Staying Connected

[Sweep]

In preparation for next season I have decided to work on consistency. Even though in most rounds I am capable of a good number of pars and the odd birdie, what seems to be holding me back is a lack of consistency. The main difference between me and guys off say 4 or 6 shots lower is consistency. They don't throw in the couple 7's or 8's that blight the vast majority of my rounds. In an effort to become more consistent I am working on the theory of developing my swing to become more uniform and repeatable on every shot. My theory is that if I remove the variables as much as possible, my shots will become more similar in shape and length.
To that end I am concentrating on the fixed parts of my swing that are easier to control like grip, posture, alignment and maintaining spine angle and reducing sway.
I have been told before that my swing whilst good is not connected as much as it could be and this leads to inconsistency. I have been looking on the inter web for drills to be more connected. Most seem to say to concentrate mainly on keeping the left arm against your chest. There is another drill that advises tucking the loose shirt material from the underarm of your right sleeve under your right arm and hold it there until after impact.
My questions are, why is this advised for the right arm when most say the left arm is more important? Which one should I go with or should I be doing both? Will this make my swing too stiff?
Does anyone have any other advice aimed at improving consistency?
Thanks in advance.

 

[Mike Oakville]

I am not a pro, but my personal experience of golf swing consistency came from a book called 'The inner self' Basically we need to practice on the range, but on the course just stick to one thought pattern. The theory being, when we drive a car the inner self controls our movements naturally without us having to think. I was a bit dubious at first but it worked for me.

 

[duncan mackie]

Sweep, I think you are confusing a connected golf swing with the physical connection associated with those drills.

The drills aren't the connection.

Just practice them 👍

 

[the_coach]

In preparation for next season I have decided to work on consistency. Even though in most rounds I am capable of a good number of pars and the odd birdie, what seems to be holding me back is a lack of consistency. The main difference between me and guys off say 4 or 6 shots lower is consistency. They don't throw in the couple 7's or 8's that blight the vast majority of my rounds. In an effort to become more consistent I am working on the theory of developing my swing to become more uniform and repeatable on every shot. My theory is that if I remove the variables as much as possible, my shots will become more similar in shape and length.
To that end I am concentrating on the fixed parts of my swing that are easier to control like grip, posture, alignment and maintaining spine angle and reducing sway.
I have been told before that my swing whilst good is not connected as much as it could be and this leads to inconsistency. I have been looking on the inter web for drills to be more connected. Most seem to say to concentrate mainly on keeping the left arm against your chest. There is another drill that advises tucking the loose shirt material from the underarm of your right sleeve under your right arm and hold it there until after impact.
My questions are, why is this advised for the right arm when most say the left arm is more important? Which one should I go with or should I be doing both? Will this make my swing too stiff?
Does anyone have any other advice aimed at improving consistency?
Thanks in advance.

thin to remember with either tucking the shirt in or using a glove under or golf towel - that these thing should only really be done with around half a swing (the L to L shape) so backswing would be as far as the lead arm horizontal to ground while also around parallel to the foot line(ball target)

especially with the trailside trial arm drill as from that lead arm horizontal & parallel area of the backswing from there to the top off the swing position the trail arm separates away at the armpit

it kind of depends what is meant by the swing being disconnected & also who is telling you that - if a pga pro what was the detail to that lack of connection where/how was it occurring ?

most times or often times I see what is 'felt' as lack of connection more in the inability to keep the arms hands club triangle in front of the body - so the lack of connection is at takeback for the get-go the hand/arms club get whipped behind the body so when the hands set its all what would be labelled pretty 'flat' then as the body is in the ways of getting to the top the swing stops real short or the arms have to lift up away from a now still upper body

so have had more success with folks having a 'connected' swing by the focus being keep the arms triangle in front of the chest both from the initial takeback - to that halfways back lead arm horizontal to ground & parallel to footline - so if you stopped the backswing at lead arm horizontal to ground & looked at the hands & handle they would be directly opposite the center of the chest thumbs pointing more up to sky - so here the butt end of the club would point at the ball/target line

