Winter swing change

[AP76]

Hi guys. I feel as if I need to make changes to my swing/set up over the winter as I really want to try and take the left side out of play. It's always been my bad shot and on a bad day it's enough to think about packing it in! My course has had some changes and there are more in the process, mostly to catch out left misses off the tee. Preferably I would love to be able to stand up with the confidence that I won't lose the ball left and hit a slight fade. I realise this is gonna take some work but I think it's now or never as it's been hindering me for long enough! I probably don't help myself in many ways as I'm well aware my posture isn't great and I can get very quick plus the legs get a bit too active causing the hands to flip. Any tips pointers would be much appreciated. I will try and put up some pics or vids to give you some idea of my swing. Cheers guys⛳🏌️👍🏼

[AP76]

6 minutes ago, Chippy8 said:

 

If the left side had a fairway bunker, and left of the bunker on the same line is a lake, do you think your ball would go into the water when aiming straight at the bunker? 

I would say there's every chance that could happen! I do try and set up for a fade at times but usually it ends up a double cross so I revert back to the norm.

[milesgiles]

look into bowing the left wrist 

[AP76]

[AP76]

[AP76]

Maybe not the best of quality but it's all I have. They are oldest to most recent hitting 6 iron, driver and 4 iron in the 3 videos. 

[golfarb1]

The bad news is that you  suffer from setup issues that affect your swing negatively 

The good news is it is not difficult to change your setup- just practice  numerous times in front of a mirror 

Setup

1. You bend your knees far too much- if you drop a vertical line from the front of your knees , it should intersect the middle of your shoelaces- in your case it intersects your toes 

2. You flare your front foot far too much . You should flare your lead foot 1/4 turn . By flaring your lead foot so much you truncate your ability to “rotate”  your pelvis going back 

3. You setup with your shoulders open ( facing to the left) instead of square . 
Place an  alignment rod on the ground square to your target and make sure that your shoulders and hips are square to that rod 

 

[AP76]

5 hours ago, golfarb1 said:

The bad news is that you  suffer from setup issues that affect your swing negatively 

The good news is it is not difficult to change your setup- just practice  numerous times in front of a mirror 

Setup

1. You bend your knees far too much- if you drop a vertical line from the front of your knees , it should intersect the middle of your shoelaces- in your case it intersects your toes 

2. You flare your front foot far too much . You should flare your lead foot 1/4 turn . By flaring your lead foot so much you truncate your ability to “rotate”  your pelvis going back 

3. You setup with your shoulders open ( facing to the left) instead of square . 
Place an  alignment rod on the ground square to your target and make sure that your shoulders and hips are square to that rod 

 

Thanks for the tips, really appreciate it👍🏼

[AP76]

On 11/23/2021 at 4:02 AM, golfarb1 said:

The bad news is that you  suffer from setup issues that affect your swing negatively 

The good news is it is not difficult to change your setup- just practice  numerous times in front of a mirror 

Setup

1. You bend your knees far too much- if you drop a vertical line from the front of your knees , it should intersect the middle of your shoelaces- in your case it intersects your toes 

2. You flare your front foot far too much . You should flare your lead foot 1/4 turn . By flaring your lead foot so much you truncate your ability to “rotate”  your pelvis going back 

3. You setup with your shoulders open ( facing to the left) instead of square . 
Place an  alignment rod on the ground square to your target and make sure that your shoulders and hips are square to that rod 

 

So today I tried to stand up a bit taller with less knee bend and kept the club a bit closer to my body. I hit the ball absolutely awful, nearly every shot was low left. At this point I don't know what to do other than step away for a while. I can't continue playing golf striking the ball like that.

[b_f_c_99]

From a fellow quirky setup and quirky swing guy I would ask myself if it’s worth blowing up what appears to be a pretty solid strike and speed because you hit it left now and then.  What I mean is if you start changing what your athletic instinct wants to do your going to play bad, really bad. Why not try some simple things like hold the club super tight with your left hand when your nervous of it going left.  Hold it like a vice and swing hard, it will want to fade.

[Nels55]

I would say that there are a couple of approaches that you could take to decreasing your tendency to hit it left. 

 

You can make mechanical changes to your setup and swing for which you will probably get lots of advice here.  If you go that way I would recommend finding a good instructor and taking lessons once a week or whatever.  Be prepared to get worse before you get better. 

