Closed shoulders at impact - Anything wrong with it?

[RCGA]

My shoulders are slightly closed to squire at impact. Hips are open, but not overly so. 

 

Is this a problem? Could it cause a particular ball flight or miss? 

[Trippels]

6 hours ago, RCGA said:

My shoulders are slightly closed to squire at impact. Hips are open, but not overly so. 

 

Is this a problem? Could it cause a particular ball flight or miss? 

 

[Liveonce]

What’s funny is you could ask 10 pro’s and half would say open and half would say slightly open but feel closer (Bender, etc)

[golfarb1]

According to Tyler Ferrell of the “ Stock tour swing “ , the sternum ( middle of ribcage ) ideally should be open ~30 degrees at impact .

The SC joint connects the ribcage to the collarbones . There is some range of motion at this joint in which the ribcage can move without the collarbones ( shoulders )moving a similar amount , but to achieve 30 degrees open at impact will require the shoulder to also be open. 

[phizzy30]

I was taught since 8 years old to keep my shoulders slightly closed at impact hence having an in to out swing even till today.  Nothing wrong with it and will normally produce a draw.   

Edited March 28, 2022 by phizzy30

[sonnygolf]

15 hours ago, Liveonce said:

What’s funny is you could ask 10 pro’s and half would say open and half would say slightly open but feel closer (Bender, etc)

I dont know any pro who is closed at impact. Pics ???

[glk]

2 hours ago, sonnygolf said:

I dont know any pro who is closed at impact. Pics ???

No names mentioned but shoulders for these pros range from 1* closed to 12* open.    Note that shoulders are not the chest.

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CKHLHX0McCn/

Edited March 27, 2022 by glk

[MonteScheinblum]

Like most things, it depends.

[DShepley]

1 hour ago, MonteScheinblum said:

Like most things, it depends.

Exactly. This is the 'How long is a piece of string?' question. The answer is 'As long as it needs to be.'

[Jbarretta]

 

I recently saw this video and went out and played with a swing thought of getting chest and shoulders more open through impact   my feel was the clubhead was really lagging behind (not angle between shaft and forearm, the other lag) my pivot   and rather than break with the body and have the arms accelerate, the feel was a continuous pivot through impact  this is another part of golf instruction that have two completely different opinions.  I must say my irons were lights out and I felt confident that I could control the face   however it did not work well with the driver.  Maybe I will have two different swings   closed shoulders for driver and open for irons 

Edited November 25, 2022 by Jbarretta

[mikpga]

Has the potential to encourage a more in to out path…

 

Potential outcomes could be thin, pushes, over draws…

 

But as with many questions like this, too many variables that need to be known to make a more accurate assessment…

 

 

[Jbarretta]

5 hours ago, mikpga said:

Has the potential to encourage a more in to out path…

 

Potential outcomes could be thin, pushes, over draws…

 

But as with many questions like this, too many variables that need to be known to make a more accurate assessment…

 

 

I would have guessed the opposite   because this pivot is continuous with less bracing I would think the risk would be more out to in

[vandyfan]

I found this thread because, at present, I am battling spinning out with my shoulders. Trying to keep them closed at impact (they might be slightly open, square or closed...hard to say) so far has helped keep me from spinning out and hitting either a massive pull or weak block. I have only been trying this with a 9 iron so far but it also felt fairly good chipping as well. Based on this thread and some other info it seems like better players are slightly open at impact. However, one of my keys from @MonteScheinblum in the Efficient Swing is to "keep my back to the target longer" which I find I can do if I hold back the rotation of my upper body through impact. 

 

Basically, just looking for confirmation that I am not going to ruin my swing here. Like anything I am sure I can over do it or "feel like" I am doing it when really nothing has changed. It was producing what I would expect which is an easy draw. 

[Chunkitgood]

Although I don’t always agree with everything Mr. Scheinblum says, the chances of ruining your swing by following his advice seem slim to none.

 

That being said, keeping your back longer to the target “longer” does not mean keeping it there until impact.

 

The conventional wisdom of which I am aware is that the shoulders should return more or less to the line of address at impact, while the hips are more open at impact.  If your efforts to keep your back facing the target longer results in something else, you might be taking the advice to an unintended extreme.

 

Or you might just be moving your hips wrong.  If you look at this video at 5:45 you can see how the pro’s back does stay facing the target (moves towards the target without much if any rotation) for a bit, which does not prevent the shoulders being square at impact.  Just preceding that they show an amateur whose hip movement leaves much to be desired and sure enough he is closed at impact.

 

 

 

[GungHoGolf]

1 hour ago, vandyfan said:

I found this thread because, at present, I am battling spinning out with my shoulders. Trying to keep them closed at impact (they might be slightly open, square or closed...hard to say) so far has helped keep me from spinning out and hitting either a massive pull or weak block. I have only been trying this with a 9 iron so far but it also felt fairly good chipping as well. Based on this thread and some other info it seems like better players are slightly open at impact. However, one of my keys from @MonteScheinblum in the Efficient Swing is to "keep my back to the target longer" which I find I can do if I hold back the rotation of my upper body through impact. 

 

Basically, just looking for confirmation that I am not going to ruin my swing here. Like anything I am sure I can over do it or "feel like" I am doing it when really nothing has changed. It was producing what I would expect which is an easy draw. 

Having/feeling like your shoulders are square to slightly closed at impact is fine, as long as your shoulders are still rotating with the lead shoulder slightly higher than the trail shoulder. If they’re level, you’ve probably stalled, early extended, and early released. 

 

The shoulder turn angle at impact is one of the biggest influences on club path / swing direction. Shoulders square to the target line tend to produce a neutral swing direction, which results in a slight draw with irons (club is still traveling down and out post-impact, so club path will be 1-3° in-to-out… see D-plane discussions) and slight fades with driver. 

[Zitlow]

Holding anything back is bad advice, why add a flaw to compensate for another flaw? The swing ends up looking like an uncoordinated series of band aids. 

 

@tthomas605 isn't fighting against his physiology and anatomy, all the parts are synced up. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Pepperturbo]

I have broad shoulders, and think they B slightly closed now and again.  Maybe that's when I hit those baby draws that work nicely. 🙂

[jonsnow]

1 hour ago, Zitlow said:

Holding anything back is bad advice, why add a flaw to compensate for another flaw? The swing ends up looking like an uncoordinated series of band aids. 

 

@tthomas605 isn't fighting against his physiology and anatomy, all the parts are synced up. 

 

 

 

 

 

I thought we were supposed to be roasting his swing, not holding it up as a positive example?