Forward press

I recently integrated the press into my swing and it has resulted in very crisp irons and much more distance. (though I do hook shots more often...not sure if there is a connection..) What is the rule in this technique? Do you press more for short irons? What do you do with mid irons? I'm guessing with driver there is no press?

Also one more question (please tell me if you think there is a connection...) I am topping driver like crazy. If I don't top shots, my tee shot is a low screamer. My plane is way off now for some reason. I'm really pretty new to the game and I think this just may be the process of learning and building the swing.

Thanks.

Bah! I don't think about a forward press at all. To me it is something in learning with which you have to be very conscious for a while to incorporate it into your swing. Too many conscious thoughts for me is a swing killer. I want to only be truly conscious in the set up, after that I want very few thoughts entering my mind.

hi
i forward press but dont think about it all, it the thing that starts my swing and thats all, i do feel it helps me hit crisper and i use a forward press on about 90% shots not so much if pitching and trying to hit that ball high.
i never think its as crisp when i dont forward press but the ball flys ok just dont feel as good.
bill

forward press can lead to hooking if you are closing the clubface as you press
also can lead to a more vertical swing which might have you topping the driver.
Concentrate on hitting the driver on the up swing and make sure your takeaway is along the ground for as long as possible

But you had to have thought about it at one time otherwise why are we talking about using a forward press in our swings. Either it was a conscious thought at one time or it is just a result of a good set up and swing.

hi jambalaya
its something i do more than think of in the same way i dont think of starting my downswing before it happens it just happens. what i do is go through the same set up on every shot even on the range, when set up i set up my tempo by counting and breathing a few times, i count one and two and three, "one" starts my forward press "and" is the back and down swing and "two" is when the ball is played, "and" is follow through and "three" is a slow high finish even if a short wedge shot,
i find i am more relaxed doing this and think of the count and not about hitting the ball and i think the forward press helps me start it all in time.
bill

The forward press idea seems to work for a lot of people. However, I seem to get more tense when try to forward press. Doesn't feel natural to me. Throws me off right at the start. I can't figure out why.

hi
i use to hold my driver up of the ground and when i started my swing i felt my hands moved but driver head lagged behind so i started to use a forward press. did feel strange at first but now its just part of my set up.
bill

Harvey Pennick mentions the forward press in his video I have. The analogy he uses to demonstrate it is imagine you are holding a bucket of water in font of you, it is a little easier to lift the backet backwards (simulating the baskswing) after having moved it a little bit forwards (forward pressing the hands) first. This gives some momentum to the bucket in that it swings marginally forwards before being moved backwards...

Personally, I don't see how the forward press can have any influence if you start your swing with the clubhead grounded...

I forward press, but, I hover the clubhead behind the ball for all clubs, not just my woods.

Cheers

__________________
Look at the Target, Look at the Ball, Swing... Dr Bob Rotella...

Why not, what difference does it make?
I forward press and ground the club.
The forward press helps to flatten my impact wrist and then I start the takeaway without breaking this wrist.

I guess Gree, to me it seems that if the club is grounded at the start of your take away, at some point you have to lift the clubhead, either that or you'd be sliding the clubhead back along the grass for that early part of the backswing......???

Ok if the grass is nice and lush I guess, but if the f/way (assuming you are on the cut stuff) is hard dry and cracked with divots and the like everywhere, this may not be a good thing...???

Just a thought...???

well yeah I guess you do lift it, but its a minute amount..
do you hover at different heights depending on the surface?
eg rough V's fairway?

Forward press is nothing more than a fluid way to start the swing. I use it in mine. The ball reacts to the position of the clubface at impact, and I don't think it knows whether you forward pressed or not.

Forward Press is a generic term, doesn't neccessarily need to be the hands, can be the knees, the hips, the feet, etc.. a better term would be swing trigger, the idea being something needs to move slightly to break the tension and get the swing moving. What ever you use, make it a small movement and do it every time, so you bodies nervous system get used to the fact that the swing is underway when you do it. Jack Nicklaus turns his chin to the right, Tom Kite cracks and resets his knees, Lee Trevino shuffled his feet, on the third shuffle he swung, there are as many ways as there are golfers, just play around until you find something that works for you and you don't have to think about much.

I have a mental foward press. I send psychic energy to the club head willing it to start the move backward and I follow the club head with the turn of my shoulders. Seriously though, an actual forward press of the hands, hips, whatever gets me out of the set up position which just doesn't feel right. Maybe I will work one in someday but at the moment it is not something I want to think about.