Do amateurs rebuild their swings?

[dave.]

I am,using Hogans 5 fundamentals,I feel Leadbetter has run its course.I was inspired by chapter one,just by fiddling with my grip and doing the right arm thing (and keeping the arms close together) I had a grewta session today

anyone else doing a rebuild? I just got fed up practising with little or no focus and struggling to improve

 

[Davebud]

Been doing the grip thing

I have been working on my grip, hoping that is the issue. Six or seven years ago my idea of golf was to go to the range and pound balls, 7 or 8 times a summer, I had a crummy 50 year old 1 wood and could hit the ball a mile. In the last year I have been actually golfing, you know that thing where you are trying to get the ball in the hole. Well now I can't seem to drive the ball out of my own shadow without hooking it. I am a little older and bigger(read fatter) but I am hoping I can fix the problem with a better grip on the club.

 

[VtDivot]

I did a "remodel" 2 years ago based on Pennick's magic move concept. (See little red book) This swing thought helps me attack the ball from the inside. My driving improved greatly because of it. I'm not a huge pennick fan however in general. I don't necessarily agree with his short game philosophies.

 

[SiberianDVM]

"Rebuild" implies that one had a swing in the first place. I'm still working on that. My range session today sucked.

 

[Loop]

Why would you like to rebuild your swing, if it's good as it is currently?
And why change to a flat swing?

 

[dave.]

Good questions Loop.Firstly,I'm not trying to flatten my swing,my backswing is fine.

But I've stopped improving,I'm not hitting the ball any better now than I was 4 months ago,and my striking is still inconsistent.

I've diagnosed a poor grip,and also poor coodination arms to body.I've just run out of steam with Leadbetter,its a great instructional book to get going,but I just don't find enough detail on the fundamentals,as I do in Hogans.

Thats obviously just a personal pov.Working through the Fundamentals has helped me get going again.I can now practice with a 2 iron (equivalent to Hogans 1 iron) which keeps me moving forward.

 

[EDSGolf]

I tried to rebuild it on my own once and my game went to down big time (shanks), so I said screw it and stuck with what I had.........for now

 

[Loop]

dave, not having seen your swing, I believe your swing is good.
You may change grips, backswing, downswing thought... but every swing can be inconsistent from one day to the next.
There is one thing I am sure though: if you work on your timing, on having the same backswing and transition time after time, you'll get similar results every time.

Good luck mate

 

[Youngun5]

i'm working on getting more accuracy/ consistency by taking the club straighter back, i messed around with it some on a practice round and it worked, now i'm breaking it down into checks that i can write down and do a diagnostic check midway through the season, or if something goes south in my swing. sounds like something off of startrek, i know, but it works for me and will helpfully make me a better competitor in this year's h.s. season. i worry about how long it will take to incorporate this into my half wedge shots...

problem is i can't get out to practice it with anything other than plastic whiffle balls, which go anywhere in this KC winter wind

i had fiddled around with my grip for 5 months, but i've got it settled finally to a modified overlap where my right thumb doesn't go completely over to the left side of the grip, but rests more towards the center.

i had also done some work on shifting my hips, but after watching the mirror while i swung, i noticed that the natural shift looked identical to many pros so i dropped the notion

those are the only things really

 

[dave.]

thanks Loop

Youngun5

Hogans book is slightly controversial nowadays,but I seriously believe his grip,stance and posture advice is spot on for amateurs.I don't have to think about hips,or takeaway,or downswing,getting the grip stance and posture right means I just focus or rythym as Loop suggests.

The arms tight to the body and the right arm tucked in are the keys.Get the book and follow the first 2 chapters to the letter,its worth a go.

 

[Youngun5]

i've had my go at trying to learn from books and movies and magazines and the only thing i've picked up that works for me is looking at the front edge of the ball to cure hitting the ball fat

i may sound technical talking about it, but when it comes down to it, all i do is keep my eyes on the front edge of the ball until i see the club hit the ball and the ball travels out of my field of vision, then i can permit myself to look up, it keeps me down and i swing through the ball much better and my ballstriking has improved immensely

 

[dave.]

Whatever you do its important to try and improve at the range,or practice just doesn't work.

Personally,I don't believe Leadbetter understands Hogan's swing,and I also believe mnay other instructors try to understand it but because they don't swing using the fundamentals themselves,they make errors in teaching it.

I just follow his book and its working wonders for me

 

[Farquod]

Personally,I don't believe Leadbetter understands Hogan's swing,and I also believe mnay other instructors try to understand it but because they don't swing using the fundamentals themselves,they make errors in teaching it.

Timely comment, dave, as I was thinking about getting Leadbetter's book on Hogan's fundamentals. Not worth it, in your opinion?

Re: the thread, to add my 2c, (2p 2u) my swing is a work in progress. Tweaks are always going on. When I get to a point that I can hit the ball where I want it to go, in the way I want it to get there, say 80% of the time, I'll stop tweaking. Until then....

I also like Hogan, and use much of what is in the 5 fundamentals. A few things are overstated, like the position of his arms inside of his hips (that pic of the rope tied around the arms comes to mind) but all in all, it's pretty solid. There are differences, like I try to get more of a move into the ball than he has. That helps me with weight shift.

& VT, I like that move of Penick's too. I have long begun my downswing by reweighting my left foot, but adding the return of the right arm is a great combo. That thought also helps me come back into the ball from the inside, when the occasional shank rears its ugly head.

Oh, and I'm getting V1 golf for Christmas. That should do some real damage.

 

[dave.]

Hi Farquod,

Its all down to the individual I think.Personally,I think Leadbetter is a great coach,his books are well written and his technique is simple,I like them.But imho they do nothing for the serious golfer,he can take you so far and then you need a human to give you lessons.

Hogans book on the other hand can make you a seriously good golfer,thats just my 2p.I don't believe anything is exaggerated tbh,you keep those arms connected to the body,the left arm straight and make a full turn and just watch those drives fly.I love his book and until I really stuck with it I couldn't break the low seventies consistently,he has made me a much better player (I still hit about a 1000 balls a week though even in winter).

As for Leadbetter on Hogan,pointless imo,its one or the other for me.This guy is a Hogan nut and he has an interesting site,he criticises DL for not fully understanding Hogans technique.I agree,unless you swing like Hogan and follow his techniques religously I don't think you can fully apprecaite what he means.

http://www.cegolf.com/index.html

For me,its Hogan,for others its Haney,Leadbetter or Harmon.But remember,Hogan was the greatest striker of all time and one of greatest players of all time,the others are great teachers,ya pays ya money.........

 

[DaveE]

Re: the thread, to add my 2c, (2p 2u) my swing is a work in progress. Tweaks are always going on. When I get to a point that I can hit the ball where I want it to go, in the way I want it to get there, say 80% of the time, I'll stop tweaking. Until then....

This is pretty much how I feel about it.

Right now I need more practice time which is tough because of the distance to a range but I do feel like I'm making progress with the swing this year. If I had film I'd bet my swing looks completely different today than it did 3 - 4 years ago.

Maybe you never stop tweaking since there's no way to really master the game. No way I will anyway.