Help - or at least some advice please

[haplesshacker]

I know that you all have opinions about most things, well this time you get to have a right go at me. (You won't be given such a good op again!)

I have a hook problem, very left, very low, and often not very far.
Had lessons to cure the slice, well that worked. Know I just have a dire hook. My Pro is trying to get me to add more width to the first few feet of the backswing.

Having flicked through various mags and books, I've come to the conclusion from pic one that my grip is dire. Pic 2 shows that the club face is almost horizontal, that's not right apparently according to the books anyway. Pic 3 is the finish.

Ignoring the obvious comments about the attire, what other observations would you point out. Even if you're not a single figure h'capper I'd appreciate any comments that your pros might have mentioned to you before.

Many thanks, but I'm desperate, my h'caps heading in the the same direction as the ball, the wrong way.

BTW the ball in this sequence went 70 feet and left.

Hope the pics work!



Sorry removed the pics as the link didn't work.

How do I add the pics? I'm on Vista.

Update
Oaky so I've managed to at least get a link to the pics now. See below a few posts.

 

[TonyN]

Pics didnt work,

Can be anythin from turning the hands over to quickly to swinging your arms to fast for the body!

Any Vids?

 

[theeaglehunter]

someone I know who had this problem, had a hook because at address they had the butt end of the club too close to their body- it should be about a hands width away, with relaxed arms that hang naturally. If it is too close you will most likely turn your hands over too early and turn the club face over causing your hook.

A video would most likely be your best bet like Tony said.

 

[haplesshacker]

Noticed that the pics didn't work. Anyone know how to add the pics?

 

[OldWindy]

You have to put them on the web (flickr, photobucket, etc.) and then use the 'image' function when you post. Quite a few posts about it.

 

[haplesshacker]

I'll give it a try. Did a search and waded through a fair bit and didn't find anything.

Ta.

 

[theeaglehunter]

sign up to photobucket
upload the photos on there
copy and paste the given url for the required image / images

That should be enough info to get you started, there are detailed explanations somewhere though. I can give you one if you have no luck in your searches- I just don't think it will be necessary.

 

[AliB]

Having flicked through various mags and books, I've come to the conclusion from pic one that my grip is dire.

Hapless, I'm not much good on technicalities, but any decent pro should check the basics - grip and set-up - before/as well as the actual swing. Are you seeing the right guy?
Get your pics on any website and paste the address into your post. They may not come up in the post but people can click through to them using teh link.

AliB

 

[haplesshacker]

Done the photobucket thing, hope that this works. Ideally I guess I just want to drop and drag the pic in, rather than having links.

Pic 1
http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm287/haplesshacker/?action=view&current=1.jpg

Pic 2
http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm287/haplesshacker/?action=view&current=2.jpg

Pic 3
http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm287/haplesshacker/?action=view&current=3.jpg

 

[wilf_74]

Your right hand looks too strong on the grip?

Or maybe its the hat?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

OK here is my opinion.

Photo 1) Your set up is a little narrow. I'd like to see you a little more bent over from the hips with a slight knee flex and your bottom out a little as though you were going to sit on a bar stool. This would give your arms room to hang down more. It would also allow you chin to be more upright which will allow a better coil

Photo 2) Too much activity in the legs particularly the left leg collapsing towards the right has meant you have reversed pivotted and not turned or colied correctly. The weight hasn't actually moved very much. As a result when you start the downswing you are having to do more with your hands to create the clubhead speed which is why you suddenly get these low snap hooks.

What is happening is that your natural sense of timing and eye co-ordination will bring the clubface back square say 6/10 times but on the other occasions your hands will come through too quickly with a shut face leading to the hook

Photo 3) Not too much wrong in the final position except perhaps the lack of a complete turn (i.e. you being more up on the right foot) is an indication of not turning correctly on the way back.

Now the good news. I had the same dancing leg syndrome (as my pro called it). What you need to do is work on turning without the legs collapsing. He got me to stand and turn with my knees braced as though the weight on them was on the outside. A good way to replicate this is to blow up a beach ball and put it between your legs and then hit shots. The ball will provide the necessary resistance.

