My "swing"

[TheSwingingChin]

Call it what you will

Full-swings Pw-7i http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LrQEE-zBS54

Half 60* wedge (at least as I recall it to be) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VzBKH3jx0Q

Been trying to work on my swing since I got serious about golf at the end of '08. Been working ahead at making the golf team at the local high school next year, pretty competitve even trying to make junior varsity.

Major issue as far as ball flight goes is that I've been hooking all my woods. I've had to go an entire round teeing off with a 3 iron. In regards to my swing, I really don't know why I bring it past parallel, I guess I watched John Daly too much as a little kid.

[Brandnew]

dont force your wrist to turn when you start your backswing.

[Cut Off 6-iron]

You bring your club to the inside in the backswing
Try doing the drill where you bring the club to parallel and have the club be square and be not inside.

[TheSwingingChin]

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll be sure to try out that drill later today.

[cj78]

Full-swings Pw-7i http://www.youtube.c...h?v=LrQEE-zBS54

 

Half 60* wedge (at least as I recall it to be) http://www.youtube.c...h?v=2VzBKH3jx0Q

 

Been trying to work on my swing since I got serious about golf at the end of '08. Been working ahead at making the golf team at the local high school next year, pretty competitve even trying to make junior varsity.

 

Major issue as far as ball flight goes is that I've been hooking all my woods. I've had to go an entire round teeing off with a 3 iron. In regards to my swing, I really don't know why I bring it past parallel, I guess I watched John Daly too much as a little kid.

 

I used to have the same swing as you. 2 years ago I started playing golf off 24. A years ago I started taking lessons now I play off 10. My swing was the exact same as yours. The great news is that you have really good hand eye co-ordination to be able to get the club back to the ball on the plane you are on. Second you dont have a huge overswing, I ll get to that in a minute. First off from the video I looked at you keep collapsing your right knee during the backswing which throws the club off plane, this action releases tension between the hips and shoulder allowing you to move the club past parallel at the top of the swing. However it also leads to less lag and power. What my pro made me do was make sure I maintained a flex-bend in my right knee. Y tube all the great players and you will see this. If you keep the right knee flexed this will help reduce(it may not stop) your overswing. Anthony once said, nothing good happens when the club goes past parallell. Next- stand with your back to a wall and swing the club, if it hits the wall your too far on the inside. Try to make your swing with the club not hitting the wall. Hope this helps. Changing your swing a hard thing to do and it takes time, if I was you I'd go get lessons. They really make a difference.

[elchene]

hahahahahahaha, when i saw your video i freaked out. you look just like a kid i play against in high school matches, swing is the same too.

[TheSwingingChin]

I tried the drill bringing the club to parallel, and then I figured it was easier to just swing with no wrists ala Steve Stricker.It seems to be working hitting into the net at least, I'll see how it works out on the range Saturday.

 

elechene, there's no palm trees in New York

 

 

[TheSwingingChin]

[media][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4Hkve74ZzU"]http://www.youtube.c...h?v=x4Hkve74ZzU[/url][/media]

I think the overswinging is more of a feel than a mechanics issue for me. For example, I hit what I thought were two punch shots at 0:49 and 1:06, but I was actually taking the club back to parallel. Also, it would explain an odd feel I've been getting with my woods. When I brought it back to 3/4s (or at least what I thought was 3/4s), I completely lost any feeling of where the clubhead was at. No wonder, because what my mind thinks is 3/4 of the way back is actually parallel.

[Garrett77]

Theres some good drills for working on your tendency to bring the club to the inside on the backswing. You might want to invest into some of those "teaching sticks" you can get them at lowes for cheap, roughly 3 dollars a piece, but basically the idea is to be able to stick them in the ground behind you when making swings to fight off some of those tendancies. I'd reccomend looking up some of the different drills with them online to get something to base off.

Best of luck with the swing, keep up the practice.

- G

[elchene]

I tried the drill bringing the club to parallel, and then I figured it was easier to just swing with no wrists ala Steve Stricker.It seems to be working hitting into the net at least, I'll see how it works out on the range Saturday.

