IMPACT Position / Right Hand Drill

I have asked questions to Greg and the veteran crew here at GTO about the Right Hand Drill. Each time I get a nice little “swing nugget” that helps me get that much better.

So after hitting a bucket of balls the other day, and absolutely crushing my new driver (laser distanced 1 ball at 303, its nice when the clean the balls up on the range so you can actually see your ball when it stops), I noticed I was still hitting a bit behind the ball with my irons. They were going straight or drawing (my usual flight). But they didn’t have that “zip” I have been trying to get.

I watched Greg’s Right Hand Drill video again. I picked up on something, for whatever reason, I never picked up on before. Greg talks about turning your shoulders 180* vs. 90*. 90* is usually what “swatters” turn to. And I am like….if I turn my shoulders 180* they will be open……….well, that’s NOT true….so I think…..

So I am back with questions J

Let’s say I am hitting an 8 iron. I play it dead center of my stance. If I make my 1st move from the top with the lower body and then try to “COPY” Greg’s shoulder turn; my right elbow stays a bit bent at impact, right wrist is cupped, left wrist slightly bowed…IF that all sounds correct I see 2 problems that HOPEFULLY you can help me with. Because when I swing slowly into that position it feels great; my weight is almost full transferred, right heel is just staring to come up, right hip totally cleared, and I get a STRONG feeling of hitting into a firm left side (which I have never really felt before).

1) How do I release the club from that position? Maybe my release has been wrong all along….
2) My shoulders do seem to be open a little. Am I doing something wrong? Is that OK to have?

Sorry for all the fluff before. I now see how that “Impact Drill” is really supposed to go. It’s a really POWERFUL feeling position. Everything feels “loaded.” I just want to release that power the right way!

Thanks as always!!!!

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft

1. Learn to release the club by letting the left wrist/forearm roll until the back of the left hand faces the target on the follow through. Its even better if you keep the left wrist completely flat/arched in doing this roll. Watch some swingvision of Tiger and other pros. Watch the back of his left hand completely roll (not flip) through the shot.

2. You should feel that your right shoulder goes down the plane during the downswing, or feel that your left shoulder is moving up and back. You want to avoid the right shoulder moving out and around. I think if your left shoulder moves properly in the swing, it will be open at impact.

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

Over at oneplanegolfswing.com, Chuck discusses the 3 types of release - push, slap-hinge, and crossover.

Jbrunk is advising a crossover. I use the push release (ie no flipping or rolling of the wrists at impact).

Open shoulders are fine at impact.

1) Ok, I got it. It might help me hit half shots at 1st. I see what you mean by "back of the hand at the target." Interesting....going to the range shortly to try it. I can only ever find swingvisions of Tiger and others hitting driver. I want to see Tiger in swingvision hitting that "dead arm/hand" wedge that he hits so well.

2) YES! Left shoulder going up and back!!! Exactly. I have never felt that until yesterday. I feel like I am focusing on my right shoulder too much.

I have had this same problem...see my avatar above. Working with an "Impact Bag" is helping me a lot. Another thing you can do is hang an old rug over a clothes line. Let the rug drape down low enough so that you can swing into it. You will immediately get feed back from either of these aids. Make sure they are far enough ahead of your ball position...about 18 inches or so. Rotate the club with the toe hitting the bag or rug (this simulates a draw release) or with the heal hitting the bag or rug (this simulates a fade release). Hope this helps.
golfseeker

HOLY &@#$%@$#!$#%^&^!!!!!

Wow...well that was eye opening. I just hit the best bucket of my life. And I know EXACTLY what I was doing wrong and now know EXACTLY what I am doing right. Might not be perfect, but man, MUCH better.

I was NOT rotating my shoulders correctly. My right shoulder was not moving far enough downward. I look at impact/just past impact positions of Tiger, Els, Adam Scott. Their right shoulder is very low. I was only rotating my right shoulder forward, NOT down and forward. Obviously if I don't go down, I go out. I was so focused on keeping my shoulders closed that I didn't even rotate them.

Once I grooved this feeling (felt like throwing a really wide low-blow uppercut with my right arm/shoulder) I noticed that I could REALLY accelerate my shoulders into impact. My hips were fully square to my target at impact, weight shifted to the left, right heel just a little off the ground, no spinout...BANG...I got 10 yards on each club. It felt like my body was swinging the club, not just my arms.

I think I was trying to "guide" the club into impact. I was so worried about having open shoulders and coming from the inside. That one swing thought of "going low" with the right shoulder bascially fixed everything.

The release still felt a bit off. After about 5 balls, I just told myself to forget about the release and focused on that move into impact. I relaxed my arms and wrists and just let them go along for the ride. It was amazing the distance and accuracy with my driver when I "stayed loose" and "went low." I hit 8 of the best drives I think I have ever hit. Either dead straight or slight draw all within 2 yards of my target (big 350yrd sign in the middle of the range). Irons were crisp, high and on line.

