Time for a check-up with my driver

[timwalsh300]

Thanks to those of you who gave your feedback on my first thread a couple weeks ago. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can see it here...

http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/golfing-discussions/12217-clicked-i-think.html

Since then my swing has been through a lot. First I became overly concerned with my hands/wrists/arms and my hip/shoulder turn started to suffer. The result was a slower swing speed and even more flipping. Seeing that on video reminded me that it was all about "hitting with my pivot." Then I pulled a muscle and had to take a week off. In the meantime I took Jim Kobylinski's advice and practiced hitting balls at half-speed, trying to delay the club head as long as possible, just to prove to myself that I could still get it square at impact (with a little twistaway).

Two days ago I was finally able to get back out on the course. My third tee-shot went just over 300 yards. Then I reached two consecutive par-5's in two strokes. Near the end of the round I paired up with a guy who had GPS and he plotted three of my tee-shots at 292, 300, and 300. Yesterday was more of the same.

I have hit the occasional 300-yard drive before but it was it was always mysterious when it happened. Repeating it like this is unbelievable.

So here is what it looks like as of this morning...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJOOQH2eqoM[/media]

Comparing myself to Tiger I notice that my hips rotate earlier in the downswing, between frames 1 and 2. He does most of his rotation between frames 3 and 4, and he delays the club head longer as a result(?). It appears that I still have some leakage (and thus more power to be had).

My mantra has been "fast hips, square to the target, relax everything else."

Please give me your criticism and advice on how to proceed.

Tim

 

[Richie3Jack]

Amazing progress, Tim.





3JACK

 

[fronesis]

Fantastic progress. Looks like a very powerful and repeatable swing.

Since you asked for comments...

My one area of worry is still the feet.

1. Compared to Tiger, note how in the last frame all of his weight is in his left heel, while your left heel is OFF the ground.

2. Moving back then, in frame 2 your right foot is already coming off the ground, whereas Tiger is going down INTO the ground (the squat) in frame 2 and then through the ball in 3 and 4.

I don't see much leakage to worry about, but I think you could probably hit it further if you used the ground for leverage, and this requires a bit better footwork.

 

[timwalsh300]

My one area of worry is still the feet.

Yeah, I didn't mention this but I knew it would come up. I've been hoping that it would take care of itself as I stopped flipping, and subsequently stopped "popping up" to make room for the flip. I guess it might need some special attention.

By the way, 3Jack, it seems that the back pain we talked about was simply the result of straining my latissimus dorsi. I've been stretching it out before hitting any balls and I think it's made all the difference. It was probably tight because I do a lot of pullups in my workout.

Tim

 

[puttmad]

Just one observation Tim,

Your shoulder turn is very flat (first pic), which leads to less "up" later on..
Look at Tigers right side in the 3rd. 4th and 5th pics, how compressed it is....that compression is mirrored by stretching on the left side (part of the kinetic chain), which you will find it hard to attain because you are "already up there"....if you see what I mean...

 

[blehnhard]

Looks like your hips have "backed up" in frame 4 versus frame 3 (ala Rory McIroy) - not necessarily a bad thing.

Don't get too picky and try to be "too perfect".

 

[vjsinger]

Just one observation Tim,

Your shoulder turn is very flat (first pic), which leads to less "up" later on..
Look at Tigers right side in the 3rd. 4th and 5th pics, how compressed it is....that compression is mirrored by stretching on the left side (part of the kinetic chain), which you will find it hard to attain because you are "already up there"....if you see what I mean...

Thats good stuff...I would suggest that you feel wider with the right arm at the top of the swing as well as getting those shoulders a little steeper, whilst still getting to your right side, as you are now. I only mention that cause I think sometimes the tendency is to forget to get behind it when making the steeper shoulder turn sometimes. Hope that helps. All the best.

 

[Zztop]

Nice swing, great work, you won't look like Tiger because your backswing and your downswing are unique to you, your own style so to speak, don't over cook it, most would love to come so far in such a short time, really athletic

 

[Kevin Shields]

Ahhh, you ex baseball players. You all have the fastest hips. Your hips are way too open approaching impact which still leads to that face being way too open coming into the ball. Stay in your turn a little more and you wont have to use that high right shoulder thru the ball the square it up. Great progress though, really good.

 

[timwalsh300]

I got some good video from down the line tonight...

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2XMyZY6Aig[/media]

I'm actually happy with this. It looks better than I thought it would.

That said, I played one of my worst 9-hole rounds ever tonight. 21 putts didn't help, but my primary issue was with my irons. By the time I got to the green it usually didn't even matter anymore. I was hitting them long, but they were all over the place.

After my round I found an empty hole to practice. Now I am sold on improving my footwork. I tried my best to stay flat footed and the difference in my ball-striking was immediate. My hips felt somewhat restricted but I wasn't losing any distance. Staying down through impact made me feel much more stable. I was consistently taking good divots and really trapping the ball. It seems that coming up on my toes was just one more moving part that required good timing to avoid disaster.

I'll get some video of me hitting an iron like this tomorrow.

Tim

 

[timwalsh300]

Your hips are way too open approaching impact which still leads to that face being way too open coming into the ball. Stay in your turn a little more and you wont have to use that high right shoulder thru the ball the square it up.

I understand what you are saying. I mentioned it myself earlier. But I don't really know what to do about it. So far the only thing that has allowed me to get to a good impact position is turning my hips as much as possible. Otherwise my hands race ahead and I lose my lag, flip the club, hook it left, etc...

How can I work on this?

Tim

 

[timwalsh300]

Now I am sold on improving my footwork. I tried my best to stay flat footed and the difference in my ball-striking was immediate. My hips felt somewhat restricted but I wasn't losing any distance. Staying down through impact made me feel much more stable. I was consistently taking good divots and really trapping the ball. It seems that coming up on my toes was just one more moving part that required good timing to avoid disaster.

By the way, last night I showed my fiancee (who does not play golf and knows nothing about it) these pictures of me vs. Tiger and her very first response was, "Your foot comes off the ground more than his does."

"Funny you should say that," I told her.

Tim