please critique my swing

[tonyc9]

Still working on my swing. Would love some comments.

http://www.youtube.com/v/WW0w2WlanLA
3 iron slow motion

http://www.youtube.com/v/tgFTiZk650w
Driver normal speed

[GoNavy]

Re: please critique my swing

I like your posturer looks real good, swing is smooth, you hit all the major points, your finish is a bit upright, but overall very good.

Along the lines of what CMays has said, you can correct the little openess with what Hogan called his secret, a preturn, basically you just make sure at address your sternum and belly button, point behind the ball, this also turns the chin to the right a little, don't overdue this, we are just talking a few inches here, but this not only makes sure the shoulders and hips are square, but it prevents a sway in the backswing, hard to tell in that video, but I thought I saw a little sway back. The preturn solves that problem by locking the lower body since you have in essence already begun your turn away from all before you even started the swing. Give that a try, it is a small adjustment, but does alot of good things.

[BrianW]

Re: please critique my swing

Maintain your kneeflex in the back leg during the backswing, head on pillow through impact.

Generally in pretty good shape, well done.

[Sumosid]

Re: please critique my swing

I personally think the swing looks very good.

[Timothy Slaught]

Re: please critique my swing

Hello Tony:

Excellent golf swing.

Your ball flight with the driver looks like it starts left and fades back. This is a perfectly acceptable ball flight because the ball is only fading a few yards. However, a more penetrating and longer ball flight would be a slight draw. On your driver swing, you are coming across the ball slightly but due to a good grip and hand action and good fundementals all around you keep the ball going straight.

Slightly more flex in the right knee, and a flatter approach with the downswing plane can bring the club more inside to start the ball more on the target line instead of across which is the ball flight on tape.

Or you could not change a thing and be just fine....but you asked.
Again, a quality golf swing that has nice rythym and it is well coordinated top to bottom. By the way, what are your typical carry distances?

Tim S

[tonyc9]

Re: please critique my swing

Thanks guys. I really want to stop coming across the ball from in to out and I dont know how to do it. The only way I can is to grip it strong and swing in to out which then creates a hook or draw.

I wish I could just not come across the bal

With my a strong grip and a draw swing I will hit it 280 but with a neutral grip only 230. it is a very weak shot.

[Martin Levac]

Re: please critique my swing

When you swing out to in, you produce a weak fade. When you swing with a very strong grip, you produce a long draw. I conclude that you change more than your grip when you strengthen your grip. If you only changed your grip, then the result would be a pull or pull-hook. That's because you'd still swing out to in. But you obviously don't produce that by your own account.

Keep what works, work from there. Your grip is good but you produce a weak fade. Keep your grip, change the out-to-in part. I did that by slowing down my shoulders and accelerating my hands. When I slow down my shoulders, it changes the angle of the axis around which the hands revolve. I simply accelerate the hands on this new axis. The shoulders eventually follow normally so it's not a problem. In effect, I changed the sequence of motions. It used to be shoulders first, hands second. Now it's hands first, shoulders second. It took quite a bit of practice to get there and even more to keep it there.

One thing that will help is to control how you settle the club at the top of the backswing. If you let it drop on its own weight, it will settle according to its own weight and momentum and how you grip it. Which may or may not be where it should be for optimal results. It's best if you control where it settles so you begin the downswing exactly like you want to begin. You may consider shortening your backswing a bit that way but in fact, you'll be widening the arc and thus the distance traveled by the clubhead which obviously produces a bit more speed at impact.

Another thing that will help is to control the angle between the left arm and the club as you swing it. When you allow this angle to narrow, it reduces the distance traveled by the clubhead in its arc. When you increase this angle, you effectively release the club. It's best to retain this angle until you release the club to strike the ball. At first, it may feel like you're casting the club and releasing early but it's only because the feeling of retaining this angle and casting is pretty much the same feeling. This feeling will be much more evident when you accelerate the hands faster for more speed. It's normal, when you accelerate the hands faster, you must apply proportionately more force to retain this angle until you release the club for impact.

Eventually, you will forget about settling the club at the top of the backswing and only focus on retaining the angle between the left arm and the club. It amounts to the same thing in the end anyway.

You may think that it's not compatible with your current method. That's because the method you use and the method I explained here are different. The method you use is basically the whip principle. The method I described is based on arc width and angular acceleration when changing arcs.

[Timothy Slaught]

Re: please critique my swing

Tony:

Wow...a 50 yard difference between your fade and draw swings is really drastic. In todays game I would figure out a way to make the 280 swing work. I don't think you have to re-invent the wheel to do this because the foundation is good.

You need to start hitting shots that start right of your target line which in the posted video the shot is definitely starting left (OT move) but it is only slighty left by your camera angle. It may just be a matter of moving the ball back slightly in your stance. You should experiment with this using clubs or some other alignment device. You may be surprised what an inch can do in this area.

Also reviewing your posture, you are set-up a little upright to match with plane action (2). Have you experimented with a bit more tilt and right knee flex. Again, just a little because you are on the right track with your set-up. Cmays suggestion about right arm flex is a good one. You should be able to see the left arm above the right in the down the line angle at set-up.

Good luck