What do you guys think of my swing?

[Johnny Par]

Hey guys, finally got footage of my swing. Although I am not hitting a ball, I couldn't wait to get everyone's input.

Been playing for about 1 year and 8 months (wish I started sooner). Just finished recovering from a slipped disc that I reinjured.

My biggest problem I noticed was how much I swayed and how my head turned away from the target at the top of my backswing. Here is footage afterwards.

Also tried to slow down the swing to see if I was maintaining a 90* with left forearm and shaft but having a hard time telling.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Front view:

SwingAcademy.com


Back view:

SwingAcademy.com

[dukejh12]

I think you could generate more power through a better turn by simply widening your stance a little bet. Definitely some swaying, I struggled with that last year. I hold the club up against my chest parallel to the ground and just practice turning with it, keeping everything sink.

[Johnny Par]

Originally Posted by dukejh12

I think you could generate more power through a better turn by simply widening your stance a little bet. Definitely some swaying, I struggled with that last year. I hold the club up against my chest parallel to the ground and just practice turning with it, keeping everything sink.

Damn. Didn't notice that until you mentioned it. Stance seems really narrow. Will definitely work on it. thanks Duke.

[twogreen]

I certainly am not qualified to critique anyone's swing; but I will make one small comment. I sit on my back porch and watch golfers at my course daily. I see some great practice swings; but it is rare to see the same swing repeated when the golfer is actually taking his shot with a ball in play.

I suggest you repost a video where you are actually swinging at the ball.

[Johnny Par]

Originally Posted by twogreen

I certainly am not qualified to critique anyone's swing; but I will make one small comment. I sit on my back porch and watch golfers at my course daily. I see some great practice swings; but it is rare to see the same swing repeated when the golfer is actually taking his shot with a ball in play.

I suggest you repost a video where you are actually swinging at the ball.

Yeah. Definitely need to make it to the range and have someone tape me actually hitting some balls.

Notice in the front view shot, the tee hitting my car and flying towards the camera?

[SilverUberXeno]

It looks to me like you're swinging a little too steeply. You start back on a very nice plane, but you straighten it up toward the sky at the top of the swing. This works for some people, so if it ain't broke don't fix it. Furyk does something like this I believe. Do you notice you have problems hitting a draw? It's easier for me to get a R to L flight and pound it out when I stay on the same, flattish plane with the driver.

[BStone]

You are losing a great deal of power by not cocking your wrists on your backswing and casting the club as your hands approach waist height on the down swing. When your arms are at shoulder height on the downswing, the club is parallel to your body, in my picture, when my arms are at shoulder height, the club head is still to the target side of my body. This helps to create lag for increased ball speed and distance. If I could figure out how to clip a still of your swing at that moment I would, but pause your down swing at the moment that your arms are at shoulder height and you can see the difference. If you look at Sergio's swing, the club head is still at about the same point mine is when his hands are halfway between shoulder height and waist height, he doesn't get the club head to the position you have it until his hands are at or just below his waist.

[Augster]

Exactly what BStone was saying.

Read Hogan's 5 Lessons.

Wider stance with a driver. With a 5-iron you should be shoulder-width apart. Wider still with the longer club.

You are casting. When you get to the top, DON'T DO ANYTHING WITH YOUR HANDS! You get to a good position at the top for sure. I like the takeaway. Once you are at the top, TURN your HIPS to the left and let that DRAG your arms and hands down to the ball from the INSIDE.

Don't do anything with your hands. Don't try to "hit it". If you need to do SOMETHING with them, try to hold the "platter position" you make with your right hand, like holding a platter at the top of the backswing, hold that position as LONG AS YOU CAN without tensing up your arms, wrists or forearms.

Think of it this way. Say you have a cream pie in your hand at the top. For your "gag" you want to take that cream pie and smash it into the face of the little person's (dwarf, midget, height challenged, insert PC name here) face who happens to be standing at your belt height standing at the ball facing away from your target.

How would you get that pie in his face?

You would hold the pie with your right hand facing the sky as long as possible. Your right hand shouldn't face the ground until after impact. Look at BStone's pic. His right hand is still clearly holding the pie.

[charnockpro]

one thing that no-one touched on was the back injury, in my opinion BStone is correct in saying you lack angles, but i would also suggest swinging wider and setting your wrists to create a good backswing position, in my opinion i think your arm swing is too long which creates a false finish to the backswing which will lead to sync problems, the wider pre set backswing will put less stress on the back and give your arms more space on the downswing.

[Eracer]

You're getting advice from the real pros here, which is a great thing. I'm no pro, but I do want to add some comments. First, I think your swing looks pretty good for only having played for a year and eight months. But we definitely need some footage of you hitting balls. Watching practice swings is practically useless. Finally, it looks to me you first need to work on developing a more athletic posture. You stand very tall, which contributes to your upright swing. Think of yourself as a second-baseman - knees flexed, back straight, bent from the hips. Get down and over the ball a bit more.

Looks pretty good! Work on what the pros told you about maintaining some lag in the downswing, and you'll be a pro in no time!

[Johnny Par]

Thanks for all the great tips. Will definitely try and get some real footage.

The concept you guys mentioned above holding the wrist position on the downswing is my biggest problem. I been trying to do this consciously but tend to get too much of my hands into play rather than natrually letting it happen. My hope is that once I keep practicing it, it will get engrained.

Thanks agian for the tips.

[Stanters]

Here's the still with arms at shoulder height on the downswing - you can still make out the difference in club postion compared to Bridgestone's.



Yours is nearly 90 degrees to the ground and generating a fraction of the lag and power.

[tailStrike]

Originally Posted by twogreen

I certainly am not qualified to critique anyone's swing; but I will make one small comment. I sit on my back porch and watch golfers at my course daily. I see some great practice swings; but it is rare to see the same swing repeated when the golfer is actually taking his shot with a ball in play.

I suggest you repost a video where you are actually swinging at the ball.

Hehe. I had trouble with this last night during my golf lesson working on the fairway woods. Beautiful, easy practice swing, then he'd lay a ball down and I'd lift up and swing for the fences. That's 99% of my problem with the 3 and 5 woods.

Nice GTO, btw.

[DaGris]

its a total mess!!!!!.............j/k



everyone can work on something....You do take the driver up kinda steep, like an iron, maybe work on that alittle.....but I'm not a pro like some of these guys

[twogreen]

Originally Posted by tailStrike

Hehe. I had trouble with this last night during my golf lesson working on the fairway woods. Beautiful, easy practice swing, then he'd lay a ball down and I'd lift up and swing for the fences. That's 99% of my problem with the 3 and 5 woods.

Nice GTO, btw.

Yep, I hate fairway woods. It's a mental thing with me. A little voice inside tells me that I have a fairway wood in my hand because I need distance, so I subconsciously try to add that little touch of extra "oomph" to achieve that distance. We all know what the extra "oomph" does.

Thanks for the comment on the GTO...I wish my golf game gave me the same satisfaction that the car does.