Starting the downswing???? keeping inside

hi new here,


great site, very informative!!!

i have a question relating to starting the downswing. Recently been for some lessons (16 handicap), and got the dvd of myself from each lesson. was told that i have a pretty sound swing but that
1 i was overswinging and
2 was coming over the top casting etc

when i was told i was overswinging in the lesson i tried to cut my backswing down and was amazed when i looked at the dvd later on to see i was still swinging like jon daly. i think i have sorted this problem by not letting my left arm break but this problem still creeps in when i am tired and under pressure on the course.

but by far my biggest problem is coming over the top.
the pro has tried to get me to come down inside and also to push club out to right after impact. which i can do and sometimes get t af few draws. Ive hit nearly 3000 balls trying to get this to stick but i seem to always eventually get back to casting the club.

is there anything i can do to start the backswing so that i come down inside.

i used to rotate my left hip but quite often this causes me to come over the top more.

What starts your downswing ??? how do you keep the club on the inside???

i know this is the holy grail of the swing but any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

PS whats the best training tool for this stuff??? a weighted club???

You can do any of these to stop OTT:
1. put a cardboard box or head cover a few inches outside the ball pointing almost to right field. Swing easy at first and see if you can follow that line with your downswing to impact without hitting the obstacle.
2. Strengthen(not grip pressure) your left and right hand grip, especially the right hand more to the right so knuckles are almost pointing to the ground-when you start hitting hooks, you can weaken it a bit until you get the shot shape you want.
3. Stick an old shaft in the ground outside the ball and leaning in over the ball, try to swing easy and swing under the shaft without hitting it.
4. Buy or make an inside approach training aid. I made one with bendable plant stakes and some foam rubber. Go on line and see what it looks like then duplicate the angle

as far as over swinging i restrict my hop to no more than a 45 deg turn which n turn adds more resitance and a bigger x factor which gives me much more power than letting m hip turn back further and having a dalyesque swing.

as fas as coming OTT try this website
http://www.newgolfswing.com/newgolfswing07.php
the "magic move" might help
also try to make the first move (with your club) to be vertically strait down for a fwe inches. some people like to l=think of it as dropping into the slot by bringing the right elbow into the ribs. i like to think of it as getting my left arm stuck under my chest where as at the top is was slightly above my shoulder (depending if you have a 1 or 2 plane swing).
HTH

You should check out Greg's Right hand Drill. I would actually consider it a secret of golf in some respect because very few people do it. The ones who do and do it well ae the ones we watch on TV Thursduy thru Sunday. It is as Greg puts it. " the key to distance with accuracy, ungodly accuracy ". Since I watched this drill Greg (Willis) made I have never struck the ball so solidly and effortlessly. Now I can focus more on tempo and leave all the swing thoughts at the range. It's to the point now where if my tempo is on> I am almost guranteed to shot under 75. It's a great feeling. here's the link. Try to ingrain this and it in itself may fix a lot of your issues.

http://members.cox.net/gregjwillis/LESSON1.htm

I like the "pump" drill, it ingrains the inside move;do it twice then hit the ball.
Works well but without tempo and balance, forget about it.

You swing OTT because your shoulders roundhouse on the downswing. Your right shoulder comes around to the ball rather than going down as it should do. Quite often this can also be a result of a poor backswing pivot so first things to check here are...

1. Dont overswing and collapse your left arm/wrist
2. Dont slide/sway. Make sure you turn only. No lateral movment backwards
3. A flat left wrist at the top
4. Make sure your shoulders are turned and facing the target
5. Maintain the spine angle and right knee flex and feel coil in the right leg

You need to find a method to come from the inside that works for you. There are lots but a good one to 'feel' the motion is the one taught by John Dunigan. With your shoulders fully turned pull the butt end of the club at the ground. DONT turn your shoulders as you do this and keep your head still (behind the ball)...allow the downward motion of your arms to turn them for you, late in the motion. If you have coiled properly on the backswing the lower body will move forward naturally as you do this (as it springs back from the coil .. this is key) and you should feel like your right shoulder is going down, the left shoulder up (rather than around) and you increase your body tilt away from the target. Keep pulling down and see the club come around square

To you this will feel like you are going to hit the ball way right and it will feel very 'armsy'. You may start off this way but keep a light grip and feel the hands turn over through the ball. So lead with the arms and dont throw the upper body through the ball. Pull the clun through the ball rather than 'hit' at it (which is everyones natural insticnt)

If the ball keeps going right you may have a weak grip. Work on moving both hands to the right (not just the left hand)

Try it a LOT in slow motion and then with half swings with the ball on a tee. You'll know immediately if you roundhouse those shoulders and come OTT as you will hit a pull or a slice

HTH

There are 2 things to consider - the club path and the club head. I would start with squaring the club head first then work on the path. One of the common reasons for coming OTT is a poor grip. In this case, you try and square the club up with the shoulders. Have your pro recheck your grip. If you are coming OTT you may start pull hooking, but that is ok as you are starting to square the clubface. Then start working on the club path.

I said in a different post that I'd got rid of all my bookmarked golf tips sites; I should have said almost all.

http://www.golfsupport.co.uk/game_dev/over_top.asp

Very similar idea to pnearns post.

I still have the odd convulsive heave of the shoulders as I try to hit the cover off the ball but this is the drill that has come nearest to dealing with my OTT problems.

For me it works because I can feel my shoulders waiting to turn and that makes sense to me.

Have a look at this thread - loads of different ideas in it.

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/g...highlight=stop (Over the top - Is there one thing you can do to make it impossible?)

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great stuff guys- a lot of information to get through there. ill let you know how iget on.

with regard to grip stance set up etc also takeway and wrist cock this is something ive spent hours on for the last wee while, and pro advises that everything is spot on with regard to this.

thanks again

Pull the chain to start the downswing is a good thought.
Basically, over the top means you're swinging "around" yourself faster than you should in relation to the downswing. You're swinging around on your hips and not your spine.
I was taught to slide the club straight out to the right and up (away from target) and then "loop" the club to the inside so that at impact (in theory) one is swinging from the inside to the outside. Because of this move I always get comments about my swing looking Furyk-like. If anything I tend to push the shot out to the right. But since a push is just a bit of hook-spin away from a draw I'm ok with it.

From Golf Magazine:

Imagine bumping the door to stop coming over the top
It's not uncommon when your hands are full with grocery bags to bump the car door closed with your hip. Starting your downswing with that same motion will help you straighten out lazy slices that make you feel like you'll never hit another clean shot.

The Drill
Open your car door all the way, then get in your address position with your stance parallel to the side of the car and your left hip resting against the outside of the door.
Swing back to the top, then bump your left hip forward, toward your imaginary target, to start the downswing.
This will shut the door--and keep you from ruining your paint job on the follow-through.
Use this image to avoid coming over the top, which usually leads to a weak slice. By starting down with a shift of your left hip, you'll have enough room to drop the club straight down so it approaches the ball from the inside. That's the path to ideal contact.

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