 

elechene, there's no palm trees in New York

 

hahahahaha good point.

[AcesAZ]

Keep that right knee flexed during your backswing. That'll help shorten it up a ton. Your face is dead shut at the top so Id look at your grip initally for that (explains the hooking woods). Work on taking the club straighter back with a one piece takeaway (that will keep you shorter with a bigger arc and keep you from dragging it inside and then across the line).

[TheSwingingChin]

Keep that right knee flexed during your backswing. That'll help shorten it up a ton. Your face is dead shut at the top so Id look at your grip initally for that (explains the hooking woods). Work on taking the club straighter back with a one piece takeaway (that will keep you shorter with a bigger arc and keep you from dragging it inside and then across the line).

 

Considering about 3 or 4 people have given advice telling me to work on a one piece takeaway, I'll start working on that.

 

As for my grip, it's pretty strong, it's about as strong if not stronger than Zach Johnson's grip is. What's got me a bit puzzled is that back in summer of last year I was hitting a fairly high cut. Same grip, same basic swing. Then in I guess about November I had it going just about dead straight, and playing out at a par 3 course I aimed for my usual cut, and I hooked it. Ever since that round, been hooking.

[Cut Off 6-iron]

Keep that right knee flexed during your backswing. That'll help shorten it up a ton. Your face is dead shut at the top so Id look at your grip initally for that (explains the hooking woods). Work on taking the club straighter back with a one piece takeaway (that will keep you shorter with a bigger arc and keep you from dragging it inside and then across the line).

 

Considering about 3 or 4 people have given advice telling me to work on a one piece takeaway, I'll start working on that.

 

As for my grip, it's pretty strong, it's about as strong if not stronger than Zach Johnson's grip is. What's got me a bit puzzled is that back in summer of last year I was hitting a fairly high cut. Same grip, same basic swing. Then in I guess about November I had it going just about dead straight, and playing out at a par 3 course I aimed for my usual cut, and I hooked it. Ever since that round, been hooking.

 

Were you hooking the ball after changing your takeaway? This could be because you fixed your tendency to bring the club to the inside. You played high cuts because you were getting inside and were pushing the ball with a slightly open clubface (A guess). Now that you're getting your club on plane correctly and since you're releasing the club the same way, you're getting the clubface closed at impact. If you're going to play with a shut clubface and strong grip, try to delay the release or release the club less aggressively. Again, I'm totally guessing as I didn't see your new swing

[TheSwingingChin]

Keep that right knee flexed during your backswing. That'll help shorten it up a ton. Your face is dead shut at the top so Id look at your grip initally for that (explains the hooking woods). Work on taking the club straighter back with a one piece takeaway (that will keep you shorter with a bigger arc and keep you from dragging it inside and then across the line).

 

Considering about 3 or 4 people have given advice telling me to work on a one piece takeaway, I'll start working on that.

 

As for my grip, it's pretty strong, it's about as strong if not stronger than Zach Johnson's grip is. What's got me a bit puzzled is that back in summer of last year I was hitting a fairly high cut. Same grip, same basic swing. Then in I guess about November I had it going just about dead straight, and playing out at a par 3 course I aimed for my usual cut, and I hooked it. Ever since that round, been hooking.

 

Were you hooking the ball after changing your takeaway? This could be because you fixed your tendency to bring the club to the inside. You played high cuts because you were getting inside and were pushing the ball with a slightly open clubface (A guess). Now that you're getting your club on plane correctly and since you're releasing the club the same way, you're getting the clubface closed at impact. If you're going to play with a shut clubface and strong grip, try to delay the release or release the club less aggressively. Again, I'm totally guessing as I didn't see your new swing

Well I haven't changed my takeaway, I've been working on that. I have some videos of my swing from a couple of months ago, I'll try to get those up on here sometime.

 

EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpuq5OI6zHg

[Corey_sulliv21]

Gotta know the ball flight laws if you're going to make any progress:

80% of the balls initial starting direction is caused by the clubface angle at impact.
Example: If you hit a ball that starts right of target and then hooks back to the target the clubface was open to the target line at impact.

