the clubhead traveling to the right immediately after impact. You want to feel your arms exit low and right after impact. Take a look at Kevin Chappell’s swing as a great reference for the exit positions I’m referring to.

> >

> > This 100%. Too much in to out. For me, id like you to straighten out your path via rotation. Your shoulders are fairly square to target line, a little better rotation with open shoulders should bring path back on line.

> >

>

> Interesting- so should i should aim to get my shoulders more open at impact?

 

The feeling I prefer is for the club to exit immediately right of the target line after impact, with a low left arm that stays connected to your left chest. If you keep your left arm connected to your chest your path should improve. A great drill would be to practice punch shots with a cut off follow through. This connects your arms to your torso almost automatically.

 

By the way, I'm not loving how much your arms disconnect from your body in the backswing (from today's video). This will require you to reconnect and synchronize your arms in the downswing. I'd prefer to see you keep the butt of the club facing your navel much further into your backswing, with the feeling that your upper arms never leave your ribcage.

 

 

[Krt22]

I personally would not bother with too much more than the take away and position at the top, some of the other issues might solve themselves.

[Red4282]

> @Snarkesor said:

> > @Red4282 said:

> > > @mylesb21 said:

> > > Blocks, hooks and shanks are all caused from a club head that is traveling too far from the inside. Essentially, you’re club is approaching the ball from the inside and continues to travel left after impact.

> > >

> > > What’s helped me correct this flaw is to practice starting the ball on your target line (not left of it), with the clubhead traveling to the right immediately after impact. You want to feel your arms exit low and right after impact. Take a look at Kevin Chappell’s swing as a great reference for the exit positions I’m referring to.

> >

> > This 100%. Too much in to out. For me, id like you to straighten out your path via rotation. Your shoulders are fairly square to target line, a little better rotation with open shoulders should bring path back on line.

> >

>

> Interesting- so should i should aim to get my shoulders more open at impact?

 

Im sorry i didnt clarify, i wasnt talking at address, i was talking about your position at impact.

[Red4282]

> @Snarkesor said:

> > @Red4282 said:

> > > @mylesb21 said:

> > > Blocks, hooks and shanks are all caused from a club head that is traveling too far from the inside. Essentially, you’re club is approaching the ball from the inside and continues to travel left after impact.

> > >

> > > What’s helped me correct this flaw is to practice starting the ball on your target line (not left of it), with the clubhead traveling to the right immediately after impact. You want to feel your arms exit low and right after impact. Take a look at Kevin Chappell’s swing as a great reference for the exit positions I’m referring to.

> >

> > This 100%. Too much in to out. For me, id like you to straighten out your path via rotation. Your shoulders are fairly square to target line, a little better rotation with open shoulders should bring path back on line.

> >

>

> Interesting- so should i should aim to get my shoulders more open at impact?

 

And yes, thats the powerful way to do it.. obviously there are other ways to accomplish it, but this way will maintain speed if not generate more speed.

[gibsonsg4]

Your backswing is very steep and lifty, you early extend to attempt to shallow the shaft, and then your handpath is moving way too outwards and you flip the face causing heel hits/shanks/hooks/push/push hooks (hence your exits on an iron are very high with lots of face rotation)

[gibsonsg4]

Edit: after looking at your past posts it looks like you tried to turn into a matt wolff backswing which looks like it caused much more problems than it helped..... in your older posts your backswing was relatively solid and you got it into a decent position at the top, you just didnt get any shallower and just pulled the handle down

[Snarkesor]

> @gibsonsg4 said:

> Edit: after looking at your past posts it looks like you tried to turn into a matt wolff backswing which looks like it caused much more problems than it helped..... in your older posts your backswing was relatively solid and you got it into a decent position at the top, you just didnt get any shallower and just pulled the handle down

 

Matt Wolff backswing? Doesn’t he have the shaft totally over the line? At any rate I’m certainly not trying to emulate his swing. The only thing I’ve been working on is to get more extension in my back swing (I’ve had a tendency to just sort of side bend instead of really turning in.)

[SNIPERBBB]

Wolffs swing is a more extreme version of Furyk's.

 

[MountainGoat]

The huge loop in your swing and your abrupt tempo are combining to create major timing issues.

 

 

[gibsonsg4]

In your older videos your takeaway is immensely better (although slightly unconventional), you get the club in a better position. Back then your issue wasn’t your backswing, not sure what convinced you to change to what you have now

 

 

[gibsonsg4]

In your most recent swing you definitely have the club across the line vs old swing

 

 

[Snarkesor]

> @gibsonsg4 said:

> In your most recent swing you definitely have the club across the line vs old swing

>

>

>

 

I'm with you that my takeaway looks better in my older swing, but if you really think that the top of my backswing position in my earlier swing is superior, with its minimal turn and left arm pinned low across the chest, I don't know what to tell you.

