8 replies to this topic

[kiteman]

I'm 29 and started playing young at age 6 until 16.  I was terrible and took a hiatus for 12 years, and just got back into the swing of things (pun intended) early last year.  So effectively I've been playing golf for only a year and a half.

I am a decent ball striker, but I can't for the life of me figure out why I fade my 4i/5i so intensely.  I just got new i20s, and play with a 1" extension.  I have a fade on the 6i+, but they are quite a bit more controllable and workable.  I'd like to figure out why they occur, and straighten up and even learn a draw.  I know these irons are flexible, so I just want to get the straight ball flight down first.  Thanks for any help you can provide.

FYI, I shoot in the low-mid 90s.

8 iron:


4 iron:

[TrevorD13]

you take the club way past parallel at the top of your swing.  you are casting the club dramatically.  it also seems like you are decelerating the club through the ball instead of accelerating.  

so keep your full shoulder turn but try to make a half to three quarter backswing with your arms.  try to maintain the lag in your club in the downswing.  feel as though on the downswing that you are trying to let the clubhead stay as close to your right ear as possible in the downswing and once your hands get to about 8:00 on the downswing really accelerate through the ball

hope that helps

[akiracornell]

lets look at it this way.  a slice means that at impact the clubs path is coming outside to in, or right to left in relation to the face angle at impact. but why with longer irons if your putting a similar swing on it does it slice more? well the obvious answer is you are coming progressivly more across it.

think about the fact that as the club shaft gets longer the shaft lies flatter at impact. if you are taking a 4 iron and coming down on the same plane as 9 iron, the shaft has nowhere to go but left as you finish through the ball. in order to maintain a straighter club path through impact as the shaft gets longer, the down swing has to be flatter. the longer the shaft the  more you have to bring it under your current swingplane.  try impact more towards the right the longer the shaft.
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long irons can be difficult. a flatter plane with an iron can leave more room for error controlling the clubhead. hybrids have a more forgiving sole and have a different balanced head that helps shut the club through impact. making them easier and more natural. as pros get older and lose swing speed longer irons become less consistant and they switch over also somtimes.

Edited by akiracornell, 15 November 2012 - 09:05 PM.

[i am taylor(made)]

cant believe nobody mentioned his posture. This is the first thing i would change and could be the source of some of your other problems. At the top of you backswing your upper body is tilted toward the target. It should be slightly tilted backwards, say 6 degrees or so.

After you fix this then you can work on everything else, mainly your downswing. your downswing is starting with you arms when you should be starting it with your lower body. I like to feel like my arms are dead and that my lower body does all the work. right before impact is where the arms come alive and square the clubface.

Edited by i am taylor(made), 15 November 2012 - 09:13 PM.

[Mountaineer]

First off, I like your tempo, just try to shorten the back swing. Next to reiterate what the others have said, the club at the top of your swing is past parallel and that's causing that little reverse pivot (leaning towards target). If anything I'd focus on coiling behind the ball a bit more and loading that right leg. You should feel the weight on the inside of the right foot when you're fully coiled. Also, don't be afraid if your left heel has to rise ever so slightly to keep your hips level as you coil back. A good little drill for this is get into golf shot posture and then extend your left arm in front of you as if you're dropping a ball, but keep your hand out as if you're about to shake someones hand. Then turn back, turning the shoulders and lower body, with that left arm out on a level plane as if you're turning to shake someones hand. Focus on keeping the shoulders and hips level when you turn back loading on that right leg and DO NOT let your right knee sway outward, try to keep it relatively in the same area. I'll probably edit this post and add a drawing or video, because I just read over that and it's a lot to take in... my apologies.

Next, I agree with Taylor, work on starting the downswing with the legs and having the arms follow. That's just a timing thing, with a little range time you can smooth it out and it'll come together nicely.

As for the fade, I agree with you because I personally find them more controllable as well. Though for the typical weekend warrior a hook is better than a slice, as it typically means you're making the correct "move" into the ball. As long as it isn't a crazy slice you're fine, but I can throw in another mini drill in the video to help that.

Let me get some sleep (it's 2am here) and I'll try to make a drill video or sketch out a diagram in the morning to help explain. For the mean time, look at this video of many of Louis Oosthuizen's swings. I would pay particular attention at 40 seconds (the start of the slo-mo swing) and watch how he coils behind the ball and starts with the legs in his downswing.


EDIT: Ok, I've been really lazy over my turkey day holiday week and weekend and I must apologize. So if my instructions aren't clear, lemme know and I'll get to work on a video or something.

Edited by Mountaineer, 24 November 2012 - 06:45 PM.

[akiracornell]

Oosthuizen has a beautiful swing. Tempo, plane, posture. He got a briitish open with that swing.

[kiteman]

Just an update, I saw the responses about my backswing being too big back in November and i fixed it. I think it also fixed the reverse pivot issue. I started making much better contact, hit it straight and the proper distances.

I found myself back here the other day and saw the response about starting my lower body first on the downswing and waiting until the 8 position and then accelerate through the ball. Well i was having some difficulty doing this, and seemed to introduce my fade again, and sometimes just hit it fat because I didn't keep my head still. Now I don't want to screw up my swing! So...

Any tips on how to learn this technique, or should i keep on doing what I'm doing as long as it is working? What benefit will I see from starting my lower body first on the downswing? Thanks so much for the help!

Edited by kiteman, 13 March 2013 - 09:05 PM.

[Upgrayedd]

I don't claim to be a great golfer but here is what I see. First, you have great flexibility and and are tall too. No reason you shouldn't be able to hit the ball a ton. That said (here comes the critique) It looks like your back swing goes past horizontal and too far behind you. As a result you start the downswing by casting the club head to get it back on target line. Straighten this out and make sure your clubs fit. You mentioned the extra length but not the lie angle. I would guess 3* upright for your swing but I am no fitter and certainly no pro. Best of luck.

Edited by Upgrayedd, 15 March 2013 - 12:55 PM.

[kmart]

kiteman, on 13 March 2013 - 09:03 PM, said:

Just an update, I saw the responses about my backswing being too big back in November and i fixed it. I think it also fixed the reverse pivot issue. I started making much better contact, hit it straight and the proper distances.

I found myself back here the other day and saw the response about starting my lower body first on the downswing and waiting until the 8 position and then accelerate through the ball. Well i was having some difficulty doing this, and seemed to introduce my fade again, and sometimes just hit it fat because I didn't keep my head still. Now I don't want to screw up my swing! So...

Any tips on how to learn this technique, or should i keep on doing what I'm doing as long as it is working? What benefit will I see from starting my lower body first on the downswing? Thanks so much for the help!

If you are hitting that fade again it probably means your arms are coming in too slowly now. Either slow down your hips a little or speed up your arms a little. A new video would help of course.
Also leading with your hips can cause people to start leaning back too much which can cause you to open the clubface. Be sure your are still shifting your weight forward.

The benefits? Much more distance and greater accuracy. Once you get it you will notice it's much easier to repeat the rotation of your hips then it is to focus on your arms.