I've been playing golf since I was 13, but it's still not intuitive or easy for me to truly set up properly. This is particularly true since I switched to Manzella teachings last summer, and then changed my set up (much more bent over) in line with those teachings last Autumn.
In my own experience, I find that the correction of one set-up fault will often lead to another fault - requiring its own correction. Indeed, sometimes ti seems like I'm moving in a circle from one fault to the next, until I'm back at the first fault. On the off chance that my experiences might help someone else out, I've written below a brief synopsis of setup issues I've had over the past month. I've marked these out with my bad tendencies (T), followed by corrections (C), which lead to other bad tendencies.
T1: Not bending over enough (and properly) from the hips.
Sometimes this means I simply stand up too much. Sometimes it means I slouch over from the waist and don't keep my lower back straight enough.
C1: Bend over from the hips properly, as Brian instructs.
http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3504
T2: Opening up my hips (slicer setup position)
When I bend from my hips I have the tendency to turn my left hip out too much and get open. Brian discusses this in NSA - setting up like a typical slicer rather than a hooker. For me, there's something about having that deep hip bend that makes me want to open my hips.
C2: Straighten out the hips and add a bit of setup axis tilt.
T3: Closing the shoulders and point the left elbow out.
For me this is a reversion to my old strong-grip-block-everything right swing. When I square up the hips I have the tendency to want to actually close the shoulders and to point my left elbow at the target. This obviously encourages a sort of angled hinging move, and leads me to hit a tiny fade (when I've grown accustomed to playing a draw on most shots).
C3: Square the shoulders, point both elbows at hips.
T4=T1: Focusing on a good vee of my arms with elbows pointing down could lead me back to my failure to bend over from the hips enough.
Thus, the key for me is to focus first on bending from the hips, then squaring the hips and the shoulders, and finally making certain my arms hang properly with elbows pointing down, not out.
Again, I offer this FWIW - maybe it will help someone...
In my own experience, I find that the correction of one set-up fault will often lead to another fault - requiring its own correction. Indeed, sometimes ti seems like I'm moving in a circle from one fault to the next, until I'm back at the first fault. On the off chance that my experiences might help someone else out, I've written below a brief synopsis of setup issues I've had over the past month. I've marked these out with my bad tendencies (T), followed by corrections (C), which lead to other bad tendencies.
T1: Not bending over enough (and properly) from the hips.
Sometimes this means I simply stand up too much. Sometimes it means I slouch over from the waist and don't keep my lower back straight enough.
C1: Bend over from the hips properly, as Brian instructs.
http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3504
T2: Opening up my hips (slicer setup position)
When I bend from my hips I have the tendency to turn my left hip out too much and get open. Brian discusses this in NSA - setting up like a typical slicer rather than a hooker. For me, there's something about having that deep hip bend that makes me want to open my hips.
C2: Straighten out the hips and add a bit of setup axis tilt.
T3: Closing the shoulders and point the left elbow out.
For me this is a reversion to my old strong-grip-block-everything right swing. When I square up the hips I have the tendency to want to actually close the shoulders and to point my left elbow at the target. This obviously encourages a sort of angled hinging move, and leads me to hit a tiny fade (when I've grown accustomed to playing a draw on most shots).
C3: Square the shoulders, point both elbows at hips.
T4=T1: Focusing on a good vee of my arms with elbows pointing down could lead me back to my failure to bend over from the hips enough.
Thus, the key for me is to focus first on bending from the hips, then squaring the hips and the shoulders, and finally making certain my arms hang properly with elbows pointing down, not out.
Again, I offer this FWIW - maybe it will help someone...
