Struggling with pulls

[Luckydutch]

I've been working a lot on my lower body over the past few months and it is starting to show dividends. My ball striking is way better and I've gained about a club of distance on all my irons. However, I'm at a loss as to how to fix my path. I pull EVERYTHING and with longer clubs it can be quite severe and result in a lot of lost balls.

 

On the videos it looks like my club is approaching the ball from the inside but then it starts left and often just goes straight left but can sometimes pull-draw. I can turn that pull-draw into a pull-fade by weakening the grip but I find I start to strain my lead thumb when I play a weaker grip so I'm not keen on that. I'd prefer to have a more neutral path.

 

When I try to push the path more out to the right by thinking about the club head going through the ball and out to the right of the target line, it tends to cause me to early extend and push my hands away from me to try and force that path and the ball flight is typically a push-fade rather than a push-draw. No good.

 

The other thing that irks me about my swing is I have a tendency to dump my wrist angles too early when I'm not thinking about it so you'll see in the videos below I am also trying a few things to better maintain those angles. The pathing issue remains consistent throughout.

 

 

   

 

This next one is slightly different in the backswing. Again just trying anything to create a neutral swing plane. It's a bit of an overswing in the backswing though, for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My re-centering could definitely be earlier on this one and that's a development area for me but at least it is before I start pulling my arms down so I'm getting my pressure forward and solid ball-then-turf contact pretty consistently.

 

On all these videos it looks like the club is approaching the ball slightly from the inside so I am struggling to understand why I get such harsh pulls. I'd love to know how to neutralize my path without pushing my hands away from me and getting weak push-fades.

 

Edited May 9, 2023 by Luckydutch

[golfinbrad]

The first video looked like you were falling slightly forward on the down swing. You even had to step over to keep your balance.  Try keep the weight more stable, feeling like you are posting up against a very firm front leg.  Just my thoughts.  Good luck.

[glk]

first issue is setup.   arms/elbows need to be more relaxed with some flex - right now you have a bit of a reach to get to the ball, relaxing would get you just a bit closer to the ball.   second is ball position it is way to far back - ball needs to be off  left ear which puts hands inside left thigh - in the face one the ball should have the back half of the ball covered by the tee - by my estimate two balls forward.    you have to dump wrist angles early to hit the ball due to it's position.

 

the LM doesn't give path or face numbers (on the screen but don't register) - to me this is more likely a face issue not a path - can't see club head or wrists due to low fps of camera so really hard to tell from just video.   Where you are hitting the ball in the arc is behind low point - attack was -12 and almost -2 on two shots that had it recorded - so club head moving down and right - ball start appears left - spin axis isn't really much so no large curve - but start line is left so that is a big tipoff that face is pointing left relative to the path - frankly path and face must be pretty neutral, ie close to zero, since no big curve .   

 

moving the ball  into a good position, to me, would be first step and then see how your body reacts.   Right now you are setting up and hitting the ball off your right ear.

 

 

[Luckydutch]

3 minutes ago, glk said:

first issue is setup.   arms/elbows need to be more relaxed with some flex - right now you have a bit of a reach to get to the ball, relaxing would get you just a bit closer to the ball.   second is ball position it is way to far back - ball needs to be off  left ear which puts hands inside left thigh - in the face one the ball should have the back half of the ball covered by the tee - by my estimate two balls forward.    you have to dump wrist angles early to hit the ball due to it's position.

 

the LM doesn't give path or face numbers (on the screen but don't register) - to me this is more likely a face issue not a path - can't see club head or wrists due to low fps of camera so really hard to tell from just video.   Where you are hitting the ball in the arc is behind low point - attack was -12 and almost -2 on two shots that had it recorded - so club head moving down and right - ball start appears left - spin axis isn't really much so no large curve - but start line is left so that is a big tipoff that face is pointing left relative to the path - frankly path and face must be pretty neutral, ie close to zero, since no big curve .   

