Proper wrist action (fix the "swing" first)

Travis,

Sounds like an adventuous first round. They do get better. You might want to print out the Grip and Setup drill on the home page. I use this in my teaching of beginners. Following it will you into a routine and you will feel more comfortable taking a swing. Keep in mind, swing the club don't hit the ball. When you make a swing and the ball is in the way, the ball will go where you intend it too. If you try to hit the ball, it will have a mind of it's own and goes where it wants to.

Just some advise, take a smooth, slow paced backswing. It's only purpose it to get into the proper position for the through swing. Swing through without slowing down.

Don't think about swing mechanics during a round, the less thought the better the swing. Let your subconcious do the work.

Don't judge the day by your first 15 shots on the range before a round. Be sure to stretch and loosen up before practicing and a round. Being angry at the little white ball only makes it more stubborn to go where you want it.

The harder you try to swing the worse the result. Take it easy and relax!!!!

GolfBald

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The guy in the white hat!

Ok guess it's time for my little bit of input since Travis did the main recap. He said that all in all we enjoyed the round... He was speaking for himself. I did NOT enjoy it very much. I tried to keep a good disposition, stay "happy" and enjoy myself but from the very beginning it seemed the odds were against me. First with Travis getting so upset on the range. Then, as if I wasn't feeling weird enough, adding 2 people to the team I didn't know didn't help. I don't do well around people I don't know. Travis knew the one guy, it was a guy from him ship but the other was just added on to us since he was alone. I really don't mind and do understand the need to do this. My main problem is this guy seemed really "dry". I tried to be nice, make a couple small jokes and he didn't even crack a smile. I'm a people person and am friendly by nature but the vibe I got from this guy was that he wasn't exactly happy to have to share his tee time with a female. I could have just been reading too much into it but it still made me uncomfortable. He did seem to loosen up a little later and even gave me a tip(which I wish I could remember) about the proper stance etc for shooting low under the trees. But aside from that he was pretty cold to me the whole day.

Like Travis said, the course was very fast paced and even when I shouldn't have been, I felt very rushed. Travis was the main one rushing me. If I didn't rush up and make my shots he would constantly remind me to hurry up. Not only that but he KNEW it was a fast paced course to begin with so he should have picked a different one, a little more "slow" for our first time. I lost 2 balls(we had just bought some nice balls at the pro shop) in the water and one because I simply couldn't find it after it hit a tree and wasn't allowed to take the time to look for it. That ticked me off too. I hate wasting money, we had just paid $20 for these good balls, and I lost 3. Which brings me to my next "gripe".

I found my main problem, the reason I just could NOT hit the ball like I had been on the range was due to the fact that after my first(and best shot) I could not see where my ball was going. After I would drive, I was struggling to see where my ball was going due to the amount of leaves on the ground and the sun in my eyes even though I was wearing sun glasses. This caused me to have a hang up and from that point on I started topping and missing the ball completely on my swings because I was bringing my head up to soon to try and see where my ball was. Travis and I made a pact though. Next time(Yes there will be a next time even though I've joked about an "I suck at Golf" bowling league on another thread) that we would watch better for each other so that worry is taken away. He was up at the "guy" tees and I was down at my "girlie" ones so he never saw where my ball went. There wasn't enough time to wait for him to come down to my area so he could help watch for my ball. So I know that was my major problem.

I told Travis to give my "top 3" list. He did it wrong... Driving the golf cart was by far the high light of my day LOL. But Golfbald, you were right... I "loved" the bunkers. Mostly because my short game sucked as much as my long(need more practice chipping and to figure out the diff. between pitching and chipping etc) and because that seemed to be the only shot I could do right almost every time. Even the guys complimented me more then once on my bunker shots LOL I owe you a BIG THANKS Golfbald for the tips on bunker shots!! I must say though, the course should have refunded some of our money since I did a lot of grounds keeping for them. I raked almost every bunker for them by the time the day was over

