Closed club face at the top

[pinyo8]

Hi all,

I have the problem of having a closed club face at the top of my back swing and I want to correct this. I have been working on a few things such as trying to get the clubface to point up when the shaft is parallel to my stance on the backswing but I cant seem to do it consistently.

Please take a look at my swing and see if you can point out something that I may be doing wrong.

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/v...0/ppuser/60243

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/v...0/ppuser/60243

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/v...0/ppuser/60243


I also know that I tend to have sliding hips so any drills that can stop this would be great.

Thanks.

[Ian Hancock]

Re: Closed club face at the top

Matt,

You are joking right.....................

Seriously this is a great swing, the only very trivial points I could see was a little active with your feet, maybe due to you not wearing golf shoes, the slight slide as you say may cause your feet to roll a little, maybe just a fraction more on knee flex to strenthen the bottom half.

As for being closed at the top.....I don't think so, fractional maybe but this is due to your great left wrist position, if you think its closed due to you hitting a draw more than you wish then look at the stance, maybe a little closed not sure due to camera angle.

All of the above is absolutley fractional, my advice would be to look at other sections of your game for improvement because your swing is near perfect, face it you will never reach absolute perfection why keep tinkering, you must be able to loose 3 shots somewhere else in your game, putting, bunkers,chipping or maybe just better course management.


A truly great swing.


Ian.

p.s I did notice on the practice swing with the driver you open the face..........!!

[pinyo8]

Re: Closed club face at the top

Thanks Ian for those great compliments! It certainly made my day.

As for the swing, I am not trying to tinker with it too much but just trying to find a way to keep it consistent. I think my hips tend to slide more when I get lazy or tired which causes some real ugly shots. I have never focused too much on my knees on the downswing actually so I will give that a go and hopefully it will tidy up those bad shots.

as for my practice swing, that is my shot routine actually. I try to focus on getting the club to point up when the shaft is parallel to my feet on the backswing and followthrough, as well as imagining I am drawing a circle around me and keeping the line smooth (this probably should go in a different thread).

Anyway, thanks for the tips.

[CantPuttICant]

Re: Closed club face at the top

Great posture, great positions but what I love most about your swing is the rhythm. It's perfect. Great mechanics, people could learn a heck of a lot from your swing.

The only negative thing and Ian touched I think, is that your alignment might be wrong. It looks as if your feet are very closed. I could be wrong, in fact, I usually am but it's the only negative thing I can say about it.

Good luck in the future, for your competitors I mean, 'cause it's them that's going to need it !

[GregJWillis]

Re: Closed club face at the top

I have been working on a few things such as trying to get the clubface to point up when the shaft is parallel to my stance on the backswing ...

It should not be perfectly "up", but more inline with your spine angle. If you get it to point straight up, then you are manipulating it, either rolling the arms (bad) or the wrists (worse).

If you are hitting the ball straight consistantly, no worries. If you are seeing lefts and rights, then you are manipulating it.

And yes, a great looking swing.


================
Something to look at:
If you are working on and focusing on the mechanics, then that is fine in its own right. But be careful not to let your swing "get" michanical -- not just your preshot faux takaway, but your positions at the top and the followthough look as if you are forcing them there. Get to feel a natural position, relaxed at all points. Your overall swing tempo will fall into a natural groove that is very easy to repeat without even thinking about, and that will benifit your overall game freeing up thoughts for more important things...

[pinyo8]

Re: Closed club face at the top

Hi Greg,

I will certainly keep those things that you said in mind and try to focus on feeling natural. When I work on things, I usually do try to make sure that its natural and that it looks right. I have been playing golf since I was young. Although I feel like I know a lot about the golf swing, I never had any true professional to teach me (mainly friends, lower handicappers at the course and club pros that I never really trusted). Therefore, I dont really know the true mechanics of the swing and rely a lot on looking at good swings(top ranking pros) and try to do what they do. I too had a dream of becoming a pro but didnt feel like I had what it takes mentally to practice day in day out (although now that I am working, I wish I did try).

I will work on those things and will post up some more videos.

Matt