Can someone help a fatty?

Hi everyone,
I'm new to the forums and to the game of golf. I played about 3 or 4 times during the 2005 season and then I started playing multiple times a week just this year so I'm a very high handicapper. My biggest problem right now is both distance and slicing my drives that I'm looking for help on. I need swing help tailored for a guy who is pretty stout, barrel-chested, with a sizable belly. I'm getting a lot better with my irons but my driver is not getting any better, in fact it seems to always go two steps forward and three steps back. At the start of one practice session my balls will be flying 150 yards straight then making a sharp right turn and going 70 yards to the right, really killing my distance and putting me in the rough on most holes unless I try to play the slice which I don't. Then by the end of hitting about 40 balls I can *sometimes* (and I mean sometimes) get it flying between 200-250 yards fairly straight, a shot that would usually hit the fairway or be just off. Then when I come back for the next session a day or two later instead of going 150 straight then 70 right at the beginning, they go 120 straight and 90 right, its like just after I got encouraged that I finally worked out my slice, I'm worse than before on my next time out, and usually when its like that they slice the entire session.

Its really frustrating me because I really might as well tee off with my 3 or 4 iron, I hit it further and straighter than with my driver.. I'm hoping these forums can be of some help, I've been reading Leadbetter and Golf Digest lately. Recently things that seem to have helped have been thoughts suchas: weight on the inside of the feet, watch the ball disappear, keep hips quiet, turn shoulder under chin, turn behind ball, rhythm/tempo, shorten backswing. Of course I can't think all of those every time.. but occasionally I will get a combination of thoughts that will seem to get me driving it 230-250 straight a good bit of the time, the first instance of this was the combination of "watch the ball disappear" and "weight on the inside of feet" one day nasty slices turned into straight drives with those two thoughts seemingly instantly, next time I tried those thoughts the slice was worse than before and I can't figure out why. Last time I really was straightening it out I was thinking about quiet hips, not letting the clubhead go inside or outside the line on a wide backswing, and sticking my butt out just a tad to straighten my posture.. these three things seemed to do wonders that day.. tried them again today and I could not hit the ball over 150 yards or straight in about 30 drives.. it was completely discouraging. Any help?

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1stDownRBrown
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Well, the danger of the range is that over time, you can often make enough compensatory moves to cure whatever ails you. (So they say. I can't seem to do it!)

Right now, I'm suffering from the same thing - the slicey driver. I play for it on the course, but at the range, I really try to flatten my backswing. My iron swing is particularily steep (which is great for irons), but it's killing my driver.

The two things I'd check for are a hip slide (which will leave the face open as your swing path has now been moved forward), or really tense hands (which can 'choke' the club open). I was guilty on both charges for the longest time last year. Now I'm working on flattening my plane, and 'sweeping' more.

Just my $0.02, YMMV.

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True Length Technology Fitter - www.truelengthtechnology.com
It's live! - www.ShipShapeClubs.com
PCS Class 'A' Clubfitter

A new highlight: Golfing the home course on Christmas Day.

I say it too often: If it's golf club shaped, you can play with it.

For the record, I'm a club doctor, not a swing doctor.

Hi,

I found help in my slicing by trying to feel what a draw feels like. I practiced and succeeded in finding a draw. My slice comes back time to time, but I can cure it by thinking of hitting a draw. (Some times I pull it, but often it helps.)

So find a drill to hit a draw. If you are a right handed player, lower your right hand and hit with your golf club like you would with a ice hockey stick. (This is not who to swing, but only to get a feeling of a draw shot!!!)

Hope this helps.

You are in a danger zone. I know it because i have been there.

