Hands too close to body at address

[riverc0il]

What would be the implication on a swing if the hands were too close to the body at address? This could be caused by too upright a stance with not enough lean or the arms hanging too close to the body or both.

Being still fairly new to the game after just two seasons, I still fight a slice or push depending on the day or the club. I have tried all the normal suggestions on how to fix that and I know the ideal swing path is in to out with a square club face at impact.

Since I can not play during the winter, I have devoted some time to analyzing my body mechanics causing the poor impact position. Today while just slowly motioning through some positions, I noticed on the down swing that my right arm seems to get "blocked" by my body. Sometimes this seems to cause my shoulders to stop turning causing the push. But more often, the only way for my arms to go is out and then my shoulders bring them back in causing the out to in motion. Sound about right? So hard to diagnose when you are the one holding the club!

So I am wondering if I simply need to incorporate slightly more lean or "reach" a little more with my arms. My current stance "feels" fine with the goal of arms hanging loosely from the shoulders with a slight bend, straight back, etc. While doing some in house "slow motions" with a more bent over position and a little more "reach", it "seemed" to feel like my right arm had more room to swing and the path "looked" to be going more in/square/in.

Though without being able to hit a ball and see the result, it is really hard to experiment and judge. Not that I mind the winter, I enjoy skiing infinitely more than golf (*ducks*). But, damn, I would sure love to give this a try and see if I discovered the body mechanic that has caused so many of my problems.

Your thoughts? Could the relationship between amount of lean and hand position (reach or lack thereof) have that significant effect on an over the top move or a blocking move?

 

[bames]

I have been experimenting with this very thought. Please don't take this in any way as advice, I'm far from a swing coach. But what I do want ot do is share some of my thoughts with my experiment.
First - more forward lean promoted a steeper swing plane for me, which did nothing in itself to help an out to in swing, but it certainly gave my arms more freedom to attack the ball
Second - In addition to more forward lean I added more flex in my knees and focused on feeling the instep of my right foot as the main support for my swing. This added a much more stable base, and more consistent ball striking.
Third - In my case, the biggest change in my swing to produce a more room for my arms was to get my hips out of the way first. This combined with more forward lean improved my ability to swing more freely through the ball.

 

[stllefty]

Ideal hand position at he top is where the hands are allowed to set between the shoulder & the ear
.Gives room for the body to move out of the way at impact