 

moving the ball  into a good position, to me, would be first step and then see how your body reacts.   Right now you are setting up and hitting the ball off your right ear.

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the tips. On the distance from the ball, I actually got a tip to move further from it as I was occasionally shanking it but I hadn't noticed the ball position being behind centre until you just pointed it out.

 

Is it at all possible that it just looks that way because I didn't line the camera up properly? Or is it more likely it is back of centre and I didn't notice?

 

Am I understanding this correctly? If the ball goes straight left, does that mean that both path and face are pointed equally left at impact? Wouldn't moving the ball forward potentially put it further down the arc of the swing and make it go even more left?

Edited May 9, 2023 by Luckydutch

[glk]

35 minutes ago, Luckydutch said:

 

 

Thanks for the tips. On the distance from the ball, I actually got a tip to move further from it as I was occasionally shanking it but I hadn't noticed the ball position being behind centre until you just pointed it out.

 

Is it at all possible that it just looks that way because I didn't line the camera up properly? Or is it more likely it is back of centre and I didn't notice?

 

Am I understanding this correctly? If the ball goes straight left, does that mean that both path and face are pointed equally left at impact? Wouldn't moving the ball forward potentially put it further down the arc of the swing and make it go even more left?

possible on the camera but two balls back is a lot of distortion and the camera would have to be really off to the right which it doesn't appear so.   It is low which isnt ideal but appears to be more centered on hands - ideal is centered on hands at hands height for both dtl and fo.   And even indoors you want an alignment stick or club about an inch or two in front of your toes which is where your shoulders and hands should hang - so helps with setup too as well as camera alignment dtl.

 

if path and face are aligned left or right then the ball will go straight left or right.    The lower the loft of the club the more initial start direction is determined by face but even with short irons face still determines around 60% of start.

 

If you watched the AMG video they address why the ball needs to be positioned correctly and more off your ear/shirt logo - it's all got to do with how a good swing works - moving the ball back is a bandaid that works against developing a good motion as well as causes other issues like dumping wrist angles early.

Edited May 9, 2023 by glk

[Luckydutch]

On 5/9/2023 at 4:51 PM, glk said:

possible on the camera but two balls back is a lot of distortion and the camera would have to be really off to the right which it doesn't appear so.   It is low which isnt ideal but appears to be more centered on hands - ideal is centered on hands at hands height for both dtl and fo.   And even indoors you want an alignment stick or club about an inch or two in front of your toes which is where your shoulders and hands should hang - so helps with setup too as well as camera alignment dtl.

 

if path and face are aligned left or right then the ball will go straight left or right.    The lower the loft of the club the more initial start direction is determined by face but even with short irons face still determines around 60% of start.

 

If you watched the AMG video they address why the ball needs to be positioned correctly and more off your ear/shirt logo - it's all got to do with how a good swing works - moving the ball back is a bandaid that works against developing a good motion as well as causes other issues like dumping wrist angles early.

 

I feel pretty stupid for not always practicing with alignment sticks since I own some and the studio has loads. Need to start using them always just to create good habits and muscle memory around setup.

 

Used them today and whilst I didn't find the ball was back in my stance, I did find that I actually had the face a few degrees closed at address, especially with longer clubs like driver - probably because it sits ahead of your eyes so you can't easily see the face angle. That did help to tone-down the pulls a little bit but my predominant miss remains the pull.

 

Here are some examples. I am trying to restrict myself to just one backswing thought and one downswing thought. Today those were:

 

Backswing - when arm reaches parallel to the ground, start to shift pressure into lead knee. This helps me with recentering but also helps me rotate my hips rather than just slide them, which is what happens when I think about shifting into the lead foot.

 

Downswing - tuck right side and try to maintain wrist angles rather than casting. I pretty consistently fail to do this and just dump all the wrist angles the second the downswing starts

 

Do you see anything in there that could be causing the pulls? And do you have any advice for holding that lag?

