What swing change has really worked for you?

[chrisd]

I had a couple of lessons with our assistant pro and we worked on the "knock down shot" and later I had a longer iron play lesson which incorperated some of the swing characteristics of the first lesson.

Part of my new swing gets me pushing my hands ahead of the ball at set up. This gives a "set angle" to my right wrist in the set up position which I try to hold through the swing. The result is a stronger hit (as it delofts the club), a lower trajectory, a straighter ball flight and, so far, a cut in handicap and several sub 80 rounds. Denis Pugh refers to it as a Tour Pro swing in the June edition of GW (spit). It means that I can swing with a slower rhythm and still get a good distance and for the first time ever I am taking divots asI am coming down more steeply on the ball and compressing it.

What changes have really been a "eureka moment" for you?

 

[bobmac]

Lay it off a little at the top and waaaaaait for the power

 

[CMAC]

Lag

 

[StrangelyBrown]

Start the downswing with a shift of the hips towards the target.

 

[chrisd]

Start the downswing with a shift of the hips towards the target.

I did that one as the previous swing change and agree that it helps too

 

[chrisd]

Lay it off a little at the top and waaaaaait for the power

So, do you get to the top and then lay it off (ala Sergio, Furyk) or just hold it laid off and use the bottom halh of the body to pull it down?

 

[One Planer]

Making a centred swing, keeping my weight more forward.

 

[Monty_Brown]

Call it what you like, but some of the key S&T principles, namely a centred swing without a move off the ball have dramatically improved my ball striking.

Also, not trying to keep up off the tee with my regular playing parnter who is 6'5" and hits it like Dustin Johnson has been sensible. Learning to play to my limits and strengths means I can focus on ball striking and accuracy, which on most mid-length club courses is the way to play.

 

[bobmac]

So, do you get to the top and then lay it off (ala Sergio, Furyk) or just hold it laid off and use the bottom halh of the body to pull it down?

A the top of my natural backswing, the club points right. So when I think lay it off, it gets more square. Then everything swings down and through together. It even works sometimes

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Lay it off a little at the top

This is a key part of the one plane swing I've adopted since December. However having had 30 years of cocking wrists I'm still getting the club across the line at the top and over-swinging. When I do get it right the quality of the shot and the simplicity of the one plane swing is making my golf so much more enjoyable. I am doing some takeaway drills trying to get the left hand pointing more upwards and its really helping me start to lay it off more

 

[Slicer30]

After every bad round I will try to work out what I was doing wrong. I will check my notes and find that I was not doing something like weight shift, head still. Each time its a real Eureka moment, followed by the frustration of having to wait a week to try it out on the course lol

 

[JustOne]

Does BALL FLIGHT LAWS count as a swing change?

If not then porobably turning my shoulders on an inclined plane (they used to turn too flat and I was all arms).

 

[brendy]

Feeling like I am hooding the face a little for my half shots. Shanksbegone!

Thanks to Bob.

 

[bobmac]

Feeling like I am hooding the face a little for my half shots. Shanksbegone!

Thanks to Bob.

Just a wild guess oo:

 

[RGDave]

Does swinging off a traffic cone and then down into/at the ball count?

Not the one everyone knows, but literally sticking the club on a cone, taking it around the body, baseball style, and then hitting the ball.

I think the swing change might be described as swinging it flatter..?!

 

[garyinderry]

Just a wild guess oo:

claude harmon thinks that closed club face causes the shermans!

 

[brendy]

claude harmon thinks that closed club face causes the shermans!

I was rolling my wrists a bit on the takeaway, Im not actually hooding it, it is square but the feeling is hooded until it is ingrained.

 

[garyinderry]

I was rolling my wrists a bit on the takeaway, Im not actually hooding it, it is square but the feeling is hooded until it is ingrained.

butch harmon -

SHANKS, AND THANKS
As a young professional just getting started, I walked out to the range to give a lesson to one of our older members.
"What's the problem?" I asked.
"Shanks," he said.
"Oh?"
"Every shot."
"Well, let's have a look."
And for the next 20 minutes, he shanked every shot. I did everything could. I talked to him about setup and weight transfer, about spine angle, and about the role of the arms in relation to the shoulders and torso. We talked about wrist cock, hinge, lag and the position of the chin at impact. And he still shanked every shot.
A half-hour into the lesson I decided I couldn't charge the guy. I also knew I needed help if I was going to survive to teach another day. So I went into the shop and said, "Dad, I need your help. My lesson's got the shanks, and I've got no idea what to do."
He could have quietly walked out to the tee to help me, but that wouldn't have been Dad. "Sooooo, Butchie's got a shanker and can't get him squared up, huh?" he shouted so loud that everyone in the shop and a few people in the locker room could hear. "Need me to come bail you out, huh?"
"Dad, could you just help the guy? He's about to quit, and so am I."
Dad laughed the entire way to the range. When he got there, he watched my student take one swing, and said, "To stop shanking, you've got to understand what causes a shank in the first place. Most people assume that the clubface is open and that the hands are in front of the ball. They think this causes you to make contact where the clubface meets the hosel. In fact, the opposite is true. A shank is caused by a closed clubface. You release the club early, throwing it at the ball on the way down. This shuts the clubface and traps the ball between the hosel and the ground, causing it to shoot to the right--a shank. Because people think they've got the clubface open, they work hard to close it, which only exacerbates the problem. The more closed you try to get it, the more likely you are to hit a shank."
Then Dad held the club and guided my student through several half-swings, taking the club back hip-high and through hip-high, keeping the clubface square and maintaining the angle of his left arm and wrist through impact. Five minutes later, the guy was hitting it right down the middle.
"How'd you do that?" I said. "You watched the guy shank one shot, and you knew exactly what he was doing."
"No, I knew what he was doing before I stood up from behind my desk," Dad said. "The ball tells you everything you need to know. A shank is a shank. I knew the guy was hitting it with a shut clubface before I walked out here. The only question left was, what did I need to tell him to get him to stop?"
"I didn't know you shanked it because of a closed clubface," I said.
"That's because you've never had to figure it out for yourself to keep from starving to death," he said.


http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0HFI/is_6_57/ai_n26885507/?tag=content;col1

 

[Andy808]

Adjusting my grip a little and moving my hands back in setup. I still come across the ball a bit but everything is square at impact with everything except my driver. Still working on that one.

 

[Alkydale]

I moved the ball back in my stance with the driver as I've always played a fade and the first 5 tee shots went between 25 and 32 yards further and straight, thanks to Chris the pro!