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Alignment stick drill

Have been working on the over the stick on the backswing and under the stick on the downswing drill. Very hard for us choppers! My name is Rick and I am a chop-aholic. I can stay connected and go over the stick then under the stick (very slowly as I am watching the club clear the alignment stick) on a path that matches the stack and tilt grid. I can only make solid contact with the ball if I turn my hips towards the target as the club approaches the ball. Is that the correct motion to “turn the corner”? Thank you for the V1 analysis as it was very informative and much more than I was expecting.

3 answers2 replies

5 Comments

Tom Saguto

Feb 03, 2021

Tom Saguto

Jan 28, 2021

When done correctly Tailbone2Target will have your hips moving forward from the very beginning, to the point where they really don't have much more lateral distance to travel in the downswing. It should also gradually build up the load into your front side, creating the leverage to extend on autopilot through impact. It may be helpful to watch this Hogan video from the YT channel. It may provide a bit more insight since the "T2T" drill was born of this particular move in Mr. Hogan's swing.

Sometimes we need to spend more time than we might think in "slo-mo" or hitting small shots like chips and pitches in order to feel and ingrain a motion prior to stepping it up the 1/2, 3/4, and finally full swings. This is particularly the case if the motion is a foreign concept to us or is being contradicted by residual demons from a previous swing style. This is part of the learning process and as such we cannot allow it to become a source of frustration!

rawackerly

Feb 03, 2021

Replying to

Have been working all the drills you prescribed to me in several posts and have still been on the struggle bus to make solid contact until tonight. I also worked my way thru the common faults/fixes and especially the steep backswing drills. Then I came across fault 6 about the over active right shoulder. After several slow motion swings while taking video with my phone and alignment stick on the shaft line I finally shallowed my downswing and hit the ball on the clubface. I hit so many balls in an attempt to shallow my swing that I wore all the lettering off! The downswing motion described in that drill to right tilt is so incredibly foreign to me that I could not believe it was correct and I could not honestly understand how you got into that position. I rewatched your video and compared to my swing to make sure I was doing it even somewhat correct. Don’t worry, your swing is still a little better than mine! And the ball flight and sound/feel as you say doesn’t lie. Prior to this drill I was hitting the cross bar on the bottom of my net with an assortment of thuds followed by an assortment of cussing. While doing the drill I actually hit several very solid into the top of the net using a slower swing. Short of doing that drill over and over can you provide any insight on how to make the right tilt motion more natural? I find it easier to left tilt than to right tilt.

Tom Saguto

Jan 28, 2021

Altogether now: "Hi Rick....." 🤣🤣🤣

Most of us have been members of that club at one time or another, and it's great to know that you are now moving towards the recovery phase!

Yes - the hip motion in the downswing is a combination of both lateral slide and rotation. Too much or not enough of one can result in path issues and can also affect the low point of the swing, causing poor impact quality. Have a look at how Ben Hogan's hips work in the downswing in this YT channel video. It's the perfect marriage of both motions!

Once you're confidently and consistently coming down under the stick, you may benefit from the Tailbone2Target Drill (the "grail") from the Indoor Training Program as that tends to put the hips on autopilot.

I'm glad to know that you liked your V1 analysis and I appreciate your kind words in this regard!

Please keep us posted on your progress as a recovering chopaholic!

Tom

rawackerly

Jan 28, 2021

Replying to

So I watched the videos and understand the basic idea that I need to shallow the club and approach from the inside. When I do it in slow motion I kind of do it correctly but when I speed it up I don’t feel like I have any leverage to push my hips towards the target and drop the club in the slot when I swing faster. Where does the leverage come from? Sorry, I am really on the struggle bus with this one.