I do think I will invest in an impact bag. Moment of truth

How the heck did it take me 3 years to figure this out? I have been playing golf for awhile, but only in the last 3 years have I worked on my swing. Jeez, I feel dumb

Wow....thank you Greg, Golfseeker, LowPost42 and JBrunk.

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft

Good to hear dude! My research has led me to the belief that the right shoulder downplane along with a good pivot move is the key to clubhead lag. I also had to change my release to go along with these 2 things. If you don't need that peice thats great.

Happy golfing.

Hey, I am glad to see Greg's Right Hand Drill Video
starting to get the attention it deserves.
I have only one thing to add:
The Tiger Woods slo-mo video clearly shows
the hands on the first move down almost directly
retracing the route (the arc) they took to get to the
top. Like Ripley, believe it or not.

I have watched the Nike Video (used in the Ad) several times over. Like jbrunk just discussed, the key to Tiger's swing is his strong pivot move. It's an amazing move. Tiger talks frequently that he actually has to slow his hips DOWN. But what I recently notice is how much the shoudlers move DOWN on the downswing. You can clearly see the cup of the right wrist & slight bow of the left at impact in this video.

It does appear that Tiger drops under his initial plane, not by much, but does drop under it. But like you said, almost directly retraces the backswing route.

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft

I have really noticed the lag. I hit balls yesterday. Same results. A little harder draw than usual, but I just had to weaken my grip a bit and that was corrected in about 2 swings.

Its more of an alignment/setup thing for me. I also notice that I do NOT need to forward press at address. I set my hand up just every so slightly ahead of the ball with PW-7 iron, even with pretty much the rest, and just behind with my driver. If I press at address, I hit harder draws and pulls. Its the little things.

If I start my downswing with my hip and focus on moving my right shoulder down, my hips continue to rotate naturally open. I get a great posted position at impact.

Its really amazing...

Thank you all so much!!!!!

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft

yes shoulder rotation is huge in the swing. have noticed this myself recently. From a face on view, the observer should be seeing your shoulder blades with 180 degree roatation at the end of the follow through. Stopping shoulder roatation at 90 degrees can cause either a push (open club face from lack of rotation or a hook as the face shuts too early).

Yes, my two most common misses Didn't push a ball in the last 100 I hit. SLIGHT pulls or HARD draws. Nothing I would call a hook.

Just need to keep rotating. Never stop rotating. If I "peek up," I stop rotating.

Way to go, RandomHero.
Yeah, I commented on that Tiger Woods
observation to conjoin with the idea that
it is the lower body that initiates the
downswing. Tiger just lets his arms
follow along for a moment, and even at that,
you can see that shaft bow right
from the start in some of his pictures.
There is an idea that has been around
forever that you must drop the hands
down towards the ground. Not sayong that
is wrong, it's just not what the videos
show, neither Greg's nor Nike's.
Hey, howe do you get that "What's in
my bag" thing to show? I can't find it.

Random Hero:

Following your progress in this thread and sounds like some real enlightenment. That's great. Just a word concerning your new swing keys. As keys go sometimes they have a short shelf life in golf. When you fire down and toward the target with your right side (you mention your shoulder) which is a strong and correct motion, make sure that you are still staying behind the ball at impact. An active right side too early in the swing can throw your pivot ahead of the ball even if that initial move is down and not out. Make sure you have the feeling of hitting into a firm left side at impact then continuing to drive through with the right side while continuing to rotate your left shoulder up and behind as stated by another GTO member. Timing is key and based on your distances reported your timing is very good.

Tim S.

My 1st move from the top is rotation of the left hip LEFT and UP. When I move my left hip UP my right shoulder works down. This move moves my hands into the slot. From there, I now start rotating my right shoulder LEFT and DOWN. At impact, I feel as I am hitting into a very firm left side.

But what you said is very true. You need to continue to drive through with the right side while continuing to rotate. However, I feel that I need to continue to rotate my left hip. If I stop rotating my hips, I hit pulls and hooks. Sometimes I make that 1st move with my hips, but then stop rotating them.

__________________
What's in my bag....
Cleveland VP 2 Blade Putter
Ping Tour Wedges, 54 & 60
TaylorMade rac LT2, 4i thru PW
Tour Edge Exotics Iron-Wood 21* 3i - Aldila NV 90 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 18* 5 Wood - ProLaunch Blue 75 Stiff Shaft
Ping G5 15* 3 Wood - Aldila NV 75 Stiff Shaft
Cleveland HiBore XL 9.5* - Fujikura Fit-On Red Stiff Shaft