The way the ball spins in the air is the relationship of the clubface to the swing path.
Example: To continue from the above example the ball started to the right so the face had to be open to the target at impact. In order for the ball to curve to the left the swing path had to be coming well from the inside so that the clubface (even though it was technically "open" at impact) is closed to the swing path.

You said you're hooking the ball. Is it starting right of the target or is it starting straight and hooking? And is it over-hooking to a point where you don't like where it finishes?

If the problem is starting direction then you fix the face and if it's the way the ball is turning in the air you have to fix the relationship of the swingpath to the clubface.

Even though you are young that super strong grip is not necessary to generate power and play good golf. This is probably going to be atleast a piece of the problem.

[TheSwingingChin]

To respond to the last part of your post, power is something I'm not really concerned about. I'd rather have a 200 yd iron off the tee in the fairway then a 300 yd drive in a bunker. My strong suit is hitting greens in regulation and good wedge play. I've been working the last few days on weakening my grip considerably. It's working, although the feel is a bit odd to get used to.

As for the rest of your post, my swing is fairly inside-to-out. Probably 4 out of 5 of my divots are pointing right of my target. Which to me seems fairly odd as my natural setup has my lower body a bit closed.

I've steepend my swing as the hook has increased. Again, this is odd to me considering the above video was when I was hitting a cut, and my swing was flatter than it is now. I thought a flatter swing plane generally leads to a more right-to-left ball path, whereas a steeper plane led to a more left-to-right ball path?

[Corey_sulliv21]

Just read the ball flight. There are no absolutes in golf. A flat swing can cause any ball flight imaginable.

If your divots are pointing well right you need to straighten the path. Most people swing out to the right because their upper body leans away from the target in the downswing. Don't allow your upper body to lean away from the target, feel like it stays more on top of the ball and you'll see your divots start to straighten. From there you've got to figure out where the ball is starting and make sure you don't have the face too closed or open at impact.

[rsballer10]

i see many people say keep the right knee flexed. the right knee can straighten slightly to accomadate a hip turn, but locking that knee and adding a lot of flex to the left knee in the backswing causes your head to move down. Quieting the knee flex down in both legs will lead to a steadier head, leading to having a more consistent low point in your swing. if you were having problems with fat and thin shots, it was most likely your head moving up and down.

Obviously, i couldn't see how the balls were curving in your video, but they were starting right of your stance line (i don't know where your target line was, most people don't aim square to the target). This means your clubface is open to your stance, causing a push shot. you say that you hook the ball, which would have been my guess looking at your swing because it is inside to out, that's already been said. However, I have found different ways to solve my ball flight issues.

Using the same laws that another member posted, your hooked ball is from a swing path that is more right then where the face was pointed. Over the past year i have changed my flight from a big fade to a less dramatic draw, and can go back to a small cut when i need to. i spent the most of the season trying to change the clubface direction at impact, and this lead to inconsistent results. So i spent time working on path after learning about the ball flight laws, because i want to change curvature, not starting direction. I realized that a swing that has a straight path, or a swing " on plane", was a swing that the finish position brought the club to a point that was no higher or lower than the backswing. So instead of trying to just simply get my backswing in the right position, i tried to match my backswing plane, to my throughswing plane. Now, i swing relatively flat for my height and have a finish that is more of a wrap-around type, because if i had a high finish the club's path would actually trace inside to out.

Now looking at your video- Im using the first one because it shows path and clubface direction. I found the easiest way to straighten out my divots was to NOT CHANGE MY BACKSWING. I found it very difficult to feel where the club truly was, steep or shallow. What i did find simple though, was to change where i finished the club on my swing. To make your divot not point to the right, try finishing your swing lower and more around your body, similar to your backswing. My key when i want to hit more of a fade is to make my hands touch my left shoulder on my finish. this makes a shallower through swing. It is a very simple fix for me, and if you don't like it then its very easy to go back to your finish that you do now. when your divots are straighter, then analyze your ball flight. if you are hitting pulled hooks, then my next tip would be to take on a more neutral grip. i believe neutral is best for a grip because paired with a flat left wrist throughout the swing, the face always stays square to the path of the club. If your divots are straighter and then you start playing slices, my next thought would be to check your wrist throughout the swing. like i said, flat is good. a cupped wrist opens the club and a bowed wrist closes the club (to the swing path). Like i said i recommend the neutral grip because it shows what my wrists are doing at impact.

