Alright....so i'll give a good report:
I went down to the Louisville Launching Pad with trying to find out what stroke i stumbled upon in the fall before winter came. Whatever i was doing i 1) couldn't hit it left 2) hit it relatively straight or small fade and 3) my misses were very managable. Also my distance was well up...200 yard 5 irons from a 108mph driver swing is pretty good if you ask me.
Anyway, winter happened and everything was a big pull, pull cut, slice, push, short.......basically all kinds of CRAP.
-----
First thing we worked on was really figuring out if i was a hitter or swinger. We tried swinging 5-6 different ways for almost an hour and i just didn't like it, at all. However short strokes i don't mind swinging but no full roll horizontal hinge, i'll still employ angled hinging. Interesting huh? More on that later.
So we decided on hitting and really started learing the hitting stroke and getting the feeling of the right shoulder launching pad. Let me tell you, when you "do it right" you feel like someone just punched you in the chest and you're going to fall back. Its really neat. I was having a hard time though with the crossline action and out to right field concept as i like to swing LEFT and not out to the right.
So we worked on a much more on-plane takeaway and a lot of drills to get me to swing more to the right, not necessarily to get me into a drawer of the ball but if i plan to hit the ball i can't be going so far left after impact. Or could i?
You see what happened before my first visit with brian was i swung it waaaay flat and dropped the club to the inside and tried to swing left hoping my WIDE OPEN clubface could somehow start left. Problem was i'd either 1) get literally stuck 2) i left it open and got a big pull-slice (that was short too) or i'd flip it and hit a big hook. So i basically got a "never slice again" lesson and really learned a flat left wrist and more clubface control. During the summer it morphed into my current pattern which we eventually found.
Basically my swing is:
-up the wall
-down the wall
-left of the wall with some kind of angled hinge
OR: Basically the premise of Brian's Video "Never Hook Again" and very similar to David Tom's swing.
Now, why did i end up this way? Who knows, brian sure didn't teach it to me so i don't want to hear any crap that he's trying to mold me into DT cuz that isn't the case.
Am i hitting? Am i swinging? Am i actively or consciously using my right arm? The answer to all of the above is
NO.
What i've learned is i really don't care if i hit, swing, or swit. If the ball does what i want i can score low and compete which is the goal. The only time i really employ hitting/swinging and different specific hinges is in my short game. You really have to be able to control your clubface to get up/down and score.
Am i using a pivot controlled hands or a hands controlled pivot? Again i really don't know and i really don't care. I think if more people would worry more about what they could do to make their game as natural and consistent as can be most would be better off.
------
So there ya have it, i'll let brian respond to the specifics of what i use as i don't really have a clue. I'll put below what I FEEL DURING MY PATTERN:
Grip: slightly stronger than the manzella grip article, more of a behind the shaft hitter's grip. Went from 1-1.5 knuckles to more 2-2.5 knuckles.
Stance: square stance, in regards to plane line and target line. Also more of an open shoulder versus tilted shoulder setup. Setup tilt is bad with this swing because you swing inside too fast which is no good. Start with an impact fix and settle into an adjusted address position with mid-body hands and a slightly bent/lower right elbow. Due to the adjusted address and mid-body hands my clubface is closed at address.
Takeaway: i basically go up a vertical wall in front of me with the face looking at the ball. As my shoulders turn the club will come inside and if i do it right i end up on the turned shoulder plane. I also let my left arm roll naturally and achieve a FLAT left wrist and BENT right wrist at the end of my swing. Only thing that gets to parallel are the longer clubs.
Transition: i literally feel like i have to wait for the club to catch up and drop. I just wait for gravity to drop the club from near my head more down to my shoulder. This puts the club back on plane. I just have to make sure i roll the face back to the plane as i have a tendancy to reverse roll on the downswing as the club "drops."
Downswing and Pivot: Once the club "drops" all i do is pivot as hard through the ball as i want, the "swing left" happens naturally for me so i don't have to worry about trying to swing left.
----
Thats about it, as long as i keep clubface control and let the arms drop i swing as hard as i want and it 1) doesn't go left 2) goes relatively straight or 3) small fade.
Pros to this swing are:
-anti left
-swing as hard as you want
-very accurate
-shaping the ball is as simple as either opening/closing your stance line instead of swinging "more left" or "more right." This is accomplished by the stance.
Cons to this swing are:
-lol...anti-left. Hard for me to hit a big draw. I really have to close my stance which makes it rough for me to finish as i go so left after impact.
-if you lose clubface control you'll hit shots too high, too short, and off to the right
-the banana slice can happen if you get lazy
-if you don't let the club drop, you get a BIG PULL.
------------------
So there ya have it....i'll let brian comment on anything else he wants too. Anyone can ask any questions you want and i'll do my best to answer.