By changing the posture so you stand more upright and bend forward from the hips to create room to swing under your chin and then turning with the knees flexed you will feel a tight more powerful turn which will allow for a more powerful release. To get the best posture, stand with the club out in front of you at navel height. Slowly lower the club until it hits the ground making sure you only bend from the hips. Once the club is on the ground, soften the knees by bending them slightly and feel how much higher your chin is.

These are only my views and I stand to be corrected if they are not correct. However the exercises for keeping the legs quiet are from a PGA pro and I have been amazed at how much more distance I am getting by making the correct turn with no lateral movement.

Hope it helps

 

[haplesshacker]

H.

Despite taking the mick on another thread regarding the length of your posts, it's only meant in jest as once again there are useful snippets in your reply as usual.

Ta.

 

[mrobbie]

Ditto re grip being strong. At set up, try moving your hands round more, so that the 'V' between your thumb and forefinger (right hand) is pointing at your right ear. The back of your left hand should be pointing down the fairway.

I have a strong grip also, but seem to have adapted to it - if I change to a neutral grip, I slice the ball. As you are hooking with a string grip, move to something more neutral and see how it goes

 

[USER1999]

I would go with Homer on this one, but also I think you are taking the old adage of 'keep your head down' a bit too literally. You need to extend your neck so your shoulders have a bit of room to turn. This should come from better posture.

 

[TonyN]

Well Mick dundee (just kidding, love the Hat!)

Your right hand is underneath the club, it should be on top. Your right forearm faces out away from the body, it shouldn't do. If you let your arms hang naturally down, look where your forearms point, Behind. Its so hard to adjust your grip once its grooved so its something you would have to work on. But see a pro before you do because I am certainly not one.

 

[haplesshacker]

All really helpful stuff guys & gals, thanks, keep 'em coming. I'll be off down the range to try a few of the tips and pointers out. Perhaps I out to write this year off score wise and just concentrate on getting the set up correct. Well, if Faldo can do it, so can I.

As for the hat, it was damn hot on last Sat afternoon, and I suffer from heat exhaustion and sun stroke quite badly, and I find these hats far better than caps for keeping the sun off. Don't worry all my mates take the mick as well, so I'm used to it. Got a leather Oz bush hat for when it's raining, helps keep the fags dry.

 

[haplesshacker]

Sorry, forgot to add. Would the reason for the horizontal clubface at the top of the backswing be because of the grip?

Got to admit that the left knee thing in pic 2 looks awful.

 

[muttleee]

I think this is what you were trying to do :

There's no way to drag and drop images onto a forum btw, no matter what operating system you're using.

On the subject of grips, a useful tip is to put your hands on the club and then open them so that the palms face each other. If your grip is correct, your fingers should be pointing straight down at the ground. I suspect your fingers would be pointing to the left, judging from that first photo.

 

[haplesshacker]

Muttlee.

How d'ya do that? Just for future reference.

Nice tip about the fingers.

 

[muttleee]

Hi HH,

When you look at your photobucket image, you can see it shows you some lines of code that you can use if you want to share your images online (Share URL, Direct Link, HTML Code and IMG Code for Forums & Bulletin Boards etc). Unfortunately the code they use for forums isn't quite right for this one, so do this instead:

1. Copy the text in the Direct Link box, which will look like http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm287/haplesshacker/1.jpg. It'll always start with an 'http://' and finish with the filename of the photo, which is either 1.jpg, 2.jpg or 3.jpg in your case.

2. When writing a new post, click the word 'Image' in the Instant Markup section and a little alert box will open, asking you for the address of the photo you want to include.

3. Paste the url of the photograph (ie http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm287/haplesshacker/3.jpg etc) into that box and click ok. Then you will see this in the body of your post:

[image ]http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm287/haplesshacker/3.jpg[/ image]

(I put a space inside each pair of [] to make sure it showed up as text instead of showing the photo again.)

Now when you preview your post you should see the photograph included in it.

Clear as mud, eh?!