Swing both left and right?

[cnadon]

So I've finally managed to learn to swing left and my iron play, esp. long irons, is much improved. But my driving, which used to be the best part of my game, is uneven and a bit shorter than I used to hit it. Is it a legitimate/sensible approach to swing left with irons, and swing right with the driver?

 

[SteveT]

From personal experience, I tend to agree with you. I swing slightly left with my steeper iron swing path/plane for straight ball paths .... but with my drivers I swing in to out right because of the lower swing path/plane. Perhaps this is a destabilizing adjustment because I must gear down on my driver swing for control and lose distance.

I blame this situation on my tall and slender physique... 6'3"-175#... a basketball, tennis body....

 

[puttmaster]

cnadon - yes, Brian addresses that in the April issue of Golf Magazine (and there is a thread about it on the forum - try search).

 

[duckjr78]

From personal experience, I tend to agree with you. I swing slightly left with my steeper iron swing path/plane for straight ball paths .... but with my drivers I swing in to out right because of the lower swing path/plane. Perhaps this is a destabilizing adjustment because I must gear down on my driver swing for control and lose distance.

I blame this situation on my tall and slender physique... 6'3"-175#... a basketball, tennis body....

So you are basically the same build as Sean O'Hair.

I wonder if that's his excuse as well?

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

cnadon - yes, Brian addresses that in the April issue of Golf Magazine (and there is a thread about it on the forum - try search).

this.

 

[SteveT]

So you are basically the same build as Sean O'Hair.

I wonder if that's his excuse as well?

Yes... I'm sorta like Sean O'Hair, except that he prolly has 10-15# more muscle mostly in his upper body than me and that stabilizes his powerful swing. This video analysis of his driver and iron swings confirms what happens between the driver and iron swings for tall slender golfers.

So now you teen trolls who ask me for a swing vid, just look at Sean's swing .... same flexibility, except he started playing from childhood and has the golfswing solidly engrammed into his brain cells and neuro-muscular system... whereas I am still struggling to consciously keep it under control during practice sessions. No excuses, just factual reality.

My swing consistency suffers when I attempt to perform on demand and unconsciously on the golf course with my incomplete, inferior, neuro-muscular pathways and handicapped by age... (but don't dare challenge me on a basketball, badminton or tennis court).

Start playing golf as a preteen if you want to have a secure swing when you grow up tall and slender, or even adult obese... otherwise you will have to endure countless hours of training and practice for a half-decent golfswing in your older age.


But enough about me.... what is your body type, cnadon, and how do you relate that to your iron/driver swing styles?

 

[johnnymarlboro]

SteveT, have you ever tried to use your iron swing for your driver and just aim right and try to hit down less or up slightly? That way you're path would still be in the proper direction, so you would only have to coerce your angle of attack. It can be a bit uncomfortable trusting aiming what feels to be that far offline. Just a thought. I think that sometimes changing your setup like that can be much easier than intentionally trying to change your path.

 

[SteveT]

johnnymarlboro.... that's not possible because I would have to change my club specs that would make them unplayable. My 1" extended irons would have to be over 2" long to shallow out my steep swing, making the swingweight excessive. As for my drivers, I can't get upright lie drivers. I'm sort of snookered between club length, club lie, and a tall body posture.

I've watched many tall PGA tour pros and seen how they compensate for their height. My conclusion is that the sport of golf is best suited for shorter people. Sure, the top pros are tall, but that's because their swing evolved as they grew up from youth and are the athletic exceptions. If you start golf as a tall adult, you cannot re-adapt your body to the golfswing, you're fixed with what you are and must compensate accordingly. Thanks anyway.

 

[mgranato]

My swing consistency suffers when I attempt to perform on demand and unconsciously on the golf course with my incomplete, inferior, neuro-muscular pathways and handicapped by age... (but don't dare challenge me on a basketball, badminton or tennis court).

There's a training aid made for that...

 

[duckjr78]

Yes... I'm sorta like Sean O'Hair, except that he prolly has 10-15# more muscle mostly in his upper body than me and that stabilizes his powerful swing. This video analysis of his driver and iron swings confirms what happens between the driver and iron swings for tall slender golfers.

So now you teen trolls who ask me for a swing vid, just look at Sean's swing .... same flexibility, except he started playing from childhood and has the golfswing solidly engrammed into his brain cells and neuro-muscular system... whereas I am still struggling to consciously keep it under control during practice sessions. No excuses, just factual reality.

My swing consistency suffers when I attempt to perform on demand and unconsciously on the golf course with my incomplete, inferior, neuro-muscular pathways and handicapped by age... (but don't dare challenge me on a basketball, badminton or tennis court).

Start playing golf as a preteen if you want to have a secure swing when you grow up tall and slender, or even adult obese... otherwise you will have to endure countless hours of training and practice for a half-decent golfswing in your older age.


But enough about me.... what is your body type, cnadon, and how do you relate that to your iron/driver swing styles?

Wow. Overcompensate much?

My simple point was that you are quick to irritate others with your "knowledge" in reference to their swing, but boy do you make up some whopping excuses when it comes to your own game and the reasons why you aren't as good as you would like to be.