Jim Mcleans Death Moves

I got the Jim Mclean 8 steps to a perfect golf swing dvd. Its really good especially if you are using your own video analysis. As the name states he goes through 8 steps with checkpoints, he then points out "death moves" of each check point. Well after looking at myself on video I have one.

When my backswing is half complete and my left arm parrallel to the ground and my wrist cock complete the butt end of the shaft is pointing way outside the target line. Jim says it should point right at the target line. I guess my question is why is this so bad??? what does it do to the golf swing?? Is it harder to bring back down on plane or something??

thanks

It means you're already getting laid off, and this causes a flat swing plane, IIRC.

Yeah like Lowpost says, you're not keeping the club face square to the target line, but in a laid off position. To explain:

Hold out your left hand vertically so the thumb is on top. From this vertical position bend your wrist towards the floor slightly. (NB. when you grip your club normally at address the wrist is usually in this position.)

If you straighten the wrist again so that the thumb is on top. This is a cocked position (Try as I Might, I can't bend my thumb backwards onto my forearm - so it is as cocked as it can be ... unless you're double-jointed) In all circumstances do not bend the wrist from side to side - it should only ever bend up and down.

So when your wrist is straight like this, turn using your spine so your left arm is inline (parallel) with an imaginary target line. Please keep the wrist vertical and do not rotate it or move the hand sideways at the wrist ... something which is easy to do. This is where the left hand should approximately be in the backswing. When you get to the full backswing your wrist doesn't look vertical to your eyes but it is verticle so-to-speak in relation to the left arm.

For a drill try this:

1) Get an old shaft or broom handle and cut it into a 2 feet length.
2)Tape a small torch to each end of the shaft.
3) Lay a longer shaft on the ground along a target line
4) Take up the address position and shine the bottom torch on the shaft on the ground.
5) Start the backswing and make sure the beam travels along the shaft.
6) When your left arm is parallel to the ground the the other torch beam should be on the shaft.
7) go to the top of the swing
8) On the way down make sure both ends of the torch run along the shaft on the ground.

I hope this helps but remember, people do not swing a club in the same way - we all do it slightly differently. If you can swing on plane using a different method go for it.

thanks metcalf,

I did another video analysis, I compare it to pros figuring they must be doing something right. Golf can be a game of optical illusions.. case in point. I cocked my wrist during my backswing and it felt almost as if I were pointing the shaft at my feet way inside the target line, low and behold on the video I am right at the target line.

I did feel good hitting the ball today but I have an over the top swing. It results mainly in pulls as I keep the club face square to the swing path. My problem now is to try to flatten the downswing which I'm sure has been the discussion before on these forums. If anyone has any ideas or swing thoughts to flatten the downswing let me hear em!

thanks guys.

basicly if your butt of the club is facing your target line it means you are on plane. When your butt is outside your target line like you said you are it means you have come to far inside on your backswing.

You may have an overactive right hand, which is pulling the club inside far too soon. You may be standing too far away from the ball. When you are standing too far away from the golf ball you tend to swing more around your body. This causes a very flat swing plane. You are most likely experiencing hoks and pushes. You need to work on your fundamentals. Pay attention to the beginning of the video when he talks about the distance that you stand from the ball.

Try this: Stand erect, then bend from the hip girdles, after you have done this you should feel the weight go forward slightly. Then proceed to slightly bend your knees. Notice how your arms naturally hang just below your head, they should be abot a fist widths apart from your waist. This is a correct posture. this will fix the flat swing plane. You can also stand two feet away from a wall, then work on going halfway back. the wall stops you from taking the club too far to the inside. This will keep the club in front of your body where it should be.

__________________
Jordy Scerbo
Golf Instructor

Hi all, i'm new here but read this post and thought i had something to offer. I have quite a good drill for flattening your downswing.

1) Place a Tee peg in the but end of your club so it sticks out about an inch or so - u may need to use a long wooden tee. When you swing down make the tee peg point outside the target line.

2) Another technique - take your address position and imagine there is someone stood opposite you facing you. Imagine they are holging a golf club out in front of you, so that the grip would be pointing at your knee and the club head would point at the imaginary person holding the club. When you swing down make sure the shaft of your club passes under this imaginary shaft - if you come over the top, your club will hit the imaginary one.

3) Another technique that i use is this. I set up square to my target and then pick out another target about 15 yards right of your actual target. So your set up square to the pin, but your thinking about hitting a target that is right of this. Now make your swing and try your hardest to the ball to the right of the pin. This will flatten your swing, make your attack frim inside the line and result in a draw. When i want to shape a shot - i use this technique. One point to note is that you must make a contious effort to hit your ball to the right of your actual target.

Hope this helps.

Will