Iron and wood swing thoughts

[asru1927]

Hi,

I am pretty sure this has been covered countless amounts of times however I thought I would ask again to see if you can help clear up my understanding.

My PGA has got me hitting irons pretty sweetly and I must admit I have been really happy with them this season. When i set up with an iron shot after i check grip, posture, ball position etc I only have 2 thoughts going through my head:

1st on the back swing shoulder turn and get the left shoulder under my chin.

2nd on the down swing keep right arm tight to my body (like I am holding a towel under my armpits) then swing from in to out.

When it comes to my driver and woods I am struggling to replicate this when applying the same swing with different posture and ball position.

Has anyone got any useful tips?

Thanks

 

[Deleted member 21258]

I play my best golf with no swing thoughts apart from target based and trying to swing my arms to there and getting the ball to target. Feel the shot and make your mind adjust your body accordingly to make it happen. So if I wanted to hit a slight high fade, I would be thinking about that and the target making the mind adjust the body accordingly. With a driver I try to ensure my upper body stays back to try to hit up on the ball.

Normally I play with a blank mind or sometimes I may have a backswing thought, the ball goes everywhere and the strike is normally poor. Any mechanical swing thoughts I would normally keep to practise swings.

If you are trying to kick a football from a free kick or throw a ball, you wouldn't be thinking about making certain movements with your body, you would focus on the target and throw/kick the ball and let the body flow.

Probably not much help, sorry but hope you get it sorted.

PS This is probably why my swing is so rubbish .:rofl:

 

[the_coach]

Hi,

I am pretty sure this has been covered countless amounts of times however I thought I would ask again to see if you can help clear up my understanding.

My PGA has got me hitting irons pretty sweetly and I must admit I have been really happy with them this season. When i set up with an iron shot after i check grip, posture, ball position etc I only have 2 thoughts going through my head:

1st on the back swing shoulder turn and get the left shoulder under my chin.

2nd on the down swing keep right arm tight to my body (like I am holding a towel under my armpits) then swing from in to out.

When it comes to my driver and woods I am struggling to replicate this when applying the same swing with different posture and ball position.

Has anyone got any useful tips?

Thanks

fro sure the address set-up with the driver particularly and metals is a ways different with the forwards ball position - this difference in set-up with a more forwards ball position
- and also with a secondary spine-tilt (so trail shoulder lower than the lead shoulder) is all very necessary
ball most forwards off around the lead heel with the driver and on tee so middle equator of ball around level with the top of driver face

having taken up that kinda set-up address with the driver it's a ways crucial now that with that forwards ball position and secondary spine tilt this all is not negated by moving the head and sternum back to be level with the ball

- having set up with forwards ball position and secondary tilt the head and center chest (sternum) will be someways around 5" or so behind the ball
this head/upper body position though often times makes folks 'feel' real uncomfortable so then wrongly the head and upper body is moved up forwards to get back nearer to the ball
- but in doin that then it will open up the shoulders (point them leftfield) at set-up which is goin to promote a steeper left to right swing and a cut/slice at the ball or alternatively pull it leftfield some

in the OP the #2 sentence outlined in bold - the feeling of keeping the trail arm real tight to the body goin back is not really what is a great thing to be doin

(talk over this with the Pro as maybes you had the arms separating up and aways from the body turn - so the Pro wants a 'feeling' of being tighter in the swing without really being tight up close)

but anyways the trail elbow just being kept 'real tight up' is not a great place to be in the takeaway/backswing as the natural width to the swing is lost which leads to issues in the downswing - some of the stuff giving the issues with the driver & metals swing
- it's a bunch easier to 'get away' with this trail arm/elbow tight up to the body with smaller pitch shots and short irons as during the motion with these clubs it's a ways easier to get a result with strike and shot outcome from the narrow steeper swing this is going to give one reason being the shorter length of these irons

trouble though this type of swing motion it's not goin to be able get away with this with the much longer length of shaft and less loft on the clubheads as these clubs (driver/metals) need a more natural width of swing arc and a shallower angle of approach of the club head into impact and keeping the trail arm tight up in the backswing is not goin to allow this to happen as it's goin to be too narrow and too steep

