The left shoulder, too much up.

[3 putt]

Sorry, but no current video. Single digit hcp. Down to a 2.9 two years ago, but started going back up at the end of the season. First time in the 2's. Zero improvement last year. Pretty much a wash. Better than average short game. Lowest scores are not from getting up and down, but rather from hitting a lot of greens.
My question is about the left shoulder on the downswing. When I make my best swings, most of my mechanics are pretty sound. Good posture (bent over like a real golfer). Nice lag. Divot beginning after the ball. Feeling the chain snap and the club/arm assembly slinging through the impact zone. Tight little draw that has a nice flat flight. I know some things could be improved, but hey, we can all say that.
When I go after a big drive or a long approach on a par 5, I find myself heaving that left shoulder up too much. I get that high right, straight ball. So I know I'm not staying behind it enough, but I also feel that left shoulder going up far too much. If I try and keep that left shoulder from flying up, I do the opposite and keep it too low and end up flipping it. With the ugly snap hook being the result.
I've read here about "throwing the drunk off your back". What do I do if I'm throwing the drunk across the room instead of just off my back? Any drills for releasing fully, yet still keeping that left shoulder in check?

TIA

 

[billmckinneygolf]

I might try to keep the back foot down a little longer. Maybe even flair it out to 1 o'clock. Worth a shot.

 

[Kevin Shields]

Stay light on the left foot longer so it adds a half beat to your downswing as well as giving you nothing to pull the left shoulder against.

 

[finncox]

Stay light on the left foot longer so it adds a half beat to your downswing as well as giving you nothing to pull the left shoulder against.

Funny that this thread and this advice should come up. I've had a terrible run of ball striking lately, and I think it's been largely due to my "trying" to get too my left side to quickly. If anything, trying to rapidly get the weight into my left heel causes me to back up my hips a little, and either OTT pull hook it, or OTT slice it.

I honestly do better when I feel like my weight stays back over the inside of my right foot for longer, as it rolls inward (and consequently, my right foot stays down longer). For whatever reason, it is easier for me to get my tailbone ahead of my sternum with proper axis tilt feeling that my weight stays more right coming down. It really feels infinitely easier to get my right shoulder down plane. This, versus lurching forward artificially trying to get my weight forward and thrust my pelvis forward.

The swings are really effortless when done this way, and I really am able to release the club, which I can't seem to do when I force my weight left.

Kevin and company.......any explanation for this? Is the "weight left at impact" feeling really a post impact thing, that we've misinterpreted due to feel v. real?

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

left shoulder needs to go up AND back...think more diagonally.

 

[3 putt]

Hmmmm interesting.

Some good thoughts here. Everyone contributed a piece of the pie. I'm going to go work on this right now. Thanks for the tips guys.

 

[Kevin Shields]

Funny that this thread and this advice should come up. I've had a terrible run of ball striking lately, and I think it's been largely due to my "trying" to get too my left side to quickly. If anything, trying to rapidly get the weight into my left heel causes me to back up my hips a little, and either OTT pull hook it, or OTT slice it.

I honestly do better when I feel like my weight stays back over the inside of my right foot for longer, as it rolls inward (and consequently, my right foot stays down longer). For whatever reason, it is easier for me to get my tailbone ahead of my sternum with proper axis tilt feeling that my weight stays more right coming down. It really feels infinitely easier to get my right shoulder down plane. This, versus lurching forward artificially trying to get my weight forward and thrust my pelvis forward.

The swings are really effortless when done this way, and I really am able to release the club, which I can't seem to do when I force my weight left.

Kevin and company.......any explanation for this? Is the "weight left at impact" feeling really a post impact thing, that we've misinterpreted due to feel v. real?

Getting the weight left is a totally overblown. Most people who "hang back" unwind early, miss the down part of the downswing and hang back to try to find the ball again. Some would make it out to seem like people turn too much, lean too much and then just hang back on their right foot. Let the swing pull you off the right side like an athlete.

 

[finncox]

Let the swing pull you off the right side like an athlete.

Damn......you guys are good. In a perfectly concise manner, that literally describes what my best swings feel like.

I could have saved a whole lot of space in my previous post by just putting it that way.