My golf swing

[CusePhil]

I first want to give you guys some background info. I have been golfing for about 3 weeks now, and absolutely love it! My first round ever was a blast even though I shot in the 140s. I injured my foot just days after that round, and have been reading, watching, thinking, and sleeping everything golf since then to pass the time. My foot has recently gotten better to the point where I can swing a club without any pain, so I decided I wanted to tape my swing to get my pointers from the avid golfers at GTO.

After I hit some balls, I hooked the camera up to the computer to see what my swing looked like for the first time. I immediately noticed two things: I lift my head too early, and my follow-through looked hideous and unbalanced. The thing is, I don’t even know why my follow-through looked bad, I just knew it wasn’t what it is supposed to look like. I don’t know much about golf or golf swings in general except for the information I have gathered in the last few weeks, so I knew I had to come to you guys for some help.

Now on to the video. I am hitting a 6 iron, and about 60% of my shots go right. When I mean right, I mean 25 yards or more to right of my target, but still in a straight line (hurray for no slice). I gathered that this was either my alignment, or open clubface. I didn’t think my alignment was off, but I remembered reading that an open clubface could be triggered by a weak grip. I looked down at my grip and noticed the two “Vs” were pointing to my chin and not my right shoulder. I adjusted this, which seemed to help my shots go more towards the target.

I don’t know what more to say other than I am a beginner, and don’t really know what I should or shouldn’t be doing with a golf club. I will take any pointers and critiques, anything from my distance from the ball, stance, balance, absolutely anything involving my swing. I knew that the fastest way to improve my game was either getting lessons, or letting it be evaluated by you guys, so here is the first step. Thanks for all the help, as I sincerely appreciate all those that put the time and effort at GTO into helping others. Happy golfing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7HGbkUmcyA

[LowPost42]

Re: My golf swing

Face-on:

The first thing I noticed is that you stop rotating and hit with the hands. You're flipping your hands through impact (ie the clubhead is beating your hands to the ball). You stop when your hips and shoulders are square and let your arms release.

Down the line:

It's really evident you're a one planer. Don't worry about what it means, but if you go to get lessons, make sure they'll teach you to swing on one plane. Again, you stop rotating your hips (they're square to the target line - they should be open) and hit with your arms.

You don't seem to sway much (if at all), you're right arm folds nicely (it's not flying away, and it's not getting behind you.

The only thing I'd suggest at this point is to keep turning. Always Be Turning (to borrow a phrase from Chuck Quinton - the pro at www.oneplanegolfswing.com).

Don't change your grip! You're blocking it out because you've stopped turning - so your hands are now coming from the inside. I suffer(ed?) from this, too - I really like to square up my hips and hit with my hands. But when I do, it's a push. When I don't, it goes more or less straight. Try that.

[CusePhil]

Re: My golf swing

Thanks a lot, this was just the information I was looking for. I can see what you mean about my hips, which is the most likely cause for my pushes. Do you think this could also account for my weird follow-through too? Also the tip on the one plane swing is good, it's nice to know which plane I am on for future reference. I guess it's time to practice Greg's Impact Drill. Again, thank you for your time and help.

[Teevino]

Re: My golf swing

Hello cusephil and welcome to the game. I've only been at it since the first of the year myself and like you have been obsessed with it. That is a good thing if you want to improve as quickly as possible and you seem to have that desire. The first tip I was given was "play a lot and practice." I do, and have improved rather steadily (i.e. intial game of 140+ to my last four games breaking 100. A personal nine hold best of 45.) Am I bragging? You're damned right I am LOL. You are going to receive a lot of tips, pointers, suggestions, instruction and advice. And though much of it will be contradictory it all will be useful in one way or another. I'll only offer the link below if you haven't found it yet. I think it may be quite useful in helping you understand what mechanics are about etc.... Again welcome to the game and hit em long and straight ..

http://www.golftoday.co.uk/proshop/tuition/index.html

One thing: I try to keep my right elbow tucked in close to my side/rib cage as much as possible throughout the swing. This one mechanic gave me more control over my swing than any other single thing I've done. Notice, I said this is what I do, I didn't say this is what you should do. Though I think you should.LOL

[CusePhil]

Re: My golf swing

Hello cusephil and welcome to the game. I've only been at it since the first of the year myself and like you have been obsessed with it. That is a good thing if you want to improve as quickly as possible and you seem to have that desire. The first tip I was given was "play a lot and practice." I do, and have improved rather steadily (i.e. intial game of 140+ to my last four games breaking 100. A personal nine hold best of 45.) Am I bragging? You're damned right I am LOL. You are going to receive a lot of tips, pointers, suggestions, instruction and advice. And though much of it will be contradictory it all will be useful in one way or another. I'll only offer the link below if you haven't found it yet. I think it may be quite useful in helping you understand what mechanics are about etc.... Again welcome to the game and hit em long and straight ..

