Pushed shots...

[FATC1TY]

Every iron, and sometimes my wedges.. is getting pushed. I hit a few that were flushed well, but I'm just pushing everything right. No slice.. They are just starting out straight right, and come out normal trajectory.

Is my push, doing something that is causing a minor slice in my woods, now too? I'm getting some shots that start middle, middle left, and now are trailing kinda hard, and just falling out of the damn sky... I couldn't figure out WHAT was going on. Loss of distance was incredible too.
Sometimes I felt like I was getting too upright, and too far from the ball, but couldn't tell you if that was the case.

I literally, couldn't hit much of anything.

Whatever I was doing to fix it, was causing dead-yanks too.. It was a mess.

Ironically, the only club that DIDN'T fail me was my 3- hybrid. I had to use it off the tee, and pounded it around 200 yards everytime, and would choke down on it, and swing 3/4 and such, and knock it down to lower yardage.. Gave me 3 birdie chances, but none were converted, due to my anger, and shit putting.

 

[mddubya]

When ever I start pushing my shots to the right, I make sure I'm finishing my follow through. Usually when I push a shot, if I check my follow through, I didn't fully wrap the club around. Most every time I cut off my follow through, it leads to a push.

 

[FATC1TY]

You know, I was in the hallway today and had that thought.. I know for a fact, several shots that I pushed, I just flat out stopped when I struck the ball. No idea what I do that sometimes. I think it started when I was hitting everything fat, and doing it to protect my wrists from the jolt of trying to follow through while digging.

I've also somehow migrated my ball position back a little more than normal, and farther away I think.. I just can't seem to put it all together.

And someone tell me this.. The best shot I had all day was a 160 yard approach. My drive ended up in the light rough on a sidehill. Ball was probably 1 foot above my feet, I choked down about 3/4 of an inch, stood into the hill, and swing around myself. Pured the hell out of it, carried high, over the greenside bunker, and had it land and roll to 6ft from the pin. Something tells me the ball above my feet and swinging around is something I need to translate into a normal flat fairway shot.. right?

 

[Lefty_SnowBird]

I've also somehow migrated my ball position back a little more than normal, and farther away I think.. I just can't seem to put it all together.

That was the main reason for my push at the beginning of the year. I changed my address position during winter and couldn't aim at a flag stick for some time...usually pushing my irons.

So after a few tests at the driving range, I realized I was aiming WAY off target and that the ball was trailing too much at address. I used clubs on the ground to fix the alignment and ball position, then changed my pre-shot routine to make sure I could apply this on the course. Worked out well, i'm aiming much better now

 

[FATC1TY]

Interesting.. Thanks for the info.. I'm thinking I'll try to play the ball up more in my stance, because I have drifted it back.. I'll play it closer too, to force myself to make the full turn, and to swing through, instead of at the ball.

I don't think my alignment is off, but the only thing that MIGHT be off, is I've started keeping my left front slightly close to the target line, setting up for a draw. Maybe keeping them in line like I used to, or even open, to get my left hip out of the way.

 

[mddubya]

My main swing thought now is, back to target on take-away, belt to target on follow-through. As long as I do that, my push/over active power-fade stay under control.

Try flattening your swing out a little. Listen for the club head dragging across the ground on your take-away. You may be swinging too upright?

 

[BrandonM7]

Interesting.. Thanks for the info.. I'm thinking I'll try to play the ball up more in my stance, because I have drifted it back...

Betcha a nickel it'll start fading/slicing again...

 

[Lefty_SnowBird]

Betcha a nickel it'll start fading/slicing again...

Well, it depends on where he's starting from and where his hands are at address... For me, PW is right in the middle of my feet (put a club down at 90° from the target between your feet to find that spot), and I move the ball forward by like half an inch for every clubs until my 3-iron is just inside the heel. Driver on the toe (front foot is slightly open).

If he doesn't come down from the outside in, there's no reason for him to slice an iron there. The club face should be square with target in that position if you keep hands in the same position for all clubs (just inside the front knee).