to sum it all up
1. less knee action- will help keep head steady
2. lower finish- match backswing plane to throughswing plane
3. neutral grip- shows whether your wrist was too bowed or cupped
4. flat wrist-keeps club square to its path

i know it's alot of stuff, i hope at least some of it was helpful
have a good one

[TheSwingingChin]

I appreciate someone taking the time to type out something that long and in-depth

 

I'll be sure to work on those 4 points next time out at the range.

[TheSwingingChin]

Well, I was planning to go to the range tonight, but I guess my dad had other plans. But, got the hitting net back up (old one had the net starting to come off, and I absolutely murdered the target inside of it. I guess they hadn't anticipated balls hitting it at 120+ MPH ) and I took some swings today. The good news is that my woods were fine, and actually felt way better than they had in a while. I was able to actually hit a 3 wood off the deck consistently and not top it every other shot. Bad news is that the irons went to crap in the process. I worked on weaking my grip considerably, to the point where I can't see any of the knuckles on my left hand. Inadvertantly this considerably steepened my swing plane, which I was able to get away with the woods. Now the problem is that my swing has changed to coming from the outside slightly, which would be no problem for me with my wristiness. The problem with that is, since my grip's weakened up, I can't rotate the club face. So what used to be a hook with the woods is now a slice with the irons and even half-wedge shots.

[sweatygolfer]

If u cant see any knuckles on ur left hand, u have weakened ur grip way too much, i believe that it is ok to play with a slightly strong grip as it helps the hands stay quieter thus helping create more consistency by taking the timing out of the golf swing. I would recommend doing the drill hank haney had charles barkley doing on the haney project where charles would take his set up then hinge his wrists thus lifting the club up, and then turn the shoulders back and thru. i believe this will help because u arent hinging ur wrists properly. instead of hinging them like a door hinge, u are tucking ur left wrist under in the back swing, this causes the shut clubface. so this will help u square up the clubface. another drill i would recommend is the VJ bottle drill, take an empty water bottle and place it about 6 inches in front of the ball and just outside it, it is meant to help the club move left of the target line after contact, VJ singh uses this to help him hit his power cut. that drill will help u get the club coming back to the ball on a better plane. lastly, the only other thing i could see is almost immediately after impact ur left arm breaks down, i would focus on trying to get some extension thru the ball, keeping ur arms straight thus creating a bigger arc. but to do this correctly, u need to keep the club from turning over too early, if u flip it after impact, u will hit nothing but big sniper hooks. but if u focus on retaining the angle on the back of ur right hand, or as tiger says, keeping the logo on ur glove towards the target, u will hit high shots with a small draw.

i hope this helps, pm me if u need any more explanation, im not a teaching pro yet, but i am studying on becoming one. and these are all drills and swing thoughts i use on a daily basis. and good luck making ur high school team, i played on my team all 4 years and it was a blast! and always remember to have fun, thats wat this game is about!

[TheSwingingChin]

