Hi Shawn – perpetual motion for chipping has allowed me to feel balanced, improving my short game. However, I can’t sustain this balance for full swing. My arms come down, and my weight is toward the front of my feet. Any drills for this?

Hey Shawn,

So, an ax and a sledgehammer have a short shaft, like an iron. I’ve had some success getting my irons on plane in the backswing by thinking of them as axes and “heaving” them to the top of the backswing. I’ve had less success with the hybrids and woods due to the longer shaft. The ax analogy doesn’t seem to work as well and I whip the backswing too far inside because the longer shaft seems to want to be swung more “around” as opposed to heaved “up.” Any thoughts on the difference between irons and longer clubs as it relates to this drill?

My 2=goals for the year were to qualify for the championship flight at my club(accomplished!) and to shoot in the sixties once(not yet). My first round of match play I really tightened up playing against a very good player and got closed out on the 15th hole.. It was mostly with my driver and 3 wood I really seem to be hitting at the ball and getting erratic. My hands even hurt from hitting down at the ball.Kind of out of character for me so I figured I would take a week off as I have played a lot of golf with time off from COVID. Played today and kind of the same thing. Just got done watching anti manipulation, any other advice. Thank you

You are right I am trying to fix things that are not broken. Thanks for reminding me. I am sure you must get tired of telling us the same thing over and over. I applaud your patience

Hey Shawn,
I’ve been really playing well lately but I had an awful front nine today. Now I have been using the task to throw with the legs with the kinetic chain combo as we worked on, and it has worked brilliantly, but today I found myself distracted from the target and focusing on using the legs to start the swing and the downswing. On the back 9 I just allowed my front heel to come up and was aware of it as I was gathering the throw, and I was able to play my intended shots without having to think about the legs. I did not hit a poor shot on the back 9 and my distance was still spot on with all clubs. I would have loved to get myself on video, and I plan on doing so soon, but is this a sign that perhaps I have ingrained the proper use of the ground and no longer need to be concerned with it while performing the swing? I know we never want to be aware of body parts in the swing, but I feel that tying my legs to the throwing task had me overdoing it today. Maybe it was just a bad 9 holes, but would love to get your thoughts on this and how to stay on the target when the task involves throwing with the legs. Sometimes I think I am way too aware of my body lol, a gift and a curse depending on the day! 😀

Shawn,
Played a great 15 holes today, the other 3 holes I would like to forget. The issue I ran into is when I use the legs to squat and throw the club, I slam the club into the ground about 2 or 3 inches behind the ball. Is this just a timing issue of pushing off the ground and the release?

Thanks

I can say unequivocally that the Mehlhorn grass whip is the best golf training aid I’ve ever used.

Your instruction that if you shave the grass in both directions with this instrument you know you are on plane was a game changer for me.

Two things I have struggled with off and on. 1) Being on the right plane. 2) Knowing exactly how to hinge and unhinge the club during the swing. The grass whip, when swung properly, gives you tremendous feedback on both.

That helped me lock in a feeling I’ve certainly had before and hit good shots with, but for the first time I feel confident I know this is the right feel and I can duplicate readily in my swing.

Since this revelation, many, many confident, well-struck shots.

BTW, I had previously used a real grass whip but it is not the same. The extra length of the blade and weight at the end exaggerates the proper feeling and gives you unmistakable feedback.

Highly recommend this tool.

Hi Shawn.
Occasionally I’ll shank a pitch shot. Very frustrating. Any idea what may be causing this?

I tend to get defensive. The chipping tip you gave in there should help.

Hello Shawn, Throwing the club is a fantastic method to learn and to play. After one year of practising i use it a lot but i missed one key to perform a good swing, to drive straight and have a good finish position. The key for me now is that i add a motion to the throw. When i am at the top of the BS i perform the motion by visualizing the arc of the swing. Practically my right shoulder goes down . I see in your learning sessions that you do this too. My question is: is this added motion somewhere in your program or do i make a mistake in the throwing of the club?

Great series, I am 62 years old and fortunately I haven’t lost any distance, I may have even gained a little with better equipment. However, I lack consistency and it can be from one extreme to the other. On some days everything works and on others I feel like I am doing the same swing but the results are terrible. I scratch my head, try to make adjustments and usually after several holes, I find a fix. However, I have ruined my score… That said, I am willing to change my swing in order to find a consistent baseline that I can reset, for those out of sync days. I need to grove your methods so that I can take them to the course. I have recently retired so I have the time but my down fall is patients. I’m great on the driving/practice range but when I get in pressure situations on the course my sub conscience mind takes over and I revert back to my bad swing habits. The worst part of my bad habits is that my hands take over and my body doesn’t have time to get out of the way… My biggest take away from this series is your comment about don’t let these thoughts get into your head, we are already programed to make all the correct moves if we understand the task i.e. throw the hammer to the target not at the ball. However, addressing the ball with a closed face is going to be hard to get use too…
Thanks again,
Darrell

An aha moment. Right handed golfer. Was trying to put pressure on middle knuckle of index finger instead of bottom knuckle. What a difference. Went from constant loss of control to full control.

Some great swings from both of you here!

When I try to see the arc through the ball toward the intermediate point, I find myself holding off the release – almost like I’m trying to steer the ball, which leaves it out to the right with a push-fade or slice. Having watched the release videos, I think I’m pitting the two concepts against each other (releasing vs through the IP). How can I get them to work together? Hope I’m making sense…

Scott

Initially my comment could have been move over Sensei – Sav is here but it evolved into something different!!
If ever I wanted to see two perspectives of excellence in transition today was it! Just beautiful to watch effortless perfection.
The descriptions in English, Italian and French(not your dialect!) are the same – WOW, BOOM, BYE BYE BALL!!!

Looking forward to the OFFENSIVE Vs DEFENSIVE series