Control....Give it up to gain it....

[kid2]

Well its no surprise to most that im in the middle of lessons and really struggling with certain swing movements......I suppose that its part and parcel but i was at the range tonight for some work..... All i brought were my 52 and 56 degree wedges....A 6 iron and a 9 iron...

Now i purposely went with the intention of having no swing thoughts, No mechanical thoughts, and i wasnt going to get tension in my swing.....I left my alignment sticks out of the equation also and got 200 balls.....Now before anyone starts slating me for the amount of balls i got i also did this on purpose so i wasnt getting wrapped up in positions or the like.....
I wasnt worried about how far away from the ball i was or how bent over i was...I just did what felt comfortable to me....
Started with my wedges just hitting half swings to the 50mtr marker..
Then went to the 9 iron and then to the 6 once i was warm.....

I left everything loose....Wrists,Hands, Arms so i could feel the club head and let IT do the work rather than me hitting at the ball i just collected it on the way through...
Everything, and i mean everything i hit had a draw....I was hitting between 2 markers 150mtrs out and the ball was dropping at them...They were 15 yards apart roughly....... The ball flight was identical in height to my 9 iron.....

I could really feel the club head flying through the ball....

So i guess what im asking is...Should i keep at this......And is it possible that i was actually swinging on the proper path if i was drawing the ball....Or was it that because i was swinging so loosely that the club head was able to release through the ball when struck.......I wasnt manipulating my hands either through the ball.....It felt like i didnt have to....

Has anyone experienced this......Or does anyone play like this....... There was a noticeable distance loss when i went back to my old swing for a few hits.....

 

[JustOne]

So i guess what im asking is...Should i keep at this......And is it possible that i was actually swinging on the proper path if i was drawing the ball....Or was it that because i was swinging so loosely that the club head was able to release through the ball when struck.......I wasnt manipulating my hands either through the ball.....It felt like i didnt have to....

There is no such thing as club head release through the ball, only impact conditions. If you were drawing it then the path was to the right of the face, and that's how it should be with an iron. Should you keep at it? Do whatever you are happy with.... take a run up with a forward roll thrown in for good measure if it helps you enjoy the game and/or play better.

 

[Phil2511]

Loose wrists has helped me so much with the driver. I tend to pull it if I get tense.

Same for knock down wedge shots.

So I would say yes, stick with it, I believe in the saying you should almost feel the club leave your hands on the follow through.

If only I could get my backswing steepened I would be happy myself lol. Currently getting alot if bandit comments from the mates when I get things right but just haven't got the consistency with it yet.

And the best shots are always with loose wrists.

I say wrists because realistically the tension starts in the hands and wrists and transfers up the forearms and continues up into the shoulders.

The full left to right waggle seems to help me get rid of the tension and have noticed much better results. Going to keep trying it in my pre shot routine as long as it keeps working.

BTW when you say you loosened up with half swings with a wedge. My pro recently recommended to warn up by starting with an 8 iron. Aim to lay up 10yds short of the 50yd basket, then increase to the basket, then 10yds over and keep increasing until you reach full swing. A couple of balls each time.

He says not only does it help to warm up your golf muscles but it will help to get the feeling and tempo better, as you are increasing the length of swing little by little towards a full swing, especially pre round. Not tried it yet but another guy 61yr old has and says he has found it beneficial. That guy hits £1 of balls (18) and says its plenty to warm up pre round. And gets that extra before he practices now.

 

[JustOne]

As soon as anyone mentions loose wrists the alarm bells start ringing that they are flipping the club past their hands thru impact. Your wrists should feel loose as in NO TENSION, but they're not supposed to be flippy-floppy-wibbly things, they should be firm but tension free. The best swings are made when the body is turning well and in sync,... not when the wrists do anything, the hands, wrists and club are just along for the ride! :thup:

 

[Foxholer]

As soon as anyone mentions loose wrists the alarm bells start ringing that they are flipping the club past their hands thru impact. Your wrists should feel loose as in NO TENSION, but they're not supposed to be flippy-floppy-wibbly things, they should be firm but tension free. The best swings are made when the body is turning well and in sync,... not when the wrists do anything, the hands, wrists and club are just along for the ride! :thup:

Pedantic I know, but... impossible to be firm without tension. Without excessive tension is better, And (according to my interpretation of the research I've seen http://people.stfx.ca/smackenz/Publ... forward dynamics model of the golf swing.pdf) the wrists do get involved, but only slightly, about the half way down stage, and only for a short time. They are not (well, should not be) involved through the impact zone.