 

     

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by Luckydutch

[golfinbrad]

What iron are you using in these videos?  It looks lower loft than wedges which would be at least 1 ball further back than idea.  I think this is a balance, ball position and face issue, not swing path.  You could also get a magnate that attaches to the club face that might give you a better idea of square.  Only take a small change to get things back online. 

[Luckydutch]

1 hour ago, golfinbrad said:

What iron are you using in these videos?  It looks lower loft than wedges which would be at least 1 ball further back than idea.  I think this is a balance, ball position and face issue, not swing path.  You could also get a magnate that attaches to the club face that might give you a better idea of square.  Only take a small change to get things back online. 

 

That one in my most recent update was an 8 iron which I play central.

7 iron and below I put incrementally forward of centre. 8 and upwards are just centre.

 

I don’t (intentionally) play anything to back from centre.

[golfinbrad]

 

2 minutes ago, Luckydutch said:

 

That one in my most recent update was an 8 iron which I play central.

7 iron and below I put incrementally forward of centre. 8 and upwards are just centre.

 

I don’t (intentionally) play anything to back from centre.

The camera angle makes the 8 iron look a little back of center to me.  That is the issue looking at something on video vs. in person.  Hopefully someone else on hear can way in.  I don't think it is a big correction that needs to be made.  Could just be arm/grip tension or face angle.  Good luck.  You'll figure it out.

[glk]

2 hours ago, Luckydutch said:

 

I feel pretty stupid for not always practicing with alignment sticks since I own some and the studio has loads. Need to start using them always just to create good habits and muscle memory around setup.

 

Used them today and whilst I didn't find the ball was back in my stance, I did find that I actually had the face a few degrees closed at address, especially with longer clubs like driver - probably because it sits ahead of your eyes so you can't easily see the face angle. That did help to tone-down the pulls a little bit but my predominant miss remains the pull.

 

Here are some examples. I am trying to restrict myself to just one backswing thought and one downswing thought. Today those were:

 

Backswing - when arm reaches parallel to the ground, start to shift pressure into lead knee. This helps me with recentering but also helps me rotate my hips rather than just slide them, which is what happens when I think about shifting into the lead foot.

 

Downswing - tuck right side and try to maintain wrist angles rather than casting. I pretty consistently fail to do this and just dump all the wrist angles the second the downswing starts

 

Do you see anything in there that could be causing the pulls? And do you have any advice for holding that lag?

 

 

     

 

 

Your ball is too far back, too far back.

 

Look how far forward of the ball your body is at this point - if you didn't dump angles you'd swing over the ball - if the ball was off your left ear at setup then you would be stacked - lower and upper body - over the ball at this point and brain would have no incentive to dump angles.   

 

 

This was a guy from last year that had is ball too far back, slide, and hand too long of a backswing.     One range session with ball moved up.  

it's one step at time - right now ball position is the issue - For you, I see some sequencing issue but don't see a really big slide but given the ball position what appears to be an okay recenter and shift comes off as a slide and angles dumped.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by glk

[596]

Not an instructor by any means.  But in the latest front on iron video, if you look at the alignment sticks they are centered on your flared toes, not your core.   Once your feet are flared and the ball centered on that at setup this makes the ball  too far back.   You should center the ball before your toes are flared out.  Align the ball to your heels and it'll be centered on your core not your toes.

Edited May 10, 2023 by 596

[Luckydutch]

OK so I've made absolutely certain that the ball position is spot on and I'm still pulling everything.

 

Finishing low-and-left is a good feel for me for getting really solid contact but I get the pulls and pull draws:

 

 

 

I can straighten it out by feeling I exit low down the target line but I get steep to achieve that and contact isn't as crisp and consistent:

 

 

 

Here's a front view with a sand wedge. Ball is central.
 