 

The other possibility is to simply increase your skill level with the swing that you have.  You could try hitting big pull hooks if that is your miss in order to figure how to do that intentionally.  Doing this will increase your awareness of what actually happens when you miss left.  The other thing that you might try is to practice hitting draws and fades and also hooks and slices.  Build your skill at controlling the ball and you will become a better player. 

[golfarb1]

4 hours ago, AP76 said:

So today I tried to stand up a bit taller with less knee bend and kept the club a bit closer to my body. I hit the ball absolutely awful, nearly every shot was low left. At this point I don't know what to do other than step away for a while. I can't continue playing golf striking the ball like that.

Setup changes are usually the easiest to change because they are static and do not involve moving parts. But  because setup changes inevitably cause a chain reaction of changes in your swing , it is hardly unusual to feel uncomfortable swinging for a protracted period of time .

 

To be realistic I would expect at least 2 weeks of practicing setup changes in front of a mirror  before these changes are comfortable and another 2 months of hitting balls  with these changes before you see positive results .

Your ultimate goal should be to hit “knuckle fades “ ( fades from the inside) and completely take the left rough out of play , but that is a far more advanced technique . 

Edited November 28, 2021 by golfarb1

[AP76]

This was me today at the range, looks better I think but will need to keep working on it to get a consistent strike going. 

[golfarb1]

Setup is still suspect even though your knees and front foot flare are much improved

 

Setup technique suggestion

Without a club , stand up in good  ERECT posture about 2 inches from a kitchen or bathroom counter . Place your hands on each respective hip bone and push back. This will result in your butt moving back so your butt touches the counter . Simultaneously your spine will bend so that your spine is tilted towards the ground . Although your spine need not be rigidly straight at this point , it is important that your upper spine not be in khyphosis ( round shoulders) at this point . 
Your upper arms should hang close to vertical with short irons and will be more angled with a driver.
Then flare out your lead foot 1/4 turn . 
Now when you do this technique while holding a club your upper spine will become slightly rounded due to the weight of the clubhead., but not as much as you are currently doing . And because your right hand is below that of the left on the grip , your shoulders will be slightly tilted away from the target . Finally you should preset some shaft lean with irons by placing your hands just off your inner left thigh. With a driver your hands should be more towards the middle of your stance to facilitate hitting slightly up on the ball. 
The ball position  should not move when hitting different clubs . It should be inside your front heel. This translates to about the front -middle of your stance with the narrow stance of a wedge. As you widen your stance with longer clubs by moving your right foot away from the left , the RELATIVE position of the ball will move forward  but the ball does not move. 
 

Even though it does not require athletic coordination to adopt a correct stance , it does require an anal attitude of attention to details. 
 

[Tax77]

Try opening your stance. Every video you have posted is you swinging with the trail foot back. 

[milesgiles]

any good golfer ive seen or played with is in an athletic position over the ball.

 

You definitely arent, and this leads to a faulty takeaway, which impacts backswing, which impacts everything else.

 

If you dont fix that, everything else is a band aid

[wagolfer7]

On 11/27/2021 at 1:52 PM, AP76 said:

So today I tried to stand up a bit taller with less knee bend and kept the club a bit closer to my body. I hit the ball absolutely awful, nearly every shot was low left. At this point I don't know what to do other than step away for a while. I can't continue playing golf striking the ball like that.

 

You hit the ball better than a lot of the guys on this forum.  Not sure if taking blind advice is the right path for improvement.  

 

Also your camera angles and camera position are inconsistent and incorrect.  You may look open / closed or inside / outside but may not actually be.    

 

Highly recommend reaching out to Monte or Dan or any quality online instructor.  The random advice path is a little like Russian roulette.  

 

[AP76]

1 hour ago, milesgiles said:

any good golfer ive seen or played with is in an athletic position over the ball.

 

You definitely arent, and this leads to a faulty takeaway, which impacts backswing, which impacts everything else.

 

If you dont fix that, everything else is a band aid

What would you consider to be an athletic position? A pic would be a big help for me. Cheers

Edited November 29, 2021 by AP76

[AP76]

9 minutes ago, wagolfer7 said:

 

You hit the ball better than a lot of the guys on this forum.  Not sure if taking blind advice is the right path for improvement.  

 

Also your camera angles and camera position are inconsistent and incorrect.  You may look open / closed or inside / outside but may not actually be.    

 

Highly recommend reaching out to Monte or Dan or any quality online instructor.  The random advice path is a little like Russian roulette.  