good ways to get the initial start of the swing connected (which is where i see most things begin to go wrong) is just put a long tee in the hole at the butt end & keep the tee pointing at your waist/navel as the swing starts it stays more or less that ways until the hands pass the trail thigh when the tee will start to point around parallel to the footline (so shaft approx horizontal to ground & parallel to footline)

so from continued movement then the lead arm is then horizontal to the ground (hands opposite the center chest)
then the hands will start to set to point the butt end handle so tee at the ball target line - then the shoulder turn continues to the op of the swing (important in this last bit of shoulder turn that the trail shoulder is in external rotation that allows the trail elbow to point down towards the ground - not up & back behind you)
transition starts from ground up weight pressure into lead leg which then initiates the arms/club shoulders - as you start to come dow from the top again feel the tee/butt end of the hands points at the ball/target line
then just clear the lead hip keep head behind the ball & swing & turn through impact

 

[the_coach]

can skip the preamble start vid at around 1:20

[video=youtube;_RCUDXk9sjA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RCUDXk9sjA[/video]

 

[Sweep]

Thank you very much! Very helpful as always.
As Duncan says, I think I have confused my question with the wrong terminology.
I worked on keeping my arms in front of me last year after reading about it in "How I Play Golf" by Tiger. It took me a while to understand what he meant but once I got it it made a big difference to my game.
What I was told before about my swing not being connected and as a result was leading to inconsistency came from a former pro. This is where I have been misleading as I think it was more about my arms being away from my chest and this distance varied with each swing which lead to inconsistency that could be cured. The easiest way was to ensure my arms stayed touching my chest until just after impact. He said this would lead to a more connected swing. I took it that he meant my arms and body connected not how I now understand it. I apologise for the confusion.
Having worked out that keeping my arms in front of me provides a connected swing I guess I am now looking to reduce the variables by making sure my arms remain touching my chest. From the internet I guess that means keeping my left arm tighter into my chest and my right sleeve material tucked under as you say Coach L to L shape. I have tried this before but not stuck with it as I felt it restricted my freedom, but I think I have to stick with it. Inconsistency is killing my scores and somehow I have to find a repeatable swing with as few variables as possible to increase consistency. Either that or am I on completely the wrong track?

 

[duncan mackie]

Sounds like you are on the right track.

Freedom can be very overrated in a golf swing 🤔

 

[pendodave]

An alternative view...

I play with a couple of guys off single figures (7&8). Their scores are consistent, but their golf isn't. They don't hit all good stuff, but they putt and chip well and make sure that their rubbish (which is surprising dodgy) is usable rubbish by sensible planning.

Now if you're hitting four tee shots a round ob, then working on the full swing is probably in order. If not, make sure the easy short game stuff is in order. If you have a finite amount of time to work on your game, it's the most effective way to achieve a consistent outcome (imho).

Also, It might be worth posting a vid if you want the proper golfers to give pertinent advice btw, self diagnosis without pics is not the best starting point. Apologies if it's somewhere I haven't seen.

 

[Sweep]

I am not a pro, but my personal experience of golf swing consistency came from a book called 'The inner self' Basically we need to practice on the range, but on the course just stick to one thought pattern. The theory being, when we drive a car the inner self controls our movements naturally without us having to think. I was a bit dubious at first but it worked for me.

Thanks! I had a look for this and came across "The Inner Game of Golf" by W Timothy Gallwey. If this is the book you mean it looks like an excellent piece of work. I have only read about 15% so far (in one night) but it looks like there is some really good stuff in there and not just the usual repackaged common sense that most phycology books rely on.

