Is my right hand taking over?

[conkanen]

For the the first time ever the dread "S" has reared it's ugly head in a round. I am also a reforming flipper and my contact has been brutal lately. I understand that the left hand is clubface control. Could it be that my right hand is dominating my swing and not allowing the clubface to square properly(ie "guiding")? I don't feel that "pulling" sensation at all. All of my misses are pushes to the right but the contact is suspect which leads me to believe I am not doing a whole lot "correct" right now. I have been chipping/pitching with the left arm/hand only and it feels great. I hit everything crisp with little divots and no worries about the "S" word. Should I continue with left are only drills to train proper impact/hinge/swivel. This is the only time I seem to really get the feel of these actions.

I have been spending so much time on the PIVOT that I fear my wrist and hand alignments as they currently stand will not allow me to make good contact. Dos this make sense?

Super confused and frustrated right now. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

For the the first time ever the dread "S" has reared it's ugly head in a round. I am also a reforming flipper and my contact has been brutal lately. I understand that the left hand is clubface control. Could it be that my right hand is dominating my swing and not allowing the clubface to square properly(ie "guiding")? I don't feel that "pulling" sensation at all. All of my misses are pushes to the right but the contact is suspect which leads me to believe I am not doing a whole lot "correct" right now. I have been chipping/pitching with the left arm/hand only and it feels great. I hit everything crisp with little divots and no worries about the "S" word. Should I continue with left are only drills to train proper impact/hinge/swivel. This is the only time I seem to really get the feel of these actions.

I have been spending so much time on the PIVOT that I fear my wrist and hand alignments as they currently stand will not allow me to make good contact. Dos this make sense?

Super confused and frustrated right now. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

You are essentially lagging the hosel and swinging too inside/out, thus even when you hit a shot it's a push. You need to learn how much the face rotates in the backswing.

Hit shots with both hands on the club but with your right thumb off, this will force you to not rotate your lead arm so much and you'll be lagging the sweetspot instead of the hosel.

 

[conkanen]

Hit shots with both hands on the club but with your right thumb off, this will force you to not rotate your lead arm so much and you'll be lagging the sweetspot instead of the hosel.

Just so I am clear, did you mean that this drill will force my lead arm to not rotate as much on the backswing(thus not needing it to rotate as much on the downswing)?

Thx Jim.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Just so I am clear, did you mean that this drill will force my lead arm to not rotate as much on the backswing(thus not needing it to rotate as much on the downswing)?

Thx Jim.

Yes

 

[conkanen]

K...just 1 more question...

Can a guy actually "play" with the right thumb off??? Ever notice when John Daly waggles his club, he takes the right thumb off the club and put it's back on? I wonder if this is some kind of mental reminder of some sorts for him?
I know he also practices left arm only swings as well.

Thx for the help Jim.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

K...just 1 more question...

Can a guy actually "play" with the right thumb off??? Ever notice when John Daly waggles his club, he takes the right thumb off the club and put it's back on? I wonder if this is some kind of mental reminder of some sorts for him?
I know he also practices left arm only swings as well.

Thx for the help Jim.

Yes, i had one student who took 1 lesson from me and i showed him how he over rotates his lead arm and swings under plane, probably something similar to you do. We worked on a few things and gave him the right thumb off drill.

never heard from him again until he called me and just told me that he continues to play with his right thumb off the club for almost all shots lol.

So is it kind of a band-aid? Ya, because i only use it as a drill but i do know of people who just swing that way.

 

[curtisj76]

Just curious

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Kobylinski
Hit shots with both hands on the club but with your right thumb off, this will force you to not rotate your lead arm so much and you'll be lagging the sweetspot instead of the hosel.

-Jim, was wondering how taking the thumb off helps hinder the rotation. Not disputing, just curious.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim Kobylinski
Hit shots with both hands on the club but with your right thumb off, this will force you to not rotate your lead arm so much and you'll be lagging the sweetspot instead of the hosel.

-Jim, was wondering how taking the thumb off helps hinder the rotation. Not disputing, just curious.

