Wisdom in Golf Premium

  • From [email protected] on STARTING THE SWING SMOOTHLY TO SLOW THINGS DOWN

    Hi Shawn,

    Around the 14-15 min mark you talk about rotation and rotational momentum with your back/butt completely facing the target. I know I’ve been told in the past by other teachers not to “over rotate” on the way back and as a result I think I sometimes sway backwards instead (which probably contributes to me getting stuck and hit fat shots).

    Thoughts on over rotating your body? Thanks!

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    • From Shawn Clement on STARTING THE SWING SMOOTHLY TO SLOW THINGS DOWN

      Hi Travis! Impossible to over rotate the body when performing a task; this is the part that the whole teaching industry needs to get their act on: the fact that the human body is mot defective and that you simply cannot do anything wrong. So if you go back to our famous and simple task of cutting grass and you perform it while walking, it is impossible to do it wrong and to over rotate as you would fall down. 😝😀👍

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  • From [email protected] on STARTING THE SWING SMOOTHLY TO SLOW THINGS DOWN

    Another great vid, Shawn and Co. i have a favor to ask, please do a sound level check when you dub in music and compare it to the general level of the rest of the vid. i watch these at all hours and to have to jump(literally) when the level pops up to 2 to 3 times from where it was a moment before and anyone asleep near me goes for my throat LOL. Thanks for your ceaseless efforts to help us find the center of this silly game! I’m having a banner year and in particular, this fall. All because of what I’ve been able to incorporate from your teachings, and i’m not close to being done yet. This is starting to be fun!!

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  • From [email protected] on Consistency Series

    Hello Shawn! Just found you and love the imagery in the video lessons and your enthusiasm is infectious! I’m on a mission now to become really good.

    Anyway, you talk about wanting to curve your shots and the need to open and/or close the face as appropriate. But what is the right way to open or close the face? It looks like you are adjusting the position of the hands at address to accomplish this? And is there a difference between opening the face for a fade with an iron, and opening up the face for a lob shot with a wedge?

    And just to be 100% clear, you are recommending shaping shots with two adjustments, the combination of ball position and open/closed club face, correct? No adjustment by making an open or closed stance?

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    • From Shawn Clement on Consistency Series

      Alright; the best videos to go confirm the questions you have are the “fade fine tuning” and “draw fine tuning”
      fade: aim and swing in the direction you want to start the ball-ball position forward of centre-face “less closed” than draw by a couple degrees
      draw:aim at the end target, play ball back of centre and swing in the direction you want to start the ball with a face closed enough that the ball will curve back to target;
      -see also “goldie locks series” and “predict contact” videos

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    • From [email protected] on Consistency Series

      Thanks Shawn.

      But I think my “real” question about the proper way to open or close the face was superseded by my second question. So let me ask this, is it fair to say that opening and closing the face is accomplished by rotating the club open/or closed before taking your grip?

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    • From Shawn Clement on Consistency Series

      Correct! 😀👍💪

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    • From [email protected] on Consistency Series

      Never mind – I think I found what I needed in the Goldilocks Clubface video. So cool!

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  • From [email protected] on Working the Ball

    Hello Shawn – new member here, do any of your videos talk about how the wind affects distance? I’m a right handed golfer and went to the range today to work on shaping my shots (while also tweaking my grip, per your advice), but was facing a 15 mph left to right cross wind. And it seemed like every time I tried to draw the ball, the ball went straight, but came up a bit short.

    Also, hypothetically, how much difference in distance can we expect between draws and fades?

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    • From Shawn Clement on Working the Ball

      Hello and welcome! Yes, cross winds will affect the ball and the prediction process is what we use to determine the shot. When you draw into a left to right wind, which is the best way to approach the green, you need more club as the ball is fighting the wind on the way back, which will also straighten it out. We often see this at our academy as we don’t feel the wind in the building and the prevailing wind is left to right and as we see the ball fade a little, we look at the screen and see draw on the GC Quad.
      We do have some examples in our on course videos about this; you will see them as you go.
      fades vs draw for distance:
      fade is about a full club less with short irons and wedges and won’t move much; about a half club less with mid irons and very little with the long irons and woods on a well struck shot.

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    • From [email protected] on Working the Ball

      Thanks! And am I right in assuming that the converse is true, that if are facing a right to left crosswind, a fade is the best way to attack the green? And I suppose the pin placement will matter as well …

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    • From Shawn Clement on Working the Ball

      Correct; but often you will see some situations where the draw is a great choice; it really is a gut thing; wind intensity will definitely be a determining factor.

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  • From Jon R on SWING PLANE FOR ALL CLUBS

    One of your best videos ever. Tied in a lot of previous concepts. Terrific stuff.

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  • From [email protected] on SWING PLANE FOR ALL CLUBS

    The drone shots are amazing at the end. I have a question as someone who sometimes over swings, you talk about matches/no longer matches as you move your club. I’m assuming it is your swing plane/ability to go to the target that matches/no longer matches. Does not also your view of the ball and the access you sense change when you get off the plane?

    Without a drone over my head to understand what is going on, I’m trying to figure out some guide to tell me if I’ve over reached on my back swing. Usually I’m getting a little rushed and don’t really sense well when to pause/transition to the make the downswing. In other words it is more that I tell myself to not rush to reduce the amount of back swing versus confirmation that I’ve turned far enough and going beyond will cause problems. This video shows me that using some kind of mile marker like the change of view would be a better approach. Maybe put a mark on the ball and when I can’t see it I’ve gone too far? any suggestions?