 

[the_coach]

Thank you very much! Very helpful as always.
As Duncan says, I think I have confused my question with the wrong terminology.
I worked on keeping my arms in front of me last year after reading about it in "How I Play Golf" by Tiger. It took me a while to understand what he meant but once I got it it made a big difference to my game.
What I was told before about my swing not being connected and as a result was leading to inconsistency came from a former pro. This is where I have been misleading as I think it was more about my arms being away from my chest and this distance varied with each swing which lead to inconsistency that could be cured. The easiest way was to ensure my arms stayed touching my chest until just after impact. He said this would lead to a more connected swing. I took it that he meant my arms and body connected not how I now understand it. I apologise for the confusion.
Having worked out that keeping my arms in front of me provides a connected swing I guess I am now looking to reduce the variables by making sure my arms remain touching my chest. From the internet I guess that means keeping my left arm tighter into my chest and my right sleeve material tucked under as you say Coach L to L shape. I have tried this before but not stuck with it as I felt it restricted my freedom, but I think I have to stick with it. Inconsistency is killing my scores and somehow I have to find a repeatable swing with as few variables as possible to increase consistency. Either that or am I on completely the wrong track?

if you can keep the butt end of the club pointed at around the 'navel' area - to do that the hands stay quiet - if you 'break your hands over & out' or 'roll them over' then immediately the butt end of the club will point somewhere's 'out' past the lead hip - & you've immediately 'broken' any connection between your arms (armpits) & the body the arms will move away from the body - so then not keeping the arms 'connected' & 'in front' of the body (the chest)

so no pun intended but all of this is connected to having connection - a connected sequence (what you see in top level swings) in the swing motion
this the reason behind the need for - the quiet hands & arms so keeping the butt end of the club pointed near the navel as the upper body rotates (trail shoulder turning behind you) & the hips & core turns until the hands pass the trail thigh when they start to set etc (see relevant description in post #4 - also the video touches on this in post #5)

if you set-up good you have the inner sides of the top of the arms lightly in contact with the chest walls the butt end of the handle will also be pointing at/near the navel (if you stick a long tee in the butt end you'll notice as you look down that the tee appears to be in the middle of the negative triangle shape formed by the arms - as you move away you need to keep the tee 'in the middle'

- so you make a takeaway with quiet hands - they do nothing but just hold the handle - so the leading edge of the club the handle the arms & your lead shoulder all move more together at the start of the motion so you can also keep the face angle 'looking' at the ball for the first 18" or so of clubhead travel - & in doing all this it's just that being further aways the leading edge/the clubhead moves more(further) than the handle/hands which move more than the amount the lead shoulder does within the same time
- if you can keep that negative triangle shape & the tee the butt end pointing at the navel then the arms will stay in contact with the body at the 'armpits' - & you have the start of a 'connected swing' with the arms 'in front' of the torso but still lightly in contact with the upper body

as long as you stay in posture as the backswing continues once the hands pass the trail thigh they will begin to set as long as the trail shoulder keeps rotating behind you & is in external rotation (all ext.rotation means is if you place the lead palm flat against the front of the trail shoulder at set-up as you rotate the trail shoulder behind you to make the upper body pivot the lead palm will stay flat as long as the shoulder stays in external rotation -if you feel the trail shoulder is pressing forwards into the lead hand with the shoulder bending forwards to bend the lead hand fingers back then the shoulder has gone into internal rotation- this then tends to give a flying trail elbow)

so if posture cannot be kept arriving atop the swing & the trail shoulder is internally rotated - so more a flying trail elbow - this tends to cause an independent lift upwards of the arms away from the body along with a tad more of a posture loss - along with the disconnect of arms & upper body

the thing also that will disconnect a swing from the top (even if it has been connected to that point) is then not starting the downswing in sequence from the ground up lead foot lead leg hips torso chest shoulders arms hands shaft clubhead

start the downswing with the shoulders (& this tends to happen more if the trail shoulder has gone into internal rotation at the top) then the swing is going to be out of sequence - disconnected - to impact

one thing part from technique to keep in mind the difference between where you are index-wise & those lower index players is going to be a deal about course management/shot selection once that first error on a hole has occurred - it's more decision & shot selection that prevents a bogey becoming a double or a triple - plus the ability to manage the emotional reactions to a 'mistake' it's not just that they are all just more consistent - it's the ability to have a clear mental intention of the very next shot

golf is always a game that has inconsistencies in it - big part of improvement is mentally being able to deal with those when they happen - golf is just about having a process that enables folks to stay clearly in the present - the past & future will wreck a score

