Fat Guy/Bad Swing

[dannyra]

Alright, I finally took some video of my swing. The last time I watched video of my swing was about 2 years ago.....slightly better now.

These videos were take on 2 seperate days. Sorry about all 6 videos, kind of a lot for one entry. Anyway, the ones in my drought stricken yard are a pw. The others are 5 iron and driver.

After watching the video, what I noticed is:
1. I take the club back a little far to the inside. Which makes me come over the top a little, most likely reason for my pulls.
2. I need to stop my back swing a little earlier, at the transition point, I reverse pivot.
3. At the transition, I straighten up about 10 degrees, which is most like the reason I also dip down as I swing.
4. I'd like my left side to stay a little firmer, might not of been caught on these swings, but sometimes I throw my hips and knees down the line way to much.

The reverse pivot also explains why I'm very prone to be inconsistent. I'll be spot on for a week, then all of a sudden start chunking and thinning everything.

[Martin Levac]

Re: Fat Guy/Bad Swing

Danny, don't worry too much about the mistakes you listed. Instead, focus on what you listed as something you should do. Stopping the backswing a bit shorter and having a more solid stance.


It appears that your intention is to begin the follow through before you strike the ball. Don't do that please. Turn things around. Strike the ball first and allow the momentum of the club to pull you through the follow through. Have you ever heard of accelerating the hands through impact? That's exactly what you will do. You will accelerate the hands through impact so that you strike the ball first and allow the club's momentum to pull you through the follow through.


Backswing. Transition.

Concerning the backswing and the transition position. Control the club precisely to position it precisely at the top. Don't merely flop it back up there. The transition position is important because that's where you begin the downswing. The better you begin the downswing, the better you can strike the ball to send it on its way to your target. The club does not need to be parallel at the top but it must be started in the correct plane. When you start the club in the correct plane on the downswing, it becomes that much easier to strike the ball properly after that.

Perhaps you're convinced that you must bring the club up to parallel in order to produce great power. Convince yourself otherwise. It's not a parallel position at the top that will allow you to produce power, it's the acceleration that you put the club through that will allow you to produce power. And, it's the control you have over the club that allows you to transmit this power to the ball. Which is ultimately what you must do with the club.

Concepts to help you with production of power and transmission of power. I've applied these two concepts below to other problems. One was bringing the club so far on the backswing that it just flopped back very low past parallel. It's not your case here but it still appears that you bring the club back farther than you are capable of while staying in control of the club. In other words, it appears that you swing out of control and your results probably show that.



Parallel versus correct plane on transition position.

Long left thumb: (edit: loose long swing) (edit: parallel)

Club drops lower at the top of the backswing
Swing arc is narrower
Distance traveled by clubhead is shorter
Angle between left arm and club is narrower
Thus, movement between top-of-the-backswing and impact is longer
Acceleration is more violent and more difficult to control

Short left thumb: (edit: tight wide swing) (edit: correct plane)

Club drops higher at the top of the backswing
Swing arc is wider
Distance traveled by clubhead is longer
Angle between left arm and club is wider
Thus, movement between top-of-backswing and impact is shorter
Acceleration is smoother and easier to control



Striking the ball downward. Striking the ball upward.

I go back to your intention of beginning the follow through before you strike the ball. That's what I get from the videos because you appear to stand up right around impact. But perhaps you stand up because you want to strike the ball upward? I don't know but if that's the case, read the comparison below.

If you strike the ball upward. Don't do that, please. The ground is in the way. You strike the ground first, the ball second. You strike the ball less precisely. Transmit less power. Launch the ball higher. Spin the ball less. Send the ball shorter and less accurately.

Instead, strike the ball downward. You strike the ball first, the ground second. As a result, you strike the ball more precisely. Transmit more power. Launch the ball lower. Spin the ball more. Send the ball farther and more accurately.

[dannyra]

Re: Fat Guy/Bad Swing

It appears that your intention is to begin the follow through before you strike the ball. Don't do that please. Turn things around. Strike the ball first and allow the momentum of the club to pull you through the follow through. Have you ever heard of accelerating the hands through impact? That's exactly what you will do. You will accelerate the hands through impact so that you strike the ball first and allow the club's momentum to pull you through the follow through.

I've been working on not dipping down as much as I used to. I think this over exageration is what your seeing.

Perhaps you're convinced that you must bring the club up to parallel in order to produce great power. Convince yourself otherwise. It's not a parallel position at the top that will allow you to produce power, it's the acceleration that you put the club through that will allow you to produce power. And, it's the control you have over the club that allows you to transmit this power to the ball. Which is ultimately what you must do with the club.

Concepts to help you with production of power and transmission of power. I've applied these two concepts below to other problems. One was bringing the club so far on the backswing that it just flopped back very low past parallel. It's not your case here but it still appears that you bring the club back farther than you are capable of while staying in control of the club. In other words, it appears that you swing out of control and your results probably show that.

I've been working on taking a nice wide backswing all year. Last year when I filmed my swing, the club head finished a foot farther on my backswing going WAY WAY TO FAR.

Striking the ball downward. Striking the ball upward.

I go back to your intention of beginning the follow through before you strike the ball. That's what I get from the videos because you appear to stand up right around impact. But perhaps you stand up because you want to strike the ball upward? I don't know but if that's the case, read the comparison below.

Instead, strike the ball downward. You strike the ball first, the ground second. As a result, you strike the ball more precisely. Transmit more power. Launch the ball lower. Spin the ball more. Send the ball farther and more accurately.

This may go along with my over exageration to prevent the dip. Power and spin are not problems I generally have. However I agree with you on the video as I was hitting a lot of week shots to the right in this practice session.

My typical distances. SW 100 PW 140 9i 155 8i 165 7i 175 6i 190 5i 200 4i 210 3i 220

[dannyra]

Re: Fat Guy/Bad Swing

Dan:

To be honest with you, you have a nice swing with one major problem. When you flare the left foot out like you do and with the wide stance you have all the weight on the right side and can not recover in the downswing and fall backwards.

People of old who flared the left foot out as much as you do also had a much narrow stance.

To check, take your normal stance, left foot out and slide the left shoulder over to the left, transferring the weight to the left side and see if you do not fall back to the right foot. That is because of the front of the ankle. Better Yet just push off the right foot and see if you spring backwards.

Do a google and yahoo search: Weight on the left side in the golf swing or weight on the left side for short irons.

Now you finish with a nice high finish, spine straight and so do I. That is because you do not have a left hip bump outwards at address and you can do a search fore the Reverse K Position in golf if you want to know more.

You need to take a narrow stance or stop turning the left foot out so much, the inside of the ankle is acting as a little spring and throwing you backwards if I see this correctly. Learn to load the left side to hit the irons and no springing back if you are doing that.

CMays,
Thanks for the info. My stance has gotten wider and wider all year long. I think I started getting wider due to the amount of 30mph days I've went golfing this year, and just kept getting wider without ever going back to what it was originally.