after some advice, how does the swing look now? (video inside)

[mactecgolf]

3-iron shot

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3VWDpe17mI

disregard the background voice i was having someone look at my swing too


so i took everyone's comments and took a harder look at my swing

how does everything look now? i tried to minimize my body movements and just keep centered i also tried to keep that elbow down


better?

[mizuno67]

i think it is an improvement already keep working on it

if you feel the hands work a bit more inside ( not clubface) and keep the right elbow down low as you are taking the club away i think you'll get even more connected

you are still stalling on the pivot but better than before

[TEConnor]

Much better spine angle throughout. For a cross-over release swing, you've got good tools and solid fundamentals. I would advise that you be careful about bringing your takeaway (specifically the clubhead) more "inside" the line...be careful not to over do that, as it is one of the great dangers of the handsy release (ie, an exaggerated inside path, a stalled body turn, slinging the arms across the body to "right field", and subsequent misses of block then snap hook when the timing disappears).

 

I agree with mizuno that your body turn stalls at impact. This is very common of your release type (some call it a "cross-over" others a "flip"). Look at where your hips and shoulders point at impact (on youtube, just pause as close to the impact as possible)...they essentially are parallel to the target-line (aka, down-the-line). Slicefixer quoted a study of the tour, which showed that the average tour pro at impact is 25 degrees open (shoulders and hips) to the target line. The best "body swingers" are >40 degrees open to the target at impact. In order to get there, you would need a different release type, but square to the line is a recipe for inconsistency for all types releases, in my opinion. Also look at your right elbow at impact: it's 8 inches away from your waist. The feeling you want is that elbow is inside your right pocket. In order to get there, you would need to turn your core, hips, and shoulders aggressively through the ball. I'm not saying that your elbow and hip will connect verbatim, but as mizuno pointed out, more connection = more better.

 

In your original post you said that you tend to hit it straight to a slight draw. That's all well and good, but "good" tendencies are somewhat irrelevant. What are your bad misses like. I'm willing to guess that you hit some monster hooks at times. If you notice that you are consciously "leaning back" to your right and/or having trouble with left/hooking misses the answer lies in your core stalling (what mizuno called the "pivot stall.") I can't tell entirely from the angle, but my impression is that you also have a slightly weak grip. This is sometimes a necessity to avoid the lefts with the positions you are in at impact. If you make a more solid body turn through the ball, you may notice that you can strengthen that grip a little.

 

Good tempo on the swing, good transition, great drive down to the ball. You have a solid base to build on, but the real question for you (considering you made your aspirations of mini-tours known) is can you practice this swing enough to keep your timing running precisely? You've got a Jaguar swing, smooth and silky, but upkeep and maintenance will be a constant.

 

Cheers,

Tim

[mactecgolf]

thanks tim let me respond to ya a bit

 

first off thanks for looking and for the comments

 

 

ok, as for my misses if i do have a miss its normally a fat shot, probably due to a bit of swaying or the head movement, or ill block it out to the right when my hips get movin to fast and i cant catch my arms up

 

 

i know the swing thoughts u describe about having my body unwind more impact, its just when i do that i hit a fade, which is nothing bad i know, and i can control it well, guess its a ego thing about the fade and i know alooooot of players play the fade. ill get a vid of this move for you to see and i think when you do, you'll be quite impressed

 

ive always been more of an arm swinger with little body turn i guess to me body turn always = distance and distance was never a problem for me with my height and strength so swinging my arms made it "simpler" for me

 

ive been playiing for a while, and never had a lesson so that swing is pretty much self taught

 

 

do you think i should have the more body turn and play a fade its about a 5 yd fade so its pretty easy to control, i guess when im swinging to hit the ball straight, i have to "manipulate" it alil bit, do u see that too?

 

thanks

[pocketfulladoubles]

It does seem that you are releasing a bit early too. Your hands are at the ball at impact. You are likely to benefit by impacting with your hands ahead of the clubhead, thus delofting the face a bit and attacking from the inside. Right now it seems you are almost hitting the back of the ball, but it is hard to tell. Try swinging with your core instead of your hands. You should be a bit open at impact with your hands ahead of the club. Just don't learn to do this with a 3iron.

[carrera]

I did a screen capture near impact with my mac...it comes up as a pdf file I think. Anyway, I think it illustrates many of the comments from above re the pivot/posture.

[carrera]

Just curious to see if the original poster found the above picture interesting...did he realize that at impact his lower body was so square to the target line and posture is more upright than at the start? It is hard to sense these things in an up-tempo swing since the body turns more after impact.

[Furrankee]

I agree with carrera. Looks like you're on the right side of the swing matrix. What is your natural shot? A low draw?

[mactecgolf]

natural shot isnt a low draw

 

i hit it high straight or sometimes with a lil fade

 

other than distance and power, what is the benefit of having the body so open at impact?

 

im a good ball striker with a very low handicap and i feel like my swing is simple

[mactecgolf]

how does this look i got my hips open at impact

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJRHdVgH_mY...feature=related

 

 

and this is my very old swing what do u think of this too?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRZPSpgcqxI

[carrera]

Hard to tell with the black pants, but you really aren't that open at impact, it appears (though a bit more than the pic above, which was taken a frame or so earlier). This will be a tough change to make.

[pocketfulladoubles]

natural shot isnt a low draw

 

i hit it high straight or sometimes with a lil fade

 

other than distance and power, what is the benefit of having the body so open at impact?

 

im a good ball striker with a very low handicap and i feel like my swing is simple

 

 

Generally more consistency under tournament pressure because of the lesser emphasis on hand coordination and timing and putting the tempo in your big muscles. It also requires less maintenance.