getting into the elusive slot!!

[ozzyollie]

My natural tendancy is to swing over the top and then outside-in. But I am much better these days (looking at divets) and my score is slowly showing it. But how do I get my hands into the slot?

Do I:
a. force it down?
b. don't do anything. A proper weight transfer should let it fall naturally.
c. bump. Shift my weight down the line? (from right side to left side). If so, what body parts really initiate the shifting "down the line"? waist or pushing off inside part of back foot or

Thanks for any "visualization" cues, or swing thoughts

[Neil18]

Re: getting into the elusive slot!!

My prediction is that you'll get almost every golfer telling you something different about getting into the hitting position.

The thing is, it's a point in time. It's not a position you hit, it's a snap-shot of motion. It's so fleeting that you may not even notice it.

When I hit the ball my best, I don't feel like I do anything with my arms until I feel like I'm ready to hit that ball (i.e. halfway through my downswing). But success of this is dependant on getting into the correct position at the top. Keeping the hands away from the head and maintaining the space between hands and shoulders seems to work well for me.

If I keep that shape, begin to shift my weight to the target, turn my left hip back behind me and keep my head and spine angle steady, I'll reach a natural point in the downswing where everything seems to fire at the right time, and from the inside, rather than over the top. When done right, you can put a bit of welly into it with everything your dominant right side has to offer, and the ball really flies! Patience from the top is an absolute must. Build speed, don't immediately accelerate from the top. The downswing should feel like a gradual thing, although it may not look like it.

But get the top of the backswing wrong, and it's all compensations from then on.

[GregJWillis]

Re: getting into the elusive slot!!

My natural tendancy is to swing over the top and then outside-in ... how do I get my hands into the slot?

Try something I like to call the faux-swing (kind of like the pump-drill):
* Take the club back with the arms and shoulders and let the hands set the toe of the club straight up the plane line. Stop when the club is parallel to the ground.
* From here, with just your arms and shoulders and a little hip rotation, swing back and forth 4-5 times smooth and easy up to about 3/4 of the way to the top.
* You will actually feel your grip want to adjust so let it. Get very comfortable in the grip where you feel complete control of the this motion.
* Swing back and forth imagining the perfect plane line with the top of the club in that same plane line...your arms swinging up and down that perfect plane line.
* Once this feels right, from the last move to the top, take a faux-swing through at about 60% power. You should feel some new sensations in the hands and a new sense of speed and pop through impact.
* Without changing your grip at all, reset and make a full swing.

[BrianW]

Re: getting into the elusive slot!!

The attached video is to deal with a push but I think you will find the drill very helpful in improving your swing. I practice this drill a lot and recommend it:

http://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/Golf/v...The-Push-Shot/