Over all for me it was very frustrating and I found myself ready to leave before we were even finished. The phrase "teed off" came into play many times... and it had nothing to do with golf. LOL I'm hoping next time will be better. Need to get to the range a few more times to break the "heads up" problem I got from the course. I'm also wanting to take a couple lessons but that will probably have to wait till after the Thanksgiving holiday. We are going out of town Tuesday evening to Connecticut and won't be back till Sunday. But hopefully if the weather is decent enough, that next Monday I can get to the range and get a lesson. Gotta do something cause, much to my dislike, I'm not picking this up like I hoped I would. Being "athletic" in nature and always able to pick up any sport I try(softball, bowling, pool etc) having this much trouble is frustrating. But I'm not a quitter... I refuse to give up. It's my stubborn nature I guess.

Thanks to all who wished us luck and gave as much tips and advice as you could. See, you explain it, Travis reads it and then shows me. I just can't read something and get it. I'm a "hands on" type person so that's why I'm going to need lessons, whereas Travis can read his books and things online. Anyway, take care all and hopefully next time, I'll have a better report!!

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It's not saying the right thing at the right moment but not saying the wrong thing at the tempting moment.

BUMP...............There is some great advice at the start of this thread Go Low!!!!

I truly intend to read it completely when I can muster up enough attention span to do it. However, the title of the thread certainly got me to thinking. I think some of the conventional ways of explaining wrist action can be confusing and misleading. The "thumb a ride" and straight up and down wrist cock explanations are too limiting. Then you have the waiter holding a tray visual which in some ways is an opposing force to the straight up and down cock of the wrists. For my swing I think of two things: Get the left wrist flat at the top and a cup in the right wrist. I think doing these two things for me means I don't have technically a straight up and down cock. It is not a complete hinge either. There is an angle to it based on my grip and swing.

OK, a point more relevant to your article. I think certainly the "fix the swing first method" is sound reasoning. But can it work for everyone? Do some people's physiology or psychology necessarily allow them to get the proper wrists movements by not thinking about it because they have incorporated the correct swing movements in the back pivot and forward swing? Can working consciously on wrists movements drive us to make better pivots? Is your method basically the alternative to the "educate the hands" idea?

I think theres merit in it. If you try and hold the wrists into impact with a poor swing path all sorts of bad things will happen

When I was really working at my game last year I spent hours in my back garden without a ball, with a tee in the end of the club and a club laid across my feet at 45 degrees angle so I could see the 'delivery line'. I then spent ages on the downswing feeling my hands pulling the club along that line (watching the tee pointing over the lub shaft into impact). What I found as I did this over and over was that your left wrist had to stay flat to make the club go in that direction, if it didnt and there was some cast/flip the club would come OTT of that delivery line

So in a lot of regards fixing and learning the swing path also fixed my wrists and the tendency to throw my hands down the wrong line from the top and altering that wrist position

So true G-Low and pnearn. One actually needs to see their swing plane. Doing slow motion swings and actually watching your hands and arms and practicing the proper hand an arm movements is essential. I thought people were a little nutty when they suggested slow motion drills but I have worked out more things in my living room than I have at the driving range. Going to the range and beating around a couple of hundred balls can be good but not if you haven't worked out basic swing faults. We can always groove our swing to compensate for faults on the range because of repeated action. But when you're on the course and you have to make a single shot after a couple of practice swings and a time gap between shots your faults will take over.

If you want to ensure you are on plane and never OTT watch you belly button. Sound Stupid!!!

Let me briefly explain, the casting motion is not a bad thing, in fact is a correct release of the club. What makes it bad is the belly button is a person's center of gravity, give or take 2 inches for body style. On the backswing it moves 8 " backward, this keep the head centered and the swing arc perfect. On the down swing immediately move the belly button 16" over the front this will keep the head behind the ball and open the left side of the body to swing through, head in the proper place. As long as you don't stop that motion, it is impossible to come over the top.

Give it a try!

GB

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The guy in the white hat!