swing drill question

[Sgt_Slaughter]

i found a drill in the latest issue of golf magazine. it was about gaining more distance with the right to left ball flight.

1. it was set up a tee with ur ball on it. tee 18 inches straight ahead in front of ur ball, and one tee 18 inches behind and just inside ur target line.

2. swing a long the tees

my question is this. if i practiced this enuff, could this potentially help cure a slice/power fade. i can hit a beauty power fade. and sometimes its too wild and turns to a slice.

[DUBBED]

Depends on many things. It could potentially make you hit the hard hook.

EDIT: Just practicing swing path isn't going to make you hit the ball straighter is what I'm trying to say.

[sam2011]

dub is def. correct.

a lot of people who naturally fade the ball and attempt to start drawing it end up hitting mean ass snipe hooks.

a swingpath such as you described in the drill WILL promote a right to left ballflight IF and only IF you are squaring the clubface at the correct moment. you can still make this swing and if your face is open you will still block it off to the right with a driver, and worse, result in the dreaded "s" word in your irons.

so, its a good drill to practice, but remember that a change in swingpath is going to require you to think of the location of the clubface at impact.

[benny]

Mike,

I would have your swing put on video so you can check your current path. Having an inside-out path is a key to stricking your ball with maximum power. Yet, Sam is correct coming from to far inside can cause all sorts of problems, particularly in the irons. Alot of things can happen to allow that power fade to leak. My suspicion is your not completing your turn through the ball, "hanging back". I was working on hitting fades to help eliminate the left side. When I ran into problems I noticed and it was suggested that I wasn't getting off my back foot, the fade away jumper, resulting in shots that flew high and right. To correct this I worked on feeling more pressure on the inside thigh of my back leg and the instep of my back foot (right) at address. This helped me initiate the down swing by driving off that foot and shifting my wieght toward the target. It promoted a fuller turn and release through impact, straighter ball flight insued. Get your swing on video so you can better diagnose where your swing is breaking down. HTH

G

[Sgt_Slaughter]

Depends on many things.  It could potentially make you hit the hard hook.

EDIT: Just practicing swing path isn't going to make you hit the ball straighter is what I'm trying to say.

i know it doesnt. thats not what im asking. if it was that easy, then wed all be on the pgatour and tiger would win every tournament.

dub is def. correct.

a lot of people who naturally fade the ball and attempt to start drawing it end up hitting mean ass snipe hooks.

a swingpath such as you described in the drill WILL promote a right to left ballflight IF and only IF you are squaring the clubface at the correct moment.  you can still make this swing and if your face is open you will still block it off to the right with a driver, and worse, result in the dreaded "s" word in your irons.  

so, its a good drill to practice, but remember that a change in swingpath is going to require you to think of the location of the clubface at impact.

alright. i get it. i just want to work with the driver. dont plan on doing the right to left with the irons. i can already do that at will with the irons. its just with the driver that i wanna get it with. i know im not releasing the club which leaves the clubface open. i wanna try this drill and if im still slicing, then i truely know that the face is open. sometimes. i can get it all to work and release the club proeperly and hit a bomb straight out into the fairway.

Mike,

I would have your swing put on video so you can check your current path. Having an inside-out path is a key to stricking your ball with maximum power. Yet, Sam is correct coming from to far inside can cause all sorts of problems, particularly in the irons. Alot of things can happen to allow that power fade to leak. My suspicion is your not completing your turn through the ball, "hanging back". I was working on hitting fades to help eliminate the left side. When I ran into problems I noticed and it was suggested that I wasn't getting off my back foot, the fade away jumper, resulting in shots that flew high and right. To correct this I worked on feeling more pressure on the inside thigh of my back leg and the instep of my back foot (right) at address. This helped me initiate the down swing by driving off that foot and shifting my wieght toward the target. It promoted a fuller turn and release through impact, straighter ball flight insued. Get your swing on video so you can better diagnose where your swing is breaking down. HTH

G

thanks. thats what i think my problem is on some drivers. im not turning through the ball. im hanging back leaving the face open. when i put it together, it goes straight where im aiming.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

double post sorry.

[DUBBED]

i know it doesnt. thats not what im asking. if it was that easy, then wed all be on the pgatour and tiger would win every tournament.

Actually it was exactly what you were asking. :tired:

my question is this. if i practiced this enuff, could this potentially help cure a slice/power fade. i can hit a beauty power fade. and sometimes its too wild and turns to a slice.