http://www.golftoday.co.uk/proshop/tuition/index.html

One thing: I try to keep my right elbow tucked in close to my side/rib cage as much as possible throughout the swing. This one mechanic gave me more control over my swing than any other single thing I've done. Notice, I said this is what I do, I didn't say this is what you should do. Though I think you should.LOL

Sounds like we are twins Teevino. Both started in the 140s, and obsessed with the game ever since. Congratulations on the improvements by the way, as I hope to be in your same position this time next year. It will take some practice and hard work, but I think I’ll be able to reach my goals. Thanks for the link, I will definitely be checking it out. It's nice to see that someone started of in the same league as me and made significant improvements, it's a great motivation for my game. Thanks for the support, and happy golfing.

[Teevino]

Re: My golf swing

Hello Phil, I'd say with your youth and determination you'll be breaking 100 by or before December. I am 59 and if I can make that much improvement in 7 months you could easily do it in less time.. I'll be looking for posts on your improvement over the next few months. Be sure and share those with us.

[LowPost42]

Re: My golf swing

One thing: I try to keep my right elbow tucked in close to my side/rib cage as much as possible throughout the swing. This one mechanic gave me more control over my swing than any other single thing I've done. Notice, I said this is what I do, I didn't say this is what you should do. Though I think you should.LOL

CusePhil already does this really well - until he stops rotating his hips and shoulders. IMO, if he keeps rotating, he'll see crazy improvement.

Yes, Phil, stopping your hips and flipping your hands would certainly help account for your strange 'jump for joy' (well, almost - you don't actually leave the ground - but it sure looks like it!) followthrough.

You may still end up standing up a little at the end, but that's fine.

Beware! In your quest to keep turning, you may end up sliding your hips. One thing I constantly work on is this hips turning without sliding. I spend a lot of time standing beside a couch or chair with my lead leg 1" away, and turn like I'm following through. I can live with a tiny brushing of the couch (a nano-slide ), but anything stronger than that, and I'm sliding. ABT!

[wildwilly911]

Re: My golf swing

you need to narow your stance a little more it will help with getting your hips cleared thru the swing

[CusePhil]

Re: My golf swing

Hello Phil, I'd say with your youth and determination you'll be breaking 100 by or before December. I am 59 and if I can make that much improvement in 7 months you could easily do it in less time.. I'll be looking for posts on your improvement over the next few months. Be sure and share those with us.

I appreciate the hospitality Jim, and will undeniably be posting my progress on the boards. I was even thinking about starting a blog, which could be quite entertaining.

CusePhil already does this really well - until he stops rotating his hips and shoulders. IMO, if he keeps rotating, he'll see crazy improvement.

Yes, Phil, stopping your hips and flipping your hands would certainly help account for your strange 'jump for joy' (well, almost - you don't actually leave the ground - but it sure looks like it!) followthrough.

You may still end up standing up a little at the end, but that's fine.

Beware! In your quest to keep turning, you may end up sliding your hips. One thing I constantly work on is this hips turning without sliding. I spend a lot of time standing beside a couch or chair with my lead leg 1" away, and turn like I'm following through. I can live with a tiny brushing of the couch (a nano-slide ), but anything stronger than that, and I'm sliding. ABT!

I have been practicing Greg’s Impact Drill throughout the day, and although it feels awkward, I know it can only improve my swing. I went out to hit some balls and tried to translate the drill into real shots. I sill had plenty of pushes, but shots when I could truly feel my hips open up, the shots were right down the middle. It will take some time getting used to, but I am sure that with time it will fix my problem. Thanks again for your help Ben.

you need to narow your stance a little more it will help with getting your hips cleared thru the swing

Good idea. I'll have to give that a shot the nice time I go out.

[CusePhil]

Re: My golf swing

Update: I dropped 28 strokes from my first round ever to my second round with a 117. Biggest issue now is putting (45 putts), chipping/pitching, and the occasional push. Thanks a lot for the tips and pointers guys. My next goal is the shoot in the 100s.

[Teevino]

Re: My golf swing

Very good Phil,, looks like you are moving right along..

I went from my 4 consecutive games of under 100 to a 102 and a 105 this weekend. Considering how hot it was here in NC it is a wonder that I finished 18 in a round. When I get into a bad rut though I just remember it happens to much better players than me and try to keep my expectations way down. I'm not good enough to expect to hit every ball well or cut strokes with every round (does one ever get to be that good? Hah!.) I will be happy if I can consistently stay at 98 to 105 for a while and then eventually have a few more drop off. I also keep remembering that nine hole round of 45 and tell myself I can and will eventually do better.

Again, congrats on that score...