Is the Golf Swing nothing more than a Baseball Swing...bent over..??

[OrangeGravy]

This may sound silly at first but in the golf swing the ball is in the way as the club head travels in an arc from inside to online then back to inside. You dont try to hit at the ball as the club is on the target line for just a fraction of a second. In baseball you are trying to drive the ball forward on the target line back from where it came from. I learned to play baseball years before I learned golf and have had to retrain my mind to keep from swinging down the line and flipping at the golf ball in an effort to drive it at the target line. I think the body movements are similar except way more ponounced and down the line in baseball.

 

very true in the release.. You absolutely flip at or before impact with a baseball bat.. if your right hand didnt pass over your left you hit weak flairs to 1st base all day... with a proper release in golf you flip the sameway and shes heading 40 yards left of left.. Lots of similarities...But not same same

 

 

 

 

You need to look at some slow motion base ball swings. We call that rolling over the pitch and it goes nowhere.

 

 

What took you so long ? Lol

 

Think of the finish position for a correct baseball swing vs a golf swing. Now my view maybe more skewed as I am an upright player in golf. My finish is high unless im trying to hit a left running left hook. In baseball you finish around behind you. If you swing a golf club that way and release the hands it can't help but be left of left. Also. If you hold on to the bat and do not release ( think check swing ) how can it not go to 1st base ? Maybe 2nd. In baseball you certainly should be thinking hit it with he right hand no ? In golf it's not that way unless you intend to hit a hard draw. Orhave a super fast lower half that can clear and stay ahead of the hands. In golf the release is somewhere inbetween for Control . Driver maybe being the exception. I have to release that pretty hard to square it up.

 

I agree the moves and outcomes are similar. But can't say they are same same. Surely you aren't saying baseball players don't fully extend and release the trail hand ?

 

In baseball you try to hit the ball out front, so yes you do hold off the release (compared to golf). If you hit the ball as it's crossing the plate (you swinging late or slow), you'll hit down first base line or the dugout. To hit it left, you hit it more out front. You aren't trying to control a face angle like in golf. It's more about the angle and direction of the bat. Add to that, the amount of shoulder tilt based on the angle of the pitch.

 

And the only way to do that and keep if fair is to have your hands inside the ball (think lag). If you flip at the ball out front it's hooked foul all day long. If you're real savvy you can hit an inside pitch up the middle or the other way keeping your hands inside the ball. Your hips also have to open in order to give your hands room to stay inside of an inside pitch.

 

If you flip the barrel your gonna roll over all day and hit week ground balls. Half of which will be broken bats (if you're using wood) from cap shots. The right wrist roll over happens post contact.

[OrangeGravy]

This may sound silly at first but in the golf swing the ball is in the way as the club head travels in an arc from inside to online then back to inside. You dont try to hit at the ball as the club is on the target line for just a fraction of a second. In baseball you are trying to drive the ball forward on the target line back from where it came from. I learned to play baseball years before I learned golf and have had to retrain my mind to keep from swinging down the line and flipping at the golf ball in an effort to drive it at the target line. I think the body movements are similar except way more ponounced and down the line in baseball.

 

very true in the release.. You absolutely flip at or before impact with a baseball bat.. if your right hand didnt pass over your left you hit weak flairs to 1st base all day... with a proper release in golf you flip the sameway and shes heading 40 yards left of left.. Lots of similarities...But not same same

 

>>You absolutely flip at or before impact with a baseball bat.. <<

 

Yes, if you want to hit into a double play. That's called rolling over the ball.

 

 

 

Edit: I see someone else already referenced the term "rolling over the ball as well"

 

 

maybe i should say ..."feel vs real" folks.. im sure it happens post impact... but to me it feels like during ... point was the feeling of releasing a baseball swing isnt same as a golf swing , exception being driver ...maybe.

 

 

 

edit... not sure why i posted to begin with.... Ill concede... SURE guys hitting a golf ball is EXACTLY like hitting a baseball ....lol...Thats why so many ex baseball players are great golfers..( score not power) .. funny thing is the only ones i can think of are ex pitchers.... and none of them can hit a lick... hmmmm

 

Speaking from my own experience coming from baseball, the main problem is the release. When I first started the problem was a huge hold off swing which baseball promotes to some degree. It was even worse for me because I was an inside out hitter (went the other way often). So when I first picked up a driver it was massive long blocks with the face open all day. Baseball players tend to be those power slicers you see that would hit it 290-310 if they could figure out how to straighten it out. I've fixed it with woods for the most part, but it still trouble for me with irons. I can't shake the feeling that if I release the club it's gonna hook off the planet.

 

Pitchers are better with golf because they spend their time grooving their mechanics in fine detail from the ground up. It's a much more natural transition than hitters to golf. Hitters will tweak subtle things at times if they're having trouble with certain pitches, but it's still mostly a "see ball, hit ball" thing with hitters.

[MountainGoat]

If you want to take a serious run at this question, read Ted Williams book "The Science of Hitting". In it, he compares and contrasts the baseball swing to the golf swing. Although there are a number of differences, he finds a number of similarities, including 1) a still head, 2) the important role of the hips, 3) inside-out movement, and 4) the importance of the right hand. With respect to the wrists, he describes the baseball swing as essentially a block that's driven by the hips. Wrists release after contact. I think there are some golfers who hit the ball that way, but that motion is not universal.

[OrangeGravy]

If you want to take a serious run at this question, read Ted Williams book "The Science of Hitting". In it, he compares and contrasts the baseball swing to the golf swing. Although there are a number of differences, he finds a number of similarities, including 1) a still head, 2) the important role of the hips, 3) inside-out movement, and 4) the importance of the right hand. With respect to the wrists, he describes the baseball swing as essentially a block that's driven by the hips. Wrists release after contact. I think there are some golfers who hit the ball that way, but that motion is not universal.

 

That sounds exactly like my description of my transition from baseball swing to golf swing!