[Sgt_Slaughter]

i know it doesnt. thats not what im asking. if it was that easy, then wed all be on the pgatour and tiger would win every tournament.

Actually it was exactly what you were asking. :tired:

my question is this. if i practiced this enuff, could this potentially help cure a slice/power fade. i can hit a beauty power fade. and sometimes its too wild and turns to a slice.

well, w/e.lol. neways, i know im coming from the outside on some drives because im hitting a slice. and some drives it works perfectly and i hit the straight bomb or with a little fade. what i want to do is be able to hit the draw. so i was asking by practicing that drill could it help to make my draw. id have to make sure i released the club too though. but would it help.

[benny]

Mike,

I suggested the video to confirm your current "natural" path. It is still possible to hit a ball high and right from an inside path, i.e. Tigers big flares right. Tiger hasn't come over the top since he was three and he still is susceptable to the shot lost right. Check your ball flight. If your shots start right and dive further right you have an inside out path with an open face relative to your path+target. That would be more correctly termed a push-slice, not the same as the more common pull-slice or banana ball that comes from an over the top move. Do you finish with your weight fully on your left? Or do you have a recoil or fall back on to your back leg? Hanging back often results in one of two shots, snap hook or push high right. Check your ball flight. Another drill and a good way to check your path is to set a basket or bottle of water (vijah) a few inches behind the ball and just enough outside your target line so that you are still able to take the club away with out interference. On the downswing if you clip the basket/bottle you've come over the top, if not your coming from the inside and you have to work on face recognition. The tee drill is more of a visual guide and doesn't give you much feedback when your not on the correct path. It offers a visual reminder of where you want the clubhead to move.

A draw shot helps provide more distance and lower ball flight for shots into the wind, but it is much more difficult to control and can turn into a hook, muy malo.

A fade is much easier to control, though it can be difficult into the wind. If your swing dynamic takes the left side out of play than you can swing/release as hard as you like without much penalty, just remember to complete your swing.

Good luck,

G

[Sgt_Slaughter]

i think my problem is that sometimes i wont fully shift through the ball. i will "hang back". but when i do put it together and focus on where i want it. i can really hit it straight. im going to the range in like 20 mins and im going to work on hitting through the ball and transferring my weight all the way to my left side. i dont have any problems with my irons or wedges. just my driver and the occasional wood.

[sam2011]

i think my problem is that sometimes i wont fully shift through the ball. i will "hang back". but when i do put it together and focus on where i want it. i can really hit it straight. im going to the range in like 20 mins and im going to work on hitting through the ball and transferring my weight all the way to my left side. i dont have any problems with my irons or wedges. just my driver and the occasional wood.

mike,

what you also need to consider is that the swing you make with the driver you will mimic in all of your other clubs.

some suggestions to hit a draw...

1 - drop your right foot back a little and swing along your foot-line, and attempt to srike the inside-back of the ball.

2 - along with working on your weight shift, strengthen your grip and concentrate on rolling your right hand over your left at impact.

good luck!

[Sgt_Slaughter]

ive really concentrated on the second idea. played yesterday, and just focused on that. i hit all drives straight to where i was aiming. if i aimed left thats where it went. if i aimed straight down the right, thats where it. i teed the ball up higher at a range session b4 i went to play and focused on sweeping the ball off. that helped. bc if i got to steep itd pop up. so i focused on low and slow and not taking it back to far outside target line.

[sam2011]

ive really concentrated on the second idea. played yesterday, and just focused on that. i hit all drives straight to where i was aiming. if i aimed left thats where it went. if i aimed straight down the right, thats where it. i teed the ball up higher at a range session b4 i went to play and focused on sweeping the ball off. that helped. bc if i got to steep itd pop up. so i focused on low and slow and not taking it back to far outside target line.

good.

emphasis on slow as well as you said, if you get quick when youre trying to turn a natural fade flight into a draw you might kill someone standing anywhere to your left.

with the weight turn, a good point of reference is to have is at the top of your backswing, you want your left shoulder pointing at the ball. you mentioned that you have problems releasing sometimes, but sometimes thats caused by not making a big enough turn and not getting behind the ball enough. this is my problem sometime, if im sore or tired and get lazy and dont make a proper turn, my normal high draw turns into a big high block to the right (we called it the "high-right-weak-s**t") when i played in college.

so....tempo, weight turn, roll the wrists slightly.

good luck!

