"Setting the club" at the top of the back swing.

[One Planer]

When I first started lessons, one of the things, along with a laundry list of other things I didn't do, was set the club at the top. With having quite a flat swing plane and returning from a wrist injury, it felt very uncomfortable even if I tried.

Now, since I've been working through the drills my pro gave me, my swing is now much steeper and my hands are in a much better position at the top.

As a complete by-product, I.E Not consciously working on it, I have started to set the club at the top of my back swing with zero pain/discomfort and it actually feels quite natural. This is something I have never done before so, invariably, I have some questions. So, here goes:

1. When I set the club at the top of the back swing, the shaft is paralell to the ground. Is this enough or should it go further, or is that considered an "Over-Swing"?

2. At the top, with the club paralell, the shaft points, roughly, own the target line. Is this correct?

3. Is setting the club at the top a neccery part of the golf swing or is it an under/over rated as a segement of the swing?

I'm in the process of emailing my pro to seek his thoughts but would be curious to here some opinions on this from the forum :thup:

 

[CMAC]

1. When I set the club at the top of the back swing, the shaft is paralell to the ground. Is this enough or should it go further, or is that considered an "Over-Swing"? in my opinion its enough- lots overswing successfully though

2. At the top, with the club paralell, the shaft points, roughly, own the target line. Is this correct? yes

3. Is setting the club at the top a neccery part of the golf swing or is it an under/over rated as a segement of the swing? most will 'set' the club by the time the left arm is parallel to the ground

I'm in the process of emailing my pro to seek his thoughts but would be curious to here some opinions on this from the forum :thup:

just my opinion and hope I've understood what you meant

 

[SocketRocket]

Gareth,

I dont think you have to 'Set' the club at the top, I would suggest the club sets it's self and is a result of how well you got there.

1) You should not have concerns on this position at the top as it is a result of your flexibility and control. Generally speaking the longer the club the easier it will reach a parallel position. Shorter clubs will tend to be fairly short of this.

2) Ideally the club will be respecting the plane at the top. As in 1) above the length of the club will affect the final position.

3) I think my preamble addressed this one..

Hope this helps :thup:

 

[Foxholer]

Gareth,

I dont think you have to 'Set' the club at the top, I would suggest the club sets it's self and is a result of how well you got there.

1) You should not have concerns on this position at the top as it is a result of your flexibility and control. Generally speaking the longer the club the easier it will reach a parallel position. Shorter clubs will tend to be fairly short of this.

2) Ideally the club will be respecting the plane at the top. As in 1) above the length of the club will affect the final position.

3) I think my preamble addressed this one..

Hope this helps :thup:

+1

Not something that should be thought about imo. Though, imo, position at the top is a good measure of what happened in the back-swing (or at least its 'quality') and what is likely to happen in the down-swing (and its likely quality).

 

[One Planer]

I dont think you have to 'Set' the club at the top, I would suggest the club sets it's self and is a result of how well you got there.

Not something that should be thought about imo.

Gentlemen, in my OP,

As a complete by-product, I.E Not consciously working on it, I have started to set the club at the top of my back swing with zero pain/discomfort and it actually feels quite natural.

I'm not thinking about it, it's just started happening since my swing plane moved from flat to more upright. As I say, I'm not consciously setting the club, it just happens

The point of the drill the pro gave me was to:

a) Stop me swinging the club behind my legs

and

b) To get me swinging on a more upright plane.

(Since my last lesson) he has me standing a little closer to the ball, this has helped me to get the club on a more upright plane, I noted the postions of things at the top (listed above) and asked out to see if they were right.

Hope this clarifys things :thup:

 

[patricks148]

I would rec getting a swingyde.

i fould it very helpfull taking me from very flat with no wrist hinge, to being almost perfect backswing according to the pro I;ve been using.

 

[Jensen]

I'm gonna through something in here that will initially cause confusion, but if you look into hard enough it will make sence......
Depends on what type of swing plane you have. There are two. One is called a one plane swing, the other is a two plane swing. Go forth and seek out a book by Jim Hardy called "The plane truth". It's a real eye opener and I believe it's the secret to understanding the golf swing.
Ask your pro what he knows about the two types of swing planes. This is very, very worrying as it seems that the so called pros don't understand it, and they don't how can they teach.
Speaking from experience I've been given conflicting information from pros that have taught aspects from both swings without knowing it. This is confirmed in the book and is frightening. Jim Hardy states in the book not to blame yourself for lack of improvement as you've been told, with all good intentions, incorrect information.
However back to your points.
If you swing on one plane the club at the top of the swing will either point to the target, or slightly left of target (laid off).
I used to nearly hit the back of my legs on my backswing as I rolled my wrists on the takeaway. Is this something you do/sound familiar.
If your pro is getting you to stand more upright at address then this could be he's looking to teach you a two plane swing.

