Swing thoughts that have worked for you

[HawkeyesRuleURFace]

HizzleRocker sounds like a Jim Flick student...the X Factor

 

[HizzleRocker]

HizzleRocker sounds like a Jim Flick student...the X Factor

In some areas I like Flick. Main difference of opinion is that he thinks the arms control everything and that the arms lead the way.

I think the swing should be controlled by body and hands. The hands set the club and the shoulders control the path. Idea is that if the hands, shoulders, and spine are all in the right place - the arms almost have to be.

 

[HawkeyesRuleURFace]

In some areas I like Flick. Main difference of opinion is that he thinks the arms control everything and that the arms lead the way.

I think the swing should be controlled by body and hands. The hands set the club and the shoulders control the path. Idea is that if the hands, shoulders, and spine are all in the right place - the arms almost have to be.

Golf is so whacked....this thread is a perfect example...each teacher has a different process to getting the right result...I think the start of the swing is to get the club set, from there you let the body take over to the top, on the way down it's getting the hands and arms in front of the body and then the body follows...one thing I do know is that being able to release the golf club is what all great ball strikers do...if you stop film at the waist after impact all great players have the club in the same exact position...all this talk about backswing makes me think of what my old teacher used to say..."how many fucking times have you ever hit the golf ball with your backswing?"...he was a big impact guy...probably the reason I've always been a solid iron player and a trashy driver of the golf ball

 

[HawkeyesRuleURFace]

Another thing that I always notice with the top players in the world...watch the speed on the way down from 9 o'clock to the 3 o'clock position...that is the definition of being in sync...one of my good friends is an instructor out in LA and he was always a huge Ballard fan...I actually spent a whole day with Jimmy Ballard and I liked some of his shit but man was he a whacked out mother fucker...he fucking hated everyone who didn't agree with his system and it was fun as shit hitting balls on the range with him watching telling old stories

 

[JohnRandle]

Some great tips.
I wish this thread would have been started in April..lol

 

[TobyTyler]

Another thing that I always notice with the top players in the world...watch the speed on the way down from 9 o'clock to the 3 o'clock position...that is the definition of being in sync...one of my good friends is an instructor out in LA and he was always a huge Ballard fan...I actually spent a whole day with Jimmy Ballard and I liked some of his shit but man was he a whacked out mother fucker...he fucking hated everyone who didn't agree with his system and it was fun as shit hitting balls on the range with him watching telling old stories

That's funny. i went to visit a group of my guys who were working in Iraq several years back and at Camp Victory David Feherty, Tom Lehman, Tom Watson and Butch Harmon were there doing benefit stuff for the soldiers. After the show you could get a 10-minute lesson from any of the four so I naturally lined up behind Butch. He watched me hit for about 5 minutes and told me "Well, you're not terminal, we can fix you".

 

[HawkeyesRuleURFace]

This is the greatest thread of all time. Best forum ever...

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Another thing that I always notice with the top players in the world...watch the speed on the way down from 9 o'clock to the 3 o'clock position...that is the definition of being in sync...one of my good friends is an instructor out in LA and he was always a huge Ballard fan...I actually spent a whole day with Jimmy Ballard and I liked some of his shit but man was he a whacked out mother fucker...he fucking hated everyone who didn't agree with his system and it was fun as shit hitting balls on the range with him watching telling old stories

Lessons / swing theories...I think if you start out with a decent grip and decent posture, then you can repeat some kind of a swing...you look on the Sr. tour and all those homemade swings making money. These guys can repeat it.

I think the avg Joe that comes for lessons, just wants a swing that can advance the ball where they have an idea where is going...break 90...that's not all the hard...its unlearning your swing faults that makes it hard.

 

[TobyTyler]

Lessons / swing theories...I think if you start out with a decent grip and decent posture, then you can repeat some kind of a swing...you look on the Sr. tour and all those homemade swings making money. These guys can repeat it.

I think the avg Joe that comes for lessons, just wants a swing that can advance the ball where they have an idea where is going...break 90...that's not all the hard...its unlearning your swing faults that makes it hard.

Yep. Practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent. The more you practice the wrong things, the more they become ingrained in your swing and the harder they are to get rid of.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Yep. Practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent. The more you practice the wrong things, the more they become ingrained in your swing and the harder they are to get rid of.

It's funny that the more flaws you have the quicker the improvement vs someone like you trying to shave off 2 strokes could take months.

A true story here about bad swing flaws.

