Past parallel

[ezra76]

I just can't stop it with the driver. Worst driving day in recent memory today and I can't stop this long backswing. Desperate for drills. I may just sell all drivers and play the rest of the year with the TS. It's pretty much just the driver, all other clubs are good.

My pratice swings look like Ben Hogan and my real one looks like Ben Dover. It's got to be something concrete that I can do while hitting the driver. Mental stuff just ain't gonna work at this point.

[Adam Pettman]

Originally Posted by ezra76

I just can't stop it with the driver. Worst driving day in recent memory today and I can't stop this long backswing. Desperate for drills. I may just sell all drivers and play the rest of the year with the TS. It's pretty much just the driver, all other clubs are good.

My pratice swings look like Ben Hogan and my real one looks like Ben Dover. It's got to be something concrete that I can do while hitting the driver. Mental stuff just ain't gonna work at this point.

You could always try buying a new driver. Or you could work on a little punch shot that gets you down the middle of the fairway and gives you a chance to get on the green in two.

[ezra76]

I can hit my 3W rather than do that. I had an avg. of 240yds. with it for an entire round (no driver in bag) and hit every FW but 1.

[Adam Pettman]

Originally Posted by ezra76

I can hit my 3W rather than do that. I had an avg. of 240yds. with it for an entire round (no driver in bag) and hit every FW but 1.

Theirs your answer then. Although my punch shot will get me 250yrds and I'm only short + skinny so you should be able to hit it further..

[lamebums]

Past parallel isn't necessarily a bad thing, as long as you're flexible enough not to reverse pivot, and are still in control of the club. In fact, it should give you more power (see John Daly's swing - and he's what, 2nd in driving distance even though he's 40-something?). When I want an especially long drive and I don't really care where it goes, I'll take it back well past parallel and let 'er rip.

I did that today trying to cut a corner of a dog leg. It went over the corner, through the other side, down the hill and into the trees - about 310 yards away. (I measured it on Google Earth to verify).

[Pa Jayhawk]

I fought this same battle for about the last 3-4 years. This year I have tried to use the mental image that I want to swing like an 80 year old and I don't want to hurt the golf ball. As I don't see many 80 year olds hit the ball in the woods. Amazing how well I have been hitting when I find the sweet spot almost every time. I played a round with the sole sense that if I only hit my driver 120 yards, or the same distance as my PW, then so be it.

Also interesting that my swing speed actually likely went up slightly from the beginning of the year for the most part. My driver was the only club I did this on as well. Now it is likely the most consistent club in my bag.

I no longer get the occasional 280-290 yard shot, but I also rarely get what was the all to common screaming duck hook. So a consistent 250-265 in the fairway has become a very nice addition to my game.

[ManchesterGolfer]

I have a massive over swing pretty much the same as JD's due to using senior clubs as a junior. I love & trust my swing but I've grown up with it & can control it (to a point). I considered changing it due to back problems last season but the back pain was cured by not carring my clubs 7 days a week. If you really need to shorten up then try this to keep your left arm straight. Get a Large Coke bottle cut both ends off so your left with a tube, wrap a small towel around your arm & slide the tube over it so it all covers the elbow joint. This will stop you from bending the left arm which is probably the source of the over swing.

[ezra76]

How about if I put a towel under both armpits and across my chest? Just doing this in my LR seems like my wedge swing is easy to do, my 7iron can barely make it to my comfortable stop point and my driver cannot even get to parallel, nevermind past. Should I just give it a try at the range?

I'm also thinking I'm going to set up my old bag as my "range bag" and put some crap in there for training aids. I've got plenty of old shafts I can use for alingment tools and stick in the ground to stop a reverse pivot or lateral slide.

I'm so, so sick of playing 2-3 holes at par, swinging very well and hitting greens and the next 2-3 like a total hack, driving the ball 50yds. offline and duffing shots.

[MGP]

Originally Posted by Pa Jayhawk

I fought this same battle for about the last 3-4 years. This year I have tried to use the mental image that I want to swing like an 80 year old and I don't want to hurt the golf ball. As I don't see many 80 year olds hit the ball in the woods. Amazing how well I have been hitting when I find the sweet spot almost every time. I played a round with the sole sense that if I only hit my driver 120 yards, or the same distance as my PW, then so be it.

Also interesting that my swing speed actually likely went up slightly from the beginning of the year for the most part. My driver was the only club I did this on as well. Now it is likely the most consistent club in my bag.

I no longer get the occasional 280-290 yard shot, but I also rarely get what was the all to common screaming duck hook. So a consistent 250-265 in the fairway has become a very nice addition to my game.

Really good advice and that's what has worked for me this year. Last full round i played I hit 12/14 fairways and one I missed by driving it onto the first cut at the end of a dogleg (I hit it about 6' too far, but dead straight )

I'm using what I tell myself is the "80%" swing. I swing regular but only try to put about 80% effort into the swing. Similar to your "80 year old" swing. I radared my swing speed on the range doing this and it's actually about 90-95% of my full regular swing speed when I am swinging hard.

Just like you, I'm hitting the driver much more consistently on the sweet spot and my drives are going straight. Overall, my drives are as long this year as they've ever been.

[Eracer]

I have the same problem. I'm working on feeling tension in my right hip socket - using that as a backstop - against which I feel a "bounce". I want to feel that my straight left arm is limited by my hip coil. Concentrate on keeping my right knee flexed and stable. This seems to be helping to shorten my backswing. The danger is feeling TOO short and rushing the downswing. I'm going back to the old "pause at the top" to prevent that.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Start the downswing when your left shoulder hits your chin.

[ezra76]

Originally Posted by ThatCanadianGuy

Start the downswing when your left shoulder hits your chin.

That's right around the time the clubhead hits my left ankle.

[ThatCanadianGuy]

Originally Posted by ezra76

That's right around the time the clubhead hits my left ankle.

Holy Mosis, you must be bending your left arm.

Post a swing vid.

[MGP]

Originally Posted by ThatCanadianGuy

Start the downswing when your left shoulder hits your chin.

For us old(er) guys that's the point that our backs snap.

[ezra76]

Originally Posted by ThatCanadianGuy

Holy Mosis, you must be bending your left arm.

Post a swing vid.

#1 Putfile - swing4062 more to come.

#2 and most recent... This is about where I'm still at now. Putfile - 406swingdriver