Advice please,

I'm now in my late fifties, off 10, and have been playing since I was 11.

In my twenties I played to 8 and had an in-to-out swing which consistently gave a draw. Probably as a result of learning the game from Ben Hogan's "modern fundamentals" book!

However over the years the in-to-out has gone, and my most common problem is turning too soon on the downswing and "leaving the club behind". Recently I've been concentrating on keeping the arms and body synchronised and this is working quite well, but every now and then I end up pulling the ball.

Any suggestions on how to start the downswing so that I don't get outside the line but also don't get my body too far ahead of my hands & arms?

Thanks - all suggestions will be welcome.

Try to keep your lower body still. You may be moving your clearing your hips/legs faster than your arms, leaving you not much room to come from the inside thus causing you to overcompensate with your arms and producing a pull.

Try this drill - position a narrower stance and keep the legs and hips quiet. Practise coming down on the inside and brush the mat. Do a few practise swings like that and then try hitting the ball. It should fix your problem. It worked for me.

Here is the drill I give to anyone struggling to get started properly on the downswing:

http://members.shaw.ca/gord962/drills/downswing.htm

Big Sheesh - thanks, I think you're right about the problem - I'll try the exercise to see if it helps.

Gord92 - thanks, I know the theory but in practice I'm finding it difficult to get all the bits working in the right way!

If I start by moving the lower body I find it difficult to catch up by impact (ie the "K" position) I find that by rotating too much I can't keep the club on the target line.

I agree with the advice of both persons but i take a different approach. I jump at the ball with my hips, sometimes causing me to over compensate and create a pull. So Now i cut my driver and hit it 275 down the middle. I won longest drive in my comp today!

Bonzi, you're able to cut and keep it straight because you know your swing and have good control over it. For the average player, this is too much to do. The idea is to keep it simple.

I suffer from the same problem as you occasionally but like you my key swing thought is connection

I make sure my left arm stays connected to my chest throughout the swing ( a la Vijay) and that keeps my arms and body from seperating and one lagging behind the other. That way my body and arms turn together, never as one leading the other ( I dont know how I ever played that way now, to be honest )

However sometimes, probably in an attempt to hit it hard, I turn my lower body too quickly so i dont hit into a firm left leg. When that happens I come way over the top and pull the ball. The key is just timing really, make a smooth connected turn away and a smooth connected turn through. Im learning this year that better contact is the way to hit the ball further, not sheer brute force

Yes, that sounds spot on. I hadn't thought about the left arm, I'll give it a try.

Incidentally, do you make any effort to play down the target line, or just rely on the synchronised turn getting the clubface square when the ball is hit? (ie the clubface goes from open to closed as you turn).