 

[Sweep]

if you can keep the butt end of the club pointed at around the 'navel' area - to do that the hands stay quiet - if you 'break your hands over & out' or 'roll them over' then immediately the butt end of the club will point somewhere's 'out' past the lead hip - & you've immediately 'broken' any connection between your arms (armpits) & the body the arms will move away from the body - so then not keeping the arms 'connected' & 'in front' of the body (the chest)

so no pun intended but all of this is connected to having connection - a connected sequence (what you see in top level swings) in the swing motion
this the reason behind the need for - the quiet hands & arms so keeping the butt end of the club pointed near the navel as the upper body rotates (trail shoulder turning behind you) & the hips & core turns until the hands pass the trail thigh when they start to set etc (see relevant description in post #4 - also the video touches on this in post #5)

if you set-up good you have the inner sides of the top of the arms lightly in contact with the chest walls the butt end of the handle will also be pointing at/near the navel (if you stick a long tee in the butt end you'll notice as you look down that the tee appears to be in the middle of the negative triangle shape formed by the arms - as you move away you need to keep the tee 'in the middle'

- so you make a takeaway with quiet hands - they do nothing but just hold the handle - so the leading edge of the club the handle the arms & your lead shoulder all move more together at the start of the motion so you can also keep the face angle 'looking' at the ball for the first 18" or so of clubhead travel - & in doing all this it's just that being further aways the leading edge/the clubhead moves more(further) than the handle/hands which move more than the amount the lead shoulder does within the same time
- if you can keep that negative triangle shape & the tee the butt end pointing at the navel then the arms will stay in contact with the body at the 'armpits' - & you have the start of a 'connected swing' with the arms 'in front' of the torso but still lightly in contact with the upper body

as long as you stay in posture as the backswing continues once the hands pass the trail thigh they will begin to set as long as the trail shoulder keeps rotating behind you & is in external rotation (all ext.rotation means is if you place the lead palm flat against the front of the trail shoulder at set-up as you rotate the trail shoulder behind you to make the upper body pivot the lead palm will stay flat as long as the shoulder stays in external rotation -if you feel the trail shoulder is pressing forwards into the lead hand with the shoulder bending forwards to bend the lead hand fingers back then the shoulder has gone into internal rotation- this then tends to give a flying trail elbow)

so if posture cannot be kept arriving atop the swing & the trail shoulder is internally rotated - so more a flying trail elbow - this tends to cause an independent lift upwards of the arms away from the body along with a tad more of a posture loss - along with the disconnect of arms & upper body

the thing also that will disconnect a swing from the top (even if it has been connected to that point) is then not starting the downswing in sequence from the ground up lead foot lead leg hips torso chest shoulders arms hands shaft clubhead

start the downswing with the shoulders (& this tends to happen more if the trail shoulder has gone into internal rotation at the top) then the swing is going to be out of sequence - disconnected - to impact

one thing part from technique to keep in mind the difference between where you are index-wise & those lower index players is going to be a deal about course management/shot selection once that first error on a hole has occurred - it's more decision & shot selection that prevents a bogey becoming a double or a triple - plus the ability to manage the emotional reactions to a 'mistake' it's not just that they are all just more consistent - it's the ability to have a clear mental intention of the very next shot

golf is always a game that has inconsistencies in it - big part of improvement is mentally being able to deal with those when they happen - golf is just about having a process that enables folks to stay clearly in the present - the past & future will wreck a score

All great stuff as usual. Thank you very much for all your help. I will work on this over the winter here in the U.K. with an aim to hit the ground running next season.
You are right. The mental side of my game does need some serious work. My head does go down after the first bad shot.