Looking for some advice, I'm really trying to stick to what Tom's instructing but even after 2 months of practising 2- 3 times a week my contact seems to be getting worse, I have videoed myself and i am leaning forward quite a bit on the backswing and most ALL of my hits are on the heel and occasionally the hosel. I'm trying my best to stack and tilt but always my weight goes to my toes no matter what I try.
If I try keep weight on my heels I end up sort of extending away from the ball.
Can anyone point me to a lesson which may help?
While you're in the process of getting the videos to Tom, I suggest trying a drill.
Setup normally to the ball in terms of the distance from your toes to the ball, then swing the club...however....swing the club such that you completely MISS the ball to the inside. Keep doing the same and keep trying to get the club path closer and closer to your toes. To get the club path closer to your toes, you will have to stand a little more upright. I bet you will find that you're standing too hunched over and too far away from the ball.
Watch the pro's on TV. For 7i and up they stand very close to the ball, or hand distance from pants zipper. They stand taller and this also forces a more "upright" backswing vs. a flat backswing for which your torso will be in the way of your arms on the downswing.....which causes a throw-out of the club out at the ball...shank.
My address position "check" is let a club dangle from my trail side hip bone (basically the right pants pocket), then check to see if the club head is next to my trail ankle,
Thanks for the reply Tom, I went down to range yesterday and realised that I wasn't extending when turning and tilting. Once I started to extend while turning my lead shoulder down I immediately realised I had so much more room to swing, it was like a light bulb moment where I thought to myself ' this is how to do it properly' and was hitting some nice golf shots. I do love the membership and your instruction, it's crazy that missing one thing can affect my swing so much. I will definitely get the quarterly V1 lesson with yourself starting next year in January. I'm hoping by the time the season kicks in I am more consistent and able to enjoy golf a lot more.
Thanks again Tom.
@allanemily5 - Sorry for your ball striking frustration. I just want to be sure of the following because there are some clues in your post that would lead me to believe there may be some deficiencies in your learning and mastering of the foundational elements of the swing:
1) Regardless of a member's skill level, this swing necessitates a complete reboot for someone transitioning from a shift & lift swing (which is typically the case), and therefore it is imperative that one take sufficient time to ensure that the fundamental components are mastered. From the ground up there is nothing superfluous in the Stack & Tilt swing - in other words, everything with a purpose, and a purpose for everything. (For example, contrary to shift & lift where you may be taught to keep your trail foot perpendicular to the target line as a means of "creating resistance" in your trail side, in S&T we flare both feet out 10-20 degrees in order to facilitate a free flowing, inclined hip and shoulder turn.) I cannot emphasize this enough, as frustrations predominantly occur when students jump ahead in the curriculum without properly dedicating themselves to the foundational base upon which our consistently repeatable, powerful, low maintenance swing must be built.
2) You indicate in your comment that you are leaning forward quite a bit during your backswing. If this is from a face-on view - meaning that your upper body is leaning towards the target - then this is indicative of a deficiency in the Extension component. If it is from the down the line perspective and your upper body is moving down towards the ball (and thus putting more weight onto the toes), then it may signify shortcomings in the Turning/Hands In component - or perhaps even a combination of that and the Extension piece.
Really, though, the most effective way to get you on the proper track at this juncture is through a V1 Swing Video Analysis Lesson – an extremely valuable service that I highly recommend to everyone in the school. This enables me to put my eyes on your swing and offer some very specific observations and corrective action plans if applicable. I liken it to bringing your swing into the shop for a tune-up or minor repair. Scheduling one on a quarterly basis for preventive maintenance will do wonders for keeping things humming along nicely, and it's also a great tool for pinpointing and resolving any issues that arise. The process involves downloading the free V1 app and then submitting two videos to me through the app - one down-the-line (captured from your stance line, not the target line) and the other face-on. You'll find more information about the V1 Analysis halfway down this page on the Saguto.Golf site.
TS