willgolfer
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Looks like you tried to kill that one. 
lia41985's Swing
- Thread starter lia41985
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lia41985
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Here's what I'm working towards: Ryo Ishikawa - swing vision - PGA TOUR Rookie!!!! - YouTube
The way Ryo moves the club through space really makes sense to me, as in I can just see how the geometry flows and works.
What should I be working on? I think my shoulder alignment looks off--as in I'm too open with my shoulders. I also think I look too bent over even though I feel totally comfortable and athletic. I also think that I need to work on the fiddle drill and do some axis tilt work. I'm also thinking some underhand javelin toss work could help. I hate how outwards my hands move forcing me to stand both myself and the club up. The numbers were fine save for a high amount of backspin which I was told was due to too much downward angle of attack though the launch monitor did not measure that variable.
I'll take some more footage soon. Thanks for any input.
The way Ryo moves the club through space really makes sense to me, as in I can just see how the geometry flows and works.
What should I be working on? I think my shoulder alignment looks off--as in I'm too open with my shoulders. I also think I look too bent over even though I feel totally comfortable and athletic. I also think that I need to work on the fiddle drill and do some axis tilt work. I'm also thinking some underhand javelin toss work could help. I hate how outwards my hands move forcing me to stand both myself and the club up. The numbers were fine save for a high amount of backspin which I was told was due to too much downward angle of attack though the launch monitor did not measure that variable.
I'll take some more footage soon. Thanks for any input.
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magicmarker
New
I also am mainly seeing loss of posture. You appear very bent over at address but when I freeze it before impact with the ball still on the tee you have stood nearly straight up. Is there somewhere in between you would be comfortable throughout the swing?
Lia, your setup needs changing, your right side is too high and your right arm is out and over and your upper body is aimed left compared to the lower half, bent over a lot may also be non optimal for you. Maybe a bit of a long b.s. I think the setup and posture is where to start as it is affecting everything that follows. JMO.
Very athletic, it's in there, just have to pull it out.
I think the setup and posture is where to start as it is affecting everything that follows. JMO. Very athletic, it's in there, just have to pull it out.
lia41985
New member
Thanks to all of you for your feedback. Worked today on standing taller to the ball and getting more down and left with my downswing path. The monitor showed me good numbers in terms of what the ball was doing but I know I need to get the path sorted out. Here's the latest: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1rdFUI-K7w
I want to get it working like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h91V4cBnod0
I want to get it working like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h91V4cBnod0
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What would happen if you added some carry? Posture and upperbody alignment are much better than before, It still looks like your out towards your toes at setup or the camera is making it appear like it, anyways its a step in the right direction , swing is a bit long but age will fix that...lol.
lia41985
New member
Thanks for that. I think carry will be of benefit and I'll work to add some into my pattern. I think you're right about the weight towards my toes, as well. I'll be sure to get my weight more centered on my feet.
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I agree with adding some carry. In light of my lesson with Brian recently, when I had no idea my path was the problem with my inconsistencies. He had me doing the ball bouncing drill to sort out the path, which in turn also helped make me stand a bit taller at setup because when doing the drill it feels pretty unnatural to have a lot of tilt and still be able to bounce the ball.
willgolfer
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lia41985
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Getting better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1xZ3y7vR40
Tried to incorporate more carry to get the path more left. Also focused on getting weight less on my toes at address.
The driver needs more work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1ZBWyk5Go8
Alignment of upper body is still to far left, with the right arm too out, and I'm too bent over with too much weight on my toes.
This one's a bit better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSaBizddMg4
This is my best drive of the day (it helped that I gave myself more axis tilt at address): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC_ywWaChGk
Tried to incorporate more carry to get the path more left. Also focused on getting weight less on my toes at address.
The driver needs more work: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1ZBWyk5Go8
Alignment of upper body is still to far left, with the right arm too out, and I'm too bent over with too much weight on my toes.
