Hand path vs Shaft path

[Deleted member 15344]

But if the ball flight/shot isn't right then surely you need to work on it to fix it and of you the fundamentals are right, grip/stance/alignment/posture etc then you probably need to be working on something a bit more technical no matter what your handicap is.

If you're getting down to low handicaps then the ball flight won't be too far off.

To get down to low handicap the majority of time it's about your short game and scoring around the greens as opposed to worry about technical issues with your swing.

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

But for me I wouldn't see what the OP is talking about as "technical" it's about dropping the club on the inside to stop a out to in swing which can cause pull or a high left to right shot, to me getting on the right swing plane/path is a basic fundamental part of golf.

You're right, it is. But Hawkeye is also right, despite what people say on here, you don't need to understand all the technical details to swing the club well. If you want to stop an over the top movement to eliminate pulls and slices then all you have to do is focus on making sure your right shoulder comes through under your chin. It's a lot simpler and easier than than thinking about hand position, pull the right elbow in to start the downswing, hold the angle of the shaft until impact, release the hands through and slightly to the right of the target line blah blah blah.

Don't forget that the downswing from start to impact is about 1/10th of a second, not very long to think about things and try to make adjustments

 

[bozza]

But if you are having to play 3 off the tee chip out sideways from trees due to a "technical" fault such as your swing path being wrong the surely you should worry about that and try to fix it?

 

[Deleted Member 1156]

But if you are having to play 3 off the tee chip out sideways from trees due to a "technical" fault such as your swing path being wrong the surely you should worry about that and try to fix it?

Yes you do but there are 'easy' ways and 'massively overtechnical' ways to do it.

Your choice which route you want to take :thup:

 

[Khamelion]

If you want to stop an over the top movement to eliminate pulls and slices then all you have to do is focus on making sure your right shoulder comes through under your chin. It's a lot simpler and easier than than thinking about hand position, pull the right elbow in to start the downswing, hold the angle of the shaft until impact, release the hands through and slightly to the right of the target line blah blah blah.

Don't forget that the downswing from start to impact is about 1/10th of a second, not very long to think about things and try to make adjustments

I agree with the part I've highlighted, but as I replied earlier, you're not thinking about all those things, people are taking what I wrote out of context. Yes those things all happen, yes you do think about them, but they are thought of individually over time and through a lot of practice until each individual aspect becomes second nature. For the purposes of this thread they do present an argument that makes the swing look way more complicated than it should be, that if you over think the swing you will fall foul of something, but what I wrote was not my swing thoughts, but the procession of events that occur in order for me to get the club from the top of the backswing back to the ball.

And yes bringing your right shoulder under your chin is one way of stopping coming over the top, so is trying to hold your left shoulder slightly right of target for a split second longer, as is dropping you elbow and tucking it in. What works for one may not work for another.

 

[Foxholer]

I can't see why people are suggesting you that if you play off a higher h/c that you shouldn't be thinking about your swing plane or something slightly technical.

What's the point of getting down to say a 8 h/c after playing golf for 10 years with a poor swing that you can get away with but to get lower and more consistent you then have to start looking into the more technical side of it to try turn a poor/average swing into a more "textbook"/consistent swing to get them to say scratch or better.

I'd much rather have a good solid swing Ingrained as soon as I can before too many bad habits creep in the could take years to get rid of.

I'm certainly not suggesting that! Though I certainly know folk who don't care or actively avoid technical aspects.

What i am suggesting is that there are almost certainly loads of far more important things to get somewhere near right BEFORE tiny little details - that are very often personal and 'non-essential' details - such as the one referred to are considered.

A subtle adjustment of the hands at a certain point in the downswing is not going to make 1 iota of difference when, for example, the previously collapsed forearms are flailing off into an almighty cast followed by a huge OTT sweep!

 

[JustOne]

Does anyone make a conscious effort to flatten the shaft path (to the hand path) on the downswing? Is this something you've ever been taught?

I do. It's not a conscious move though, it's a sequencing thing.