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    • From Shawn Clement on SWING PLANE FOR ALL CLUBS

      Really food questions! And this is our speciality for sure! Did you see the “mile markers for balance” “Mile Markers for direction” and “mile markers for impact” videos? These must be matched with a solid task from the “top 3 tasks” video for maximum efficacy. Notice how quickly I found my way from the drone view? There was no wondering what my backswing looked like while doing that as I was replacing the positional thoughts with “can I throw the club through the stem of the dandelion in that direction (intermediate point) or not? The coolest part of this training is at one point you hit the spot and FEEL that you can’t miss!

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  • From Mateo Burbano de Lara on Football Drill

    Hi Shawn, when I do the football drill part two on the range, I tend to hit balls fat. Is it that my body is not moving fast enough? Thanks for your input.

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    • From Shawn Clement on Football Drill

      Hi Mateo! Good stuff! It just means that you are not providing enough “unstoppable momentum” and being a bit to mechanical about it. Give it more HEFT and FLOW and keep at it! 👍😀

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  • From [email protected] on Hammer Drill

    hi shawn, i struggle with this drill because it brings my arms into action whereas i understood from you not to use them, but only the legs and butt swivel, which has brought me a lot of progress. As a result i loose my straight effortless swing if i implement the drill into play..never the less i understand the importance of the drill . could you give me a tool to use the drill and not to activate my arms ? i might not have understood in the course that there is always a part of arm-action, if so let me know please? the only arm action i use now is to carry the structure of the top of the backswing position down to impact.thx

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    • From Shawn Clement on Hammer Drill

      Ok, important comment here. When doing this drill or any other drills, you are looking to use the weight of the arms and club as a unit to compress the ball through and towards the target. You do not want to be in the state of mind of “from the top to the ball” but rather “UNSTOPPABLE MOMENTUM (heft or weight) THROUGH THE COMPRESSION and out towards the target (the flight plan you want to send the ball into)
      See: “using the weight in your swing-axe drill with savy” and “unstoppable momentum arc-blur series”

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  • From [email protected] on Walk Cut Strike

    This a great exercise! I watched the Anti-manipulation post as well, very good.

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  • From [email protected] on SQUARE UP THE CLUB FACE

    Hi Shawn, so to hit a fade, do you still close the face but not as much. When I try to fade with a square face, I get the fade, but the ball starts further right than I want and then fades?

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  • From [email protected] on SWING PLANE FOR ALL CLUBS

    Drone shots triggered a question about setup. As you get behind the ball to create a draw, you adjust your grip by closing the club face. As you move the ball farther back in your stance to produce a draw with a lower trajectory, do you have to close the club face even more?

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    • From Shawn Clement on SWING PLANE FOR ALL CLUBS

      No, the closing of the face before I take the grip is in relation to my prediction that I give myself just before I deliver the shot! See “goldie locks series” and “predict contact”
      very important!

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  • From [email protected] on SAVY'S GRIP- BONUS VIDEO

    Hi Shawn, Just recently joined after doing the 5 min video review. The strong grip has transformed my iron game in just a few short days. The task of hitting a door frame is helping a ton as well. I’ve added 15 yards and the weak push fade is gone. However , I am struggling to transfer this to the longer clubs, as I’m hitting some nasty hook draws with same grip and task. FYI I’m also an interlocker Any suggestions on videos and task that can help with driver? Should I just experiment and try to go a hair weaker until I find the sweet spot ?

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    • From Shawn Clement on SAVY'S GRIP- BONUS VIDEO

      There you go! Exactly! However, you want to be able to confirm that you are through the ball fully first and not releasing too soon AT THE BALL. See “the goldie locks series” and “predict contact” as well as the “target confirmation series” and “pre-motor cortex series”

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  • From George Adams on Trail Hand Release

    I kept the driver face straight and then setup with radius and Ulna I get a perfect power fade. This is exciting for me because I had a hard time fading with any control
    thanks
    George

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    • From Shawn Clement on Trail Hand Release

      Thats exciting George! Power fades are great “bread and butter” shots and are the backbone of scoring!

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  • From [email protected] on Ball Above Feet

    I’m a RH player and have gone thru the position videos and still have a question on hitting shots on hills / significant slopes. When the ball is above the feet / laying on the side of a hill, 9 out 10 times, the ball goes significantly left of target. My thinking is the natural loft the club, when hitting off the side of the hill, will naturally send it left, versus straight up in the air. Same question will ball below feet and the tendency that ball will go right of target. Thank you.

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    • From Shawn Clement on Ball Above Feet

      This is when you want to use the prediction process BASED ON AN ACTION THAT IS THROUGH to the target. With ball above feet, and your balance is shaky, and you release AT THE BALL, it will go left for sure.
      If you stay balanced and through, with prediction that your club face is closed enough to deliver to the target with ball below feet, it will fly true and not go right. There videos, together with “the goldie locks series” and “predict contact” will get you to where you need to go. 😀👍

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  • From [email protected] on Distance to Ball - Part 2

    Great video! Realizing now I’ve been too far from the ball the last few years because it felt like that’s what I needed to do to give myself enough room to swing the arms. But now that I understand it better, I’ve learned being a bit closer helps deliver a much more power blow with more consistent impact because it’s much easier to “cut the grass” in front of the ball.

    Lot’s of fun at the range yesterday working on shaping shots. Lots of work to do yet, but these concepts are helping enormously!

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