Swing advice for a friend...Swing Pics....

[Dustin]

Hi, I've been on the forum for a while and had lessons w/ Brian on a couple occasions. A good friend of mine has been struggling as of late and looking for some help. Its hard to see everything in these pics, but he sets up OPEN to the target, w/ a pretty strong Grip. His swing path is way out to in and when he hits it good, hes one of the best players in the area, but lacks consistency. Scratch player, 118 Swing Speed on the trackman last week, but the club fitter said his out to in swing path was causing a lot of spin and making him lose distance. Even w/ his strong grip, he plays a power fade, and can't hit a draw to save his life. Anyways...if anyone could help w/ a Manzella "pattern" that would be good to recommend, I'd appreciate the help.

Weird combo, but .... strong grip, open stance, power fader. I think he should set up more square to his target line w/ a more neutral grip, but I'm no pro...hence looking for that advice.

 

[Dustin]

Its weird...goes from a "twist away" look in pic 3, to a cupped wrist in pic 4.

 

[Dustin]

And by the way...I know its tough to see a few pics and figure much out, just wanted to know if anything glaring stuck out to anyone.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

Weird combo, but .... strong grip, open stance, power fader. I think he should set up more square to his target line w/ a more neutral grip, but I'm no pro...hence looking for that advice.

So i can't see the pictures at work BUT Dustin; if you have someone who is this good they have played this way for a long time. You do not want to make DRAMATIC changes to his swing especially with grip. At 118mph of swing speed and a power fader, he needs to be fit for a low lofted/tip stiff driver so that when he adds all that loft due to his swing; the spin is still under control due to the loft delievered.

 

[aaron_lohan]

Can you improve his short game, teach him more shots, improve consistency, you could try to make his swing look orthodox and he might not be able to hit his hat. Make sure his setup his consistent maybe alter it slightly, for a player of that standard changes could be detrimental, think of Jim Furyk, if someone had changed his swing earlier in his career you might never have heard of him.

 

[Burner]

For what it is worth!

And by the way...I know its tough to see a few pics and figure much out, just wanted to know if anything glaring stuck out to anyone.

He would spin the ball a lot less if he teed it up lower. With his tee at that height he could conceivably swing right underneath the ball without even touching it!

I reckon he exaggerates his loft by swinging up on the ball simply to make decent contact with it. Add to that his open stance, out to in swing path and if Bob had t!ts he would be your Auntie.

That glaringly sticks out for me.

 

[Zztop]

He would spin the ball a lot less if he teed it up lower. With his tee at that height he could conceivably swing right underneath the ball without even touching it!

I reckon he exaggerates his loft by swinging up on the ball simply to make decent contact with it. Add to that his open stance, out to in swing path and if Bob had t!ts he would be your Auntie.

That glaringly sticks out for me.

and you thought i said silly things

 

[curtisj76]

My PC must not be set up right. This is the second thread that I can't view pictures.

update: I can see them now, not sure what was going on. sorry

 

[Kevin Shields]

An LCT might help him get behind it a little and not stack his upper body so much and hit down on his driver.

 

[curtisj76]

So how far does this guy hit it? If he's already scratch I'm not sure what the heck I would do??? Whatever works I'd keep doing. Screw "orthodox", tell that to James Michael Furyk.

 

[jenhaoyen]

So how far does this guy hit it? If he's already scratch I'm not sure what the heck I would do??? Whatever works I'd keep doing. Screw "orthodox", tell that to James Michael Furyk.

yeah, one of my customer swing looks so horrible it's not even funny. Hits it pretty short, but he's short game are so good that keeps him in the low 80's. He makes lots of 20 foot putts.

 

[curtisj76]

yeah, one of my customer swing looks so horrible it's not even funny. Hits it pretty short, but he's short game are so good that keeps him in the low 80's. He makes lots of 20 foot putts.

Yeah but low 80's and scratch are not even close. Shooting in the low 80's you still have lots to work on.

 

[GPM1985]

That guy has a cool looking swing. I'm not exactly sure why I think so, but I'm sure that if I'd seen that sequence without knowing his handicap or swingspeed I would guess that he's a good player. There's a lot of energy in that swing.

Kevin and Jim have made some relatively simple suggestions that could really help him out. I can say from personal experience that being further behind the ball and having more axis tilt will make a big difference with the driver. He might need to weaken his grip a little, but then again he might not.

Above all, he's got a very dynamic move and it'd be a shame to obstruct his natural athleticism in any way. I say keep things simple, see what happens, and let us know.

 

[Dustin]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'll be sure to pass it along. The reason a "scratch" golfer like him wants advice is that he lacks consistency. You can be scratch and shoot 80 - 67, and that won't help you in tournaments one bit. I'm a 5 handicap and regularly give him a good match just due to the face sometimes he can't make enough birdies to keep up w/ his bogies. I don't think he is the "model" scratch player. Hes very long w/ a good short game, but every round or two he'll find a bad strech of swings that blow a good round up.

Ultimately, hes looking for help to make him consistent and take out the big numbers that keep him from winning a lot of am. tournaments. He's got such an out to in swing (hard to tell in the pics) that when He doesn't really hold that clubface open, he his some tee shots in some very bad spots.

Thanks again, I'm trying to get some video to post. In the meantime he said he's weakened his grip a touch and after some adjusting said he was hitting it really really good, and could finally work it both ways a little.