although this vid may at first look seem to have nothing much to do with the issue of the bigger swing with the longer length clubs (driver/metals) the ways the trail arm moves is real important to this - but important not only in the downswing but in the takeback and backswing

although the trail arm in the backswing is not really featured here in the instruction delivered take real good note of how the trail arm moves aways from the ball - notice that the trail elbow is not kept tight up against the rib cage in the turn back - notice how there's a small gap of around a couple inches as the trail arm moves to the top

so whilst it's true the trail arm and elbow doesn't move completely up and right out away from the side that's not desirable either - but neither does the trail elbow want to be kept up real tight touching the right side of the body in the backswing - needs to move aways a tad as the club goes back
but then it's a good ways important that the trail elbow will return to be up close and infront of the trail hip coming down halfways in the downswing on the ways to impact
- as can be seen happening in this drill
the drill would be a good thing to (without a ball) to really get the drift of what is goin down in the swing motion

for sure keep it real tight to the side as a premise throughout the backswing, particularly with the driver and long clubs is going to make good contact and shot direction real difficult


[video=youtube;3CrYwcr27iA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CrYwcr27iA[/video]

explanation seems a whole lot but during play all this doesn't need to be in the head at all - some understanding of the issue through the things mentioned to hopefully get the drift of the issues
some work with the drill of how the trail arm is better to work both in the takeback and backswing and then the downswing should provide some help

one thought only to have on the takeback/backswing
- would be it's okay in fact it's desirable to let the trail elbow move a tad aways (that couple inches) from the side of the body
- just don't let it fly completely aways to point back behind the heel line at the top of the backswing
- trail elbow moves that couple inches aways but still the elbow points down to the ground at the top of the backswing

 

[Capella]

The only thing I think about at the moment (for irons as well as for driver and woods) is how I want the clubhead to move through the ball (speed, direction, open/closed, where does the swing bottom out etc). I don't do a practice swing either, usually, only if there is something tricky/unusual about the lie, like I am standing on a slope or in the rough or something like that. I just take a few seconds over the ball visualizing how I want the clubhead to move and then I take the club back (sometimes, after hitting bad shots I add the thought of taking the club back slowly and deliberately) and pull the trigger.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Hi,

I am pretty sure this has been covered countless amounts of times however I thought I would ask again to see if you can help clear up my understanding.

My PGA has got me hitting irons pretty sweetly and I must admit I have been really happy with them this season. When i set up with an iron shot after i check grip, posture, ball position etc I only have 2 thoughts going through my head:

1st on the back swing shoulder turn and get the left shoulder under my chin.

2nd on the down swing keep right arm tight to my body (like I am holding a towel under my armpits) then swing from in to out.

When it comes to my driver and woods I am struggling to replicate this when applying the same swing with different posture and ball position.

Has anyone got any useful tips?

Thanks

As someone who struggled with a myriad of swing thoughts over the ball, I'm trying (not always successfully) to aim at the target and trust the work I've done at the range. If I have one thought at all, it's about tempo as I can get far too quick. It's about making the game as easy as possible. It's something I still don't do

 

[Lazkir]

As someone who struggled with a myriad of swing thoughts over the ball, I'm trying (not always successfully) to aim at the target and trust the work I've done at the range. If I have one thought at all, it's about tempo as I can get far too quick. It's about making the game as easy as possible. It's something I still don't do

Completely agree, no swing thoughts, just tempo and target.

 

[drewster]

No swing thoughts from me either , the clearer my mind is the better i tend to play.

 

[Norrin Radd]

as Arnold Palmer once said
the last place to give yourself a lesson is on your downswing.
my own thoughts or thought is whilst taking my stance ,i just think hit it sweet.

 

[njrose51]

My suggestion is simple .... ask your Pro!

If he/she has you hitting irons sweetly, then get him/her to do the same for your woods.

With my Pro, as I struggle a lot with the woods, its the little things that help. I have a small tattoo, in a certain place, on my right forearm and when I practise, if I can see the tattoo fully then I know I am getting the club set on the right line.

Good luck!