That's something that can only be fixed at the range though!

EDIT : Oh, and for the distance between you and the ball, grab a club, stand straight up and point the club head in front of you (horizontally). Your arms should be extended and your hands just below belt buckle. Now bend over until the club head hits the ground. That's where the ball should be.

Bringing it closer to you may not fix the pushes...it'll most likely cause you to swing too upright.

 

[BrandonM7]

Well, it depends on where he's starting from and where his hands are at address... For me, PW is right in the middle of my feet (put a club down at 90° from the target between your feet to find that spot), and I move the ball forward by like half an inch for every clubs until my 3-iron is just inside the heel. Driver on the toe (front foot is slightly open).

If he doesn't come down from the outside in, there's no reason for him to slice an iron there. The club face should be square with target in that position if you keep hands in the same position for all clubs (just inside the front knee).

That's something that can only be fixed at the range though!

I know, I've just been watching his progression over the past few months (not watching, but reading) and I have a gut feeling.

 

[FATC1TY]

Brandon is right.. if I get it too far out.. My fade gets huge. I lose the controlling cut shot, and then I get plain slices.

There is a happy medium that I'm missing though. As far as flattening out my swing, I think if I go any flatter, I'm going to have problems. I used to have a very upright swing, very out to in, and have in the past months, gotten way flatter, as well as gotten rid of MOST of the fat shots. Then I experienced the hooks for a while, and now the pushes and blocks.

Eventually, I might get it right for a week or 2, and go back to sucking even more after that. Gonna pound some range balls this week, and see if I can't fix some of it. Gonna bring my blackberry out there to have stuff saved to look up and remind myself. Generally I blank out, get out there and just shank shit everywhere and go home.

 

[BrandonM7]

Gonna bring my blackberry out there to have stuff saved to look up and remind myself.

That and keep notes of what works. Hogan recommended that in his book. I've never done it. No idea why - it'd be easy as hell to do. Maybe if we'd make some notes we'd quit swinging back and forth from shitty to shitty with that one little good patch in the middle, when we're doing all the stuff we should take note of. In fact I'm taking a notepad from my desk today and putting it in my golf bag when I get home. Worth a shot. Of course next time I'm playing poorly I'll just flip through it and say "what the **** did I mean 'get your shoulder up'? This is stupid." :biglol:

 

[FATC1TY]

That and keep notes of what works. Hogan recommended that in his book. I've never done it. No idea why - it'd be easy as hell to do. Maybe if we'd make some notes we'd quit swinging back and forth from shitty to shitty with that one little good patch in the middle, when we're doing all the stuff we should take note of. In fact I'm taking a notepad from my desk today and putting it in my golf bag when I get home. Worth a shot. Of course next time I'm playing poorly I'll just flip through it and say "what the **** did I mean 'get your shoulder up'? This is stupid." :biglol:

Know whatcha mean... There are times where I'm playing like crap and sitting in the cart, I'm like "what the hell.." I have one of those moments where you remember something, and it completely fixes what was messing up.

Then you have those moments where you blank out. Can't think of anything to fix your ailments.. Till you get home, or your in the car headed home.. I hate that.

 

[acarty]

Fat, the reason most people push or block or whatever you want to call it, is because they're narrow from the top. You've got to get a good wide swing in, otherwise your body gets in the way of the hands, and you can't square the face leaving it wide open.

Focus on keeping the left arm as straight as poss on the backswing and then really work your hips through impact to ensure a nice big chest turn.

 

[JEFF4i]

See, usually when I push a shot (and be usually, I meany 99.9% of the time) it is that my left hand is leading down open.

 

[BrandonM7]

Fat, the reason most people push or block or whatever you want to call it, is because they're narrow from the top. You've got to get a good wide swing in, otherwise your body gets in the way of the hands, and you can't square the face leaving it wide open.

Is that something you already knew, or did you just happen to see that re-run of the Ian Poulter Playing Lessons episode over the weekend like I did?