We started a little traveling golf club shortly after I 1st took up the game...we'd go to a different site each year around the country and play a tournament...72 holes the 1st 7 or 8 yrs then we dropped it to 54 holes...this one guy about 6'2" 325 to 350, had a really big thick chest, girth, not just a blob of gut...but he simply could not make a shoulder turn without moving his feet...so he sort of manufactured a swing by shuffling his feet. He hit a big slice with his driver that went about 180 to 200 yds max, but he learned how to play it, and he was in the FW most of the time, certainly in play....his irons also cut, but not as bad...decent wedge player, decent short game for the level (most scores were high 80s to low 100 with an 80 round every now and then.)

Well...the 2nd year of the tournament he won it...keep in mind we're blowing it by him off the tee 50-60 yds but too wild to beat his consistency. Of course he's bragging, big hitters my ass, I small balled you guys to death, blah, blah...I said be happy because that warped swing will never win the trophy again as long as I'm playing. I was only semi-serious. This was all in good fun, just how we kidded each other.

We played this tourney for about 12 yrs consecutive...Everybody (most we had play consistently was 10 or 12) kept working their games, lessons, etc...sure enough he never sniffed another win...he quit the club after coming in near last or last in his last 3 attempts.

He had many, many lessons trying to fix that ingrained feet shuffling and it worked for a while, and it straighten his ball out, but he still pretty short...in hindsight we should've started playing staggered tees or something. His problem was he really needed to lose about 150 lbs and get some flexibility.

 

[TobyTyler]

It's funny that the more flaws you have the quicker the improvement vs someone like you trying to shave off 2 strokes could take months.

A true story here about bad swing flaws.

We started a little traveling golf club shortly after I 1st took up the game...we'd go to a different site each year around the country and play a tournament...72 holes the 1st 7 or 8 yrs then we dropped it to 54 holes...this one guy about 6'2" 325 to 350, had a really big thick chest, girth, not just a blob of gut...but he simply could not make a shoulder turn without moving his feet...so he sort of manufactured a swing by shuffling his feet. He hit a big slice with his driver that went about 180 to 200 yds max, but he learned how to play it, and he was in the FW most of the time, certainly in play....his irons also cut, but not as bad...decent wedge player, decent short game for the level (most scores were high 80s to low 100 with an 80 round every now and then.)

Well...the 2nd year of the tournament he won it...keep in mind we're blowing it by him off the tee 50-60 yds but too wild to beat his consistency. Of course he's bragging, big hitters my ass, I small balled you guys to death, blah, blah...I said be happy because that warped swing will never win the trophy again as long as I'm playing. I was only semi-serious. This was all in good fun, just how we kidded each other.

We played this tourney for about 12 yrs consecutive...Everybody (most we had play consistently was 10 or 12) kept working their games, lessons, etc...sure enough he never sniffed another win...he quit the club after coming in near last or last in his last 3 attempts.

He had many, many lessons trying to fix that ingrained feet shuffling and it worked for a while, and it straighten his ball out, but he still pretty short...in hindsight we should've started playing staggered tees or something. His problem was he really needed to lose about 150 lbs and get some flexibility.

That's funny. You see all kinds of swings out there especially from older guys who have had to compensate because of injuries or loss of flexibility. I have a good friend who I've known since I was a kid. Ha dht perfect swing but he had his right hip replaced and he can no longer follow through properly. He kicks his right leg out in front of him after he has transferred his weight to the left on the follow through. It looks hilarious. He has had to make do with this but he still gets it done; shoots in the 70s every time out.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

That's funny. You see all kinds of swings out there especially from older guys who have had to compensate because of injuries or loss of flexibility. I have a good friend who I've known since I was a kid. Ha dht perfect swing but he had his right hip replaced and he can no longer follow through properly. He kicks his right leg out in front of him after he has transferred his weight to the left on the follow through. It looks hilarious. He has had to make do with this but he still gets it done; shoots in the 70s every time out.

I was funny, but as I've gotten older it was kind of sad in a way. He was such a competitive guy, that the pride factor I think is what made him quit. My former neighbor just before he retired had his knee replaced just to be able to play golf...took him a while to figure out what he could and couldn't do with his new knee, but he was right back to his old game...down the middle in about a yr.

 

[TobyTyler]

I was funny, but as I've gotten older it was kind of sad in a way. He was such a competitive guy, that the pride factor I think is what made him quit. My former neighbor just before he retired had his knee replaced just to be able to play golf...took him a while to figure out what he could and couldn't do with his new knee, but he was right back to his old game...down the middle in about a yr.

Golf has a way of bringing out the worst in some people. The love/hate affair a lot of us have with it is unique to this game I think.

 

[ATL96Steeler]

Golf has a way of bringing out the worst in some people. The love/hate affair a lot of us have with it is unique to this game I think.