 

 

[GoGoErky]

You get stuck in the swing. Look at where your hands are in you face on at p6. You are either going to block or pull the ball most of the time from here depending on what your hands do

 

You have a pretty flat turn and the what seems like the left hip moving more than the right in the back swing. You need to sync up your hands with the turn

[Valtiel]

@Luckydutch There is still such a severe disconnect in sequencing here:



Your hands are so far behind your lower body that you can't do anything but flip and pray from here, and if you're this disconnected with something as short as a sand wedge then it will only be worse with longer clubs. Your stance is too wide, you're rotating and loading like you're hitting a driver, and your length of swing is way too long for a wedge:



Your setup, weight shift, and swing length says "driver". You keep loading into your back leg and collapsing your left side all the way to the top of a backswing that is far longer and deeper (behind you) than a wedge ever should be and you don't have a chance in hell at getting your arms back down in front of you in time. The severe cast/flip that results explains any and all direction and trajectory issues. You need to be making a swing that feels half this length with a narrower stance and a way more "centered" feeling in your rotation (note Rory's left hip in relation to the red line vs. yours). 

Edited May 19, 2023 by Valtiel

[Luckydutch]

11 hours ago, Valtiel said:

@Luckydutch There is still such a severe disconnect in sequencing here:



Your hands are so far behind your lower body that you can't do anything but flip and pray from here, and if you're this disconnected with something as short as a sand wedge then it will only be worse with longer clubs. Your stance is too wide, you're rotating and loading like you're hitting a driver, and your length of swing is way too long for a wedge:



Your setup, weight shift, and swing length says "driver". You keep loading into your back leg and collapsing your left side all the way to the top of a backswing that is far longer and deeper (behind you) than a wedge ever should be and you don't have a chance in hell at getting your arms back down in front of you in time. The severe cast/flip that results explains any and all direction and trajectory issues. You need to be making a swing that feels half this length with a narrower stance and a way more "centered" feeling in your rotation (note Rory's left hip in relation to the red line vs. yours). 

 

 

Great analysis, thanks!

 

It took a surprisingly large number of attempts to get close to those images you shared.

 

To begin with, I couldn't resist turning the hips too much in the backswing:

 

 

 

 

I actually had to consciously restrict the hip turn and feel more stretch along my lats to get something that more resembled those images:

 

 

 

Is that better?

 

Presumably the same principals apply with the longer clubs?

 

As you correctly inferred, I get away with it with my wedges but the problems get worse, the longer the club. An 8 iron can be anything between a 150 yard push-fade or a 190 yard pull-draw or even sometimes a complete hook.

 

Perhaps a more restricted swing like this even on longer clubs?

 

[Luckydutch]

Had a go at implementing this in the studio today. Certainly felt more controlled but it didn't immediately help me get those hands in front of me in the downswing.

 

Here's an 8 iron. Slightly longer swing than the practice with the wedge but a lot more restrained than in the past:

 

 

 

What I noticed is that in "creating width" in the backswing (which I see a lot of people talk about being a good thing), I was creating this gap between my arm and body which I then was just maintaining through the downswing:

 

 

 

So I had a go with what feels like a narrower backswing where I keep my upper right arm connected to the chest throughout:

 

 

 

I did feel an immediate improvement to contact and it seems like the hands aren't quite as left behind but still miles away from that very compacted look from the pros

 

 

[GoGoErky]

You are turning flat. You right hip should be moving back and up and your left shoulder down and towards the ball. You are basically restricting hip turn and then slide in downswing and area still somewhat stuck as result

 

Also looks like you aren’t getting any vertical hinge in the wrists 

[Luckydutch]

3 hours ago, GoGoErky said:

You are turning flat. You right hip should be moving back and up and your left shoulder down and towards the ball. You are basically restricting hip turn and then slide in downswing and area still somewhat stuck as result

 

Also looks like you aren’t getting any vertical hinge in the wrists 

Absolutely I am.

