Swing video of me. Advice & help please

[Mitchdoc]

Well Winter in Canada is coming to an end and my course might open in a few weeks so it is time to try to get my swing into shape.

I am a 6 hcp who fights pushed and hooks but is generally a pretty good ball striker with a mediocre short game.
I have been videoing my swing and there are things I don't like:

I feel like I might have a bit of a flat shoulder turn and often a too long swing which crosses the line at the top. I also collapse my arms and lose my width. I have heard about extensor action a zillion times but when doing it I feel so tight and unnatural that my ballstriking suffers tremendously in terms of contact and distance. My goals aren't to have a picture perfect swing but to tighten it up and become more consistent.

I am providing a link to some video I shot today to illustrate my problems. I only was able to shoot down the line. I would appreciate feedback (both positive & Negative ) and drillls.

I consider myself more of a swinger though have dabbled in hitting but fee I lose distance with the longer clubs.

Mitch

[cometgolfer]

Mitch,

I'll give you a few inputs based on what I can see in the video.

Good:

- Looks like you get your right forearm on plane at address and do a pretty good job of staying on plane throughout the swing.

- Your overall motion is pretty good... looks like you pivot nicely through the ball.

Needs Improvement:

- I don't see much start-up swivel.... the clubface looks a bit closed as you take it away, and then looks closed at start-down. Do you tend to hook?

- I'm not sure but I "smell" a cocking right wrist as you get to top/end. You say you've tried extensor action with no luck, but I think that's a common reaction from those who are used to feeling really "loose". You might try to first monitor your right wrist and ensure it stays "bent-and-level", so that your right elbow controls the left wrist-cock, not your right elbow AND your right wrist. I find extensor action helps maintain a bent-level right wrist (I've also wrestled with how to properly apply it without getting "too tight", and am still working the bugs out). You have to work at it and not throw in the towel because it feels "tighter" than what you're accustomed to. ESPECIALLY if you want to "tighten up your swing a bit". Sounds like you don't want to hear that extensor action (or lack of) is a problem in your swing, but I'm afraid it is. Extensor action supplies "structure", it shouldn't bind the machine up.

Gotta be careful what questions you ask if you're not ready for the answer.

CG

[bts]

Well Winter in Canada is coming to an end and my course might open in a few weeks so it is time to try to get my swing into shape.

I am a 6 hcp who fights pushed and hooks but is generally a pretty good ball striker with a mediocre short game.
I have been videoing my swing and there are things I don't like:

I feel like I might have a bit of a flat shoulder turn and often a too long swing which crosses the line at the top. I also collapse my arms and lose my width. I have heard about extensor action a zillion times but when doing it I feel so tight and unnatural that my ballstriking suffers tremendously in terms of contact and distance. My goals aren't to have a picture perfect swing but to tighten it up and become more consistent.

I am providing a link to some video I shot today to illustrate my problems. I only was able to shoot down the line. I would appreciate feedback (both positive & Negative ) and drillls.

I consider myself more of a swinger though have dabbled in hitting but fee I lose distance with the longer clubs.

Mitch

Check if you have "chicken wings" through impact on a face-on shot.

A regular hacker "steers" the shot to the target and creates all kinds of problems.

A highly talented hacker still "steers" the shot to the target, but creates not so much problems, clubface (open for pushes and close for hooks) mainly in your case.

To solve the problem, swing, don't hack!!!

[Mitchdoc]

Mitch,

I'll give you a few inputs based on what I can see in the video.

Good:

- Looks like you get your right forearm on plane at address and do a pretty good job of staying on plane throughout the swing.

- Your overall motion is pretty good... looks like you pivot nicely through the ball.

Needs Improvement:

- I don't see much start-up swivel.... the clubface looks a bit closed as you take it away, and then looks closed at start-down. Do you tend to hook?

- I'm not sure but I "smell" a cocking right wrist as you get to top/end. You say you've tried extensor action with no luck, but I think that's a common reaction from those who are used to feeling really "loose". You might try to first monitor your right wrist and ensure it stays "bent-and-level", so that your right elbow controls the left wrist-cock, not your right elbow AND your right wrist. I find extensor action helps maintain a bent-level right wrist (I've also wrestled with how to properly apply it without getting "too tight", and am still working the bugs out). You have to work at it and not throw in the towel because it feels "tighter" than what you're accustomed to. ESPECIALLY if you want to "tighten up your swing a bit". Sounds like you don't want to hear that extensor action (or lack of) is a problem in your swing, but I'm afraid it is. Extensor action supplies "structure", it shouldn't bind the machine up.

Gotta be careful what questions you ask if you're not ready for the answer.

CG

I am ready for the answer. I guess I have not applied ext. action properly in past as it introduced so much tension I lost all distance and consistency. I think you are onto me neding more forearm rotation/swinvel going back and a bit more structure though

Any drills?

[alojoo]

Uhmm, the pivot ( stationary head) looks centered, but at the top with the driver, your hands motion get unsteady ( grip is fine, but the change in motion of hands and club together). Maybe focusing on mantaining a constant pressure between the left arm and the chest on the backswing, and at the top, startdown and downswing concentrate on reproducing the feeling of heavy and constant primary assembly pressure on pp4. For the observation I made particulary on your swing, or on other aspect, this can improve your swing.

Or maybe at startdown, you are not driving the right shoulder and clubhead by your hips, correctly down the plane surface in the transition from backswing to downswing, that part of your swing I refer to here, the next instant you begin to turn to drive down.

[cometgolfer]

I am ready for the answer. I guess I have not applied ext. action properly in past as it introduced so much tension I lost all distance and consistency. I think you are onto me neding more forearm rotation/swinvel going back and a bit more structure though

Any drills?

MitchD,

I'm not sure I'd call it a drill, but do you know what a bent/level right wrist should look and feel like? When I started to do a better job of it in my own swing it felt like I had a lot less wrist cock than I was used to. I think that's because I was allowing it to "bend" more than it should have and I believe I was adding a little cocking motion to it as well. In actuality I still had plenty of left-wrist cock, but now my hands weren't as "flimsy" as they used to be. So..... it may just be a "look, look, look" thing, but you first have to know what bent-and-level looks like and feels like. In general, I think it's difficult for right-handers to bend/un-bend their right elbow while keeping that right wrist bent-and-level. If you did any throwing sports growing up then you're used to letting your right hand bend and then flatten (or arch even) while your right elbow is bending and straightening.

I'd start with that. Personally I think once you can do that properly you won't have as much problem with applying a little extensor action down the road. I may have something on extensor action I can send you if I can locate it that might help.

CG

[dss]

...the Lynn/ Jeff video on acquired motion. Watch this over and over, then proceed to the range and begin your own execution of acquired motion shots. Just my 2 cents, but I am sure it wil help alot.

[detonum]

As others have said, stick with the extensor action. Last year I had a very long swing with little to no extensor action. Learning extensor action shortened my swing ALOT. Now when I feel like taking a long swing, it's actually about a 3/4 swing when I watch it on video. Distance has only gotten better.

When I try to swing without extensor action now that I have learned it, it just feels sooo weak. So stick with it.

[Trig]

I'm certainly no expert and won't repeat the items already mentioned. The one thing I notice is you have a good deal of "wobble" at the top. The last few inches of your motion look very loose to me and it appears it would be very easy to get the club started down off the intended plane.

[curtisj76]

I'm certainly no expert and won't repeat the items already mentioned. The one thing I notice is you have a good deal of "wobble" at the top. The last few inches of your motion look very loose to me and it appears it would be very easy to get the club started down off the intended plane.

I agree, no offense but I was surprised to see that you are a 6.