Indeed!

There are some characters that play this game...one thing I've never understood is people who play golf on a regular basis and lie about their scores. They don't understand that the game has already defeated them.

I'm full of stories lately, but last one today.

I was playing in a money game with a group of guys every week...maybe 5 or 6 foursomes...$25 per man, top 3 in the money. The guy who organized this owned an insurance company and I was in real estate sales back then and referred his services to a few clients..

My 1st time entering, I'm paired with him...par 3 I hit a ball into the GS bunker as did another player. The player was away in the bunker...he played bad shot over the green and I told him not to worry about raking the bunker I would take care of it...I did so. I blasted out, missed my par putt. We are riding away and he said you had 4 right...I said, no...I had a at least a 5 it may be a 6 I need to check...he says how?

Apparently no one else knew I had committed an infraction. But I raked the other guys foot prints before I played my shot, just as a pace of play thing thing because he was going to have to look a little for his shot...but intent doesn't matter...testing the condition of a hazard, 2 stroke penalty. I wasn't sure if it was one stroke or two until I pulled out the book.

This insurance guy was so impressed...he called me every week to play and gave me 2 huge referrals...I was just playing golf.

 

[uncfan103]

You gotta use some hands around the green

That's an opinion. Depending on the shot you don't have too. You can use a lob/sand wedge and just use a putting stroke and it's going to give you a pretty consistent result. Obviously, if you need to hit it high it's not a great idea but my biggest problems come when I break my wrist or try to hit down on the ball. I can hit good shots breaking my wrist and using hands, but I'm not consistent at all, it's too easy to hit it thin or fat.

 

[TobyTyler]

Indeed!

There are some characters that play this game...one thing I've never understood is people who play golf on a regular basis and lie about their scores. They don't understand that the game has already defeated them.

I'm full of stories lately, but last one today.

I was playing in a money game with a group of guys every week...maybe 5 or 6 foursomes...$25 per man, top 3 in the money. The guy who organized this owned an insurance company and I was in real estate sales back then and referred his services to a few clients..

My 1st time entering, I'm paired with him...par 3 I hit a ball into the GS bunker as did another player. The player was away in the bunker...he played bad shot over the green and I told him not to worry about raking the bunker I would take care of it...I did so. I blasted out, missed my par putt. We are riding away and he said you had 4 right...I said, no...I had a at least a 5 it may be a 6 I need to check...he says how?

Apparently no one else knew I had committed an infraction. But I raked the other guys foot prints before I played my shot, just as a pace of play thing thing because he was going to have to look a little for his shot...but intent doesn't matter...testing the condition of a hazard, 2 stroke penalty. I wasn't sure if it was one stroke or two until I pulled out the book.

This insurance guy was so impressed...he called me every week to play and gave me 2 huge referrals...I was just playing golf.

No problem. I enjoy your posts because I can tell you love the game. Good story but I would not have called you on that in a "friendly" round. No choice in a torunament.

 

[uncfan103]

This is probably not helpful to anyone but...The best "swing thoughts" I have found for me have just been to address the ball, think about the shot I want to hit (Ball flight, landing, roll, etc.) and then just swing. It's a lot easier for me to hit tee shots, approach shots, chips and putts when I'm not thinking about what to do to make the shots happen and I am instead just focusing on what I want to happen.

 

[uncfan103]

That's funny. You see all kinds of swings out there especially from older guys who have had to compensate because of injuries or loss of flexibility. I have a good friend who I've known since I was a kid. Ha dht perfect swing but he had his right hip replaced and he can no longer follow through properly. He kicks his right leg out in front of him after he has transferred his weight to the left on the follow through. It looks hilarious. He has had to make do with this but he still gets it done; shoots in the 70s every time out.

LOL my dad laughs at me every time I try hit my tee shots this summer. I had surgery this year on my hip. I didn't have a replacement, but I had a major surgery in January. I just started playing again this summer. I swing the same way. I can still hit the ball good, but I don't know if I'm ever going to be back where I was if I can't get back to swinging normally.

 

[TobyTyler]

This is probably not helpful to anyone but...The best "swing thoughts" I have found for me have just been to address the ball, think about the shot I want to hit (Ball flight, landing, roll, etc.) and then just swing. It's a lot easier for me to hit tee shots, approach shots, chips and putts when I'm not thinking about what to do to make the shots happen and I am instead just focusing on what I want to happen.

Sometimes the most simple approaches are the most effective.

 

[Dude]

Pushing the shoulder down and stay true to the V.
And getting the wrist action right, pure heaven!