[quote name='sweatygolfer' date='22 January 2010 - 09:12 PM' timestamp='1264212725' post='2198116']
If u cant see any knuckles on ur left hand, u have weakened ur grip way too much, i believe that it is ok to play with a slightly strong grip as it helps the hands stay quieter thus helping create more consistency by taking the timing out of the golf swing. I would recommend doing the drill hank haney had charles barkley doing on the haney project where charles would take his set up then hinge his wrists thus lifting the club up, and then turn the shoulders back and thru. i believe this will help because u arent hinging ur wrists properly. instead of hinging them like a door hinge, u are tucking ur left wrist under in the back swing, this causes the shut clubface. so this will help u square up the clubface. another drill i would recommend is the VJ bottle drill, take an empty water bottle and place it about 6 inches in front of the ball and just outside it, it is meant to help the club move left of the target line after contact, VJ singh uses this to help him hit his power cut. that drill will help u get the club coming back to the ball on a better plane. lastly, the only other thing i could see is almost immediately after impact ur left arm breaks down, i would focus on trying to get some extension thru the ball, keeping ur arms straight thus creating a bigger arc. but to do this correctly, u need to keep the club from turning over too early, if u flip it after impact, u will hit nothing but big sniper hooks. but if u focus on retaining the angle on the back of ur right hand, or as tiger says, keeping the logo on ur glove towards the target, u will hit high shots with a small draw.

i hope this helps, pm me if u need any more explanation, im not a teaching pro yet, but i am studying on becoming one. and these are all drills and swing thoughts i use on a daily basis. and good luck making ur high school team, i played on my team all 4 years and it was a blast! and always remember to have fun, thats wat this game is about!
[/quote]
I've actually used the first drill before, read about it in a PGA TOUR Partners from last September. I'll be sure to get back to it.

As for my grip, would strengthening it up to where I can see 2-3 knuckles be enough to prevent the hook from coming back in?

[sweatygolfer]

[quote name='TheSwingingChin' date='22 January 2010 - 07:58 PM' timestamp='1264219138' post='2198335']
[quote name='sweatygolfer' date='22 January 2010 - 09:12 PM' timestamp='1264212725' post='2198116']
If u cant see any knuckles on ur left hand, u have weakened ur grip way too much, i believe that it is ok to play with a slightly strong grip as it helps the hands stay quieter thus helping create more consistency by taking the timing out of the golf swing. I would recommend doing the drill hank haney had charles barkley doing on the haney project where charles would take his set up then hinge his wrists thus lifting the club up, and then turn the shoulders back and thru. i believe this will help because u arent hinging ur wrists properly. instead of hinging them like a door hinge, u are tucking ur left wrist under in the back swing, this causes the shut clubface. so this will help u square up the clubface. another drill i would recommend is the VJ bottle drill, take an empty water bottle and place it about 6 inches in front of the ball and just outside it, it is meant to help the club move left of the target line after contact, VJ singh uses this to help him hit his power cut. that drill will help u get the club coming back to the ball on a better plane. lastly, the only other thing i could see is almost immediately after impact ur left arm breaks down, i would focus on trying to get some extension thru the ball, keeping ur arms straight thus creating a bigger arc. but to do this correctly, u need to keep the club from turning over too early, if u flip it after impact, u will hit nothing but big sniper hooks. but if u focus on retaining the angle on the back of ur right hand, or as tiger says, keeping the logo on ur glove towards the target, u will hit high shots with a small draw.

i hope this helps, pm me if u need any more explanation, im not a teaching pro yet, but i am studying on becoming one. and these are all drills and swing thoughts i use on a daily basis. and good luck making ur high school team, i played on my team all 4 years and it was a blast! and always remember to have fun, thats wat this game is about!
[/quote]
I've actually used the first drill before, read about it in a PGA TOUR Partners from last September. I'll be sure to get back to it.

As for my grip, would strengthening it up to where I can see 2-3 knuckles be enough to prevent the hook from coming back in?
[/quote]

I believe so, i can usually see 2 knuckles from my address position. The main thing is getting the extension thru the ball, also if u flip the club immediately after impact u will hook the ball. but if u retain the angle in ur wrist thru impact and get the extension thru the ball it should straighten out the ball flight.

[TheSwingingChin]

Well, after months of frustration and hard work, I got my swing back into respectable shape.

 

 

After trying to get my backswing on a more vertical plane, that failed miserably (I shanked a 7 iron to within 20 yards of Annika Sorenstam at Golfest getting a lesson from one of the PGA guys ). I decided to go back to my flatter plane. Little did I realize that if I get the club anywhere near above my shoulder, my transition to the downswing loses any timing I have. So, this is what I've ended up with: a home-built driving range swing.