Please critique my !@#$ swing

[David B]

Please critique my swing

Well, first a bit of background information...
I just got into golf last spring, while taking a golf class my Senior year in college. I've only had a single semester of instruction, none of which included driving a golf ball... it was mostly putting and chipping, though we did graduate up to the 8-iron by the time class was over.

So, keeping that in mind, and the fact that I only played a 9 hole golf course once last spring (a requirement to pass the class), here's a video of my current swing: My swing. Quicktime H.264 3.3MB

Before watching the video, realize that it was shot in my front yard, against a wimpy practice net (made out of a seine net my mom found at the bottom of Monterey Bay while diving), so I wasn't taking full swings (I didn't want to blow right through it)... so I'm not getting full extension and follow through at the end. The first swing was with a 3-wood, and the second with my 5-iron.

I'll probably take my video camera with me tomorrow to the range so I can film my own 'shanks' video to compete with Silver, now that I know how high the bar has been set.

Then I can actually get some 'full form' video, but for now I'd settle for any advice I can get.

I just mainly want to know if there's anything I'm actually doing right, and pointers on what I'm doing wrong, so I can work on problems for the next thirty days (I bought a 30-day membership to our local driving range).

I have gotten a couple of pointers from the range pro's (I got lucky that one of my buddy's from high school hangs out there and knows everybody), but nothing really substantial that I can hang my hat on... they want money to tell you that stuff. LOL.

Okay, lemme have it... I think I can take it.

 

[lildudejds]

was it me or did that 5 iron shot seem to be about 5 inches from nailing some poor old ladys house....

it looks like you arent quite extending enough and your elbows are being kept too far in....of course like you said you werent swinging all out....the first shot also looked like you "lifted" as you made contact...work on staying level and just glaring at that ball... if you dont it will lead to many 20 foot rollers..or serious shanks

 

[SiberianDVM]

You're falling off the ball a little bit on your downswing just at impact.

But I'm jealous: I want symphonic music the next round I play.

 

[David B]

was it me or did that 5 iron shot seem to be about 5 inches from nailing some poor old ladys house....

LOL... yeah, it caught the top of the net frame... luckily.
If you look closely you can also see the tee head spinning off to the left in the foreground.

it looks like you arent quite extending enough and your elbows are being kept too far in....of course like you said you werent swinging all out....the first shot also looked like you "lifted" as you made contact...work on staying level and just glaring at that ball... if you dont it will lead to many 20 foot rollers..or serious shanks

Thanks for the tips. My buddy told me that my lower half has too much movement when I swing, and that I should basically just keep my legs as straight as possible and only twist my waist, but I'll have to gain a bit more flexibility before I can do that. I'll try to keep myself a bit more still.
And you're right... out of the 200 balls I hit yesterday, I had about 40 shanks, and my wrist was starting to get sore from my club hitting the mat before I hit the ball.

You're falling off the ball a little bit on your downswing just at impact.

Thanks for the tip, but what exactly do you mean by 'falling off the ball'?
Is it that I'm not releasing my wrists in time, or is it something else? (Sorry, I'm not up on 'all' the terminology yet... just most of it ).

But I'm jealous: I want symphonic music the next round I play.

LOL.
Well, they mostly wanted to play 'Taps', but I had to get rowdy with the conductor and then they played something a bit more suitable.
The hard part was arranging the orchestra around the video camera, and the timing of their crescendo's to my ball hits.
As an aside, the song is 'Homage to the Mountain', by Yello

Thanks again guys for the tips... if anybody else out there wants to be critical, please do.
I figure I can only benefit from it... that's the nice thing of not being too attached to my swing yet.

 

[SiberianDVM]

what exactly do you mean by 'falling off the ball'?

It looks like your weight has not fully shifted to your left side at impact; instead, your weight appears more on your right foot, which will make your upper body fall to the right at impact.

Now, this may not be the case. Only seeing a short video clip, from one angle, is not the same thing as being there with you. Plus, I may be talking out of my ass.

P.S.. I really do like that music. Our local college stations quit playing electronica (Hearts of Space, etc) a few years ago. At least they play some jazz in the evening. I will have to check out Yello, even though allmusic.com says that cut is only 35 seconds.

 

[David B]

Thanks for the clarification there SiberianDVM... I think you're right though (that I'm right)... or however that goes.

I'm still working on getting my weight transfer back and forth, but trying to coordinate that with my head staying still is what is holding me back a little.

I just got back from the range, and I was doing a lot better today, though I still can't hit my driver worth a damn... I have a 10.5-degree TM Ti Bubble 2 on a S-90 44" shaft, and it's all over the place. I mostly slice with it, but sometimes get a hook thrown in for good measure, and to top it off, my average drive is about 200 yards (when I hit it straight). The sad thing is that I can drive straight down the fairway about 220-250 with my 3-wood (also a TB2) and hardly ever slice or shank it, and it's also a S-90 shaft. I guess that extra inch or so on the shaft length is what's making the difference.

I've been eyeballing a 540XD driver, which is probably a bit more forgiving, but I haven't given up on my TB2 just yet... I've been trying to hit it for the past several weeks, to no avail... I get the same results every time I pull it out of the bag.
Then I pull out my 3-wood and regain my confidence.

 

[SiberianDVM]

Don't feel bad. I've been trying to hit a driver for a year. I have it, then it's gone. One day: oh WOW!!! Next day: oh CRAP!!! Bitch.