Sorry if I've put a spanner in the works, but speaking from personal experience I would recommend you get the book as it will save you a lot of heart ache. I wish I had and found some pros who knew what they were doing as I know I would be a better player now. Hindsight is a great thing. I'm sure the pros meant well but a little info is a dangerous thing.
You need to know what type of swing your pro is teaching you and work from there. Even articles in magazines give you teaching techniques but fail to say what swing it relates to.
If you increase your knowledge about the swing types it will save you from wasted and frustrated years......

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I have been working on a more one plane swing. I use to get the club well across the line at the top. I am now pointing much more down the line and occasionally laid off. I still have too much wrist cock to be ideal but that was part of the old school teaching I had and it is proving it too hard to break. The pro would like them to be flatter but as I'm down and not across the line he is happy.

 

[Foxholer]

Gentlemen, in my OP,

I'm not thinking about it, it's just started happening since my swing plane moved from flat to more upright. As I say, I'm not consciously setting the club, it just happens

You missed the major point I was making - that the position at the top is a good measure of how well the stuff that got it there has worked! Though that's not what is really important anyway - it's the stuff happening at impact (the moment of truth) that is most important!

Why did you have pain/discomfort btw?

And yes, advice for 1PS can be detrimental to a 2PS and vice-versa.

 

[One Planer]

You missed the major point I was making - that the position at the top is a good measure of how well the stuff that got it there has worked! Though that's not what is really important anyway - it's the stuff happening at impact (the moment of truth) that is most important!

Why did you have pain/discomfort btw?

And yes, advice for 1PS can be detrimental to a 2PS and vice-versa.

From a previous wrist injury Fox'. I've had the all clear to return to full practice and play but I found setting the club on a flatter swing plane uncomfortable.

Now that my swing is more upright, I find it much, much easier to get my hands into a better position and set the club.

I have no idea why? I'm assuming it's easier to set the club on a more upright swing plane? It certainly feels that way anyway.

As regards 1PS and 2PS.

You have to remember I went to my pro (My first and only pro) having moved away from the stack and tilt pattern. I decided that I wanted to learn how to bring the right side into play and wanted to be shown, correctly, how to do it from the beginning.

Whether my swing is one or two plane I have no idea, frankly, I'm not overly concerned. I don't plan on switching professionals as I honestly believe I've found a good one, the results after 2 lessons back this up.

If I was switching teaching professionals left, right and centre I would be more concerned but seeing as I'm sticking with just the one, I'll keep it simple and do as he advises.

 

[JustOne]

Now that my swing is more upright, I find it much, much easier to get my hands into a better position and set the club.

Gravity. The weight of the club head sitting at the end of the shaft sets the club (sometimes) in a more upright swing. Sounds like that.

 

[One Planer]

Gravity. The weight of the club head sitting at the end of the shaft sets the club (sometimes) in a more upright swing. Sounds like that.

Could well be James, but why would it be more difficult to set the club with a flat(ter)swing plane?

 

[CMAC]

Could well be James, but why would it be more difficult to set the club with a flat(ter)swing plane?

due to the clubs balance point, it feels lighter the nearer it gets to horizontal...not sure I'm explaining it very well...
balance a club straight up with the butt on your palm, now hold it with 2 fingers horizontally.........

 

[JustOne]

What you are describing sounds something like a thing known as 'float loading' where gravity allows the clubshaft to sit PARALLEL at the top of the swing in a 'floppy wristy' type of move. It's an 'arm swingers' tactic of allowing time (a pause) for the lower body to start transitioning and to attempt to add lag before the 'fling' of the club head. It's a timing thing.

Firstly there's no need to swing parallel, secondly there's no need to 'set the club'.

[video=youtube;w33kppJ5Mas]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w33kppJ5Mas[/video]

If someone swings more on plane (rather than up) they can't use gravity or let the wrists get floppy as the clubhead would fall behind them rather than 'down the line'. It's more of a solid action where you just hold the club then turn instead of trying to 'create' some kind of extra angle at the top with the wrists. Stricker appears to do nothing with his wrists whatsoever but still has a 90 degree angle between the clubshaft and his right forearm, which is all the lag you need. I wish I could swing that 'easy' from 211yds

 

[SocketRocket]

I like that Stricker Video. He does very little with his wrists and most of angle he has in his wrist at the top is the one that is set at address.

 

[CMAC]

due to the clubs balance point, it feels lighter the nearer it gets to vertical...not sure I'm explaining it very well...
balance a club straight up with the butt on your palm, now hold it with 2 fingers horizontally.........

confused myself :smirk:

I used to be like stricker with hardly any wrist movement for the irons, used to be a very good iron striker but it fell down with the long clubs and not setting the club well or extremely late.

just proves we all have different ways belting it round the course. Seve was a very early 'setter'