I'm an big S&T fan and it changed my game last season, decreased my HCP (under the new WHS calculation) by 5 points. Still 27 HCP, but it's consitent now. But somehow I could not get it to work with the driver. Always heavily throwing my trail shoulder down to the ball, which looks severaly over the top when you look on video. This despite keeping elbow connected. I stumbled on this video, https://youtu.be/YVpMQC04ewk and is has bene a great extra tip, think pushing the trail shoulder down, that seems to word much better (still perfectioning it). What are you thoughts Tom, maybe do a consise Tom style trick :)
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@richard.peyser - It's still the same swing motion regardless of which club we are hitting; there are just some minor setup differences and naturally occurring shaft plane changes as we graduate up in club length from short irons to woods, and as demonstrated in the driver video you referenced. So with regard to the forward tilt at the start of the swing, you are actually tilting, turning, and extending. It is the combination of these motions that keeps you centered so your upper body does not tilt towards the target, your relationship with the ball is maintained, and your weight does not shift to the trail side.
Thanks Tom, When you preset with the driver to get more extension under your tip for solving common driver problems do you still start the swing with a forward tilt? This seems to negate the benefit of presetting with the stance. Still a little confused here. thanks
How to you square the required tilt on the backswing with the lean back advise at the set up to get the ball going higher? the two videos on the driver problems seem contradictory
Oftentimes when golfers are hitting everything well except for the driver it can be attributed to one of the following:
1) They don't start with - or maintain - enough weight on the front side. In general with the driver we should add a little more front weight load at address - more like 60/40 instead of the 55/45 prescribed for the other clubs. This forward weight should gradually increase to the top of the backswing (70/30) and build further on the downswing - approximately 80/20 halfway down, 90/10 impact, and 95/5 finish.
2) Their hips are not continuing their lateral slide through impact. This is common with the driver as the wider stance means that the hips have a greater distance to travel. If the hips stop moving laterally towards the target on the downswing then their rotation takes over, changing the low point and rerouting the club. This can produce a variety of undesirable results including fat and thin contact, topped shots and popups, straight pulls, and “banana” slices.
3) They are not allowing the length of the driver to dictate the backswing path and are getting too steep as a result. The longer shaft of the driver encourages more of an around the body backswing as established by the shaft plane at address. It may "feel" flat as you take it back along the shaft plane for the first few feet, but as long as you maintain the "weight forward, shoulder down, and hands in" components while allowing the club to work around you, it should put you in the proper position at the top so you can attack the ball from the inside.
Check out the lessons in THIS online school section dedicated to the driver as it address commons issues specific to hitting the Big Dog. Once you get it right I believe you will experience noticeable improvements in both distance and ball flight consistency.
This is a common issue that I am regularly asked to fix, so if yours doesn't relate to any of the above causes - or if it does and you are experiencing difficulty resolving it - we can always arrange for an online lesson by emailing lessons@saguto.golf or a V1 swing video analysis to pinpoint the culprit and offer an appropriate solution.