 

It was pointed out to me a few comments ago that my swing is too long, too deep and too loaded into my trail hip. 
 

I’m now restricting it so it feels like I’m not turning hips at all.

 

I will confess that it felt more controlled with a wedge than it did with the long irons. They were still a bit of a struggle. I’m wondering whether I turn my core/spine a bit too much with the longer clubs rather than just rotating the chest and shoulders around the spine.

 

Driver was rough at first but then I figured out if I just take half a step back with my right foot and swing along my foot line with the face pointing left of that at the target, I started bombing it.

 

Wedge:

 

 

6 iron:

 

 

 

Driver: 
 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Luckydutch

[GoGoErky]

12 minutes ago, Luckydutch said:

Absolutely I am.

 

It was pointed out to me a few comments ago that my swing is too long, too deep and too loaded into my trail hip. 
 

I’m now restricting it so it feels like I’m not turning hips at all.

 

I will confess that it felt more controlled with a wedge than it did with the long irons. They were still a bit of a struggle. I’m wondering whether I turn my core/spine a bit too much with the longer clubs rather than just rotating the chest and shoulders around the spine.

 

Driver was rough at first but then I figured out if I just take half a step back with my right foot and swing along my foot line with the face pointing left of that at the target, I started bombing it.

 

Wedge:

 

 

6 iron:

 

 

 

Driver: 
 

 

Restricting your hips isn’t what you want. You want them to move but move properly. Right hip back and up in the backswing with trail leg extending. Then gain flexion in both knees and forward bend or as Monte says zipper back and then left hip back and up in the downswing and into impact.
 

You need some vertical hinge and to not bend the trail elbow as much.

 

You fire the right hip in the downswing kick the club out

[Luckydutch]

On 5/22/2023 at 11:25 PM, GoGoErky said:

Restricting your hips isn’t what you want. You want them to move but move properly. Right hip back and up in the backswing with trail leg extending. Then gain flexion in both knees and forward bend or as Monte says zipper back and then left hip back and up in the downswing and into impact.
 

You need some vertical hinge and to not bend the trail elbow as much.

 

You fire the right hip in the downswing kick the club out

 

OK so here are my attempts at putting this all together but I'm still no sure it's right.

 

I am allowing the hips to turn in the backswing then I'm trying to avoid sliding forward in the downswing. However, I'm concerned now that @Valtiel will tell me that my sequencing is wrong again because I'm not shifting into my lead side in the backswing. I can seem to do a little 'bump' without a big 'slide'.

 

 

[GoGoErky]

Most aren’t going to like giving feedback on swings that aren’t hitting a ball. 
 

You aren’t shifting into your lead side at the top/end of the backswing and you aren’t shifting into the trail side to start the swing. You are shallowing by dropping the right shoulder with the driver, I’m guessing with the thought of “hitting up” on driver which is going to be something that will cause two way miss. Pushes/blocks if you don’t get the hands to close the face in time or your typical pull. You don’t drop as much with the iron.

 

Here’s a good drill from Monte 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CseNygvrDC_/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

[Luckydutch]

On 5/25/2023 at 2:31 PM, GoGoErky said:

Most aren’t going to like giving feedback on swings that aren’t hitting a ball. 
 

You aren’t shifting into your lead side at the top/end of the backswing and you aren’t shifting into the trail side to start the swing. You are shallowing by dropping the right shoulder with the driver, I’m guessing with the thought of “hitting up” on driver which is going to be something that will cause two way miss. Pushes/blocks if you don’t get the hands to close the face in time or your typical pull. You don’t drop as much with the iron.

 

Here’s a good drill from Monte 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CseNygvrDC_/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

 

What you're sharing there makes sense to me.

