Saguto member for about 2 weeks. Started using the V1 app this week (which is great) and realizing several areas that needed work. My practice swings were decent, but when I hit balls I was not pointing shoulder at ball and not starting downswing with hip leading lateral. Had always had awful time with weight shift and flipping, fat shots,…..the usual outside in death zone stuff.
Rewatched several videos on leading with hip laterally and then turning. Went to range and started with mini 1/2 swing punch shots. Was kind of nerve wracking as the club pro and Callaway rep were doing a demo and a bunch of college players were on the range also. I was hit or miss and shanking a few. Almost went home. Finally started getting the sequence a little bit. Was taking a real divot in front of ball and making ball first contact. Added a little more backswing on a few and the ball really started jumping.
Feels weird to take a divot. Was always fat or, at best, a picker when things were going better, but NEVER shifted weight correctly. On good days was Functional Flipper. The stack and tilt ideas were what convinced me to give this a try. After years of frustration, in person lessons, and online courses am finally maybe making some real steps toward a legit golf swing I think. LOL.
The one thing I've found is if I initiate the backswing with my arms, I have a much higher chance of getting too far to the right on the takeaway. When that occurs, my left shoulder wants to "glide" to the right vs. rotate downward. As such, at the top my shoulders are a little flatter and turned...at most...3/4...not to 90*. This leads to thin shots. If I initiate the backswing with my shoulders, my left shoulder has a much easier time rotating downward.
I also have to monitor my the left shoulder to make sure it's not too tense or "shrugged" at address because if it's shrugged or tensed upward and/or outward, it gets in the way of rotating downward. I do a left shoulder check to make sure it's relaxed and "down" and also not protruding outward at address. For me, and maybe others, this is one of the most overlooked causes of swing inconsistencies.