The BC VIP
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Hello, I’ve been reading this forum for about three months and I’ve finally been compelled to post and introduce myself after a range session this morning. My game is probably similar to countless others. I’m one of those high 70s/ low 80s players who wants to be in the 70s consistently. Of course, my short game could be sharper, but I lack the most confidence with my driver. Today I was hitting the driver straighter than ever and I wanted to share my personal analysis with the forum and hopefully get some feedback.
I’m a righty and I always fade the driver to some degree. I have no problem eliminating the left side of the course on certain tracts, but I feel like the fade is a detriment on other courses. Brian’s videos, along with this forum, have given me many great swing thoughts and drills to improve my game and for that, I am grateful.
So here’s my analysis of what was happening today that straightened my drives. My main swing thought has been “left shoulder up and away from the ball” on the downswing. I think this thought was taking too much focus away from making “the perfect pivot.” I say this because when I shifted my focus to making a “deeper” pivot (getting my left shoulder over my right foot in the backswing) I began to square the clubface. I think making the “deeper pivot” allowed my hips to rotate properly rather than simply sliding. I believe that too much focus on “left shoulder up” was causing my hips to slide too much and not to rotate enough.
After refocusing on making a deeper pivot, and still getting the left shoulder away from the ball on the downswing, I was able to swing more to the left with the appropriate amount of hip slide and rotation. This in conjunction with the “Manzella Neutral” grip allowed me to square the clubface without any conscious hand/wrist manipulation and hit straighter drives. I did "lose" the occasional ball left and right, but the dispersion was only about ten yards either way, which, if aimed down the middle is still within the fairway of any course that I play. The only effect of doing less “left shoulder up” was that my trajectory was a bit lower than normal. I feel that once the proper hip rotation is engrained, I can then gradually add more “left shoulder up” if I want to hit a higher shot.
The new feel of the swing is odd but I can’t argue with the results. To me, it feels like my left shoulder is now way lower on the downswing and that the “low” left shoulder coupled with swinging more left has severely flattened my swing. Eventually, I’ll get the new swing on video and compare it to my old swing which is already recorded.
I appreciate any opinions and I promise that future posts will be more succinct.
I’m a righty and I always fade the driver to some degree. I have no problem eliminating the left side of the course on certain tracts, but I feel like the fade is a detriment on other courses. Brian’s videos, along with this forum, have given me many great swing thoughts and drills to improve my game and for that, I am grateful.
So here’s my analysis of what was happening today that straightened my drives. My main swing thought has been “left shoulder up and away from the ball” on the downswing. I think this thought was taking too much focus away from making “the perfect pivot.” I say this because when I shifted my focus to making a “deeper” pivot (getting my left shoulder over my right foot in the backswing) I began to square the clubface. I think making the “deeper pivot” allowed my hips to rotate properly rather than simply sliding. I believe that too much focus on “left shoulder up” was causing my hips to slide too much and not to rotate enough.
After refocusing on making a deeper pivot, and still getting the left shoulder away from the ball on the downswing, I was able to swing more to the left with the appropriate amount of hip slide and rotation. This in conjunction with the “Manzella Neutral” grip allowed me to square the clubface without any conscious hand/wrist manipulation and hit straighter drives. I did "lose" the occasional ball left and right, but the dispersion was only about ten yards either way, which, if aimed down the middle is still within the fairway of any course that I play. The only effect of doing less “left shoulder up” was that my trajectory was a bit lower than normal. I feel that once the proper hip rotation is engrained, I can then gradually add more “left shoulder up” if I want to hit a higher shot.
The new feel of the swing is odd but I can’t argue with the results. To me, it feels like my left shoulder is now way lower on the downswing and that the “low” left shoulder coupled with swinging more left has severely flattened my swing. Eventually, I’ll get the new swing on video and compare it to my old swing which is already recorded.
I appreciate any opinions and I promise that future posts will be more succinct.
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