How Do You Flatten Starting Down?

[EmperorPenguin]

I have been getting frustrated on this part of my swing.  I put myself on video and I see myself starting the downswing steeply.  For those of you who are Leadbetter students, I am trying to get to Link 6.  My fault is the common one David illustrates: a steep downswing.  In my case, I can take the club back OK, with the club up on its end.  However, on the way down, my downswing plane does not flatten, as the video shows that it comes down just as steeply as it comes up.  Here are pictures of what I am trying to achieve, and the common swing fault that I am very much guilty of.  For yesterday's practice session and analysis, I have been trying to force myself to flatten the swing on the way down, but this results in all kinds of bad shots, and I hit a few shanks with it, too.  Does anyone have any drills I can use to help me flatten my downswing plane starting down?

[MidwestHacker]

Hands getting too steep and not getting deep enough, maybe. Are your hands above the shoulder plane line, and your trail arm elbow above its shoulder? This happened to me when I started really trying to get my club going back "on end". Check out the drill here: https://www.golfdigest.com/story/the-simple-swing-plane-drill-thats-going-to-make-you-a-good-iron-player, it helped me a ton in making sure my hands were getting deep enough and not too high. 

[SNIPERBBB]

Monte's no turn cast drill.

[DaveLeeNC]

56 minutes ago, EmperorPenguin said:

For yesterday's practice session and analysis, I have been trying to force myself to flatten the swing on the way down, but this results in all kinds of bad shots, and I hit a few shanks with it, too. 

IMHO, that is a really good indicator that you might be actually doing what you are trying to do.  Achieving what you are trying to do takes months in my case. I will tell you how many once I have gotten there. 

 

dave

[TheDeanAbides]

1 hour ago, SNIPERBBB said:

Monte's no turn cast drill.

Seconded

[mgoblue83]

1. Get more depth in your backswing

2. Slow down your transition and let the club start falling behind you before accelerating

3. Keep rotating through the shot

[Rdailey9108]

Many ways tbh (some bad and are a band aid)

 

-Flexing the lead wrist helps somewhat

-Ulnar deviating which goes hand in hand with flexing the lead wrist

-unwinding the trail arm like a bicep curl

-throwing the club behind you

 

 

 

[MysteryV]

Break down the movement and do it slowly.  Monte mentioned this as one of his top two drills if he could only choose two.

 

Go to the top

Stop

Slowly Lower the club / release the angles

Stop

Turn and hit (goal is to make contact and feel the position with a 20 yard shot - not to actually hit the ball)

 

It'll take a lot of reps to rewire sequencing.

[cgasucks]

2 hours ago, TheDeanAbides said:

Seconded

Third

 

 

Edited May 6 by cgasucks

[cgasucks]

 

[EmperorPenguin]

6 hours ago, SNIPERBBB said:

Monte's no turn cast drill.

Is there a link to that?

[SNIPERBBB]

3 minutes ago, EmperorPenguin said:

Is there a link to that?

 

[SNIPERBBB]

Also this one

 

[iacas]

You can also feel like you rotate the forearms "to the right" (clockwise) if you're a righty, too, as that'll change the shaft pitch as well.

 

Some golfers (most) have to move the hands and trail elbow differently. A few also have to do a bit with the right forearms or wrists to not tip the shaft out that way.

[Grayback1973]

Steepening in transition is a very common problem with average golfers. An old teacher of mine always harped about "swinging out" from the top and not "down". He always wanted me to feel my hands from the top swinging out to the ball and not a spot between the ball and my feet(which is actually where they come through at impact and where they sit at address). He even wanted me to feel my hands swinging at a spot beyond the ball.

 

To be honest I could never do it. I worked and worked and worked at it but my hands would just always go down in transition and my shaft would steepen.I think it is the same teaching or thought that the right elbow leads the downswing. The forearms will actually rotate open(clockwise) which naturally flattens the shaft. The big problem I always had was that these moves get the clubface wide open.

 

Bottom line is this......golf is hard!

Edited May 8 by Grayback1973

[MountainKing]

On 5/6/2024 at 12:18 PM, MysteryV said:

Break down the movement and do it slowly.  Monte mentioned this as one of his top two drills if he could only choose two.

 

Go to the top

Stop

Slowly Lower the club / release the angles

Stop

Turn and hit (goal is to make contact and feel the position with a 20 yard shot - not to actually hit the ball)

 

It'll take a lot of reps to rewire sequencing.

 

100% this - and if you watch most tour pros in extreme slow motion this is exactly what they do.  With that said, you do need to make sure you're in somewhat of a decent position up top, otherwise you'll find yourself throwing the club 4 feet into the ground behind the ball.  Steep in the downswing often is compensation for a bad backswing.

[kool-aid]

On 5/6/2024 at 10:18 AM, MysteryV said:

Break down the movement and do it slowly.  Monte mentioned this as one of his top two drills if he could only choose two.

 

Go to the top

Stop

Slowly Lower the club / release the angles

Stop

Turn and hit (goal is to make contact and feel the position with a 20 yard shot - not to actually hit the ball)

 

It'll take a lot of reps to rewire sequencing.

so... this?

 

 

[MysteryV]

10 hours ago, kool-aid said:

so... this?

 

 

 

Mostly.  Here is @MonteScheinblum version

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3RmdDPOL49/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

That said - when he demonstrated during a live stream last week (which I cannot locate) - he also let his elbow straighten.  For me - straightening the elbow and getting the club LOWER - not just flatter - is helpful as it helps my sequence (kinda like the Justin Rose drill I suppose).

[Rdailey9108]

5 minutes ago, MysteryV said:

 

Mostly.  Here is @MonteScheinblum version

 

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C3RmdDPOL49/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

 

That said - when he demonstrated during a live stream last week (which I cannot locate) - he also let his elbow straighten.  For me - straightening the elbow and getting the club LOWER - not just flatter - is helpful as it helps my sequence (kinda like the Justin Rose drill I suppose).

I would love to see that video. Guess time to search. 

[MysteryV]

43 minutes ago, Rdailey9108 said:

I would love to see that video. Guess time to search. 

 

I just spent quite a bit more time searching and don't believe it's available as his most recent  posted IG Live vid is here (and this is not it).

 

That said - it's not a huge secret drill - or particularly complex.  He probably demonstrates in another of his vids as well - but I'm done searching for now.  😄

 

 

[phizzy30]

On 5/6/2024 at 8:07 AM, SNIPERBBB said:

Monte's no turn cast drill.

Yep.  I'm a handle yanker and tend get steep on my down swing when my swing is off.  I've been implementing Monte's no turn cast drill and it's helped shallow out my swing a bit.  Far from perfect but getting there.