What I mean is that there are so many thoughts and questions, that you dont really know what the problem is, and have no direct route to solving these problems. Your first move is clear your head from all these questions. Make a decision to go and see a pro. get to learn the basics such as grip, posture, stance, etc. When you understand these principles, the next move is to start getting a swing going with these basics in hand. From here. you can only go forward. It is not going to happen overnight, but believe me this is the way to get to where you want to be. Your body build has absolutely no bearing on what type of swing you should be looking for. Look at the pros, John Daly, big and blocky, Paul Casey, small and thin, but yet they are both long hitters. Why? Because they both have the same understanding about technique, timing, rhythm, etc. These are the principles on what a good golf swing is based on. So, get yourself to a pro, and see the changes appearing in your game. You will be amazed at the improvement, but most importantly, your head will be free of clutter and you will understand what you are trying to achieve.

Hope this helps.
Robert

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"Play to your ability, not your expectation"

Just want to second Roberts advice. It's good the get the basics right - and in golf basics will get you very far. Easiest way to do that, is to consult a pro.

hannu how is the mission to be into the single digits going?

(and basics are important to learn you must get them right otherwise it will cause problems)

adz

I toke Roberts advice - too. Not about seeing a pro, but going back to basics. I try to do a very simple basic swing with every club.

My hcp is 15,7 at the moment. Goal is to drop it to 14 - 15 in this month. So I am well in my schedule. September should be single digits:-)

wow doing well i see how long has it been since you started then now?

adz

I have been playing on a course just over one month. I started to practice about 9 months ago. First months was just at a driving range and then came winter. So I have been doing a lot of basic training at home. Just swinging a club. I went to a inside driving range 5 times during the winter and played 3 rounds in Spain.

wow you are doing amazingly then are the swings in your gallery up to date? i need to get on whtever training session you are on

adz

My swing at the gallery is about one month old. I started to use some power in my 3W swing. Ball flies nice, but I miss the fairway too often. I am going back to a "technical" swing.

I would like to see 1stDownRBrown's swing. It would give some feedback about his problem.

There is no secret in my practice. It's just a lot of work. I play from 6 to 10 hours a day 5 days a week.

I would show it to you but i don't have a video camera. By the way, haven't been on lately, been busy with work and some playing golf. Thanks for all the replies, one of my buddies who is a scratch player told me to strengthen my grip, he pointed out how hard it would be for me to turn my driver over like a draw and how easy it would be for me to rotate under like a fade, thus resulting in a killer slice for me. Ever since this little bit of info my slices have become fades and I can take about a 3/4 to 4/5 backswing without fear of the slice which is giving me a bunch of my distance back. before in order to hit it straight I was only taking 1/2 a backswing or less just to try to get it in play resulting in me hitting it about as far as I would my 5 or 6 iron. I also hit a couple greens in regulation the past couple times I've played so I'm making progress. about the time I wrote that post I'd maybe made one green in regulation all season. thanks for the advice, I'll try to get to a pro but I'm just poor, in college, and unemployed so just having money to buy gas to go to the course is sometimes squeezing my budget. i might be able to squeeze an extra 35 or whatever it is sometime soon. Maybe do without cable for a month.

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If you can not see a pro, you need to figure out the basics by your self.
There are a lot of information in the net - and learn to listen to your body.

Look at the flight of the ball, check the divot and try to figure out the contact to the club head. This fill give you a lot of information to work with.

Here is goof place to start.
http://members.cox.net/gregjwillis/GolfLessons.htm

I think the most difficult thing in learning by your self is to get feedback. It just difficult to know what your body is doing. Try to get someone to shoot a video of your swing - any kind of moving image will help you to see what you are doing.

1stdowner, If you haven't been here http://www.golftoday.co.uk/proshop/tuition/index.html
I would strongly suggest you take a look.

I've been playing about 7 months and have made what seems like a thousand adjustments to my swing, but have made some fairly steady progress. These online lessons are helping me clean some things up and get back to a more basic mindset. Hope this helps.

If I get to a point where the progress stops and I haven't a clue what to do, then I'll seek out a pro. Just me,,, I have a lifetime of learning things the hard way, wouldn't think about changing that now..

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I would suggest that any golfer who says they've never thrown a club is either a liar or a poser. To all of you "gentlemen golfers" out there, respectively..
Jim

Hi Teevino,

I had a look at your link. It looks very good for me too.

br. Hannu