My Most Recent Swing

[StewartBannatyne]

Hey guys,

I just put this together after coming home and looking at my swing from the range today.

I have been struggling a little, really feel like I am leaving the clubface open through impact, and I have been hitting some weak shots that generally fade. I am normally a drawer of the golf ball, but currently I am struggling a little to get it going where I want it to.

A little about my game. I am 22 years old, and I play Div.1 college golf at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. I generally am a fairly strong ball striker, but in the last little while my ball striking has fallen off from the level it once was. Ballflight is high, and currently to me it looks a little "floaty" which is causing it to fly shorter than it used to, and generally fades a few yards. My miss has been a fat shot lately.

I have really been focusing on trying to learn how to use my lower body correctly, but I feel like I stay too much on my left side, and never transfer correctly onto my right side in the backswing.

Please let me know what you think, what might help, drills, comments, criticisms, anything!!

Thank you!
Stew

P.S. - I can also load the video onto YouTube if that's easier!

 

[golfbulldog]

Hi Stewart - You play to higher level than i have ever achieved so take my comments as nothing more than comments! there is so much right in your swing but we all know when we are not "there" with the ball striking...

I have followed Brian's site for a year now and i suspect there will be some comment on "not enough axis tilt nor right shoulder down plane..." it seems like a common flaw for so many golfers.

your right shoulder at address is same height as at impact. needs to be lower if you are going to go hit inner aft quadrant down , out and forward with an open clubface at impact.

Maybe your upper body moves forward too much at transition, moving lower body forward independent of shoulders ( hula hula style as Homer Kelley called it) is a good start to get right shoulder in good place to then go downplane.

Is the fat shot coming from an occasional flip with a forward ball position?

Like I said - wait for the pros to comment but i hope i have at least started a discussion.

 

[blehnhard]

Stewart - overall, I think you have a fine looking motion and are correct in your analyis of 'staying too much on the left side". This could be the cause of the fade as your release is not yet complete as you move thru impact.

There is almost no secondary axis tilt in the forward swing. Even in hitting an iron with the intent of taking a divot, you still need atleast some minimal axis tilt.

To help you get more onto your right side during the backswing, I would suggest some extensor action with the right arm. My thought to accomplish this would be to take the right arm straight away from the target (the clubhead still works inside in a natural arc) at the begining of the bacward movement. This would get your right elbow away from your side and "pull" your weight a little to the right side. I think your hips could also move a little more freely.
Looks like you are trying to get the "X" factor.

We are only talking about minor adjustments to a very good swing.

My $.05

Bruce

 

[mcflog]

Too me it "looks" like your trying to force a still head and hanging on your left side, little reverse pivot, nothing huge. Just not as free of a swing as I would guess you have made in the past to be at that level. I think you free up the pivot and really load up your swing everything else falls into place.

 

[shootin4par]

you are right your weight never shifts much, I think the one plane swing camp would be happy. You move past the ball on the downswing before your secondary axis tilt works it way into your swing and this causes your head to be further forward then at address. I would say it is a slight lunge. You have two backswing options. If you want to shift your weight onto your right side you need to either A. shift your hips back while keeping the head in relatively the same place or B. turn around your spine. Right around your belly button is your C.O.G. since your waist does not move much then your weight does not shift in the back swing.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Everything you're doing is basically to prevent hooking the ball because XXXXX.

Your reverse pivot
Still head
no secondary tilt

Now, the question is what to do with you? You play DIV 1 so it's obvious that you can score. The problem is you are going to have your "good days" where you reverse pivot just enough so that you hit the good ball. Then there are going to be days when you reverse pivot too much and look like above.

So what to do? What to do? I guess it all depends on what you want to do.

This is what i want you to do:

-Keep the grip
-Make a backswing pivot more how Brian likes with a base around the neck type
-Make a downswing pivot how Brian likes with the secondary tilt
-Now if you do all the above, you will probably hook it off the earth, or if you aren't keep doing the above until you do.

THEN

-Make a backswing more the face doesn't open much, kind of like a twistaway but not so drastic
-Let those hips move foward to give you the secondary tilt
-Swing more out to right field
-I want you to PUNCH the ground with the HEEL of your right palm.

Ideally you should see a pretty straight ball flight that might fade some. However you will probably never hook it again. This is more of a hitter's setup and would proably be the easiest for you to "get" while in competition.

OR

Just watch videos of Freddie and/or David Duval (old Duval) and copy everything. Be happy you're young cuz your back won't like it in the future.

Make your choice

 

[StewartBannatyne]

Thank you guys very much for the input so far. Most of you have mentioned the still head, and believe me, I am trying as hard as I can to not do it!

For some reason I cannot make myself allow it to move slightly. I have just been making some swings in my room here trying to feel that the swing center is where Brian advocates it being, and it feels different for sure. Please keep the comments/suggestions coming, I really appreciate it!!

Stew

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Thank you guys very much for the input so far. Most of you have mentioned the still head, and believe me, I am trying as hard as I can to not do it!

For some reason I cannot make myself allow it to move slightly. I have just been making some swings in my room here trying to feel that the swing center is where Brian advocates it being, and it feels different for sure. Please keep the comments/suggestions coming, I really appreciate it!!