 

I tried to implement it this week and I felt I was being successful in this attempt. Combined with a change in tempo (my takeaway was too slow and I was yanking down on it in the early downswing so I switched to fast-slow-fast), I felt I was really hitting it better:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

However, I feel I am getting some mixed messaging as today I pay for this online lesson and he tells me my backswing is too "left sided" and I need to be more stacked over the right leg in the backswing. He tells me that because of this, I am sliding too far forward in the downswing and that is what is causing me to dump my wrist angles too early.

 

Now I don't know what to do 😐

Edited May 27, 2023 by Luckydutch

[GoGoErky]

6 minutes ago, Luckydutch said:

 

 

What you're sharing there makes sense to me.

 

I tried to implement it this week and I felt I was being successful in this attempt. Combined with a change in tempo (my takeaway was too slow and I was yanking down on it in the early downswing so I switched to fast-slow-fast), I felt I was really hitting it better:

 

 

 

 

However, I feel I am getting some mixed messaging as today I pay for this online lesson and he tells me my backswing is too "left sided" and I need to be more stacked over the right leg in the backswing. He tells me that because of this, I am sliding too far forward in the downswing and that is what is causing me to dump my wrist angles too early.

 

Now I don't know what to do 😐

In the the takeaway you have to get pressure into the right leg and have it finish at p2 but no later than p3. Then it starts to shift to the left leg with about 70% weight on the left leg at the top of backswing.

 

in this swing you don’t get any pressure to the right and stack it on the left. But your hips also are still not moving back and around in the backswing and similar in the downswing 

[Valtiel]

@Luckydutch

Quote

However, I feel I am getting some mixed messaging as today I pay for this online lesson and he tells me my backswing is too "left sided" and I need to be more stacked over the right leg in the backswing. He tells me that because of this, I am sliding too far forward in the downswing and that is what is causing me to dump my wrist angles too early.

The problem with thinking that you're getting mixed messages here is the fact that you still seem to be struggling with being aware of how severely you keep changing things, and often things you weren't prompted to do:



These are drastically different positions, the most recent of which definitely being way too "left sided" as your instructor pointed out. Previously you were getting into your back leg too late and staying on it too long, and the recommendation was what @GoGoErky said above; getting into your back leg sooner and then getting off it it sooner. I did say to feel more "centered" which maybe threw you off, but if you want to stop swinging between these extremes you need some quality control/review on what you're doing. More often than not you're getting advice and then implementing the wrong thing, either because of a feel vs. real disconnect or just a fundamental misunderstanding of what you've been told.

If you looked at the face on video that I gif'd above and noticed nothing then that needs to change, because the immediate reaction should have been "Whoops! I'm severely reverse pivoting now" as opposed to just thinking this is normal and that your new advice conflicts with the old. No one would have told you that you're loading too much for too long into your rear leg had this "new" swing always been there. 

Edited May 27, 2023 by Valtiel

[Luckydutch]

On 5/28/2023 at 12:24 AM, Valtiel said:

@Luckydutch

The problem with thinking that you're getting mixed messages here is the fact that you still seem to be struggling with being aware of how severely you keep changing things, and often things you weren't prompted to do:



These are drastically different positions, the most recent of which definitely being way too "left sided" as your instructor pointed out. Previously you were getting into your back leg too late and staying on it too long, and the recommendation was what @GoGoErky said above; getting into your back leg sooner and then getting off it it sooner. I did say to feel more "centered" which maybe threw you off, but if you want to stop swinging between these extremes you need some quality control/review on what you're doing. More often than not you're getting advice and then implementing the wrong thing, either because of a feel vs. real disconnect or just a fundamental misunderstanding of what you've been told.

If you looked at the face on video that I gif'd above and noticed nothing then that needs to change, because the immediate reaction should have been "Whoops! I'm severely reverse pivoting now" as opposed to just thinking this is normal and that your new advice conflicts with the old. No one would have told you that you're loading too much for too long into your rear leg had this "new" swing always been there. 

