Tips for more consistency and power

[nmoneyt]

I hover around an 8 handicap. Some days I feel like I can’t miss, and others feel like I’ve never swung a club in my life. Lots of thin, inconsistent contact, and I hardly ever feel like I get that compression we are chasing. I fair decently off the tee, so I’m wondering I’m hitting up too much (I occasionally fat it as well, but thin is my more consistent miss). 
 

I don’t feel like I have lots of rotation, and I don’t hit the ball particularly far. I feel like I’m swinging as hard as possible but only getting 155 out of my 7 iron. I don’t think I could swing harder if someone asked me to, even though it looks like I’m not swinging hard. There must be a power leak somewhere, but I can’t find it. 
 

I hit big blocks and the occasional pull draw/hook. Anything major going on and anything I should be working on?

 

 

[Valtiel]

Initially I would look at alignment since, unless intentional, you have an alignment rod down but are setup pretty closed in relation to it, feet and shoulders. If you tend towards thinking this is neutral on the course when in reality you're aimed right then you're fighting against your setup and trying to guide the ball too much in response, either flipping over and hooking it or hitting those "blocks" which might be closer to where you're actually lined up than you realize. Working against your setup can definitely be a power leak because you can't ever fully commit to driving and releasing the club if in the back of your mind you're trying to manage a two way miss. 

Your address posture looks slightly unbalanced as well in that you look up on your toes and leaning over the ball a bit. You do a great job of not losing your balance and coming towards the ball any further throughout the swing, but I wonder of you're not generating as much power from your lower half as you could be as a result. A face-on video would be helpful as well you see how you're shifting weight around, but I would first square away your alignment if for no other reason that it will continue working against you if its out of whack. 
 

[nmoneyt]

Thanks. The alignment rod was haphazardly put down, not necessarily my aiming point. 
 

Any good drills for balance?

[golfarb1]

Legs too straight at setup

you need more hip bend resulting in more angled thighs -1st still

Even though you look taller than Rory, he is a good model-2nd st

 

Backswing 

Even before 9: 00 in your backswing , your trail leg is straight . 
You need to maintain more of the  brace of your trail knee going back

[Red4282]

Id like to see a face on swing, as your symptoms (fat/thins, one day cant miss other days cant hit anything) indicate a slide. A big slide can is all timing based, and if its off it will be really bad.

[nmoneyt]

8 hours ago, Red4282 said:

Id like to see a face on swing, as your symptoms (fat/thins, one day cant miss other days cant hit anything) indicate a slide. A big slide can is all timing based, and if its off it will be really bad.

This is me swinging about as hard as I can. Was out of range balls, so just a practice swing, which I know isn’t ideal. 

[SE Gamer]

Agree with the other observation that your weight seems to be too far on to your toes. Beyond that, to me it looks like your left elbow/arm in the backswing is folding a bit too early and too much. Both of which could rob you of distance.

 

Now take the above with a grain of salt. As I may not be the best person at reviewing swing videos. 

 

Also, when you say you're only hitting a 7 iron 155, I think a little more context would help. Specifically what type of iron you're playing. Is it a distance/game improvement set with strong lofts? Or more of a players set with traditional lofts?

 

I play the latter. So my 7 iron has 36 degrees of loft, and I get about 170-175 out of mine. So even if you're also playing weaker lofts, I'd still think you've got room to snag more distance. 

 

155 with a blade is one thing. In which case you're not terribly far off from a "good" number (think in the 165 range). On the other hand, if you're getting 155 with a players distance iron, there's potentially a lot you're leaving on the table. 

[nmoneyt]

4 hours ago, SE Gamer said:

Agree with the other observation that your weight seems to be too far on to your toes. Beyond that, to me it looks like your left elbow/arm in the backswing is folding a bit too early and too much. Both of which could rob you of distance.

 

Now take the above with a grain of salt. As I may not be the best person at reviewing swing videos. 

 

Also, when you say you're only hitting a 7 iron 155, I think a little more context would help. Specifically what type of iron you're playing. Is it a distance/game improvement set with strong lofts? Or more of a players set with traditional lofts?

 

I play the latter. So my 7 iron has 36 degrees of loft, and I get about 170-175 out of mine. So even if you're also playing weaker lofts, I'd still think you've got room to snag more distance. 

 

155 with a blade is one thing. In which case you're not terribly far off from a "good" number (think in the 165 range). On the other hand, if you're getting 155 with a players distance iron, there's potentially a lot you're leaving on the table. 

 

My 7 iron is 34 degrees. 

[BraxtonFullerton]

Your legs are exceedingly straight and your posture has your head almost directly over the ball. You want to feel a little more like you're in a seated position... almost like you're squatting.

As of your current swing setup, it is very close to Dustin Johnson:

 

Only a couple or problems with that. You don't have the flexibility nor the pronation he does at the top to account for the stance/swing dynamics. Which means your timing window is much smaller to hit the ball.

Your hands need to be lower and your trail elbow more connected to your body:

 

Think three-quarter swing and stop your hands from going above your shoulders.

[nmoneyt]

18 minutes ago, BraxtonFullerton said:

Your legs are exceedingly straight and your posture has your head almost directly over the ball. You want to feel a little more like you're in a seated position... almost like you're squatting.

As of your current swing setup, it is very close to Dustin Johnson:

 

Only a couple or problems with that. You don't have the flexibility nor the pronation he does at the top to account for the stance/swing dynamics. Which means your timing window is much smaller to hit the ball.

Your hands need to be lower and your trail elbow more connected to your body:

 

Think three-quarter swing and stop your hands from going above your shoulders.

 

 

Thank you, this is helpful. How do I feel like I'm in a seated position without my hips being too far outside of my heels? 

[BraxtonFullerton]

1 hour ago, nmoneyt said:

 

 

Thank you, this is helpful. How do I feel like I'm in a seated position without my hips being too far outside of my heels? 

 

 

Give Clay's "toes up" drill some tries: