Need help correcting my swing!!!

[dagoos]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Ho Snoopdog the thing you need to do the most is check your ball position. foryour short irons I am going to say it sounds like you have the ball to far forward ,,,this will make you come ott cuz these clubs have shorter shafts and the only way to get back to the ball is to do the ott thing plus it makes you line up open . for short irons play the ball behind your zipper and above all do nothing with your hands ,,,,,they will square themselves. you start golfing with your hands and you will be in big trouble with all your shots .I used to have the same problem and all i did was move the ball back in my stance and wha la draw the big stick and darts on the irons. It will feel very crowded at first but youwill ease into it andwhen you try to move the ball up again you will wonder how you ever hit the ball so far up . Most important dont try and square the club with your hands ,,,let them work by themselves ,,,,its a good feeling to swing the club without worrying about tryin to square the club ,,,,you just turn and let go and salute your 280 yd draw hope this helps dagoos

[snoopdoug]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hi dagoos, thanks for the tip. I had tried that before, once or twice but not quite that far back in my stance. I will give it a try and hopefully see some positive results. Should i keep the forward in my stance with my long irons and driver?
Thanks doug

[snoopdoug]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hi dagoos,
i gave it a try today and i think that its definitely helping. I hit my first birdie today!!! I hit a pretty decent drive about 210yds then i got out my 7i and lined up with the ball behind my zipper like yousaid and wha la straight shot 6ft from the pin. Thanks for the tip.
Doug

[snoopdoug]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Ted,
The path for my irons seems to be pretty good, still not hitting the box and my divots are almost always straight. As for my driver its still on inside to out path a lil bit. I took dagoos advice and moved the ball back in my stance for my short irons and that really seemed to help. Im still pushing/slicing the ball with my driver but now that im tryin to maintain my spine angle its getting better. The slice is not quite as severe and im also slowing down my back swing just a bit. Before i was just tryin to rip it and getting nowhere. Anymore advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Doug

[dagoos]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

hi Snoop Good to know that moving ball back helps,,, for your drives play the ball even with your d**k for a straight ball and for a FADE use left nut,
for draw use right nut ,I use right testacle for all short iron long irons and Driver ,,,,I draw the ball nice if I dont swing to hard. When you use these ball positions square your clubface to the target line in front of you with the shaft at about 45degree angle to the ground and then put it down without twisting the face ,,,it should looka bit different .If you want to hit the ball super low move the ball back and alway square the face[bottom edge of clubface vertial to ground] just behind the ball in the air in front of you and you hit the ball good ,,,,keep it in mind the farther you move the ball back you hit it lower and if you have a square face the ball will draw or hook ,,,, you have to feel this one out for yourself , let me know how it works dagoos

[rotator]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Ted,
The path for my irons seems to be pretty good, still not hitting the box and my divots are almost always straight. As for my driver its still on inside to out path a lil bit. I took dagoos advice and moved the ball back in my stance for my short irons and that really seemed to help. Im still pushing/slicing the ball with my driver but now that im tryin to maintain my spine angle its getting better. The slice is not quite as severe and im also slowing down my back swing just a bit. Before i was just tryin to rip it and getting nowhere. Anymore advice would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Doug

Hi Doug,

It's good that your path is OK. You had originally indicated that your path with the irons was possibly out to in, so the test was an exercise which had to be done as the first step.

It is also a good drill to pull out from time to time to ingrain the inside to out swing.

As I said earlier, if you check out OK with the path, then there are other matters such as face angle and spine angle. You say you are working on the spine angle bit, which is good. There are other threads which discussed this, if you want to do a search.

I saw the ball position suggestion by dagoos. The reason it works for you for the short irons is that with the ball too far forward, the face of the clubhead was closing down at that point of the swing. Moving the ball back has the ball being struck before the face has closed. How far forward was the ball for your irons? Is it possible that your alignment was aiming too far right, which causes the ball position to be unintentionly too forward?

Without seeing your swing, you may still have more overriding problems like not shifting your weight forward and thereby not moving your impact point forward to where the face is still square. The problem may also be with lifting up and losing your spine angle, so your arms and hands are reaching and wrapping the clubhead around to hit the ball.

Moving the ball position helps with the short irons, but what do you do in the long term with the longer irons and the woods, as you will not get maximum results with those with the ball back.

Remember, the following rules.

If the path is out to in and the face is square at impact, the ball will go straight left. With the same path and an open face, the ball will start left and then slice.

If the path is square at impact and the face is closed, the ball will start straight and hook/draw. With the same path and an open face, the ball will start straight and fade/slice.

If the path is in to out and the face is square at impact, the ball will go straight ahead. With the same path and an open face, the ball will be pushed or push/sliced. With the same path and a closed face, the ball will be pulled or pull/hooked.

You have to be the judge of the results.

Ted

[snoopdoug]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hi Ted,
Before i started moving the ball back on my short iron shots the ball position was usually about 2 inches inside of my left foot and i dont alignment or aim is off(but ya never know). I do think i have a problem shifting my wieght properly. Because i seem to almost lose my balance at the end of my swing every once in awhile. Idk, this may be because i try to swing to hard sometimes. I read in an oldert golf digest the other day that by raising the teee height when might help a slice. True or false? I usually tee it up with about an 1" to 1 1/4" of the tee above the ground.
Thanks,
Doug

[rotator]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hi Ted,
Before i started moving the ball back on my short iron shots the ball position was usually about 2 inches inside of my left foot and i dont alignment or aim is off(but ya never know). I do think i have a problem shifting my wieght properly. Because i seem to almost lose my balance at the end of my swing every once in awhile. Idk, this may be because i try to swing to hard sometimes. I read in an oldert golf digest the other day that by raising the teee height when might help a slice. True or false? I usually tee it up with about an 1" to 1 1/4" of the tee above the ground.
Thanks,
Doug

