what will it cause

[shootin4par]

the more I learn about golf the more I learn about cause and effect. recently I learned about keeping my head still on the back swing was ruining it. SO I have been working on getting behind the ball at the top of the back swing. I played yesterday for the first time in 4 weeks and had not practiced my putting at all in the last few weeks. I 3 putted 3 times got 2 penalty strokes for water, lipped out 2 times and still shot a 75, and a big part of that was learning how to get behind the ball at the top.

anyways, to the point of the thread. not moving behind the ball in the backswng was the cause of me moving forward of it in the downswing. I cleaned up the back swing and a big part of the down swing was taken care of automatically. so lets get into a series of discussions, if you guys want to, on cause and effect in the golf swing.

First up, weight position. If the weight position at address is too much on the balls of the feet and not at all on the heels, what will this cause? if it is too much on the heels then what will this cause. an example of things to ponder, Can a lose of spine angle/coming off the tush line at the top of the back swing be the cause of improper weight at address. can improper weight cause a flat swing, etc.....

[GoNavy]

Re: what will it cause

Having to much weight on the heels tends to make people pull the club inside to quickly, causing an out and over move back to the ball in response, in some case it will also cause heel shots or even shanks, if the player rocks forward in an attempt to regain his balance.

Weight too far forward tends to cause toe shots and raising up on the downswing, again to regain balance.

Has for shot shapes, the heel wgt will usually be pulls, or pull hooks, wgt on toes tend to be pushes from raising up and not closing the club face. Too much wgt on toes also contribute to fat shots.

[BrianW]

Re: what will it cause

the more I learn about golf the more I learn about cause and effect. recently I learned about keeping my head still on the back swing was ruining it. SO I have been working on getting behind the ball at the top of the back swing. I played yesterday for the first time in 4 weeks and had not practiced my putting at all in the last few weeks. I 3 putted 3 times got 2 penalty strokes for water, lipped out 2 times and still shot a 75, and a big part of that was learning how to get behind the ball at the top.

anyways, to the point of the thread. not moving behind the ball in the backswng was the cause of me moving forward of it in the downswing. I cleaned up the back swing and a big part of the down swing was taken care of automatically. so lets get into a series of discussions, if you guys want to, on cause and effect in the golf swing.

First up, weight position. If the weight position at address is too much on the balls of the feet and not at all on the heels, what will this cause? if it is too much on the heels then what will this cause. an example of things to ponder, Can a lose of spine angle/coming off the tush line at the top of the back swing be the cause of improper weight at address. can improper weight cause a flat swing, etc.....

Poor weight distribution in the setup will produce instability. Although the acid test of a golfers balance takes place during the swing, it is important to realise that good balance should be present from the address position.

Once you distribute the weight evenly between the left and right feet and between the heel and toe, you have an equality of balance from which the swing can start it's motion. From this point on it will be the quality of the body motion that will either maintain or destroy any balance created at address.

So yes, cause and effect apply the same as everything in the Universe, poor weight distribution will create instability.

Loss of spine angle is normally caused by failing to keep the belt line level throughout the swing, this leads to the spine being thrown backwards in the downswing, thus creating the low point of the swing being too far behind the ball. Again: cause and effect.

[BrianW]

Re: what will it cause

I just thought of something I read and feel it is worth a mention in relation to balance and body movement.

This was explained as the Roadmap or Flowchart for the golf swing, it shows how working back from the clubface, each key element of the swing is dependent on a larger, more powerful part of the body to provide support and stability.

The clubface is dependent on the hands
The hands are dependent on the Arms
The Arms are dependent on the Torso
The Torso is dependent on the Legs
The legs are dependent on the Ground
The Ground is your Constant

[shootin4par]

Re: what will it cause

great brian,
so when all these people have problems with an out to in swing path, could it possibly be as simple as bad weight distribution? when they loose spine angle could it be bad weight distribution, too flat a swing, too upright, coming out of the shot, hitting behind, hitting thin, etc........
can a bad swing be caued by the weight in the wrong place, is weight placement overlooked and taken for granted? Do people often look to the complex answer and never find the reason because the simple answer is overlooked. I think I may be a little guilty of that myself

but as far as the ground being the only constant, what if you are in soft sand, is it a constant then

[BrianW]

Re: what will it cause

great brian,
so when all these people have problems with an out to in swing path, could it possibly be as simple as bad weight distribution? when they loose spine angle could it be bad weight distribution, too flat a swing, too upright, coming out of the shot, hitting behind, hitting thin, etc........
can a bad swing be caued by the weight in the wrong place, is weight placement overlooked and taken for granted? Do people often look to the complex answer and never find the reason because the simple answer is overlooked. I think I may be a little guilty of that myself

but as far as the ground being the only constant, what if you are in soft sand, is it a constant then

Hi Shootin,

I think the answer to your first question is yes, it can be. If the basic posture and balance is unstable the rest of the swing has no solid foundation.

The sand! if it's all you have , it's all you have

[LowPost42]

Re: what will it cause

shootin, I think you've pinpointed the reason why

a) most pieces of general instruction point to the setup, time and again.
b) my swing coach always fixes something in my setup, first and foremost, when I'm not hitting the ball well.
c) why a sound setup is most important.

As we've discussed, poor balance causes a host of problems. Poor alignment causes missed shots (even though had we known where we were aiming, we realized we hit a great shot), overdoing some part of the swing (spine angle either too much or too little, grip too strong or weak) leads to more inconsistency and inaccuracy.

Great topic... and a great reminder: Setup is crucial. For everything you do poorly in your setup and backswing, you have to make a compensation for in your down and through swing.

[shootin4par]

Re: what will it cause

low, brian, and navy
thanks for you answers. I just thought by discussing this maybe some people might look more to set up, becasue that is the real route of many problems. you guys had some great insight. some great answers and personally I agree with them all.
in the book swing like a pro, which to me is a pretty decent one. the author says
"a good setup will not guarantee a good swing but it will ALLOW you to make a good swing. In contrast, a poor set up will guarentee you will never make the most of your talent"