105 replies to this topic

[tommykrebs]

Since yesterday I try to swing hard left. First it's an important part of my one-plane swing and second to get rid of my hook and block's. What do you think? I know it's not perfect and pretty hard to execute because my 3 wood has so much momentum.

18.03.12:

Today DTL:

[tommykrebs]

5 iron 150312:




5 iron today:

[tommykrebs]

...and one face on view from today:

[bossdog]

I think if you are trying to swing hard left u need to exaggerate it more. but i think it looks good already? Are you hitting it good?

[tommykrebs]

bossdog, on 21 April 2012 - 12:14 PM, said:

I think if you are trying to swing hard left u need to exaggerate it more. but i think it looks good already? Are you hitting it good?

Yes, I know I have to exaggerate it. But it's not easy to do and it's only my second day I work on this. I hit it a lot better but I have trust to hit it straight although I swing  hard left.

Here is a wedge from today. First I thought I had a late roll over with my hands but it's not. It's because I'm swinging hard left.



compared to Hunter's wedge:



Thank you... :-)

[Hoot151]

One checkpoint to look at is the shaft of the club when it "exits" your body in the follow through from DTL.  You can see here on Mahan's swing how the shaft of the club exits through his rib-cage and is pointing toward the ball and on plane.  

[inmens]

Also, Mahan holds the release a while more than you. Anyway, an amazing improvement you did these months!

[tommykrebs]

inmens, on 21 April 2012 - 01:04 PM, said:

Also, Mahan holds the release a while more than you. Anyway, an amazing improvement you did these months!

Thank you, thank you, thank you. Maybe one reason Hunter holds his release longer is because he earns millions with golf and I'm only a 14 hcp.

But I'm still hungry to improve and one day I will become a pretty decent golfer.

my swing from Sept. 2009

[Hoot151]

You've made some tremendous improvement in 2+ years.  Great work.

[mookie]

I suffer from the occasional block, especially with driver.  

I also don't hit this Swing Academy forum either so I apologize if I missed some of your earlier threads.  What are you thinking or trying to do specfically when you say that you are trying to "swing hard to the left". Obviously you're not talking about an over-the-top move...

Thanks.

[dasbill]

You have no forward shaft lean at impact. A slight flip it looks like. The hands should be ahead of the club head at impact.

[russc]

You are having trouble in swinging hard left because you are not in a position to do so.Compare your elbow position with Mr Hogan's at the beginning of the downswing.
My link

[tommykrebs]

russc, on 21 April 2012 - 11:40 PM, said:

You are having trouble in swinging hard left because you are not in a position to do so.Compare your elbow position with Mr Hogan's at the beginning of the downswing.
My link

Thanks, Russ. I have to stick to Jim Hardy's advice to keep the right elbow at the side of the hip and not in front. I have no time to fly to Texarkana. Give me a couple weeks. I think it looks already better now.

[golfdu]

Insert an alignment stick into the hole in the butt end of your grip and keep pushing it in until the upper end of the alignment stick reaches your chest (or until it doesn't wobble outside the grip). If you do 9-3 swings, you will have to release left as Mahan without flipping in order to avoid a bruised left side. Another good drill that makes your swing on-plane is this: Put another alignment stick 6 inches behind the ball and point it to your target. *Use your dominant eye for this* When the club is parallel to the ground after the takeaway, the alignment stick in your golf club should be parallel to the alignment stick on the ground. When left arm is parallel to the ground in the backswing, the upper end of the alignment stick in your golf club should point at the alignment stick on the ground. Keep pointing that end at the alignment stick on the ground as you reach the top of your backswing. Do the same thing in the downswing, and you will be perfectly on-plane. It's called tracing the baseline (or straight plane line for TGM'ers). It doesn't matter in the follow-through as impact already happened, so focus on not letting the alignment stick in the golf club hit you by releasing left hard (also called the punisher drill) in the follow-through.

[tommykrebs]

dasbill, on 21 April 2012 - 11:22 PM, said:

You have no forward shaft lean at impact. A slight flip it looks like. The hands should be ahead of the club head at impact.

I would not say "no" forward shaft lean. Yes it's not incredible much but I have my hands in front of the ball at impact (wedge). Everybody on the board will tell you that pivot driven body rotation is responsible for a flat wrist and forward shaft lean at impact. From my experience I changed my swing from steep armsy OTT to a rotational swing and there is no difference to see where my hands at impact are. The forward shaft lean is apparently NOT a by-product of the body rotation.

And do not recommend the Tour Striker. I hit perfect shots from the hardest mat.

Edited by tommykrebs, 22 April 2012 - 03:39 AM.

