Please help me get un-stuck :-) ??

[chunknrun]

Hi, I am new to this site, and after seeing some others get some great help and make progress, I finally decided to post some of my video for some expert input.

I’m a 9.5 index, 41 years old, and I have been working with an instructor to fix my in-to-out swing path and start the ball more down the line. It works pretty well with the instructor present, but it is a very hard habit to break. One thing I have been working on is trying to quiet the hips (this helps keep the club more in front of me??), or at least resist turning them until the T-spine has completed its turn. I am also trying to fix the outside takeaway, and the shut clubface on the backswing, and at the top of the swing.
My swing feels a little jerky and difficult, and I would love to have a swing that feels easier, freer, longer, smoother and more powerful. (Who wouldn’t??)

I generally hit the ball pretty well (275 or so with driver, 160 or so with 8 iron), but I battle consistency problems (block or flip or poor contact). I am also prone to having poor tempo, and playing golf mechanics while in competition, but I have improved quite a bit this year. Unfortunately, I still have the same “look” to my swing that I have always had, and I still am prone to some bad mistakes in my rounds.

Anyway, please have a look and let me know your ideas. I think I probably have tried all the typical block cures (I'm "stuck" with this block swing because I can't isolate the true causes??), but I’m sure someone will post an innovative idea or two.

Thanks for looking.

Steve

 

[ekennedy]

Your in-to-out swing is one of necessity as your clubface is tremendously closed. I can't tell from the video, but my guess is your grip is pretty strong. You may have gone as far as you can go with that grip/clubface combination.

 

[chunknrun]

Thanks for your reply ekennedy. Yes, the grip is on the strong side, and it is something I am waiting until winter to try and address. You may be right that I have gone as far as I can because it certainly feels as though I have hit the wall.

 

[ekennedy]

Tommy "two gloves" Gainey Slow Motion Iron Face on View - YouTube

I'll be the first person that says I've seen almost anything work. In the meantime, watch how Tommy Gainey makes a similar set up and grip work.

 

[bgoodyear]

Your clubface barely rotates. It must feel as if you are fighting the face trying to hold it on line. Its got to be very difficult to avoid blocks and heavy push hooks that way.

You already know this but the easy answer is a weaker grip and learn to turn/release the clubhead.

NHA2 would be worth watching even if you didn't fully adopt it. Just feeling that type of swing might unlock something for you and bring you more towards the middle.

 

[chunknrun]

ekennedy, I agree that Tommy makes it work pretty well for him. I think a weaker grip is worth spending some effort on.

 

[chunknrun]

bgoodyear, you are right on. The clubface doesn't rotate at all (or probably reverse rotates). I can't pull-fade the ball.

I think this is because I have always swung under the plane, and the shut face grip helps get the ball more on line. It is an ingrained habit, and no matter what I try, my grip always creeps back toward a shut face. If I try to swing down the line with a strong grip, it will go left of left.

If I have a neutral grip and swing under the plane, I will hit it right of right. I think I need to learn to grip it neutral, and at the same time, "carry" the club more from the top to get the correct path and body rotation to square the face.

I am starting to realize how the grip and the under the plane swing path are related.

Thanks for the input.

 

[bgoodyear]

I think I need to learn to grip it neutral, and at the same time, "carry" the club more from the top to get the correct path and body rotation to square the face.

That's NHA2 in a nutshell.

Good luck

 

[Todd Dugan]

Nobody who creates the intended Path worries about closing the face to the arc at impact. Get on the intended Plane Direction, and you won't either. Even with a so-called "shut" face. Because its not actually "shut". Just "less open". The idea that a "shut" clubface will usually cause a hook is a myth. Trevino, Azinger, Duval.........all major champions..........all with the so-called "shut" clubface........Yet all relied on an "automatic" fade at their peak. Because all could rotate their bodies into impact to the degree needed to keep the club from falling "under" the intended Impact Plane. Work on that "carry". Zero out the Path. Verify with TrackMan. Then see what the Face To Path is.

 

[chunknrun]

Thanks Todd and bgoodyear for the input. I will check out the NHA2 video.

 

[Mike O]

One of the major issues with your swing that causes a lot of the problems is your effort of hitting up on the ball. Head stays back, clubhead path in to out. You probably experience some fat shots and thin shots with that swing. Along with it comes the chicken wing, etc. Although it's not just one thing to work on - your effort (subconscious or conscious) of hitting underneath the ball - launching it up - is an essential element of everything you see negative in your movement.

 

[chunknrun]

Mike, thanks for the observation. I definitely used to try to hit up on the ball, especially with the driver. My ball flight has come down a lot in the past few years with an improved impact position, and you are right about the fat/thin shots. I definitely don't think about hitting up on the ball with the irons, but I must have grooved that movement when I used to think that way. You are right that this is an essential reason my swing looks like it does.