[Sgt_Slaughter]

ive really concentrated on the second idea. played yesterday, and just focused on that. i hit all drives straight to where i was aiming. if i aimed left thats where it went. if i aimed straight down the right, thats where it. i teed the ball up higher at a range session b4 i went to play and focused on sweeping the ball off. that helped. bc if i got to steep itd pop up. so i focused on low and slow and not taking it back to far outside target line.

good.

emphasis on slow as well as you said, if you get quick when youre trying to turn a natural fade flight into a draw you might kill someone standing anywhere to your left.

with the weight turn, a good point of reference is to have is at the top of your backswing, you want your left shoulder pointing at the ball. you mentioned that you have problems releasing sometimes, but sometimes thats caused by not making a big enough turn and not getting behind the ball enough. this is my problem sometime, if im sore or tired and get lazy and dont make a proper turn, my normal high draw turns into a big high block to the right (we called it the "high-right-weak-s**t") when i played in college.

so....tempo, weight turn, roll the wrists slightly.

good luck!

thanks. ill be focusing on making a better turn and getting through the ball and not hanging back. and also releasing the club.

[benny]

Mike,

If you are able to maintain soft hands, wrists, and arms through the shot your release should come naturally. The rotation of of your torso combined with a solid wieght shift will square your clubface without any minipulation by your hands. Trying to time a release in your hands is tricky business. Some players have outstanding hand eye coordination and can work a release with thier hands, most don't. A more consistant method is to "release" with your legs and hips, adreniline has less effect on the larger muscles of your lower body. Sounds like you found some good timing the other day, keep focusing on your turn through the shot and your release will happen on its own. Keep putting your time in sounds like your on a good track. Good luck...

G

[Sgt_Slaughter]

thanks for the help guys.

[sam2011]

one last thing...dont force it!

remember one of will smith's lines from "the legend of bagger vance" (and if you havent seen it, go to blockbuster and rent it)...

"inside each and every one of us is one true authentic swing...something that cant be taught or showed to ya', but something that has to be remembered"

worse comes to worse, stop thinking, and have a lash at it. :cool:

[benny]

I'm with you there Sam. Unfortunately, I've been lashing too much and not remebering enough! :blackeye:

G

[jeffy]

My take on all this is it depends on what type of swing you have or want to have.

This drill sounds like it is meant to help what Jim Hardy would call a two-planer, which you probably are (most handicap players fall into this category). Instead of focusing on this one drill, I'd buy Hardy's book (The Plane Truth for Golfers), read all the sections that deal with a two-plane swing and make sure you are working on the right things, including the appropriate posture (upright), spine angle (tilted away from the target), weight distribution (favor the right), weight transfer (gradual), and swing width (wide: extend the arms; keep them in front of the chest both back and through). For example, if you are a two-planer, working on a rapid weight transfer is going to hurt, not help. Two-planers need to hang back a bit and extend the right arm to square the club. Good examples to follow are Greg Norman, Nick Price, Hale Irwin. Hardy's book also has several drills for two-planers. It's in paperback and costs about $13 on-line.

Understanding the Golf Swing by Manuel de la Torre is also a good reference for two-plane golfers (though he doesn't use that term), although his advice to start the downswing with the upper arms can actually narrow the swing's width. Hardy recommends a slight cast to start the two-plane downswing, which I've found to be very effective.

Jeff

[Sgt_Slaughter]

My take on all this is it depends on what type of swing you have or want to have.

This drill sounds like it is meant to help what Jim Hardy would call a two-planer, which you probably are (most handicap players fall into this category). Instead of focusing on this one drill, I'd buy Hardy's book (The Plane Truth for Golfers), read all the sections that deal with a two-plane swing and make sure you are working on the right things, including the appropriate posture (upright), spine angle (tilted away from the target), weight distribution (favor the right), weight transfer (gradual), and swing width (wide: extend the arms; keep them in front of the chest both back and through). For example, if you are a two-planer, working on a rapid weight transfer is going to hurt, not help. Two-planers need to hang back a bit and extend the right arm to square the club. Good examples to follow are Greg Norman, Nick Price, Hale Irwin. Hardy's book also has several drills for two-planers. It's in paperback and costs about $13 on-line.

Understanding the Golf Swing by Manuel de la Torre is also a good reference for two-plane golfers (though he doesn't use that term), although his advice to start the downswing with the upper arms can actually narrow the swing's width. Hardy recommends a slight cast to start the two-plane downswing, which I've found to be very effective.

Jeff

thanks. where can i find this book online? any site?

[jeffy]

I got it from Amazon...

[Sgt_Slaughter]

I got it from Amazon...

alright cool.