Rate my Swing... Please!

[Dazza XL]

G'day Everyone,

..........................

[Martin Levac]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

It looks good. I see a firm stance, deliberate motion, still head, proper focus and a crisp sound of contact. Was there something you wanted to improve on?

[Dazza XL]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

It looks good. I see a firm stance, deliberate motion, still head, proper focus and a crisp sound of contact. Was there something you wanted to improve on?

Not really Martin, just wanted to get a few other opinions on my swing. It's just the small things you forget after not playing for a while... Like keeping my head down.

Thanks

Darran

[Sumosid]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

Darren,

I think your swing looks pretty good. You look balanced. I like the look of your swing plane. Everything looks tight and controlled. You seem to generate good speed without having to wail on it. What is your normal ball flight? Do you pull shots at all?

[Dazza XL]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

Darren,

I think your swing looks pretty good. You look balanced. I like the look of your swing plane. Everything looks tight and controlled. You seem to generate good speed without having to wail on it. What is your normal ball flight? Do you pull shots at all?

Some shots (Only some, not all) do head slightly left. Not a wild hook/draw or anything, straight, only left of target.
I have noticed that my shots (With PW at least) seem to be making contact with the clubface towards the toe. So I've started addressing the ball off centre to counteract this. Seems to have solved the problem.
Majority of PW shots were around the 100mt mark.

Cheers

Darran

[Dazza XL]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

Nice high finish, I would put you on my team any day of the week.

Way to Go Big One.

No worries, just post those plane tickets over, and I'll be there!

Thanks

Darran

[oldwease]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

One thing I notice is your right leg during the backswing. Looks as if you rotate the right knee over the foot as the club goes back. Try to keep the leg in a more static position (some people think of it as a 'post').

You probably won't get too many problems with your action with a pitching wedge but you certainly could with the longer clubs.

[ubizmo]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

One thing I notice is your right leg during the backswing. Looks as if you rotate the right knee over the foot as the club goes back. Try to keep the leg in a more static position (some people think of it as a 'post').

You probably won't get too many problems with your action with a pitching wedge but you certainly could with the longer clubs.

I also noticed the weight rolling onto the outside of the right foot. When I do that it's the kiss of death, but Darran seems to be getting a good result.

[BrianW]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

Hi Darran,

Nice compact swing.

I did notice that you are not leading the downswing with your legs and hips, at impact you have both feet planted on the ground with your hips and shoulders square to the ball. You are managing to bring the club down on the inside in this clip but from that position I imagine you could easily get it coming from the outside path. You will also be robbing yourself of some power as you unwind.

I hope this is of some help.

[Dazza XL]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

One thing I notice is your right leg during the backswing. Looks as if you rotate the right knee over the foot as the club goes back. Try to keep the leg in a more static position (some people think of it as a 'post').

You probably won't get too many problems with your action with a pitching wedge but you certainly could with the longer clubs.

So I am transferring too much weight during my backswing? Would that be the cause of the knee rotation?

I went for a hit with my neighbour on the weekend. He noticed during our round that whenever my swing speed crept up, so did my head! I had no problem when I kept it slow and smooth. Everything was fine.
But it's something that will come back with more play/practice too.

Hit the new clubs well, now I just need to fine tune!

Cheers and Thanks again everyone

Darran

[oldwease]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

You're getting too much lateral movement in the backswing making the weight move to the outside of the right foot. Your right knee is reacting to this weight shift.

I think the real issue, though, is the shoulder turn. In my view, it's better to think of turning the upper chest in the backswing rather than the shoulders. It's actually possible to move the left shoulder quite a way without moving the chest by actually twisting it in front of the body. This is what you are doing to some extent and it breaks the required connection between the shoulder and the chest muscles. It also tends to encourage a sideways sway (and actually narrows the swing arc so, not a good thing).

The other clue to this is that you move the club head away from its natural arc pretty quickly on the backswing and it starts to lag the hands. This also tends to happen if you are pulling the left shoulder across your chest rather than rotating the upper body. (It's one of those things that may feel powerful but actually leads to a loss of power.)

So, the solution is to make sure you fully turn the upper body. As a check for all of this; take your current backswing and hold it at the top. Now, if you place the club across your upper chest (not shoulders), my bet is that the club line will be pointing well ahead of the ball. You may think your shoulders have turned more (and the shoulder line will be different), but, as I have said, that's becasue you've twisted the upper left shoulder around in front of the chest.

Instead of doing this, keep the connection between your outer left shoulder and the chest muscles (i.e. don't move it, twist it etc). Now, rotate the chest fully on the backswing. At the top of your backswing, your chest should be fully turned away from the target and your back will be facing the target. (Of course, your shoulders have fully turned at the same time but are still basically in the same relationship to the chest as they were at the start. Note that your right shoulder will have moved / rotated more than is the case with your current swing.)

Now, if you place the club across your chest, you'll see the line is either pointing at the ball or, more likely, behind it. This is a good thing. Also, by rotating this way, note the arc of the club head. Now that you're not twisting the upper left shoulder round, the club head stays 'outside the hands' - i.e., it won't start to lag. This is what you want to create a wide arc on the backswing.

Back on the original point; because you're now rotating the upper body rather that twisting the left side around, there is less lateral movement. You should instead feel the weight transferring to the inside of the right foot.

Try hitting a few balls with this upper chest rotation and just let the arms swing naturally. It will feel different at first because you're probably not used to rotating in this way and your swing path will have changed slightly (for the better), so get used to it with a few hits. It actually doesn't take that long to get the feel for this. With a little practice, you'll hit the ball more consistently and, I'm betting, quite a bit further.

[ubizmo]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

I think the real issue, though, is the shoulder turn. In my view, it's better to think of turning the upper chest in the backswing rather than the shoulders. It's actually possible to move the left shoulder quite a way without moving the chest by actually twisting it in front of the body.

That's a very good point. When the left shoulder does this, the effect is to cave the shoulders in, rounding them. This is definitely a problem that I have as well. The fix, as you say, is to turn the chest, not the shoulders. This is one of the things that is first to break down when I get tired or lose focus. I believe the underlying issues is mental. At some level, I think I just don't trust myself to turn away from the ball and still be able to return to it. Darran's swing looks better than mine, but I see the same tendencies to collapse the chest and roll onto the right foot.

[Dazza XL]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

Thanks for the replies everyone.
I've changed a few things, mostly the way I address the ball and begin my backswing.
Not conventional, but it works bloody well for me in the past, and present.
I will post a video tomorrow.

Cheers

Darran

[BrianW]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

I still haven't got my feet fully sorted, thats next.
But for now...





Not conventional I know, but it works well. Hitting the ball better than I ever have. I'm only using this swing for my irons, as I'm hitting my woods perfectly fine with my conventional swing.

I have asked a professional before in regards to the legality of the way I address the ball above, and he said it was fine. But I'm happily corrected!

As before, open to comments, suggestions, advice etc!

Cheers

Darran

Hi Darran,

You are making very nice ball contact, well done.

[Dazza XL]

Re: Rate my Swing... Please!

Am heading out for a round tomorrow, so we'll see how I go.

Cheers