One clue for big headed drivers: Tee it high, near your front foot, swing up on the ball, really transfer your weight to the front, turn those hips out of the way, and stay behind the ball. THROW that club!

 

[David B]

Thanks again for the advice, and for the sympathy.

I decided to bite the bullet and bought a 540XD on ebay. I just couldn't pass up the deal... a brand new 540XD 10.5 with Aldila NV 65-S shaft for $129 w/ free shipping. I don't think it comes with a headcover, but at that price I really don't care... I'll use a sock if I have to LOL.

Heck, the shaft alone is about $90 at Golfsmith...

I figure if I'm still at square one when it comes to hitting a driver, I may as well learn to hit a 'good' one.

Now I get to put my other drivers on ebay, if everything works out. I have my 10.5 TB2 as well as an Art Sellinger Model TM TB2 7.5 forged, 48" AS-135 shaft (ultra stiff), that was build for long-drive.

I hope it works out. I'm pleased with my 3-wood performance, so that's gonna stay in the bag.

 

[lildudejds]

ive hit the 540xd...its really easy to hit...im sure ull have a great time with it

 

[GoFlyers]

Falling off - you may understand this better by when you watch the video you are not aggressively swinging through the ball. Your upper body is lifting up and turning past the ball and not staying bent over/pointing towards the ball and going into and through the shot.

Also, your swing is too horizontal. Even with a driver you should have a little more tilt in your spine and shoulders.

Overall, you have a very good foundation and your balance seems good. A couple of little tweeks and you should be very happy with the results.

Good luck

 

[David B]

ive hit the 540xd...its really easy to hit...im sure ull have a great time with it

Thanks for the information. It should be here by the end of the week (coming 3-day select) so hopefully I'll know by Friday if it's going to be an improvement or not. It has to be more forgiving than my TB2, and combined with the hotter face I'm hoping I can get at least a consistent 250yds out of it, since my 3-wood covers from between 220-250.

Falling off - you may understand this better by when you watch the video you are not aggressively swinging through the ball. Your upper body is lifting up and turning past the ball and not staying bent over/pointing towards the ball and going into and through the shot.

Also, your swing is too horizontal. Even with a driver you should have a little more tilt in your spine and shoulders.

Overall, you have a very good foundation and your balance seems good. A couple of little tweeks and you should be very happy with the results.

Good luck

Ah, okay... I see what you mean. That's what I've been trying to work on since I got my membership at the driving range. I'm starting to get to the point now where I can 'feel' whether or not I'm going to get a good swing and ball contact when I start my backward motion on the club, which I never had before. But I'll keep in mind what you're saying and try bending a bit more at address.

Normally after I hit my two buckets I sit and watch the other guys practicing and next time try to mimic what they're doing (the ones that actually have good form). I also watch those guys whose form is just plain rotten, to make myself feel better about my own ability... LOL.

Thanks for the kind words too... much appreciated.

 

[David B]

Well, I got my new driver this morning, and took it out to the range.

All I can say is OMFG! A driver I can actually hit!
I was consistently hitting drives from between 220-250 yards, which is past what my 3-wood can do... so I actually can drive the ball decently now!

Whoohoo!

But buying the driver started me club hoe-ing... I also bought a Taylor Made Point & Shoot 56* Sand Wedge in Excellent condition (had only been hit as a demo inside the store), and bought the 5-wood Ti Bubble 2 Fairway Wood to match my 3-wood.

I think that my set of clubs is now complete, though I'm still looking for a killer deal on a lob wedge... then I'll be done for sure (yeah, right).

I also got a few tips from one of my buddies today at the driving range, and my consistency has gone up considerably.

My posture has already gotten much better, but today he had me working on my takeaway and lag through my swing, and I now can hit the ball farther with less effort. I was about 70% arms and 30% torso before, but I'm slowly pushing it the other direction, trying to balance it out... plus I wasn't lagging correctly and not getting the club 'kick' at the end of the swing that gives you extra distance.

It's a good feeling when a plan comes together...

 

[Adam Pettman]

But buying the driver started me club hoe-ing

Welcome to the dark side

 

[David B]

LOL... yeah... my wife just about lost it when new clubs started showing up at the house...

"I thought you said last year that you had all the clubs you needed!"



Well, I went by Copeland's Sports yesterday and tested out some irons, the Callaway X-18's, and the Taylor Made RAC CGB's. The X-18's had the steel uniflex shafts, and the RAC's were ascending mass graphite.

The Callaway's were sweet irons. I hit in their simulator and every good shot with the 7 iron was right about 150 to 155 yards, which is what I hit with my Supersteel irons when I make consistent contact. Even toe or heel shots went at least 140, and the nice thing was that I didn't get 'stung' on mishits like I do with my Supersteel's. The one thing with the X-18's is that I hit a draw consistently... all my shots were grouped on the left side of the fairway.

The CGB's were about 5-10 yards shorter for me, for some odd reason, even though I was swinging with the same tempo. They also had the habit of spraying the ball all over the place, which could be due to the graphite shaft. They did feel nice though, and you could definitely feel the difference in swingweight (lighter) than the Callaway X-18's... that could have something to do with the inconsistency as well.

So, it looks that once I have some more money (and the wife calms down from my current purchases), I may have to spring for some X-18's, or some X-16's (which appear to be almost identical to the X-18's). I've also been looking at the Hawkeye VFT, which is supposedly Callaway's most playable club.

Definitely a thumbs up for Callaway, though my Supersteel's are performing admirably well, so there's no hurry to replace them.