Try this:

Make a backswing with your right thumb off the club with a PURPOSEFUL over rotation of the sweetspot, i mean WAY ROTATED. Now make as normal of a downswing as you can and come back and tell me if you figured it out .

We like to educate here too

 

[curtisj76]

Try this:

Make a backswing with your right thumb off the club with a PURPOSEFUL over rotation of the sweetspot, i mean WAY ROTATED. Now make as normal of a downswing as you can and come back and tell me if you figured it out .

We like to educate here too

Wel, mee must nott bee smartt e-nuff. Me just did thiss and ain't got a antser. Pleez help

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

When the club starts to "throw out" at the ball there is no thumb to support it so it almost flies out of your hands...literally. Your brain won't let that happen so you end up rotating it LESS you can sustain your lag pressure point more and lag the sweetspot and not the hosel.

 

[curtisj76]

thanks jim

 

[conkanen]

I tried the right thumb off drill in the back yard with some chips and pitches. It worked great. I'd say I was shanking at least half my pitches before to the point I had no idea what was coming next. Can't wait to try it on the range.

Thx Jim.

 

[conkanen]

Hi Jim,

I tried the "right thumb off" drill at the range on FULL shots last evening. I hit the worse shots of my life. You name it...I hit it...shanks, thins, grounders, dribblers. I believe I hit 1 decent shot outta 50. Any idea what this means for my swing? I can't believe I rely that much on my right hand to hit a serviceable golf shot. I am at a loss these days. Thx in advance.

 

[conkanen]

Went to range again last night and still couldn't hit full shots with the right thumb off. It works well with chipping however. Any idea what this could be?

 

[curtisj76]

Been there done that. As you know golf is frustrating. One day you will strike the ball great and the very next you cannot hit anything. I think a lot of it comes down to thinking too much. I suggest taking a day off from golf. I'll do this from time to time after bad spouts and I usually come back to hitting the ball much better. I credit this to not thinking as much.

Good luck. I hate/love this game!

 

[conkanen]

You are correct about the too much thinking part. My pattern over the years has been great golf out of the gates, progressively worse in the middle of summer and good again in the fall. Looks like the wheels are coming off again this year. Time to re-watch all the videos!

 

[curtisj76]

You'll be fine. I'm thinking about spending a week working on fundamentals. Not even touching a club......although that may be very hard.

 

[dodger]

I am working on the same thing, the swing without the right thumb on the shaft works if your backswing is up enough. If you swing too flat on the backswing, the hosel still lags. Swinging back upright ala NHA really reduces this issue. Jim would know why, I just am referring to my own search.

 

[spktho]

I'm not part of the Manzella Academy, but I have some thoughts that I hope helps.

I first saw this drill in Bobby Schaeffer's videos. He explained that it helps take the right hand out of the swing to help you feel the lag pressure or the "lagging sweet spot". I learned to do this, but did not fully understand the left wrist action until I got NSA. Now it makes much more sense--feeling the right thumb pushing on the shaft on the downswing takes out the left wrist "twistaway" resulting in "lagging the hosel".

Having a baseball background, it is very difficult for me to minimize the right hand so, I took this a step farther and have been hitting balls by staightening the right "trigger" finger--but, in a relaxed manner so that only the first knuckle is on the grip--while also having the right thumb off.

I found that I can only do this if I have a good right shoulder on plane and good axis tilt as well. If you are sculling, shanking, thinning the ball then it sounds as if you are guiding the club with your hands. Start with chips, then to pitches, then to punch shots while keeping the good left wrist action and the pivot swinging the arms and club.

One thing when you practice anything new, you almost need to "give up" the shot until you feel comfortable and relaxed with the right hand especially.

 

[conkanen]

Thx for the suggestions guys. Like I said before, chipping feels great with the right thumb off...good compression every time along with feeling PP3 for the first time. I simply cannot translate that into the full swing which tells me I am not doing much right on the full swing. I know for a fact that I am not getting the club UP enough and that could be leading to a lagging hosel as dodger alluded to. I probably have a lack of axis tilt as well. I will keep workin/watchin/readin until I get it! Thx everyone.