Changing swing

Hi all,

I haven't been a member for very long and I thought it is about time to introduce myself. I have played golf for about 30 years (says something about my age, doesn't it? ) and have played to a 12 handicap for many of those years. Recently, however, I have steadily gone out and currently play to 16. Got frustrated with this and am now taking a series of golf lessons from a local pro (Adelaide, Australia) which included a video of my swing (shock horror). I have been taking the club too far on the inside on the backswing, a common fault apparently. This problem, I have learned, makes it impossible to sqaure the clubface at impact using a proper downswing movement by shifting to the left and then turning. Without realising it, I have learned over time to reduce the weight shift and come over the top to get the clubface (almost) square at inmpact. I am now working hard to virtually rebuild my swing from scratch, trying to stay on plane, not cupping my left wrist (another fault!), properly transferring weight, turning and then rolling the wrists to square the clubface. Needless to say, I find it very hard and it hasn't done much for my game. However, I am dertermined to stay with it and hope to have a better looking and more effective swing in due course.
I am interested if anyone else is going through the pain of rebuilding their swing and would love to hear from you.
Tony (sinuetblue)

Hi Tony, and welcome to the forum!

I'm working on my swing, too, and it's not easy. Granted, I'm a relatively new golfer (this is my 2nd season), and I've had 2.5 lessons with a CPGA pro (the .5 is sharing info with another guy who swings (swang?) sort of like I do (did?) )

I find that it takes about a week of playing for a swing change to become natural (I've gotta play for a week, as I don't have a local driving range).

Try not to work on too much at once (although, from the sounds of things, you may not have a choice!)

__________________
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.

Tony,

You are changing several things. Make sure the pro does not inindate you with information all at once (which it looks like he might have). Take it one piece at a time. It is easy to get overwhelmed and think that they all have to be perfect to get results. i.e. Work on one thing at a time. Knowing that you have all these things that he wants to work on is one thing, actually changing them all at once is another.

Start with fixing the inside move first. This has good residual affects elseware that will fix themselves. Then evalaute where you are after that...after about a month (at least 8 practice sessions of working on that one item).

Don't pay the pro to watch you practice either. You need lots of time to yourself before getting another lesson.

I went through about 3 major changes in my 20 years, each taking anywhere from 3 month to 3 years...be parient. Don't put any timeline on it. You will know when you are ready to move on to the next item. You will also see that you reach plateaus where you peek out to your own abilities. Trying to reach that last new level takes exponentially more effort. So depending on your overall goals, be realistic with what is acceptible.

I agree 100% with Greg. My 5 swing changes that I'm working on have taken 5 years to impliment. If you try to fix too many things at once, you will only end up confusing yourself. Start with the takeaway/over the top move and work from there. Don't expect miracles in the first couple practices - it takes a long time to build muscle memory! Plug away with one change at a time and don't try to rush the changes.

Thanks very much for your replies to my posting guys (LowPost42, GregJWillis, Gord962 and rickyharris04). The advice from all of you was great and you all obviously have sound knowledge of the golf swing and your thoughts are much appreciated, especially about not trying to change too much at once. It is good to see that I'm not the only one to have to go through a bit of pain to get results! I do actually only work on two things at the moment - the take away (getting in the right position at the top) and the weight shift to the left (i.e. delay the hit until after the weight shift). The other things will hopefully be largely corrected through this.
I am interested in finding out about something else in the golf swing and would appreciate the views of other golfers. The question is this: Do you conciously roll your wrists over in the down swing or does it happen automatically. It would also be interesting to know how your ball flight pattern relates to this.
Thanks again,
Tony

I personally don't try to conciously do anything.

I might check a couple things (where's the clubhead at hip height, how's my lead wrist feel at the top), but I don't swing when I'm checking.

Once I start to swing, I try to feel for things. For example, one day I was teeing off and felt my right elbow go flying. I realized (for myself) that if I swung through normally, I'd slice. So I had to conciously drop my elbow back into the slot (and striped it, consequentially).

The next step is to stop the swing if something feels wrong.

I'm one of those that believe that if your swing is pretty sound, you don't have to think of much. I've read post after post about kids and their natural swings that produce good shots - they obviously aren't thinking about positions or body parts. I've tried to take a page out of that book. Once my address position and grip are comfortable, I try my best to clear my head and take a good rip.

__________________
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.

I agree with Ben, your swing thoughts shouldn't consist of anything but 'make contact with the ball'.

What should be happening is many hours of practice getting into the correct positions in front of a mirror. Don't worry about hitting balls. Build a swing that has the correct techniques, repeat the motions slowly, checking yourself infront of a mirror to ensure you are in the correct positions. I use the whole winter to re evaluate my swing and correct any swing flaws I may have picked up. That gives my 4 - 5 months to erase bad habbits and replace them with a new mind set. I don't hit balls, just work on check positions a transition moves.

__________________
Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall