practice swing and actual Help!

[suprasport]

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Hi everyone,
I have been reading these forums for a long time and appreciate all the help it has offered.
However I am now ready to quit golf altogether now.

A year ago I was playing to single figures repeatedly and hitting driver just short of 290yds and straight 90% of the time, then I suffered a bad back and rather than rest for a few weeks tried playing through it and my swing got flatter and flatter trying to compensate, then I had a hamstring injury and then ruptured my calf (non golf related) anyway my swing got worse and worse and my own fault for trying to compensate with another bad move led, and so on and so on and so on.

Now I am left with a very good practice swing as many can say, good plane, lag, full turn etc.etc. However put a ball in front of me or even pretend a blade of grass is a ball and I am extremely flat and very short backswing not getting much past horizontal. then smash.
resulting in duck hooks, topped shots, air shot and generally rubbish shots. Ive had lessons with a few pros who just tell me to swing on steeper plane and try to teach me how to which I can do in a practice swing very easily but not with a ball there. everytime I leave thinking how pointless and a waste of money that was.

I do not stand over the ball even after a year thinking I cant do it, I just set up and think of what my practice was and attempt to do it. So I think its subconscious. I have tried everything everyone has suggested and theres been plenty, but nothing seems to work. Everyone admires my practice but looks of shock come over them when I try to hit a ball.

Any and all suggestions are welcome as I cannot enjoy golf like this, I come off the course embarrassed and frustrated and will end up packing it all in or join a pitch and putt course.

Ive run out of ideas and google searches aren't helping nor are any of the pros I know. Last one literally said " strange one, I don't know what to tell you and then held his hand out for the payment"

Hoping for a miraculous piece of inspiration.

Practice https://www.youtube....h?v=wmtAzhFN6YM
sorry about the double swing but wife was a bit slow with video, same swing though if I set up properly for a practice and its not the best swing but the idea is its a full swing and not flat

actual https://www.youtube....h?v=3LQrmG6CS88
I actually feel like ive made the same swing on the actual

 

[bobmac]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
I have met and taught many people who are in the same boat as you so you're not alone.

First thing is to reverse the downward spiral you are in at the moment.
If I said to you' hit a PW 50 yards, could you do it?

 

[suprasport]

hi, and thanks for the reply.
Yes that wouldnt be a problem at all, it doesnt seem to effect my short irons as much.
I often laugh at myself when I say half a swing with a wedge, as if I have a choice

 

[bobmac]

It's all about confidence as I'm sure you know.
One thing I'd like to ask.....
Do you know you have a big sway?
That would cause a lot of the problems you have described.
Try hitting your wedge 75 yards but with your head still.
Get someone to film you from face on to make sure it is actually still

 

[suprasport]

agree with the confidence part, but a bit of a catch 22 situation.
the headsway I can sort quickly, just a few bad habits creaping in

 

[the_coach]

as 'bobmac' has eluded to there's a little more than a head sway going on.
head only moves because what's underneath is moving. the practice swing may 'feel' ok may look ok to some because it's longer but you are moving a ways off the ball to the right then moving a ways laterally left coming into the ball in the practice motion also.
you will need to get back the rotary movement of a turn away with a then because of the turn a steady head steady body center which is key to a solid strike.

so in the motion there is a lot of lateral movement hips & upper body which for a number of other reasons means your shoulder turn is being blocked - left shoulder never gets behind the ball in the backswing.
other thing is the arms & club never really go 'up' so then they can't really then come 'downwards' into the back near quarter of the ball so very difficult for you to get clubhead to ball so the contact issues you are getting with thins, tops, whiffs plus duck hooks all being part of the same issue.

a drill to try to start to get some confidence back. get your 8i put a coin 12" behind the ball.

then try with but with your feet together to make a backswing where the club head travels back over the coin (will feel very straight back even outside to you) while making a shoulder turn where you feel the left shoulder moving downwards as well as back away from the ball so the clubhead stays 'outside' the hands then feels it goes very much straight upwards so not pointing behind you when the left arm is first horizontal to the ground but more up to the sky.

turn the shoulders so you get the left shoulder under the chin & left shoulder pointing behind at the backside of the ball. during this backswing the butt end of the club will need to point between the ball/target line & your toe line when the hands 'set' just about hip height & not the butt end pointing out flat over the other side of that ball/target line.

then just try to make a swing down & through the ball where your head stays over top of the backside of the ball. start with some 50% swings the focus is on a centered turn with the club going up in the backswing, might well be a ways difficult at first balance wise. as if you do go back to the big sway upper body move off the ball (with the feet together you'll have to turn the hips) with club going behind you, you will find it a ways difficult to keep your balance.

if you can stomach it, would take a look at some good neutral grip vids too.
currently grip looks pretty strong left hand hold with the back of the left hand & logo completely visible at address, so looking down at address am guessing you're going to be looking at all 4 knuckles- instead of 2 & a bit, so a good ways strong.

usually when I see this left hand orientation in folks the handle also runs a ways too high in the palm of the hand so not in the fingers - which makes a proper set 'upwards' of the left thumb & hand in the backswing not really possible.
to match this currently the right hand thumb forefinger crease is pointing at the outside edge of your right shoulder so pretty strong also. both these things make the 'up' part of backswing a ways difficult to achieve so then difficult to get the downwards AoA into the ball.

 

[the_coach]

[video=youtube_share;Uf9cfsP_KXM]http://youtu.be/Uf9cfsP_KXM[/video]

 

[the_coach]

[video=youtube_share;jUGjeajxz7s]http://youtu.be/jUGjeajxz7s[/video]

 

[suprasport]

Thank you Coach.
I will definitely try all of the above and understand what you are saying. The grip does tend to get strong when im not taking notice over time and I will always be a little flat as I have a right full wrist fusion which means at the top (when I get there) I almost have to let go with my right hand. Im hanging on with fingertips hence prone to confidence issues a little more, especially when I feel I have lost control. So I think I overcompensate with my left.

 

[M1ke]

Can I ask, are you out playing with other people? If you are my advice to you would be to go out on your own for a couple of months and don't take the golf so seriously. If you hit a bad shot, put another ball down and hit it again. You will be amazed how much more confident you will become when you are not under pressure with other people watching your every movement (and constantly giving their advice). If it takes longer than 2 months, so be it. I hope this advice helps because it certainly helped me when I was in a similar situation a few years ago. It helped me slow down and to get back to the basics. Mike.

 

[suprasport]

Hi M1ke,
I do play with groups but I have the odd few holes on my own, but I do have a practice net at home and the practice is fine but to hit a ball with no pressure on me is the same result