Unsolicited Tip....Wow

[dannyra]

Last night I'm on the range, hit my irons pretty well. But I was fading to slicing everything with my driver. Not a really big issue for me when I'm on the course, but at the range I seem to do it a lot.

The guy that was working the pro-shop last night was having the guy next to me try out a driver. After he was done, the guy asked me if I'd been fading the ball. He is probably the best local golfer we have. He said he had watched my last couple swings, but couldn't see my ball flight with the cloud cover from where he was standing.

Of course I said yes and asked what I was doing. Basically he said my backswing looked really good but my follow through was very upright. Told me to try to take my follow through around my body...With the last 2 balls I hit 2 shots with a nice draw and they finished perfectly online. I bet they carried well over 250 yards....ranges last mark is 200. I might have to put this guy on retainer . If I can keep this up, I'll have to buy a new sandwedge. As it will be driver and SW into all the par 4s.

[RandomHero1090]

Re: Unsolicited Tip....Wow

That is extremely good, and simple to follow, advice. In order to swing around your body on the backswing and around your body on the follow through, you must swing on an inside-square-inside path. This swingpath, if you continue to rotate your body and follow through "low and left," will produce a draw. And think about the flight of a draw.... Low and Left!!!The rotational forces will close your clubface coming into impact. Its pretty simple

If your downswing and follow through stay on the target line, you won't have the rotation to close the clubface. You will, more than likely, hit it hit and straight, or fade slightly. Think about the flight of a fade.... High and Right!!!

Check out this month's Golf Digest. Tiger has an article on hitting a draw and a fade. There are pictures showing the finish position of each... Fade = high hands, clubhead above the hands at finish.
Draw = lower hands, clubhead below the hands at finish.

[Ian Hancock]

Re: Unsolicited Tip....Wow

I like that sort of advice because it's simple and focuses on a basic error, 'tention', you were clearly quiting just after impact, usually happens when you are anxious to see the results and almost soon as you hear the sound of impact everything finishes.

His advice simply makes you focus on a full finish, when you do this you complete the swing, hence hit the ball better.

If you think about it nothing has changed at all, you simply lost your tention.


I love this game.

Ian.

[dannyra]

Re: Unsolicited Tip....Wow

Ian,
Hate to disagree with you, but I was using a very big finish. Almost an exaggerated finish when I was fading the ball. It was just the angle of my finish and what it was doing to my swing plain.

I was finishing with my hands high, instead of slightly more around my body.

[RandomHero1090]

Re: Unsolicited Tip....Wow

Ian,
Hate to disagree with you, but I was using a very big finish. Almost an exaggerated finish when I was fading the ball. It was just the angle of my finish and what it was doing to my swing plain.

I was finishing with my hands high, instead of slightly more around my body.

I think you are both right. You have to complete the swing and follow through. You also need to get the club going AROUND your body (lower hands, club head below the hands at the finish).

You can have a big finish (A la Vijay) and still hit a fade. Heck, I think I get more turn on my fade swings (slight out-to-in swing path) because I feel comfortable really going at the ball when I hit a fade. My shoulders almost reach perpendicular to the target line at the finish, but my hands are above even with my head, but the club head is ABOVE my head.

[dannyra]

Re: Unsolicited Tip....Wow

Well as with most tips. One weeks miracle is the next weeks disaster. My swing thought with my driver in league was to finish around my body. Which resulted in me coming over the top and finishing around my body... huge pulls with the driver all day. I got lucky and still had good openings to the greens even with my huge pulls.....pull it far enough and your in another fairway

Heading to the range in about an hour to work on coming from the inside and still finishing around my body. Might play 9 holes too.

[RandomHero1090]

Re: Unsolicited Tip....Wow

Well as with most tips. One weeks miracle is the next weeks disaster. My swing thought with my driver in league was to finish around my body. Which resulted in me coming over the top and finishing around my body... huge pulls with the driver all day. I got lucky and still had good openings to the greens even with my huge pulls.....pull it far enough and your in another fairway

Heading to the range in about an hour to work on coming from the inside and still finishing around my body. Might play 9 holes too.

Pulls are really dependent on the type of swing/setup you have. If you have a flatter swing, you need to keep your arms behind you (right elbow behind the right hip) moving into impact WHILE rotating your body hard left.

If you have a more upright swing, where you drop into the slot, then you need to have those shoulders CLOSED at impact.

However, in both types of swings, the way you find the inside path is by starting the swing from the ground up.

[pnearn]

Re: Unsolicited Tip....Wow

Pulls are really dependent on the type of swing/setup you have. If you have a flatter swing, you need to keep your arms behind you (right elbow behind the right hip) moving into impact WHILE rotating your body hard left.

If you have a more upright swing, where you drop into the slot, then you need to have those shoulders CLOSED at impact.

However, in both types of swings, the way you find the inside path is by starting the swing from the ground up.

I agree. I pull *hard* when I stop turning into impact and then swing/flip with my hands which equals OTT and a shut club face. If you trust that a full turn and a flat left wrist will hit the ball you wont pull it, as you say you'll probably fade it

Its really easy not to trust this on the golf course because you *feel* you will hit it left and you dont want to but as long as your wrists stay cocked and you keep the lag you wont. Its hard to learn and trust though when youve been handsy through impact

[dannyra]

Re: Unsolicited Tip....Wow

Went and played 9 holes after hitting about a dozen balls on the range. Everything worked itself out. It was definately the swing thought I had that was calling the pulls. Trying to do one thing was causing me to do a whole bunch of other bad things.

I think I got a pretty flat swing. I start my swing from the ground up, maybe to much so. My knees can get pretty active.

I definately don't stand very tall at address. I just concentrated on my grip with my last 3 fingers of my left hand and loose arms today and I hit the ball very well with the driver. 3 of the 9 holes I was sitting exactly on the center cut line of the fairway. All hit with about 5-10 yards of draw.

So far this year I've been working on keep my posture and spine angle and hitting into a little less active left leg. Posture at address and maintaining spine angle has probably knocked off 3-4 strokes on avg per 9 holes so far this year.