[tommykrebs]

golfdu, on 22 April 2012 - 03:18 AM, said:

Insert an alignment stick into the hole in the butt end of your grip and keep pushing it in until the upper end of the alignment stick reaches your chest (or until it doesn't wobble outside the grip). If you do 9-3 swings, you will have to release left as Mahan without flipping in order to avoid a bruised left side. Another good drill that makes your swing on-plane is this: Put another alignment stick 6 inches behind the ball and point it to your target. *Use your dominant eye for this* When the club is parallel to the ground after the takeaway, the alignment stick in your golf club should be parallel to the alignment stick on the ground. When left arm is parallel to the ground in the backswing, the upper end of the alignment stick in your golf club should point at the alignment stick on the ground. Keep pointing that end at the alignment stick on the ground as you reach the top of your backswing. Do the same thing in the downswing, and you will be perfectly on-plane. It's called tracing the baseline (or straight plane line for TGM'ers). It doesn't matter in the follow-through as impact already happened, so focus on not letting the alignment stick in the golf club hit you by releasing left hard (also called the punisher drill) in the follow-through.

Thanks. I practiced the punisher drill already. It was way to easy to cheat for me.

[tommykrebs]

mookie, on 21 April 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

What are you thinking or trying to do specfically when you say that you are trying to "swing hard to the left". Obviously you're not talking about an over-the-top move...

Watch Mr. Scheinblum. He has a good explanation.




The advantage of a proper swinging left move is it's impossible to hook or push the ball. It a Inside - square - inside path of the club.

[tommykrebs]

mookie, on 21 April 2012 - 10:58 PM, said:

I also don't hit this Swing Academy forum either so I apologize if I missed some of your earlier threads.  

Where have you been, Mookie?

500 postings in the "golf style and fashion" section?    Just kidding...

Edited by tommykrebs, 22 April 2012 - 03:46 AM.

[tommykrebs]

Hoot151, on 21 April 2012 - 10:40 PM, said:

You've made some tremendous improvement in 2+ years.  Great work.

Thank you. But I have to admit it was very very hard to get there. Incredible hard to find out what's wrong in my swing and even harder to understand what's the cause. A couple times I was close to quit and very desperate. The local pga pro's (4!) not able to answer my questions. They didn't understand terms like hip- and pivot stall, early extension or losing the tush line. Today when I'm working on my one-plane swing and rehearse to swing hard left I see there puzzling faces. haha... Thanks God I found the WRX and the help of many knowlegeable people and not to forget I found Jim Hardy's plane truth for golfers.

Edited by tommykrebs, 22 April 2012 - 05:18 AM.

[tfish]

Quote

And do not recommend the Tour Striker. I hit perfect shots from the hardest mat.

that doesn't mean you're not flipping it, and couldn't use more forward shaft lean.

in fact i'd say for a flipper it'd be easier to hit off a hard mat, because you can bounce the club a little before impact and not really notice it.

Quote

Everybody on the board will tell you that pivot driven body rotation is  responsible for a flat wrist and forward shaft lean at impact. From my  experience I changed my swing from steep armsy OTT to a rotational swing  and there is no difference to see where my hands at impact are.  The forward shaft lean is apparently NOT a by-product of the body rotation.

no, it just means you're not doing it 100% right yet.  the right arms too far behind you, you're stuck and the only way to get to the ball and make decent contact is to flip at it.
if you got some more spine tilt and kept the right arm in front of you....you'd be able to release harder left without turning turning the face over and letting the clubhead pass your hands.

Edited by tfish, 22 April 2012 - 11:03 AM.

[tommykrebs]

tfish, on 22 April 2012 - 11:03 AM, said:

...you're stuck and the only way to get to the ball and make decent contact is to flip at it.
if you got some more spine tilt and kept the right arm in front of you....

Sorry, I think you are not familiar with Jim Hardy's OPS. Maybe SF, but not Hardy. Thank you anyway.

[Ranger Rick]

Glove under the left arm, keep it there until well after impact. It's a pleasure.

[tommykrebs]

Ranger Rick, on 22 April 2012 - 11:42 AM, said:

Glove under the left arm, keep it there until well after impact. It's a pleasure.

Like this....?

[hbgpagolfpro]

tommykrebs, on 22 April 2012 - 03:18 AM, said:

dasbill, on 21 April 2012 - 11:22 PM, said:

You have no forward shaft lean at impact. A slight flip it looks like. The hands should be ahead of the club head at impact.