This one's a bit better: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSaBizddMg4
This is my best drive of the day (it helped that I gave myself more axis tilt at address): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bC_ywWaChGk
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counterfall
New
Lia,
Your backswing range made me think of this swing:
You can stop both clips at the top of the backswing and they look nearly identical. However, if I compare the clips prior to impact, the main element I see in contrast is that you have a flatter shoulder turn. Maybe trying to add more side bend would help both initiate and sustain more hip rotation. Or, loading into the left leg/side a little more in transition may help but I can't see your weight transfer from this angle.
I also like your footwork.
Your backswing range made me think of this swing:
You can stop both clips at the top of the backswing and they look nearly identical. However, if I compare the clips prior to impact, the main element I see in contrast is that you have a flatter shoulder turn. Maybe trying to add more side bend would help both initiate and sustain more hip rotation. Or, loading into the left leg/side a little more in transition may help but I can't see your weight transfer from this angle.
I also like your footwork.
lia41985
New member
Thanks for that, counterfall. I was trying to get more open and flatter with my shoulder turn today as a result of trying to incorporate "the carry." I may have overcooked it
My model isn't going to be Sadlowski but rather Daly (I love the way you can just see the "fiddle drill" and "the carry" at work): John Daly Golf Swings DL FO 300 FPS (how many extraordinary power sources does he demonstrate?) - YouTube
Here's a link to some pictures from today (the first 8 pictures in the slideshow are of the driver and the second 8 pictures are of the 6 iron): https://picasaweb.google.com/Lukman...DriveAnd6Iron72011?authuser=0&feat=directlink
My mechanics are getting better but I have to keep working on it. Any additional feedback would be much appreciated!
My model isn't going to be Sadlowski but rather Daly (I love the way you can just see the "fiddle drill" and "the carry" at work): John Daly Golf Swings DL FO 300 FPS (how many extraordinary power sources does he demonstrate?) - YouTube
Here's a link to some pictures from today (the first 8 pictures in the slideshow are of the driver and the second 8 pictures are of the 6 iron): https://picasaweb.google.com/Lukman...DriveAnd6Iron72011?authuser=0&feat=directlink
My mechanics are getting better but I have to keep working on it. Any additional feedback would be much appreciated!
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counterfall
New
Thanks for that, counterfall. I was trying to get more open and flatter with my shoulder turn today as a result of trying to incorporate "the carry." I may have overcooked it
My model isn't going to be Sadlowski but rather Daly (I love the way you can just see the "fiddle drill" and "the carry" at work): John Daly Golf Swings DL FO 300 FPS (how many extraordinary power sources does he demonstrate?) - YouTube
Here's a link to some pictures from today (the first 8 pictures in the slideshow are of the driver and the second 8 pictures are of the 6 iron): https://picasaweb.google.com/Lukman...DriveAnd6Iron72011?authuser=0&feat=directlink
My mechanics are getting better but I have to keep working on it. Any additional feedback would be much appreciated!
Somehow, I thought maybe John Daly would be your model. You must have hinted in that direction in some of your posts. Daly, Sadlowski, and Bubba Watson have a lot of similarities as their backswings and footwork seem interchangeable. Daly is the smoothest or most effortless looking though.
I mentioned side bend because focusing on it had the side-effect of improving my hip turn, among other things. It helped stop me from backing my chest away from the ball (standing up) on the downswing. I ended up "feeling" like my chest was getting closer to the ball and my front hip feels like it circles behind me more. These things all seem synergistic, IMO, as more side bend may lead to more arch in the lower back which facilitates keeping your chest up, which in turn allows a steeper downswing shoulder turn to occur... or something like that. I get the impression of dominoes that are setup and fall in the correct sequence and pace- miss one element and either the pace and/or the rest of the sequence is less than it could otherwise be (the whole is not greater than the sum of the parts).
