Why can't pro's just sort out what they get asked to?

[duncan mackie]

Call me mad, but when asking the question 'can you help me fix my slice off the tee, when I don't slice the ball on any other club?' and a pro responds with 'yes, let's start by hitting some 7 irons and examining your set up' my mind starts asking if the pro has really listened.

I would expect exactly that to happen; without a reference point it's really hard to deal with anything. That reference point is typically established with a 6 or 7 iron where players are using pretty much their full swing but operating within their comfort zone. It's definitely not uncommon (deliberate double neg) for a player to state that they don't slice with a 7 iron and then observe them hit slice after slice, but aligning left of target ... as someone's already stated a sliced 7 iron can look pretty straight!
Then there's the even more obvious - what changes for this guy between his 7 iron swing and his driver swing.
Watching a few 7 irons is the fastest way to establish, and put the sticking plaster on, a driver fault - the alternative is to watch you hit a driver and then, after the obligatory 'you don't want to do it like that' start from scratch ie exactly the opposite to what you are looking for!

 

[In_The_Rough]

They also do this sometimes just so you get loosened up and get the swing going a bit rather than just leaping straight in and hitting Driver from the start

 

[kid2]

Problem with the driver is that you've got the most inaccurate clubface (least loft) in the bag attached to the longest shaft in the bag and generally we all tend to give it a little extra so it's going to exaggerate any faults. I would guess (and it is only a guess having not met you or seen your swing) that whatever faults are there with the driver are there with the shorter, more lofted clubs too.

I've made it clear on here a few times that I'm a big advocate of teaching pros and personally I'd take on board what he is/they are telling you it might seem like they are going a long way back but they're doing it to get you playing better going forwards!

Just my humble opinion.

Completely agree with this post......
Last October off of a handicap of 16 i knew that if i kept swinging the way i was swinging i might get to 11 or 12 maybe........And then i would stagnate.....
I didnt want this and started a course of 8 30 minute lessons over a 5 month period before or season kicked off.....
Like the OP i didnt have much difference in ball flight through the bag except for the driver and maybe the 3 wood and the left to right flight would generally fade ever so slightly the shorter the clubs got...

But i knew that to get where i wanted (Low singles) the effort would have to be put in......When i went to my Pro i told him i didnt care how long it took or what needed to be changed but that whatever he threw at me i was going to take and put as much time and effort into it as he needed me to.....

I was lucky in that most of the so called fundemental things needed i was doing from the get go from teaching myself....My issue was with the downswing and this was causing the slice with the longer clubs....I was coming over the top......

Like Bob said....It the most common problem among amateurs......

You wont fix an over the top slicers swing in one 30 min lesson....It has taken me 6 months and its still not there but im sticking with it because i know where i want to go.....

If you work at what the Pro wants you to do then im sure you will get over the hurdle but the worst thing that you can do is think that it'll fix itself quick....It wont....
The phrase get worse to get better is also a bit of a funny one......Its not so much you get worse....What is actually happening is that your learning the way the club should be swung on a shallower path......
This is the total opposite of the way most amateurs swing the club.

 

[One Planer]

I'm the same pal. My irons are going great guns just now, wedges are good, putting is great.

19* hybrid is going well, so is the 4 wood, but my driver is still erratic. Sometimes straight, more often I get a stock 10 yard fade, sometimes it flies off at a right angle

I have a lesson on this very thing tonight and hopefully it will get sorted.

Just thought I'd report back the outcome of my lesson.

I still had a slight throw at the top, which was annoying. He showed me where I was going wrong and, after a quick chat and demonstration, had me starting down correctly and hit some absolute corkers. In regard to the OP, I did the same swing (Slight throw) with both the driver and 7 iron before we looked at correction.

Difference was night and day. 7 iron was straight, driver had a 15 yard fade. The pro explained that although the path was similar, the 7 iron was much steeper into the ball than the driver, negating some of the fade. I don't hit down on my driver as much so the fade will be more pronounced (....... At least that's how I understood it anyway .)

To start the downswing correctly, turns out all I had to do was square my hips to start the downswing and keep them turning while the club drops.

Some thing you folk can help me with. On the Ipad he uses to film a swing he has the V1 teaching software. He drew a line along the shaft into my waist, then another to the top of my shoulders. I take it the club is supposed to stay between these lines going up and back down?