Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

[jbrunk]

This is the normal sequence of my swing/game throughout the year.

1. Jan-April......to start the year, I kind of just go out and start swinging, keeping in mind my grip, posture and setup. It seems I think about starting down with my arms shoulders which leads to an extreme inside out path and a lot of heel shots. I mainly shoot 80-85.

2. May-June.......to get rid of inside out path and heel shots I focus on firing my hips through to start the swing and I am very inconsistent and shoot anywhere from 78-84, depending on my timing that day.

3. July-October......I quit thinking of firing my hips first and everything at this time seems to be perfect, my contact is great, and I am shooting low to mid 70's.

4. Nov-Dec......it seems not thinking of my hips starting first starts to screw me up again and I am pulling my arms down again leading to the heel shots and an extreme inside path. After 4 months of great golf, it seems that not focusing on my hips is causing trouble again.

5. January......the cycle repeats itself.

This has been happening to me for the past 5 years.
I know the hips are supposed to lead the downswing, but I just struggle to make that work. My question is, am I just pretty much screwed, or is there something I can do to play better and have a more consistent swing path earlier in the year?

[GoNavy]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

lol..I think you are slightly insane..

"Definition of insanity- doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."...

Just kidding, my guess is, and mind you it is just a guess, since we can not see your swing, just a pattern of what you do and say, I believe you are thinking too much, you should not have to think about the downswing. If done correctly there is so much tension at the top it will happen naturally, can't stop it type thing, a reflex action. This proves itself out in your July-Oct you are trusting and not thinking about anything

So with that in mind, try correcting the insideswing by working on a fade setup, you should find a happy mediem in there somewhere that well correct your shots, because your problem throughout seems to be too much of an inside out swing, and you fix that with your setup, NOT trying to control different body parts or trying to change a downswing key.

Be happy, the other 90 percent of golfers fight an outside in swing, which is difficult to play well with, inside is always easier to fix and play with, so work on path with your setup and forget about your hips, arms, etc... Your in good company, Ben Hogan fought a hook for most of his career, he fixed it with a slight grip change, a little weaker, said he could fire hips and hit with the right hand as hard as he wanted to after doing that change to his grip. Not saying this will work for you, but, you need to keep in mind, some setup change is required as your flexibilty changes throughout the course of a playing season for the average golfer, because we are not like pro's, we don't play everyday.

[rharris06]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

Stop banging your head on a brick wall over and over and do something about it lol!

My answer is: Dont think about starting down with the arms and shoulders in the first place!

[jbrunk]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

So with that in mind, try correcting the insideswing by working on a fade setup

I have set up open with a nuetral to strong grip for 5 years.......

[BrianW]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

Think of starting down from the feet up! But please don't start down with the shoulders.

Here is a link to a good site that explains well, hope it is of some help to you?

http://www.golfpro-online.com/tuition/lking/ten.html

[BrianW]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

Stop banging your head on a brick wall over and over and do something about it lol!

My answer is: Dont think about starting down with the arms and shoulders in the first place!

Why not the arms?

[Timothy Slaught]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

Hey JB:

Based on your scores which are not too bad, but have an inconsistent pattern, it sounds like you may have gotten the swat down as good as your going to.

If you swat you can get away with all kinds of timing and positional differentials with your arms, torso, hips, legs etc... In fact a good swatter can have a different swing every time....as long as the timing is good. It can only take you so far, however. Your story sounds familiar and until I got my wrists and hands working correctly & consistently which forced me to get my other golfing positions correct....your story was mine.

Right hand drill, impact drill, repeat!!!!

Good luck

[jbrunk]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

I have practiced the RHD over and over for months and have tried to incorporate it into my swing with little success. I don't know why. I am still not sure what I should be feeling during RHD and at the top of the backswing!

[forelife]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

I'm a right handed golfer and throwing a ball with my left hand is awkward and yet for right handed golfers the left is required for the golf swing

[jbrunk]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

I have been told that I am not clearing (turning?) my hips enough or fast enough. What do you guys think??????


http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/g...to/656/cat/529

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/g...to/655/cat/529

[Timothy Slaught]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

Hey JBRunk:

The swing looks good from both angles. You definitely have the proper sequencing throughout. The timing of the hips, just like most all aspects of the swing is subjective upon flexibility, club head speed, face angle, shaft plane etc.. You have to let your ball flight be the determination of how successfull the overall timing is. This is why practice is essential to find that correct timing and try to hone it.

This being said, the correct action of the wrists is key to consistency. As I said in the earlier post on this thread, if the wrists are swatting, the timing of the swat has to match up with all the other body motions. It all starts with the correct wrist movement. The swat is insidious because it seems like the natural thing to do. There is a lot of mobility and speed that can be attained in moving the right wrist in the swatting manner and if timed flawlessly, you can get away with it but usually not long term and certainly not unless you can practice very frequently. In fact, when I first saw the Greg Willis video clip on the RHD I swore he had it all backwards. How could it be possible that the swat was not the correct way to swing the club!!!!!! My concept was wrong and I needed to keep an open mind and I'm glad I did.

The right hand drill will seem uncomfortable and limiting at first and the it took me some time and experimentation with it to ingrain it into my swing. The best way I can describe it is that the right wrist feels cupped (or bent back) from about halfway back in the backswing until release through the ball. It is best to experiment with this using a sand wedge or other short iron. Do not dive in with the driver when attempting to incorporate the drill. I also made a version of the greg norman secret by using a plastic spatula and a wrist support. When I adress the ball, using a neutral grip, the back of my right hand will not be touching the spatula (flat portion) so it forces me to cup my right wrist to get the back of the hand to touch the spatula during the backswing. I then focus on keeping the back of my right hand touching the spatula wich maintains the cupped RH position throughout the swing. It works just like the secret but costs only $3.

The concept is to maintain the cupped position as you cock the club up in the backswing and back down in the downswing....sounds easy and it really is once you train the wrist to stay cupped. Maintaining the cupped position keeps you from doing all the those negative things like breaking down the left wrist, scooping, swatting!!!! If you have a good neutral to slightly strong grip where both hands match each other on the handle, then the left wrist will maintain it's flat position and this will keep the clubface square when it needs to be square. Keeping the wrist action correct has also helped me to maintain the other vital angles such as spine (forward and tilt) and the right knee.

My consistency has improved tenfold since I have been using the correct wrist action. No more days when I have no idea where the ball is heading. Pracice is now fine tuning versus feeling like I have a new swing every time out.

Good luck

[jambalaya]

Re: Swing Sequence Questions......paging all pros

Thanks for the explanation about the wrist cock Timothy. That is currently my focus. But about JBRunk.

JBR, are you sure the problem is too much of an in to out on the swing? You may be bringing the club too far inside on the take away and then throwing the right shoulder out thereby actually causing an outside to in club head path in the end. When I hear that someone is hitting the ball on the heel, that is most likely because of an outside-in swing I think. I had a hell of a problem with that. What do your divots look like?