Dustin Johnson is another one that has great backswing range and even talks about keeping his chest high on the way down. Tiger used to do the same thing, too. They both have really good posture when they are walking around. If you look, you can see how they each have almost a shoulders back/ chest out posture that they carry into their setups and swings. Try adding a little bit of chest out posture to your setup. It relaxes your thoracic spine if you let it- which may facilitate some good things in the downswing.
lia41985
New member
That's true and their swings all share features that are prominent in Brian's most accomplished students--whether it's the high hands of David Toms, the way Adam Mallory puts force into the ground, Lindsay Gahm's "run up", Tom Bartlett's marvelous use of his pivot and the "Turned Shoulder Plane" or Kevin Shields's precise hand path and flowing swivel (Steve Cox has a hell of a swivel too).
That's a beautiful description right there. I need to be getting that left shoulder up, back, and in which is what I'm working on next. It's fun working on the pieces (components) and bringing them together step-by-step. It's an athletic puzzle. You're absolutely right in that there's a synergy between these components. I'm trying to load my body and club with my backswing and then power and synchronize the down and through swings into a symmetrical motion.
I had trouble visualizing this at first and I'm still going to have to read about these physiological phenomena in my copy of Golf Anatomy.
I took a look at this picture: http://www.golfdigest.com/images/instruction/2011-01/insl09_dustin_johnson.jpg
To me that looks a lot different than this: http://www.golfdigest.com/images/instruction/2009/04/insl01_bubba_watson.jpg
I prefer the latter because I have this pre-conceived notion that trying to stand like Dustin with, as you say, "the shoulders back" will introduce an element of tension in my body I would rather do without. I want things to flow through my body relaxed and tension free--my athletic idol is Federer. There are so many elements of that kind of grace in Daly's swing and in the swings of Brian's students.
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counterfall
New
Lia,
Great post as usual.
As far as the posture is concerned, I am suggesting that it may have benefits once it isn't something that adds tension (However, if that isn't your natural posture, then you would have to spend some time with it until it became more natural). For instance, it may help free up the upper spine for a better shoulder turn or hip to shoulder separation in transition. Rickie Fowler is another example of the same thing and he's way smaller physcially than Dustin or Tiger but he has great pound-for-pound power. I see it in baseball pitchers and even in the tennis serve to help get the max "pull back" away from the target. Check out Federer in the link below on page 2, first animation box. His whole back is arched like a marlin fighting on the end of a hook. But the arching of the upper back may help pull his right shoulder back (and arm with it) as far as his body structure will allow... or max pull back.
Federer's Serve: A Model of Perfection | Active.com
Since you mentioned the word symmetry, I will share with you something that I am experimenting with at the moment. I am left handed in most everything I do in daily life and sports with the exception of golf and hockey (both right hand low). I was a baseball swinger with good power and an accurate hockey player with above average wrist shot accuracy. I reasoned that maybe my pivot was more dynamic as a left hander so I tried golfing left handed yesterday to see what would happen. Well, I can hit it with noticeably more power left handed (52-degree wedge, 6iron, and driver) albeit the sequence is not as repeatably yet. The biggest difference is my footwork and hip action are much more dynamic left handed. After about an hour of hitting balls lefty I switched back to right handed clubs. It felt odd for sure but after a few practice swings without a ball, I hit a few 52-degree wedge shots and to my suprise I HIT IT FURTHER THAN I EVER HAVE. I can only guess that this is a neurological side-effect of using both sides of my brain to perform the same task. I believe the theory is as the underdeveloped side gains efficiency or coordination, the developed side improves due to better communication between the two sides of the brain. Basically, the idea is that the surface area in your brain used for that activity increases as a result of using both left and right sides to do the same movements.
I briefly tried going lefty before but there was a big gap in time from when I stopped swinging left handed and went back to right handed due to a neck injury. I stopped slicing the ball when I finally did go back to righty but I never knew if it was coincidence or not.
I apologize for this epic post.
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