Please clear something up for me....

Simon,

This is the great debate. The short answer is that a strongly shut club face at the top will generally set you up to hook. For most good golfers with a normal swing, it will influence you.

To the ramble.....

The question is "how much?"

In reality, this is the quesiton of everything. Shootin and others will say that worrying about the position at transition is too late. Your set-up will impact your take away, your take away will influence your position at the top of the swing, this will impact the transition, etc, etc all the way to impact. Thus some would say that closed at the top is waiting way too late to monitor the swing. Start with a base and build each layer on it correctly, and then you can hit consistently.

Therefore, any minor changes in your take away will have major impacts on impact.

Yet, if you watch some trick shot guys, they can sit on chairs and drive the living daylights out of balls. "Where is the pivot? Where is the backswing? etc. etc." It's not there.

It is said that Lee Travino would bet people that he could beat them by just using a Coke bottle to drive his ball. Very different from the guys that said that you need customer clubs to play!

Let us just say that "normal" golf instruction would indicate that a closed club face at the top of the swing is going to "set up up" to hit a draw best case, or a hook in the worst case.

Your mileage may vary.

Personally, I think 2 things really matter up to transition:

1. Where are your feet and where is your head at setup? (If you always start and hit with the same head and feet position, this "anchors" your swing.)

2. What is the position at the top of transition?

Theo

dont forget, the flatter the swing plane, with a flat wrist at the top of the swing, the more the club will point up. THe more upright swing plane, flat left wrist again, the more the club will point down so swnig plane plays a big part in this as well. If you want to experience this just take the club to the top adn change the arm position from flat to upright Simon, your main concern should probably be getting that flat left wrist at the top, which cupping in the take away will take care of. Your club face should point where your wrist/back of the left hand, does. keep it that simple.
so to answer your question, first it depends on swing plane, second it depends on left wrist. The only way to really shut it down is to be bowed at the top. Let me know if you need more

This may sound like a dumb or redundant question, but: Is my cupped wrist at the top the main reason I have fought a lifelong push? In the spring I always seem to fight a big push or a straight shot that is hit on the inside of the face.....dangerously close to you know what.

What is the fix at setup to get a more flat wrist?

Last weekend I hit everything in the middle and shot a 75, then yesterday, pushes and inside clubface contact on my way to an 82.....I am leaving for my golf trip on Tuesday, please help me fix!!!!!

__________________
Cleveland HiBore Tour
Mizuno MP-32 irons
Titleist Vokey SW/LW
Cameron Studio Stainless Newport 2

Being that the entire swing happens in a few seconds, it would almost be impossible to grab the photo exactly at the top, but I have to say, you did a great job as these are extremely close.

Also, the pic on the left, I don't think anyone has pointed this out, the club is pointing WAY off to the left of the target, instead of the correct position at the top like the pic on the right.

a flatter back swing that stops short of parallell may look more laid off then and upright back swing, and that is not a bad thing

From what I have been able to read, and see in my own swing is, my left wrist remains pretty flat up until my shoulders stop turning. If I continue to lengthen the swing past this point my wrist cups. I must deduce from this that I would be more consistent by accomodating my swings to my level of flexibility (about 3/4). Any opinions???????

for the most part you want your arms to stop when the shoulders stop, for most people this is Ideal, but this is not ncecesarilly a "must do" where as a flat wrist at impact and forward shaft lean are

jbrunk, I've been through this before. That extra part after your shoulder stops and you are trying to get more out of the backswing, you are probably probably better off without it. If you see some of my posts earlier, I have some horrible videos of how my wrists break down in the last 3-4 frames of my backswing. With your current swing, taking out those few extra movements, you might feel that your swing is only 3/4 done. But leave it as it is first. Work on this "3/4 swing" first. If you really want to lengthen your swing further, that can come from other areas like flexibility in rotation the shoulders more, trying to get a bit more coil etc (maybe even work on the arms but this I'm not too sure), but definitely leave the hands/wrists out the equation

And, I suspect what you will eventually find is that it's not really a "3/4" swing as you imagine it to be now