Hooks and pushes

[connor_g9]

Before anyone comments and points out my issues: yes, I'm already aware of what they are. I've posted here before and got some helpful feedback, and I have these cycles of my swing getting better and then getting worse again, always defaulting to the video below. I'm mostly posting for help with drills I can do to hopefully get rid of this awful swing. I make a fairly normal backswing, outside of the clubface being really closed, which likely starts the rest of the issues. To be honest, I'm not sure why the face is so closed - my grip is on the stronger side, but nowhere near what you'd assume by looking at the face at the top. From there, I drop just under plane and swing inside-out and have to extend my lead side (and EE) like crazy to get any kind of contact. Usual contact is low on the face (and flight) and is either a big push or low hook. What drills can help my issue(s)? Thank you in advance.

[TheDeanAbides]

Focus on keeping your back to the target longer in transition while you drop your arms (not your left shoulder). Essentially, the Justin Rose drill. You just open your body up too quickly and the EE and handle raising is a solution to allow you to hit it. 
 

Also the wall drill so you can feel how your hips are supposed to work. 

[Valtiel]

Given that you're still struggling with the same severe things to the same degree resulting in the same wild impact position, it's worth shifting the focus away from the clubface like we discussed previously and to this:



In transition your lead leg is *completely* dormant and you attempt to create rotation solely by thrusting your trail leg forward towards the ball. Note how with Robert's legs here that while the bag leg *does* come forward, it is more turning inwards towards the target (not straight out towards the ball) and the front knee is moving in equal measure towards the target and back away from the ball. Your lead leg functionally doesn't move at all, and this is exacerbated by the fact that you drop your hands behind way behind you like you mentioned. The main point is that in the crucial moment that you need to be shifting into and opening up your lead side, you aren't. Zero rotation is coming from your front side, so immediately after this you have to basically freeze everything and jump straight up on the air to get your legs out of the way and get the club anywhere near the ball:



No rotation coming from the lead side + all rotation coming from the trail side = emergency jumping out of the way at the last second to clear the lead side, whereas we can see with Robert it's just a smooth continuation if what was already started in transition and the downswing; a turning of the trail leg inwards and a straightening of the front leg to push the hip back to clear. 

For your pattern to still be this severe means that either you don't have any conscious awareness of what your legs are doing in the downswing and you're defaulting to "strong side = power, use strong side" or you *do* have awareness and you're simply applying it in the wrong area. You will need to start very small and slow to undo this pattern because gaining conscious awareness of something you're doing unconsciously or shifting it a completely different area is like learning a new language. Start with short irons and smaller swings and work very diligently on being aware of what your legs are doing, because based on the severity of all this you need to completely divorce yourself from any ideas that rotation and power comes from your back leg. A face on video would be helpful too because you're likely hanging back on that bag leg too long which is encouraging using it for rotation and power.

[connor_g9]

2 hours ago, Valtiel said:

Given that you're still struggling with the same severe things to the same degree resulting in the same wild impact position, it's worth shifting the focus away from the clubface like we discussed previously and to this:



In transition your lead leg is *completely* dormant and you attempt to create rotation solely by thrusting your trail leg forward towards the ball. Note how with Robert's legs here that while the bag leg *does* come forward, it is more turning inwards towards the target (not straight out towards the ball) and the front knee is moving in equal measure towards the target and back away from the ball. Your lead leg functionally doesn't move at all, and this is exacerbated by the fact that you drop your hands behind way behind you like you mentioned. The main point is that in the crucial moment that you need to be shifting into and opening up your lead side, you aren't. Zero rotation is coming from your front side, so immediately after this you have to basically freeze everything and jump straight up on the air to get your legs out of the way and get the club anywhere near the ball:



No rotation coming from the lead side + all rotation coming from the trail side = emergency jumping out of the way at the last second to clear the lead side, whereas we can see with Robert it's just a smooth continuation if what was already started in transition and the downswing; a turning of the trail leg inwards and a straightening of the front leg to push the hip back to clear. 

For your pattern to still be this severe means that either you don't have any conscious awareness of what your legs are doing in the downswing and you're defaulting to "strong side = power, use strong side" or you *do* have awareness and you're simply applying it in the wrong area. You will need to start very small and slow to undo this pattern because gaining conscious awareness of something you're doing unconsciously or shifting it a completely different area is like learning a new language. Start with short irons and smaller swings and work very diligently on being aware of what your legs are doing, because based on the severity of all this you need to completely divorce yourself from any ideas that rotation and power comes from your back leg. A face on video would be helpful too because you're likely hanging back on that bag leg too long which is encouraging using it for rotation and power.

 

I think that's exactly the issue - I don't realize that I'm even doing it. I've worked on something similar with my irons, but for some reason I divert entirely when I get to my woods and driver. I'm going to focus on starting the rotation off the front leg and try to clear it out of the way before that "emergency jump" even has a chance to materialize. And yes, I do tend to hang back on the rear leg for too long, which you can kinda see in the pretty severe backwards tilt of my shoulders.

[Valtiel]

2 hours ago, connor_g9 said:

 

I think that's exactly the issue - I don't realize that I'm even doing it. I've worked on something similar with my irons, but for some reason I divert entirely when I get to my woods and driver. I'm going to focus on starting the rotation off the front leg and try to clear it out of the way before that "emergency jump" even has a chance to materialize. And yes, I do tend to hang back on the rear leg for too long, which you can kinda see in the pretty severe backwards tilt of my shoulders.

Yup agreed with all that. If you don’t know that you’re doing it then it’s a clear indication that you’re reverting to an intuitive default, because as you can see it’s a super big move. 
 

First you learn to feel it, usually assisted by doing slow drills like the Malaska “Straight Line Forces” drill or Padraig’s Hip Turning videos. Then you work on swapping from unconsciously firing your trail side to consciously using your lead side, which requires shifting pressure towards it. Start small, start slow, the temptation to jump straight to full driver swings will be great and the longer you resist that the better. 

[connor_g9]

On 5/2/2024 at 6:30 PM, Valtiel said:

Yup agreed with all that. If you don’t know that you’re doing it then it’s a clear indication that you’re reverting to an intuitive default, because as you can see it’s a super big move. 
 

First you learn to feel it, usually assisted by doing slow drills like the Malaska “Straight Line Forces” drill or Padraig’s Hip Turning videos. Then you work on swapping from unconsciously firing your trail side to consciously using your lead side, which requires shifting pressure towards it. Start small, start slow, the temptation to jump straight to full driver swings will be great and the longer you resist that the better. 

So after a considerable amount of rehearsing and hitting some pretty crappy shots, I think I’ve started to unlearn that jumping feel. At the very least, I can now recognize WHEN I do it and address it immediately. I watched Top Speed Golf’s video on jumping at impact and the “sit in a chair but at 45°” feel seems to help a significant amount. I think next is to really cement that feel and make it stick, and then work on getting my right shoulder to work more around and less upwards. And yes, I have two pairs of the same shorts 😅.

 

 

 

[Valtiel]

3 hours ago, connor_g9 said:

So after a considerable amount of rehearsing and hitting some pretty crappy shots, I think I’ve started to unlearn that jumping feel. At the very least, I can now recognize WHEN I do it and address it immediately. I watched Top Speed Golf’s video on jumping at impact and the “sit in a chair but at 45°” feel seems to help a significant amount. I think next is to really cement that feel and make it stick, and then work on getting my right shoulder to work more around and less upwards. And yes, I have two pairs of the same shorts 😅.

 

 

 

Yup that’s money, very well done. Just bear in mind you’ll likely fight your old instincts when the ball is there, that is where taking it slow will come in.