 

[Krt22]

If you don't understand why you are hitting blocks from your new position at the top, I'd suggest going to a qualified instructor. Your old BS was not perfect, but much less manipulation needed. You didn't just add extension, you completely changed everything and are basically making it harder on yourself . If you are trying to emulate wolff, you are not doing it correctly with how deep you get your hands. With that being said, you do a pretty remarkable job getting the club to lay down from where you put it at the top.

[Snarkesor]

For the record I'm definitely not trying to emulate Matt Wolff! Theoretically, I can see that my old backswing may have required less manipulation on the downswing, but I have a very harsh transition that I will never be able to get rid of, and being that flat got me EXTREMELY under plane/outside path on the downswing. I was hitting WAY more pushes pulls, hooks, and shanks from there. Would more left forearm rotation help get the club less along the line at the top?

[SNIPERBBB]

If you're worried about pinning your arm, exaggerating lifting your arms is nothing more than an illusion to eliminate the pinning. It's not actually helping your swing.

[Krt22]

Like I said, you might want to see a good instructor, you seem to be confusing the real cause and effects.

[Snarkesor]

I do take lessons- though not as often as I'd like. I don't mean to seem defensive, but the old backswing position is something that we've worked hard to get away from. The proof is that my handicap has dropped precipitously as I've incorporated more extension into my backswing, and my ball striking in terms of both distance and general consistency is much improved.

 

Now, I do agree that I need to work on my takeaway and wrist conditions, particularly at the top of my backswing.

[Snarkesor]

> @SNIPERBBB said:

> If you're worried about pinning your arm, exaggerating lifting your arms is nothing more than an illusion to eliminate the pinning. It's not actually helping your swing.

 

 

Agreed- in fact I've found that trying to lift my arms led them to being just more pinned. The higher hand position now is the result of a turn which incorporates more extension in my backswing.

[gibsonsg4]

> @Snarkesor said:

> > @gibsonsg4 said:

> > In your most recent swing you definitely have the club across the line vs old swing

> >

> >

> >

>

> I'm with you that my takeaway looks better in my older swing, but if you really think that the top of my backswing position in my earlier swing is superior, with its minimal turn and left arm pinned low across the chest, I don't know what to tell you.

>

 

 

There is nothing wrong with the arm being pinned at the top of the backswing, and based on that camera angle (i’d like to see a face on to confirm) you already have plenty of shoulder turn. Your issue was not in the backswing, and being under plane means you can turn harder and exit hard right, which will lower the exits, and hence have a lower finish.

 

Your hooks are caused by a lack of rotation. You get to the top of the backswing, and your shoulders shut down and your hands flip over. A textbook sign of that is the high exits with lots of face rotation.

 

You can see rory mcilroy do this beautifully in this picture.

 

 

 

Yours however

 

 

 

Shoulders are facing square at the ball, if not even slightly closed

[wagolfer7]

Old Swing - better takeaway and position on the top - absolutely no hip rotation - this made it so you couldn't get a deeper extension as you call it

 

New Swing - Matt Wolfe looking takeaway, over the line at the top - Good Hip Rotation - this is the difference and why you feel the new swing is better. By allowing you hips to open up, you are getting a deeper backswing. However with your new position at the top, it's very hard to get consistent results.

 

Solution - get a good instructor to walk you through the proper steps to correct your takeaway, without removing your ability to rotate your hips how you are now.

 

Quick Solution - Posture - so many amateurs don't realize how much posture can influence your swing path. You need to get a little taller, make sure your hips are not pointing down. Your old swing, your hips are tilted down, this makes it so you can't rotate them. Also get closer to the ball. I don't know what iron you are using in your original post, but you are standing too far away. When you do that, you have no choice but to swing flat, unless you make an effort not to. Which is what you are doing now. You have to make a move with your arms (lifting) to not go flat. Stand taller, closer to the ball, and you'll realize you can rotate your shoulders and not get too far inside.

 

 

 

[Krt22]

^^ You can only turn like Rory if your arms are in sync with your pivot, that is very hard to do when your arms get so deep and then you need to spend what little time you have in transition manipulating the club from such an extreme position

 

OP..I agree extension is a good thing, but you cant look at that and only that while ignoring everything else. Your problem is you are "still" hitting hooks/blocks/shanks, and the answer to that is still largely backswing related IMO. That's doesn't mean you need to go back to the old swing, but it is very easy for ams to overdo things in the other direction (me being 100% guilty of this as well!)