Transition

[SevenBall]

I worked with my teacher today on clearing the right shoulder (I'm a lefty) and releasing a little more through the ball.. That was the only things he could really see that needed urgent attention..

I have my backswing nice and I am hitting balls on the range with it correctly, looks good.. But, even though my teacher said it was in the range of being acceptable, I am not getting my hips very open at impact (probably 25` - I want 45`-50`). No matter what I try, I just can't get them there. I think my problem is in my transition but it may be just that I am lazy with my rotation.

Any tips from you guys?

[BrianW]

Re: Transition

Try this drill, it helps with the correct feeling of weight transition that should assist you to get the hips moving.

Setup with a mid iron, ball just outside your left foot with a narrow stance.

Take a normal back swing and just as you are about to reach the top take a step to the left with your left foot so the ball is now a few inches inside the left heel.

complete your dowsing through impact to a full finish ensuring your belt buckle is pointing just left of target.

Repeat this drill until you pick up on the free flowing wave like motion during the transition.

Then, try to feel the same motion during your normal swing.

Please let me know if it helps.

[takinitdeep]

Re: Transition

Try to touch your right knee to your left knee on throughswing. The longer the club the more space there will be but at least this drill will get you moving your right side through the ball and clearing your hips.
Start with small swings and work your way up.

[SevenBall]

Re: Transition

Thanks guys, yes that touching knees did get them open.. Never heard that one before.. And Brian already did that drill - I saw you post it before..

[Jeff Mann]

Re: Transition

Another drill - try horizontal baseball swings with the club reversed (hold the clubhead end) and turn your lower body as fast as possible as you swish through the ball, and make sure that your navel/chest faces the target in the end-followthrough position. Try and get the swish sound (maximum club acceleration) to occur after impact.

Another drill - start the same downswing baseball drill with the singular thought that you are going to turn your navel towards the target as fast as possible at the very start of the downswing.

Jeff.

[GoNavy]

Re: Transition

Square off right foot and flare the left foot 30 degrees or so at address, this will allow the hips more freedom to turn in the downswing. If the left foot is square it blocks the hips from turning effectively.

Oops, sorry just remembered your a lefty, reverse that please.

[Timothy Slaught]

Re: Transition

Hello 7 Ball:

One key what you are trying to achieve with the open hip position at impact has to do with maintaining your posture including forward and lateral tilt of the spine from set-up through follow through. I have a swing sequence of Michelle Wei and on my PC I drew a line representing her spine angle and it remains incredibly intact through the entire swing. She never moves more than a fraction off that line. Keep in mind her swing is textbook but this is what you need to strive for.

Releasing with the shoulders is a real power move but you have to maintain the correct plane line with them. The right shoulder needs to move down first and then through aggressively to the follow through. Your right shoulder should be pointing at or slightly left of your target when the swing is completed with a majority (90%) of weight on left foot with the right toe being used for balance.

I have been working on this recently as well and I am amazed how the shoulders and torso can release the club versus a hands and arms release. I really do feel like the hands and arms are just along for the ride now. I use a light but solid grip, lead the downswing with the requisite hip bump and then fling the shoulders through making sure to keep unwinding. My arms feel very loose and this aids in bringing the club down before extending out to the ball at the last second. My right shoulder feels very loose but powerful in this action and I make sure to keep turning through the shot into a relaxed follow through with the club wrapped well around my back indicating that full body release. This applies to my driver swing primarily but I use the same feel for shorter clubs with a less agressive move because of the shot requirement......accuracy versus distance.

You must maintain the "rear end out" feel from your set-up through follow through for this to work. If your hips thrust toward the ball, you will lose your posture and your right shoulder will be thrown out over the correct plane line. Maintaining the flex in the right knee is essential to maintaining your posture. If you view a good players full swing from down the line, you will see that the right shoulder should not extend out past the position it was relative to the target line at set-up. This indicates that the shoulder released down first and then out toward the target. Again you must start the transition with the legs/hips to get the weight moving forward with the arms dropping by gravity alone, then firing the shoulders. The arms, hands and clubhead rip through at the last moment.

[SevenBall]

Re: Transition

Hi Tim,

Yes I know what you're talking about.. I have been keeping my spine angle though I was doing it in what felt to me to be an overly complicated manner.. I now have my hips open around 45 degrees with spine angle intact with just one swing thought.. (which is how I remember learning it many years ago - I've only just started up again after a 4 year break)

Thanks to some of the suggestions, I identified my problem as being a feeling that I had to rotate my back hip slightly inwards but I don't have to do that because my front hip is clearing at the same time.. Fixed my problems..