I'm hoping a little advice here will go a long way. I am swinging just a little beyond half-swing and have tried developing the left hip on the start of downswing. Trying also to sense the right shoulder tilting.
https://saguto.golf/courses/865895/lectures/15769568 Practicing without cub is fine but with club in hand, I find my left knee is feeling too loaded, often kicked towards the target - basically attempts to shift hips results in them shifting off line and anyone standing to my right risks assassination.
I moved on to the subsequent section and this has I think provided the reasons for many of the issues - tension. https://saguto.golf/courses/865895/lectures/15739994
I know I can manage a steady paced backswing and then an easy gentle shift on the downswing with a wedge or a 9 iron. An 8 iron - 6 or 7 out of 10 balls. When i try a seven which is the limit of my practicing at the moment, I know the start of the swing is fine but then the club accelerates back like a runaway train and chaos ensues.
I'm sure others have experienced this and would love any advice that helps control the pace of the backswing.
It certainly a testament to the quality of Tom's teaching methods that I have learned so much in such a short time, and am developing a sense of where I'm going wrong. Man, this is such fun.
Thanks.
Rory McIlroy is quivering in his Nikes 😉
Thanks a million for your suggestions. Played 9 holes today and the improvement in striking was in my head huge. Distance is still rubbish, but apart from two lapses in focusing on maintaining new swing, the ball contact was much improved. For the most part tension has disappeared. Given my physical limitations I know that shift will gain me some vital yardage so will be very desirable.
This quote from you "Weight has to be on the lead side before the transition so that you have a solid platform to hit from. " is very helpful and explains some of the disasters when I did it late. There won't be any bulletins on the sports channels - but I reached a par 4 in two today - first time since I came back to golf last year. A small but very welcome event. Thanks to all for the advice and encouragement. Really appreciate it.
@norman morrow I think the move left from the video you posted is one of the most difficult things to do because it’s a timing and sequencing move. 1. Most higher handicap golfers make the bump far too late. However, need to see video to see what’s happening to you. 2. If the bump happens late, shoulders don’t have room to rotate on plane so, they go over the top…and bam. Middle right. Two suggestions: 1. Place something just outside and slightly behind your ball say an inch or so away. There should be a clear path from inside-out to the ball, but if you change from that path, bucket gets hit. If you are the only person on the range. Just put another ball there. If there are people to your right, a headcover is probably best bet. 2. From your description, I would assume your hips are late getting forward. Start with 90% of your weight in the left and keep it there. If you are hitting from inside and hitting solid shots with weight forward. Now you get into the fun part. Start with weight centered, but as you start the backswing, get your tailbone moving parallel to the target line to the front foot. Take a ball and throw it down the range. Notice how a throwing motion moves all of your weight to the lead side by the time you are at the top of your backswing? That’s the same in golf. Weight has to be on the lead side before the transition so that you have a solid platform to hit from. Start with video and get these two things then BAM! little baby draw action all day.
I feel like any tension in my hands completely destroys my backswing. 2 out of 10 feeling in the grip, straight left arm and wrists hinge when I start to feel the weight of the club head behind me. Then it all goes wrong!!
My 7 iron has lost weight. On the range yesterday I felt like I was swinging an iron bar and I held onto it with an iron grip. This has been the case with all clubs from 7 down.
After taking on board the "lose control to gain control lesson", it now feels like an extension of my arm, and for the first time ever, I know the feel of holding the club correctly and am able to setup in a controlled but utterly relaxed way.
Wow - such a simple thing. This should be the first thing any golfer learns. How many amateur golfers spend their lives jumping from one fix to another, when in fact tension is the key obstacle to improving.
Thanks Tom. As soon as I get some form of consistency I'll be scheduling a V1 with you. Off to search tempo...
It seems to me that you are doing quite well, @norman morrow! Progress is necessarily incremental, and typically it begins to show itself first with the shorter irons.
One thing to remember is that the lower the number on your club, the longer the shaft. (Unless you're like @Russell Hogue, PhD, who plays single-length clubs.) So as the shaft length increases, the shaft plane becomes less upright and more around the body. For example, a 9 iron shaft plane is too steep for a 7 iron, but if we try to take that 7 iron back on a 9 iron plane we will invariably have some lifting action with the hands and arms, and aside from causing other issues this independent motion can certainly disrupt our tempo. I suggest checking for this by videoing your swing - preferably using a V1 app or something similar that allows you to draw lines.
Also, if you enter the word "tempo" in the Forum search bar you will find some comment threads that may be of assistance to you.
Finally, the V1 Swing Video Analysis service is available for both swing repair and maintenance purposes. If feasible, I recommend scheduling one with me at least quarterly during to make sure that everything is moving along on the proper track, and as needed if an issue arises that can't be self-corrected either through online school diagnostics and drills or here in the Forum with the community's assistance.