DUDE(S), help me get over to the promised land of the real golf course somehow. This is getting unsettling. Every ten shots I take at the range now give some combination of *all* the following without fail. (Apologies, camera placement is also a work in progress, getting closer to the stance and more at chest height.) Typically several shots going right from a 3/4 backswing (including face on view with same result) :
Topped going right (including face-on view that did the same):
Off left (also with face-on that also went left) :
Topped straight (same for face-on) :
A decent shot or two:
And the dreaded hosel:
Since my last posts in other Forum discussions the 2.8 drill has been a steady focus for about 4 weeks, 12-15 range visits. But not much change during that time. Always working with 90% weight forward (including lifting the trail foot sometimes to keep it that way), trying the right-arm only drill, the tee drill, swing-under-the-stick drill. Got an Eclipse to work on keeping the head still with spine extension, it's good until I stop looking at it to try to swing a real ball. Sometimes when I really squeeze the armpits to keep connection and "numb" the hands past all recognition there's a real beautiful 60-70 yard draw with a 5-iron. Then the very next shot with the same effort(?) goes way right. What gives? Any suggestions here? (Especially @danny , @James Flood, @Alan Studnicky , @Nocona Colt Abernathy ). Otherwise I'm getting to the point of thinking only in-person with a decent instructor is the way out. And wondering @Tom Saguto if there are any good S&T profs in the Northeast you might be able to recommend.
@joey puvel , @Nocona Colt Abernathy , @Gerry_Lager , @Tom Saguto , ok gents, good stuff here all, and points taken. It's actually helping me to vent even just a little about what's going on in all these efforts, and yes, I'm interested only in spending $ that's necessary. 😁 I'm a pretty analytical guy, and can easily get caught up in certain details, while missing others that are also key to getting the whole thing down. Will be taking this back to the next range session, and the mirror at home. And check out the 'Simplest Ever...' course with all this in mind.
As for the weight forward problem, well @Nocona Colt Abernathy you asked for it. :) This *feels* weight forward to me, it's the result of my working with the very same wall approach you're speaking of from Tom, but which never stays there. Whenever I try setting the vertical line you're showing the weight keeps shifting onto the back foot during practice sessions. Meanwhile @Tom Saguto keeps referring to that 'K' shape, while making the front leg feel like a post in the ground. And when I set up as you are showing in my pic that's when I get the 'post in the ground' feeling, plus some ability to turn on a shaft plane that doesn't bring in the back leg messing with it. Also for what it's worth I took @Gerry_Lager 's suggestion of the contact Drill #7 to the range this morning on the way in to work. Maybe it's not a good sample, but using it once for 10 practice shots: 10 hosels. I think holding an alignment stick swinging with the club is causing my hands to grip more and bring them into messing with the clubface. Then for early extension I tried the right-arm only drill keeping the trail foot in place: 10 more hosels. throwing the stick and almost everything else away I went to a 'chip-shot-only-Gorilla-glued-armpits-elbows-together-no-hands-at-all-numbed-out' practice, got another mix like I'm showing you all above of 3 good shots, 5 slices/hosels, one topped left and one swing missing the ball completely. If you're still with me reading this, I appreciate it, because I'm quite frustrated at this point and frankly at my wit's end about what to do. Trying to put a good face on it in these Forum discussions because there's a lot of comraderie and good will going on here that doesn't deserve my flaming ragefests. But it's really getting to me now, I just want to be able to reliably make good contact with the ball, 9 times out of 10 like Tom says in several of his vids. No, not 3 times out of 10 with a bunch of crap in-between that I can't understand or troubleshoot to fix and visibly improve on. I continue now to feel stuck, just stuck. It's what makes me think an in-person lesson is in order, where I can talk through a lot of this more, while swinging some balls in a back and forth 1-on-1 session with a good sympathetic S&T instructor in my area, taking Tom's suggestion to look through the S&T website for some possibilities there.
@ericostling - The purpose of the 2.8 drill is to train your brain to what impact should feel like and where your body should be in space. Essentially, your presetting your lower body to impact, taking the club back, and returning to impact. But you still have to follow all the rules of stack and tilt. I've marked up some shots from your videos. You can film yourself after and use these same checkpoints to see your progress.
The yellow lines are where you are at impact vs the red at setup. Notice how your entire body has moved toward the ball? Even your hands have moved up. The club is completely passed the ball. Keep that right foot down and don't let the trail knee move toward the ball. That's called early extension.
NO!!! This is not weight forward. This is you leaning your shoulders to the target. See the vertical red line I have drawn. Get you left shoulder AND your left hip AND your left foot on this line. Tom calls it the WALL.
@ericostling - Without getting into a specific analysis here (I'll leave that up to your very competent fellow members), I agree with @Gerry_Lager in that it appears as though you are merging 2.8 with 90% Weight Forward. I very much like the drill he suggested to you as an alternative to perhaps help you out of this temporary - and yes, it is temporary - rut. I do see plenty of very good things in your swing, and your progress from where you started is dramatic!
As for local instructors, if you visit the S&T website they have a "find an instructor" page where you can search geographically.
another thing..not sure if this is possible but could you have too much wait up on your front leg... looks like your entire body is leaning towards the target.
@ericostling I commend you on your work ethic. I'm no expert here but maybe try to tone it down a bit with this drill. Seems like you need to concentrate on just making contact? this drill tones it down to less than 1/2 swing and forces you to compress the ball.