 

I've always been a pretty good ball striker but when my game is off nearly everything goes left which is soul destroying. I just rest my phone on top of my golf bag to take the videos, I know it's not the best. I was just looking for some tips to see if I could fix myself as I don't teach very well for some reason? I don't really have a great grasp of swing mechanics so have barely had any lessons throughout my golfing life. 

[AP76]

11 hours ago, Tax77 said:

Try opening your stance. Every video you have posted is you swinging with the trail foot back. 

I thought it was open, shows that I'm not seeing things the way I think I am!

[glk]

2 hours ago, AP76 said:

What would you consider to be an athletic position? A pic would be a big help for me. Cheers

See below.  Video doesn’t address face on - keep spine neutral ( no reverse k setup), ball off shirt logo, etc). You need to bend  at hips - like you are standing against a fence and need to bend over it. And arms hang down just outside toes - you are reaching too much.
 

do leesoms.   monte offers lesson thru FaceTime/zoom.  Dan might also

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CLepiR2F026/

 

 

Edited November 29, 2021 by glk

[golfarb1]

Athletic setup-the basics

 

IN BALANCE - fore-aft weight towards the balls of your feet - notice that Tigers and Justin’s TIBIA( lower leg bone ) is close to vertical

NEUTRAL SPINE - similar to the spinal posture required to perform a dead lift- unless you want to risk injury , those who perform dead lifts need a “ neutral spine”posture. While most  golfers are not risking immediate injury as in the dead lift , they are risking longer term injuries and swing inefficiencies if they do not setup with a “neutral spine . 

Tiger and Justin Rose

 

You violate the first by bending your knees so much

You violate the second due to excessive kyphosis(rounded shoulders)

Edited November 29, 2021 by golfarb1

[Tax77]

38 minutes ago, AP76 said:

I thought it was open, shows that I'm not seeing things the way I think I am!

Could be camera angle, looks like your rear foot is several inches behind lead. Nothing wrong with closed as long as you know your doing it and take into account how the ball is going to start.

 

Before you start drastic changes make sure your aiming where you think your aiming.

Edited November 29, 2021 by Tax77

[khalespace]

On 11/22/2021 at 6:04 AM, milesgiles said:

look into bowing the left wrist 

I am trying to bow my left wrist in the back swing to reduce my fade/slice tendency. I thought I have done it with lots of drills but on video nothing has changed. I have an ingrained bad swing because I started playing golf without instruction 15 years ago.  Once I decided to get lessons, they didn't really help.

 

I am not giving it up yet. I will try to bow the left wrist, with smaller backswings with of club lag/lean and hit the balls. Then I will increase the length of backswing slowly while maintaining a bow wrist to see if it sticks.

 

Do you have any recommendation?

[PeterPing]

On 11/22/2021 at 7:04 AM, milesgiles said:

look into bowing the left wrist 

Bowing the left wrist hooks the ball. It as closed a club face at the top. In order to not hook it you have the clear your body hard through impact. 

[milesgiles]

17 hours ago, khalespace said:

I am trying to bow my left wrist in the back swing to reduce my fade/slice tendency. I thought I have done it with lots of drills but on video nothing has changed. I have an ingrained bad swing because I started playing golf without instruction 15 years ago.  Once I decided to get lessons, they didn't really help.

 

I am not giving it up yet. I will try to bow the left wrist, with smaller backswings with of club lag/lean and hit the balls. Then I will increase the length of backswing slowly while maintaining a bow wrist to see if it sticks.

 

Do you have any recommendation?

 

i had to really, really exaggerate the bowing to see it on video. OTT is hard to get rid of (if thats your fault) but can be done..

[milesgiles]

17 hours ago, PeterPing said:

Bowing the left wrist hooks the ball. It as closed a club face at the top. In order to not hook it you have the clear your body hard through impact. 

 

 

 

yes. thats what he needs to do.

[mikpga]

Is your miss a pull draw, straight draw, or over draw?

[khalespace]

16 hours ago, milesgiles said:

 

i had to really, really exaggerate the bowing to see it on video. OTT is hard to get rid of (if thats your fault) but can be done..

I have a slight OTT and early release (with standing up) issue.

[AP76]

On 1/3/2022 at 2:34 AM, mikpga said:

Is your miss a pull draw, straight draw, or over draw?

It's a full blown duck hook unfortunately a lot of the time. Over draw sometimes