Criticise my golf swing

congrats, good to hear. that is why this website is so great, if everyone shares there swingthought and/or opinions something will click for someone and something else will click for someone else.

would you mind putting up another video so we can see your improvments

The main thing I saw in stop action was
that the body was still turning past the
point at which the full turn should have
been made. In other words, by the time the
hands get to shoulder high on the backswing.
the turn should have already been to ninety
degrees....advice for what it's worth.
Check that Tiger Woods film out and
you'll see it clearly:
http://www.nike.com/nikegolf/swingpo...gportrait_tout

gman: Exactly. But my course's range only has mats, so I can't do anything about that.

Okay, some odd news. I've lost a bit of that distance. I think I let myself go "loose", not keeping that coil long enough. But I'm hitting very nice draws now, the slice is fully fixed. I'm hitting the ball with alot better contact too. I just have to force myself to keep that stretch longer! It's easy to go let go of that stretch early.

edshaw: Yes, true. I noticed I had a bad takeaway: I was using my hands more than my shoulders, that made me sometimes have incomplete shoulder turn on the backswing. I also still have a little bit of overswing (club going past parallel..)


Here's the video of my swing now. The camera wasn't properly aimed, sorry about that. Critique is welcome!

http://www.tommikaikkonen.com/swing3.mov

http://www.tommikaikkonen.com/swing3.avi

Tommi:

You are swinging good at it.
Still, I have to say the takeaway isn't
where I think you can get it.
There is a thread under "instruction"
named "V1 Software" and I think you
would benefit by checking it out.
I am heaping well deserved praise on the teacher
named David who posted some instructional
pictures. It is important to know the takeaway
and the finish of the backswing require separate
visualizations. David's pictures illustrate the point.
We call it "back and up" and I've referred to it
in this blog before. Remember, this is only one of the
ways to swing, buit it has worked for a lot of people.

I'm really high on the Tiger video made by Nike:
http://www.nike.com/nikegolf/swingportrait/
Look carefully and you'll see a couple of things.
The easiest to see is that Tiger's left arm points
nearly directly away from the camera at the top.
That's not an easy thing to do, but mastering the
takeaway is an essential part of getting that on.
Don't think "shoulder turn." Think, body
turn. And if you are forcing it, something is wrong.
That's because it's no more complex than turning
around and shaking the hand of someone next to you.

Don't worry about the legs at first, just turn. And when
you get to a bit above waist high with your hands (the clubhead
pointing to the sky, your shoulders are already at 85-90
degrees,) let the arms raise the club to the top.
And, don't stop your arms until they cannot
go any further. By the way, you really do get to
a good position at the top. But, by over running the
right takeaway, you set yourself up for that right hand
hitting action that's probably the source of your
scattering.

You are forcing the takeaway because it hasn't quite
sunk in how unforced the turn really can be...in my humble
opinion, hoping this doesn't just mess you up.

PS: I started searching aound the net and found
this site. The free lesson is about the takewaway.
Check it:
http://www.onlinegolflessons.com/default.asp

Thanks alot for the reply edshaw, it was very very helpful. I've been working hard on my takeaway and backswing, and I now see more consistency and distance in my shots.

I'm going to post a video soon, so that you can see the progress.

Yes, I'd like to see that video. While you are filming, please take a picture from the front and one from the rear where you stop at the point where the hands are at waist high. This is the end of the takeaway. The club head should be pointing to the sky and the weight of the club is felt pulling towards the ground in the curl of the fingers. To this point, it's about all body. Helps in the picture to slow it down a little so we can see. Also, that V1 thread is coming along. Hope to see you there. It's a learning exercise for all of us

edshaw: If you watch the quicktime video (in this post) you should see the frames at which my hands are waist high and clubhead pointing to the sky. I think my takeaway looks slightly wristy because I cup my right wrist early (is this ok?), and then after my hands go waist high I start the wrist cock.

I noticed that my right elbow was getting stuck when I took it too far away at the top; it was decelerating the clubhead at impact. I think it's quite fixed now. Tell me if it's not!

http://www.tommikaikkonen.com/swing4.mov

http://www.tommikaikkonen.com/swing4.avi

Also some news not related to my swing: my handicap has dropped to 18.6 and I just got a new set of irons (I had been playing with beginner/basic clubs) I got the Wilson Pi5's. The sweetspot is alot smaller, so it makes one strive for accuracy, and not rush with the swing for power. A good thing, I guess.

It's pretty hard to find fault with what
you are doing there.
I'd like to see a little more upper body
turn a little earlier in the swing. But,
your swing is basically sound. Keep
working in that area. Another point that
shows up in your rear view: what we call
the alpha angle is formed by the arms
and clubshaft when seen from behind.
You have to establish that angle and
keep it through the swing. Your hands
are held a bit high. This means alpha
angle is flatter (closer to 180 degrees)
than it might be. As Ben Hogan
emphasised, you never want to break
that plane with your hands. Always, the
hands stay under the plane, and with a
relatively flat angle that is hard to do.
Try a swing with an exagerrated alpha angle.
---
If I am understanding you, a cupped wrist
means your left hand fans open towards
the left. The short answere is "no," except
Bobby Jones hit it that way, so go figure.
Most players today have either a straight
or a bowed left wrist at the top. I'll have
to check the Tiger video for the "definitive"
answer.