 

I sense your frustration but I assure you, I'm trying very hard to make the changes you suggest. I do find with lower body especially it is quite hard to change things a little bit without changing them a lot. 

 

I've really been working on this and trying to find a happy middle ground and I am pleased to say that my contact quality has gone-up a lot. I'm trialing a mini-squatting motion just during the transition because I often felt like my right knee got a bit 'stuck' and didn't want to re-gain flex in the downswing. I find that small knee flex in the transition helps me turn the hips better and then spring-up through the legs through impact. My forward shift of pressure isn't as early as I know it should be but that's proving a hard habit to form.

 

The issue I am still having is a face that is always just slightly open at impact making my stock shot a weak-push fade which I will intermittently over-compensate for by hitting a pull-hook.

 

What I've started doing out on the course is just deliberately setting-up for a draw with a stance that's open to my target and a face that's square to the target and then swinging along my foot line. It does more or less kill-off the push-fade as the most right it will go is a straight push but a draw isn't always favorable for the situation plus it can sometimes over-draw and be hard to aim at a pin. I'd still really like to know how to hit a squarer shot with a setup that's square to target and a face at impact that squares-up properly.

 

 

 

 

 

Side-view really exposes the problem. The club is coming into impact wildly open:

 

 

 

I've wondered whether I need to be more open with the body/hips at impact but something physical or mental is blocking it because try as I might, I cannot turn any more open than that. It's like my sub-conscious thinks if I turn more open to square the face, I won't be able to hit the ball so won't let me do it.

Edited June 28, 2023 by Luckydutch

[Luckydutch]

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Edited July 3, 2023 by Luckydutch

[Luckydutch]

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Edited July 3, 2023 by Luckydutch

[dfeldss]

Go see someone in person man. I think you need real time feedback so you're not just spinning your wheels going from change-to-change, thought-to-thought. It seems like you're pretty deep in the weeds right now 

 

@Valtiel and the others are awesome (i've gotten some great advice from him myself), but sometimes you just gotta have someone help you out in person to get things to click

[Luckydutch]

1 hour ago, dfeldss said:

Go see someone in person man. I think you need real time feedback so you're not just spinning your wheels going from change-to-change, thought-to-thought. It seems like you're pretty deep in the weeds right now 

 

@Valtiel and the others are awesome (i've gotten some great advice from him myself), but sometimes you just gotta have someone help you out in person to get things to click

 

I did get a lesson a few weeks ago but I didn’t like the guy at all. He told me to set the wrists in the takeaway then just hold them completely stiff until the finish. Completely hold-off releasing the club and just deliver it solely through body rotation. The result was by the end of the lesson I could barely hit the ball. Naturally his suggestion was a course of 6 lessons to fix the swing he’d just broken.

 

When you look at the pros it’s abundantly obvious that they do release it because they all have their lead wrist in extension nearly immediately after impact. Will not be going back to him.

Needless to say, I swiftly disregarded everything he said and revisited what I had read here and I started to improve again.

 

I’m definitely striking the ball the best I ever have now but face control remains a big issue.

 

I really feel if I could just learn to square the face ever so slightly more without altering the path, my handicap would come flying down. The problem I so often encounter is I’m hitting these push-fades and then my attempts to square it more not only square the face but also pull the path. This gives me a really nasty 2-sided miss.

[GoGoErky]

Your camera angles are off, but judging a swing when not hitting a ball doesn’t do any good because you aren’t getting how your body reacts to actually having to hit the ball. If you look at where your clubs starts and where it is at impact you would either miss the ball or hit if almost on the shaft.

 

But if you want to look at your mechanics you push the left knee and hip out towards the ball in the backswing, you have a flexed wrist instead of neutral or slightly bowed at the top. You then push the right hip out in the downswing and don’t add any flexion to you wrist. So you get stuck with an open face and then have to early extend and push the arms out to get to the ball

i agree with the above poster that finding an instructor to work with either online or in person would be beneficial