 

[chrisd]

Sometimes what you think your doing is not what you are actually doing and so, if it works,keep doing it.

What I mean is, I have slowed down my swing to what feels like half the speed, in actual fact I am not swinging that slowly but seem to have found my way of not hitting from the top and increasing the downswing speed through the impact position. If feeling like the slowest swing in the world works I am sticking with it.

 

[Imurg]

Sounds to me like you're swinging the club rather than trying to hit the ball...a big difference.

 

[JustOne]

Pedantic I know, but... impossible to be firm without tension. Without excessive tension is better, And (according to my interpretation of the research I've seen http://people.stfx.ca/smackenz/Publ...wa rd dynamics model of the golf swing.pd f) the wrists do get involved, but only slightly, about the half way down stage, and only for a short time. They are not (well, should not be) involved through the impact zone.

Obviously they can't remain cocked so they must be involved at some stage delivering the club into a correct impact position, but it's not vital that they remain floppy... grip pressure would dictate that somewhat...

from 3 mins 50....

[video=youtube;xFGrmHocmjM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFGrmHocmjM[/video]

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Not sure about the range but giving up control to gain it is my nirvana for the course this year. I had a mail from Karl Morris recently who said range sessions MUST be split between technical work and then giving up control and playing in a competitive way to replicate being on course and advocated playing a round ensuring you do your pre shot routine on every shot. Tried it for the first time at the weekend. Spent 45 minutes working on the swing then played through the front 9 of my course taking each club I would. If I missed my target I'd play some sort of recovery (a mid iron recovery or a chip). Really focused the mind and changed the way I am going to work at the range

 

[kid2]

Sounds to me like you're swinging the club rather than trying to hit the ball...a big difference.

Is swinging better Murg... Feels a little weird but results are much better.... You've seen some of my posted videos and will probably know that i look a little rigid and mechanical at set up.. Which to be fair i do...... I suppose im now in the dilemma of whether or not to keep up with the lessons or play away for a while swinging like this and see what comes about.

 

[user2009]

I'm struggling with slicing or shanking the ball, I've been stood hitting balls using a half swing, ie setting my arms as far back as they'll go without rotating my shoulders then hitting the ball, this gives the accuracy but there's no power. The problem is when I rotate the shoulders to continue the full swing, it all goes wrong when I strike the ball.

So essentailly I'm in control with half a swing but not a full one

 

[Canary_Yellow]

I'm struggling with slicing or shanking the ball, I've been stood hitting balls using a half swing, ie setting my arms as far back as they'll go without rotating my shoulders then hitting the ball, this gives the accuracy but there's no power. The problem is when I rotate the shoulders to continue the full swing, it all goes wrong when I strike the ball.

So essentailly I'm in control with half a swing but not a full one

Whenever I have problems with the dreaded S word (either of them), I go right back to basics.

For me, the key is to make sure that I rotate properly on the backswing staying nice and stable and balanced (i.e. no swaying to the right, just turning), and then on the downswing making sure that I get my weight through the ball (which I do by pushing my hips and knees towards the target) whilst concentrating on retaining my spine angle.

Avoiding a case of the dreaded S's is usually something to do with balance in my opinion. Focus on keeping a good solid core.

I used to have a habit of pushing my bum towards the ball on the downswing rather than getting my weight through to the target - pushing your hips forward towards the ball will get you into all kinds of problems but is also a very common swing fault as players try and generate power - or at least this is what my coach tells me.

When I get this right and it all comes together I get a feeling of effortless power with a real sense of, not necessarily control, more relaxation. I don't lose distance, in fact I feel I think I gain a few yards.

I don't think you need to sacrifice power in order to gain control, it's just a change of sensation from trying to hit the ball to swinging the golf club, as has been mentioned above.

 

[Fader]

Not sure about the range but giving up control to gain it is my nirvana for the course this year. I had a mail from Karl Morris recently who said range sessions MUST be split between technical work and then giving up control and playing in a competitive way to replicate being on course and advocated playing a round ensuring you do your pre shot routine on every shot. Tried it for the first time at the weekend. Spent 45 minutes working on the swing then played through the front 9 of my course taking each club I would. If I missed my target I'd play some sort of recovery (a mid iron recovery or a chip). Really focused the mind and changed the way I am going to work at the range

I really like this idea, putting method and importance to the shots and not just hitting the same club endlessly, after all on the course a rare thing to hit the same club 2 shots in a row.

I always try to finish my warm ups before a game by hitting shots on the range that i'll be likely to face in the first 3 holes, but going to snaffle this drill for the range to