Open Stance?

[AmandaJR]

Hi guys

My game is in a weird place at the moment. I can play a few rounds really well and striking it lovely off every club and then - wham - from nowhere I take the club back and by halfway I know something is wrong and it's not going to be pretty by impact. Last Sunday I had a lesson and had managed to get the ball too forward with way too much forward shaft lean at address. So we worked on me hitting a fade (had also been pulling/hooking) and gradually things settled down and I played well at FofA and had a great game on Sunday with just one moment on the 15th when my swing felt wrong and a nasty glancing blow but luckily it stayed out of the bunker.

Range tonight and - wham - could not hit the ball for toffee - nightmare. Had my first committee meeting so went there with a heavy heart but it only lasted half an our (RESULT!) so back I went for some more range punishment. Still dreadful until I opened my stance when suddenly the club was in the right place, I could control the path on the downswing and hold it longer/later hit and the ball was off the middle and a really good result. Not a fade though rather than straight or with some draw. I decided not to square up again rather than keep the feeling of things being right - or somewhere near right.

Have tried to figure out what I change when I open my stance so I can apply that with a regular stance. Is it as simple as my left hip being cleared out of the way (weight transfer easier)? I can't figure what the change means in terms of the relationship of the backswing to me/my body/my arms, the club? When it goes wrong am I too steep, too flat, too open, too closed or all or none of the above?

Any ideas oh wise ones for this confused soul?

Ta...muchly...

 

[JustOne]

Sounds like you're a bit lazy in the hip department

You were hooking which is often lazy hips and a quick cure is to rehearse some slice swings to stop your wrists rolling and to clear the hips, and now you prefer to stand a bit open.

I'd take one swing thought to the range next time... playing for a baby push-draw, stand square, on your downswing put your right hip into the space previously occupied by your left pocket.

Hope that helps :thup:



NB: Always, always, always use alignment sticks for target line and toe line.

 

[JustOne]

on your downswing put your right hip into the space previously occupied by your left pocket.

I'll just TRY to clarify that..... it's a rotation of the right hip into the position that your left pocket was...or there abouts, not a slide to where the left pocket was. The 'feeling' is that it will bring your right knee with it closer to your left knee, but you can't just lead with the right knee as you'll a) look like Elvis and b) undermine your stability, you can't just 'flip' the right knee. It's a 'core rotation' whereby your only swing thought is to rotate the right hip through every time to a proper finish somewhere near where your left pocket was. Your left hip should end up rotated left, behind and a little closer to the target than it started, making space for the right hip... feel like the right hip leads the motion, you should subsequently extend up onto a straight left leg.

 

[AmandaJR]

Thanks James and I'll give it a go today. On film I could see I had managed to regress a bit and the sway line showed both my left hip moving away on the backswing and not getting back over the line by impact - if at all.

I'll have that one swing thought - surely I can cope with that...

 

[JustOne]

If you improve your hip action it should help your swing... if not at least hubby will be happier

 

[AmandaJR]

If you improve your hip action it should help your swing... if not at least hubby will be happier

Ha ha! Emailed my coach with the same question and he agrees that the open stance has helped me clear my hip/transfer weight properly. I did suggest a lesson tomorrow and he wants me to self-manage this with the information I have to do it. He's right (of course) and just confirms again what a great coach he is.

Do you coach James? Or is it your own experience playing/studying this beautiful (but frustrating) game that gives you the technical know-how?

 

[DaveM]

Makes sense if you feet are a bit open, but shoulders square. Helps to clear your hips. Notice you said you sway sometimes? This is something I do at times, due to neck problems. Found if I start my backswing in one piece. With the feeling that someone is pulling my left pocket(right one for you I'm a lefty) backwards. It helps me turn rather than sway off the ball. Hope that makes sense. Not saying it will work for you. But it helps me. So you never know?

 

[JustOne]

I would say that opening your stance hasn't helped you. Yes it gets your hips set up more 'out of the way' but generally it'll actually stop you transferring your weight properly and then there's always a tendancy to leave the shoulders too closed which again won't help... only a matter of time until you slip into a lazy swing then the arms take over and you start hooking again. That's why it's always better to set up square and (intend to) play a very soft draw... it's the bodies natural shot unless you really can't do it because of a physical restraint or a lack of time to put your game right.

Note that tiredness can also play a BIG part... sometimes you just need some REST... you definitely play a lot... if you have a solid swing then 4 or 5 days just practicing your chipping and putting won't hurt!... maybe 9 holes chucked in for good measure

I've played on and off for 19yrs. I've spent the past 3 years solidly studying all swing types (it's become a frikkin' obsession now ) in as much detail as I can possibly retain and putting them into practice, seperating all the myth and hearsay from the truth... I can 'feel' what is wrong when I swing a club, I can see what is wrong when someone else does.. problem is that you can't just change someones swing in 5 minutes.. they're rarely capable of accepting that it takes more than 50 balls to implement a change.... and everyone seems to know best when it comes to their own swing, old habits die hard. My game is held back by my constant battle against injury.. in the 3 years I've been back playing I've only felt fit as a fiddle for 3 weeks... hurt my right wrist opening the car door this morning.... I'm made of plasticine! I can't coach as you need a qualification selling Mars Bars to do that but I'm happy to stand on a practice ground all day with someone if they're happy to be there. Most qualified pros only know the basics.. enough to get a 28 h/capper to hit the ball and to kind of point people in the right basic direction even if the advice is technically wrong! eg cure a slice by rolling your wrists, ask your pro what sequence you should fire your power accumulators if you're a swinger or a hitter or what HSP you need to hit pushdraw with driver if hitting it 4° up (50% of pros hit down) and you might not necessarily get the answer you're looking for. About 10% of pros know more than the basics, the other 90% only know what their pro taught them when they were an assistant.. it's like chinese whispers passed down through the generations... only it was based on the WRONG ballflight information for the past 50+ years

My local pro pased his qualification by explaining how to hit a long bunker shot and how to help someone who hooks the ball.... that's it... qualified . When I spoke to him about it we agreed it was like passing your driving test... yes you were qualified but you're not exacly a Formula 1 driver just yet, and never will be if you don't then expand your knowledge based on the correct fundamentals.

oops!........... steps off soap box

 

[AmandaJR]

Hi James. You're right about tiredness and I do play a lot of golf and reckon a bit of a break might be a positive thing. We didn't really get a snow-enforced one this year so I've played all through winter, working on my swing and playing/practicing hard. I have an important match on Sunday in The Daily Mail so will try and get some confidence for that and then play less next week.

Today was dreadful at first on the course but David was very patient and we worked on the hip rotation and slowly but surely my strike improved. For sure I had stopped rotating my right hip through the shot as that felt different, but familiar! Weird thing was I hit a few decent ones but forgot to leave my head behind and wasn't even looking at the ball at impact - result was fine though. Went to the range with alignment sticks and really tried to get the swing working consistently and feeling grooved. It took a while but the impact tape was a positive story and a poor strike was the result when I didn't really commit to the full hip turn through.

So thanks.

I've been lucky that my pro doesn't sell Mars Bars - well his shop does but he doesn't! I guess as in all professions there are good and bad but it's the kind of technical coaching that those getting the bad variety could spend a lot of money going down the wrong path.

I hear your pain as have been quite fragile myself and my golfing injuries tend to be rib-pulling and also golf AND tennis elbows! I was always injured as a runner and my physio was so happy when I took up golf so I couldn't keep damaging myself - if only

Thanks again. More practice tomorrow with Sunday in mind but have withdrawn from the medal as that's not going to be helpful right now.