Hi Doug,

Ball position is an individual thing. Even with short irons, some players play the ball about where you had it. Nicklaus and others play all their irons at that point. I do. To throw an order of magnitude number out, but arguably, say 60 percent of other players play the wedges and 9 iron about middle of the stance, 8 to 7 about a ball further ahead, 6 and 5 another ball ahead and so on. This following should be in caps, so the message is clear. Don't forget that the width of the stance narrows as the clubs get shorter, so with the wedges your feet may only be 12"-15" apart. Also, particularly, with the shorter clubs, the stance (and the feet) opens (this is just the conventional sound teaching, if you don't know or do it). This all combines to make the ball actually be in more in the middle of the stance anyways, although you think of it as forward (i.e. 2" behind the heel).

Regarding the players who play the ball forward, they can still obviously "get to the ball" with good effect. It helps that their hands will lead the clubhead, regardless of where the ball is. They can start with their weight already to the front, or in the case of Nicklaus and others, they have a sound weight shift which gets it there. You see these players with their knees moving laterally and rolling on their feet. If you don't have sound weight shift, there could be problems.

Regarding the tee height, I can't think of why that would work. Perhaps someone else can. I could speculate and have some wierd imageries that it causes some manipulations in the swing. The main criteria and visual re teeing height for me is not the tee height, but how much of the ball is above the top of the club when soled (i.e. at impact).

Ted

[BrianW]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

I created an article on this site some time ago to explain my ideas on how to position the ball at address. Here is the link if you would like to read it:

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/c...lace-ball.html

[rotator]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hi Brian,

It does indeed seem we are in parallel universes in our golf ideas.

I read your article and I agree with it. More of an endorsement, I believe that Nicklaus would agree with it.

Ted

[snoopdoug]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hey Ted,
Well im happy to say in the last 3 or 4 rounds ive played my accuracy and ball striking has gotten better. I've been working on my setup and trying to maintain my spine angle and tilt thru my swing. My driver is becoming more consistent, i would say im averaging around 240 yds(before avg. was only about maybe 215) and im only slicing the ball about 10 % of the time now. Most of the time it has a lil bit of a fade to it but for the most part theyre going straight. Im doing pretty good with my irons as well, but i dont seem to be gettin as much spin on the ball as i would like. Like i'll hit a good shot off the tee (par 3) and the ball will hit 5ft or so short of the pin and it will roll for another 15-20 ft or more What can i do to get more backspin?

Doug

[dagoos]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hey Ted,
Well im happy to say in the last 3 or 4 rounds ive played my accuracy and ball striking has gotten better. I've been working on my setup and trying to maintain my spine angle and tilt thru my swing. My driver is becoming more consistent, i would say im averaging around 240 yds(before avg. was only about maybe 215) and im only slicing the ball about 10 % of the time now. Most of the time it has a lil bit of a fade to it but for the most part theyre going straight. Im doing pretty good with my irons as well, but i dont seem to be gettin as much spin on the ball as i would like. Like i'll hit a good shot off the tee (par 3) and the ball will hit 5ft or so short of the pin and it will roll for another 15-20 ft or more What can i do to get more backspin?

Doug

Hi Snoopdoug Dagoos here ,,, for spin on your irons you have to take a Divot ,,,sounds like you arent taking one ,,,its that simple, if you are slicing your driver abit you have the ball to far foward in your stance. I use nothing less than a 12 degree driver , right now i am using a 16 and I hit it great . my buddy at the range cant believe i hit a drive with that loft with such a strong launch. I use the 16 cause I can hit the ball just like a iron "down" and get maxiumn smash factor and I take one swing for all clubs to the course . Low lofted drivers create way to much side spin alaa slice or hook . I have a ice draw with this 16 .....with my 10.5 I find it really hard to control the draw ,,,,sometimes it hooks way to much because of the lack of vertical spin. try a more lofted driver and see if your control gets better ,be sure to hit like a iron though keep meposted as usual Dagoos

[snoopdoug]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hi dagoos
You are right about the divot, i hardly ever make one. What can i do to work on it? I normally hit my driver with the ball about 2.5" off the inside of my left foot. I'll try moving it back a lil and see what happens.

Doug

[rotator]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hi Doug,

How is your ball flight on the iron shots?

Regarding spin, you have to have solid contact. To get solid contact, your hands have to lead the clubhead, and at impact the shaft would be inclined, the left wrist flat or bowed and the right wrist with some bend backwards.

As you impact the ball, the hands are still ahead of the clubhead. The clubhead is still moving downward as well as forward, such that the bottoming out will be past the ball and will be the cause of the divot.

I posted this website on another thread, which raised some hackles, but it shows the impact requirements.

Ted

[dagoos]

Re: Need help correcting my swing!!!

Hi dagoos
You are right about the divot, i hardly ever make one. What can i do to work on it? I normally hit my driver with the ball about 2.5" off the inside of my left foot. I'll try moving it back a lil and see what happens.

Doug

DOUG practice taking divots without a ball , you ahve to teach yourself to make your club dig abit .in order to do this you will have to come into the ball a bit steeper ,your swing right now is what they call to shallow .whne you learn to take divots you will have more weight on your front foot when you come into the ball which compresses the ball between the ground and clubface . As far as your driver again get the ball back and hit it like an iron . did you know the driver is on of the clubs you use most in a round of golf and if you are tryin to hit up on the ball like everyone preaches sooner or later thats going to creep into all your swings ,,,,,not the ideal swing for irons .....learn to take one swing to the course believe me its a good way to play . try a more lofted driver and hit down . once you trust this I know you will not be dissappointed. Dagoos