I would not say "no" forward shaft lean. Yes it's not incredible much but I have my hands in front of the ball at impact (wedge). Everybody on the board will tell you that pivot driven body rotation is responsible for a flat wrist and forward shaft lean at impact. From my experience I changed my swing from steep armsy OTT to a rotational swing and there is no difference to see where my hands at impact are. The forward shaft lean is apparently NOT a by-product of the body rotation.

And do not recommend the Tour Striker. I hit perfect shots from the hardest mat.

I don't see a lot of rotation in your swing until after impact.  Your hips and shoulders are basically square to the ball at impact.  Most tour players will have hips very open at impact, and shoulders at least slightly open at impact.  Forward shaft lean is more a by-product of proper sequencing in the down swing, lead by the lower body.  If the lower body starts unwinding before the shoulders are done turning in the back swing, you will get forward shaft lean, as long as you don't let your lower body stall out with a poor pivot.

[tommykrebs]

hbgpagolfpro, on 22 April 2012 - 12:17 PM, said:

I don't see a lot of rotation in your swing until after impact.  Your hips and shoulders are basically square to the ball at impact.  Most tour players will have hips very open at impact, and shoulders at least slightly open at impact.

With 47 that's the best I can do. More rotation or open shoulders are not possible. Maybe next life...  

Thank you.

[Ranger Rick]

Thats the drill, although from what I see you simply aren't clearing your hips enough to get left.

[tommykrebs]

Ranger Rick, on 22 April 2012 - 02:00 PM, said:

... although from what I see you simply aren't clearing your hips enough to get left.

That's all I can do. Seriously in my DS my main focus is to stay connected and turn everything together. The shoulder catch up with my hips and that's OK. For me it feels powerful and in sync. To force my hips to turn harder from the top would be end in a disaster. I know that Hardy recommends open shoulders at impact but that is NOT possible for me. With more open hips and open shoulders I would get my hands more in front of the ball. I know. It has nothing to do with my right elbow. I have plenty space between my hip and my right elbow.

I don't know why. Maybe because this is my swing. I have to be realistic. I'm not 20 anymore and I have no SliceFixer in my neighborhood. My goal is not to look like a tour pro, search for the perfect swing or play on the tour.

Maybe my practice to swing hard left will open my shoulders. We will see....

Edited by tommykrebs, 22 April 2012 - 03:15 PM.

[Kiwi2]

tommykrebs, on 22 April 2012 - 02:58 AM, said:

russc, on 21 April 2012 - 11:40 PM, said:

You are having trouble in swinging hard left because you are not in a position to do so.Compare your elbow position with Mr Hogan's at the beginning of the downswing.
My link

Thanks, Russ. I have to stick to Jim Hardy's advice to keep the right elbow at the side of the hip and not in front. I have no time to fly to Texarkana. Give me a couple weeks. I think it looks already better now.

Tommy, let me say what a good job you have done.

Maybe you need to consider that your body make up may need you to have your elbow "in front" of , or behind your shirt seam line rather than at the side at the top of your backswing.  If that is the case Russ makes a good suggestion.  

We are all built differently and no two swings are alike. It is possible that where your elbow  is now doesn't suit you. It may be worth experimenting to see what effect moving your elbow position has on your ball striking.

[tommykrebs]

Thank you, Kiwi.

The reason I think that the right elbow has nothing to do with my open shoulders is because I worked on this last year. Before my change to the OPS. Even with my armsy swing I wasn't able to achieve this desired position. Not on purpose, not with force. Maybe my "swinging hard left" will finally open my shoulders. Today I hit many wedges with "low" hands and "hard left". Consistency, contact and ball flight was excellent.

[Kiwi2]

tommykrebs, on 22 April 2012 - 03:34 PM, said:

Thank you, Kiwi.

The reason I think that the right elbow has nothing to do with my open shoulders is because I worked on this last year. Before my change to the OPS. Even with my armsy swing I wasn't able to achieve this desired position. Not on purpose, not with force. Maybe my "swinging hard left" will finally open my shoulders. Today I hit many wedges with "low" hands and "hard left". Consistency, contact and ball flight was excellent.

I think you are doing well.

It is all very well for people to tell you to get your hips, shoulders open. But, what many of them fail to consider is that some people have physical conditions that limit them.  Roger Fredericks cites a two cheek position at impact as being a fundamental. He claims that all PGA Tour players are in this position at impact, without exception. He is wrong because Brian Gay isn't. But I can't name anyone else.

I don't know if this is your situation, but if you can't get there because your body won't let you it may pay to consider a flexibilty program.

No matter what, based on your videos, it won't be long (providing your short game is up to it) that your scores start tumbling down.

Edited by Kiwi2, 22 April 2012 - 03:54 PM.