Stew

You need to make a SHARPER and almost IMMEDIATE hip turn and try and get that left shoulder to cover your right knee. You have a problem of dropping your left shoulder lower in the backswing which is contributing to your reverse pivot. Try and make a sharper hip turn and a more level shoulder turn in the backswing.

 

[StewartBannatyne]

Here is a Down The Line view as well.

Thank you all very much for your input.

Stew

 

[Jared Willerson]

You need to make a SHARPER and almost IMMEDIATE hip turn and try and get that left shoulder to cover your right knee. You have a problem of dropping your left shoulder lower in the backswing which is contributing to your reverse pivot. Try and make a sharper hip turn and a more level shoulder turn in the backswing.

I think this recommendation would yield the best results. It would automatically put your tailbone out in front and all you have to do is keep it there.

Nice swing btw,

 

[StewartBannatyne]

A couple of questions that I'd be interested to hear any opinion on...

1.) I wear glasses when I play...Do you think this has possibly any effect on me unconciously keeping my head so still? Whether I'm worried about losing focus on the ball from the lenses moving or whatever, I just thought of it, and in a weird way it sort of makes sense...

2.) Would raising my chin a little help the shoulder turn be more horizontal? Also, how horizontal a turn should it be? Obviously not horizontal to the ground (I don't think), but horizontal to spine angle?

Thanks!

Stew

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

1) Not sure, not enough experience to comment on that. Hopefully Brian could.

2) No, the chin thing is moot. It's just a move that you have engrained. I had it too, the shoulders turn too steep and you simply make it much harder to move it downplane cuz it ends up too high. Just try and make it as flat as you can.

 

[StewartBannatyne]

1) Not sure, not enough experience to comment on that. Hopefully Brian could.

2) No, the chin thing is moot. It's just a move that you have engrained. I had it too, the shoulders turn too steep and you simply make it much harder to move it downplane cuz it ends up too high. Just try and make it as flat as you can.

Thanks Jim!

Stew

 

[benk]

asdf

Did you go to a lesson from Brian?? To me, your swing looks much more like a 1 plane golf swing in the mold of Jim Hardy, and not what Brian advocates. To get to what Brian advocates, would be huge changes to your golf swing, and I don't know if that would be correct because I think your golf swing is phenomenal already.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Did you go to a lesson from Brian?? To me, your swing looks much more like a 1 plane golf swing in the mold of Jim Hardy, and not what Brian advocates. To get to what Brian advocates, would be huge changes to your golf swing, and I don't know if that would be correct because I think your golf swing is phenomenal already.

What is it that you think Brian Advocates?

 

[Bigwill]

1.) I wear glasses when I play...Do you think this has possibly any effect on me unconciously keeping my head so still? Whether I'm worried about losing focus on the ball from the lenses moving or whatever, I just thought of it, and in a weird way it sort of makes sense...

Definitely, particularly if you don't have large lenses. If you're fairly blind, like me, the ball actually appears to move when it goes in and out of the field of view of the glasses. My head dosen't turn nearly as much in the backswing as it did when I was wearing contacts, and my shoulder turn is smaller as a result. I guess the solution would be to get some of those old-school Tom Kite glasses; no field of view problems there

 

[StewartBannatyne]

Definitely, particularly if you don't have large lenses. If you're fairly blind, like me, the ball actually appears to move when it goes in and out of the field of view of the glasses. My head dosen't turn nearly as much in the backswing as it did when I was wearing contacts, and my shoulder turn is smaller as a result. I guess the solution would be to get some of those old-school Tom Kite glasses; no field of view problems there

Or contacts, which I think would be a little "cooler" option.

Stew

 

[Cork8]

Hey Stewart,
Your swing looks very much like mine did about a year ago. I was dealing with the very same problems, my misses were high floaters, drifting right. I took Chuck Cooks advise, "Get you right shoulder back against the wall, then down to the ball" The turning part came easy, but I could not get the feeling of my right shoulder going down to the ball at all. What clicked for me was some post about Acc. #4/pp4 where Brian said that after pp4 is loaded try and move your left arm with your chest. This thought/feel allowed me to get the right shoulder deep into my swing and really wallop the ball, then along came the big pull hooks. From there I changed to a more neutral grip and changed my takeaway to a Manzella "bend your right wrist back and move your hands up the turned shoulder plane to the top." From there I just drive my left arm down to the inside quadrant of the ball using my pivot, keeping pp#4 loaded as long as I can. It has taken awhile, but the results are great. My shots are now much longer and generally straight. My misses are sweeping hooks where I feel that I am swinging too much to right field. Good luck. I hope this helps.

 

[JeffM]

Cannot understand criticism!

I cannot understand the criticism offered - that you are reverse pivoting.

I think that you have a beautiful swing and I don't see any reverse pivoting.

 

[JeffM]

I cannot understand the recommendation that you should turn your shoulders more horizontally, or that you have a OPS. Your swing definitely doesn't look like a Hardy-style OPS.

I also like your spine angle at address, and I like the fact that you turn your shoulders perpendicularly around your bent-over spine. Why should you turn your shoulders more horizontally?

I have yet to read a rational explanation for your tendency to hit fades, rather than a draw.

Jeff.