Changing a 40 year old swing

[sfdoddsy]

Has anyone succeeded in reinventing a lifelong swing flaw?

 

For as long as I’ve played golf seriously I’ve had a ‘natural’ draw with my irons.

 

When playing well it has been a slight draw with the ball starting right and coming back. Making me look like a good golfer.

 

When playing bad it has been a nasty hook making me look like an idiot.

 

There was a burst of good 18 months ago that got me down to a 5.

 

 But since then the bad has seen my handicap double.

 

Trackman has told me what I do wrong. Inside out club path, closed club face.

 

So, at age 62, I’m trying to replace my draw swing with a fade swing.

 

Trackman results are encouraging. As a range results.

 

On course less so.

 

My friends think I’m dumb for trying.

 

I hope not.

 

Anyone else succeeded?

[kmc]

My situation is not quite the same but similar. 2 years older than you and have developed arthritis in the base of both thumbs. Trying to change my grip pressure to 100% fingers/zero thumb pressure just so I can play. Having some success. 

[RichieHunt]

Trackman is only telling you what your impact conditions are and the resulting ball flight.  It's not telling you *why* your impact conditions are such that you have an inside-to-out path with a closed clubface.  

 

In reality the path is probably less of a worry right now than the face.  But as far as why the face is getting closed at impact with your inside-to-out path, it could be a wide variety of things.  Some things could be more difficult to change others could be very easy.  But it's not as simple as just saying 'don't let the face get closed at impact.

 

 

 

RH

[trashpar]

I would concentrate on fixing the face issue.  Once you get to a certain age an ingrained in to out move is more blessing than curse.  After starting to play again after a three year hiatus, I find I have to “feel” my downswing is way from the inside to make solid contact and for the ball to fly with a high tight draw rather than a slight low pull.  So my problem is the opposite, face good path bad.  Also a reoccurring issue with me. 

[rwc356]

70 year old, life long golfer.  Pull draw had been my shot for years but age has turned this into a low pull. Been working on improving swing path and club face control. Has not been easy but slowly seeing improvement. When everything is working right, I now have a fairly straight ball flight but much lower trajectory than I want.  Good luck with your efforts - I agree with others, fixing the face issue seems to be the most important issue.

[ALIF]

Club face is king. It’s nota bad place to start. Good luck!

[bellken]

I have been trying to fix my golf swing for the past 10+ years, and, am, finally, starting to get it. I have been playing for 30+ years -18 hcp(not a good golfer, and, can't too much worse right? - YES, you can get worse, much worse).

 

My old swing faults will still pop back up, but, I am starting to recognize it, and, things are improving. It is possible to change, but, the results can get erratic before they start to improve. Good Luck!

[DLiver]

Your body changes significantly as you age. It only makes sense to change your swing to deal with those physiological changes. I'm way older than you. I have changed my swing in order to compensate for what age is (trying) to take away 😉

 

Swing changes are hard, but worth it IMO

[golfarb1]

Making motor changes involves creating new neural  pathways in the brain Previously it was thought that it was virtually impossible to make such changes once we reached a certain age . But the good news is the brain is more plastic( ability to change ) than previously thought

Since your current neural pathways are so ingrained with incorrect movements ,  you need to avoid the “ comfortable “ in order to make changes . 

To correct  a draw/ hook start out by setting up with a slightly open stance via pulling back your lead foot away from the target line.
Then try some exaggeration drills such as setting up normally and just before swinging , loosen your grip so that it is 20  degrees closed  and then tighten your grip to normal pressure. 
To avoid hitting it off if the planet left , you will be forced to square your clubface and improve your path . 
You can also use a prop like that shown below. The box will make it impossible to swing too much inside out without banging into the box. Obviously you can change the angle  of the box to meet your needs.

You also need to understand the arc of the clubhead. Notice in the second still that the club head contacts the ball  more into -out the further back the ball and more out -to -in the more forward that ball is 

 

Edited May 12, 2023 by golfarb1