A struggling flipper

[swingobsessed]

I just wanted to get some feedback from some of you that have tried converting from being a flipper.

I was a flipper that had developed a pretty reliable shot, but with not much distance. I was consistently shooting high 70's to low 80's, but a lot of that was made up with my short game. I have bought all of the Manzella videos and I have been trying desperately to get the lag. So here is what has gone down in the past three weeks since trying to stop the flipping and develop some powerful lag.

First, I start working on the lag and I start slicing the ball for the first time in years. I buy NSA. I stop slicing, but my shots are spraying everywhere. I have about three days of absolute nirvana where I was hitting everything with a baby draw. 40 yards longer on each club. It was amazing. Now in the last week I have developed an uncontrollable hook. It is long though. I have never been able to draw or hook the ball in the past, and I would have done anything to stop my weak flippers fade a few months ago, but now I can't even play a round because the hooking is so uncontrollable. So now I am visiting NHA and I will see what happens with that.

Anyway, I am completely frustrated and wondered if any of you have moved from one side of the matrix to the other so fast. I can barley break 100 now. It is like starting over. How do you find a happy medium, the middle of the matrix? Any stories from former flippers on how they converted?

I will say one thing though, Manzella's videos and this forum have helped me to change things quickly that took years previously so I am not going to give up.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

More than likely you just aren't doing the NSA pattern correctly. Here are some things to check:

1) Grip, you really need a perfectly neutral grip for this pattern to work. Everyone tends to let it go strong and you hit the ball with a closed face and wala, hook

2) Pivot, people who need NSA still use their arms too much and not their body. So essentially you are still the same old slicer but now you have a closed face and boom, ball goes left. So you need to keep the body moving and leaving the arms out of the shot. Always keep the pivot in front of everything else.

3) Axis tilt. You need to keep your tailbone in front of your neckbone through impact otherwise you'll come in too steep and the arms will go left too soon and you'll hit the ball left.

Look into those and come back.

 

[swingobsessed]

I am positive my grip is neutral because I checked it several times in line with Brian's videos. I think I do use way too much arms and not pivot. I need to work on that. Also, I think axis tilt could be an issue, but I need to get that on video to find out for sure. I do know that in trying to keep my lag I pull down hard with my hands and I probably don't pivot enough.

I am almost positive that one of my problems is coming too far from the inside and then going through the wall (like Brian says in NHA). I think I over corrected my slicing, over the top move. It is just amazing that I have never been able to hook the ball, and now no matter what I try it won't stop.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

I am positive my grip is neutral because I checked it several times in line with Brian's videos. I think I do use way too much arms and not pivot. I need to work on that. Also, I think axis tilt could be an issue, but I need to get that on video to find out for sure. I do know that in trying to keep my lag I pull down hard with my hands and I probably don't pivot enough.

I am almost positive that one of my problems is coming too far from the inside and then going through the wall (like Brian says in NHA). I think I over corrected my slicing, over the top move. It is just amazing that I have never been able to hook the ball, and now no matter what I try it won't stop.

The bolded part is part of your issue, you shouldn't be trying to move your arms or your hands.....WITH your arms or your hands.

The pivot does.

 

[swingobsessed]

Interesting. How should the downswing start then? With my pivot? I think I used to try and do that, but I got way over the top. I was probably doing it wrong.

What about the drop the arms and catch it with the pivot? Don't your arms have to make a move to do that?

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

What about the drop the arms and catch it with the pivot? Don't your arms have to make a move to do that?

Yup but you're letting gravity do that, you aren't actively dropping your arms.

 

[Bill Miracle]

Struggling with this very thing....

Yup but you're letting gravity do that, you aren't actively dropping your arms.

Not being a smart ass here Jim...but...what's the difference. You've got to let your arms fall right...and this activates the arms into dropping.

Are you saying don't add swing power with the arms...just let them fall?

 

[rbaumgolf]

When I start to go bad like that its usually caused by swaying. Exergerate staying behind the balll to see what that does for you.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Not being a smart ass here Jim...but...what's the difference. You've got to let your arms fall right...and this activates the arms into dropping.

Are you saying don't add swing power with the arms...just let them fall?

Yes, one of the worst things you can do when trying to really SWING the club is try and do anything with your arms or hands. The only thing you should do with your arms is allow the right arm to bend to lift the club up.

After that, the body does the rest. Now i'm not saying you can't use your arms, or power your whole swing with your arms i just don't prefer it because it can cause a lot of issues if you don't have a really good pivot.

 

[Jared Willerson]

Use the ground to start the downswing.

 

[geohans]

I'm in the exact same boat.

Drop the arms means just that: ALLOW them to fall straight to the ground. I do this: Turn, drop; turn, drop; turn, PIVOT. Work the pivot so your arms feel the same as they did when you were dropping them, but the clubhead brushes the grass where the ball should be instead of making a divot 3 feet behind you.

 

[swingobsessed]

I went to the range tonight. I worked on taking the club back up the wall as Brian suggested in NHA. I also concentrated on not pulling the club down with my arms, but with my pivot. It worked wonders! I stopped hooking and I was back hitting it great again. I wasn't perfect. My misses were pulls, but they weren't bad. Thanks to all of you; especially you Jim for mentioning that pulling the club down was the problem.

 

[7rd8rv]

Great post swing...I"m suffering fron the disease. did everything you did, in just about the exact time frame. I played today and did not putt or chip once from the right side of the green ,everything is left. my distances are really good ,shots are just left. Interestingly though my drives were straight. irons are not really hooking just going left. If you or anyone else figures it out or can help , it would be greatly appreciated.... good luck

 

[swingobsessed]

Never Hook Again (Video Short #3) helped me a lot as well as Jim's suggestions in this thread. The big thing for me was not taking the club too far back on the inside and then feeling like I am dropping the club on the ball while my pivot is providing the power. Really trying to concentrate on starting the downswing with my lower body.