Hi Shawn,
when I started with you, I brought a problem to you of hitting the outer part of my irons towards the toe. It did get resolved but I stopped paying attention to it as I was improving on a daily basis.
Recently realized I still hit towards the toe. Also realized that at impact my club face is slight turned inwards/closed.
I saw this happening more on the wedges than the longer irons, specially the 30-90 yard shots. The ball strike is always towards the toe.
Been trying to figure out why?
Ball position?
face too closed at address / with a strong grip.
Swinging across?
I have been trying to rectify that by manipulating the club by keeping square for a longer time after impact. Which gets the strike to the center but with distance loss.
Any thoughts?
Also please do see the videos I sent when you have the time of full iron shots.
Thank you
The single handed drills with either arm feels great, I get fast smooth action and a good whoosh well past the center. But when I use two hands, my arms struggle against one another. I loose a lot of speed and the release becomes really awkward. At times with the club when hitting balls, I find I have to let one arm go limp and just “hold on for the ride” while the other does all the work. What can I do to get the arms coordinating better?
I have shorter than normal arms and feel like when locked together in a grip, they just have no freedom of movement.
Hey Theodore! My arms are short as well! The best drill ever for release is the “important release update” video; none of my students fail this one after 3 tries; there is no way for the lead hand to stay on the trail hand if it does jot learn how to YIELD. Simply amazing drill!!
Thanks for the quick reply! I’ll give it another view.
I did a bunch of videoing and also found that my arm motion changes as I add swing weight (turning the club around to normal after swinging with the head in my hand). It was subtle, but I can see that with the club weight, I’m unconsciously holding my leading elbow to my side causing all sorts of bad counter-effects – extension at the ball, weird follow-through body motion etc. I need to reprogram myself to let the lead arm swing more freely.
What you need to find out is what is preventing you from delivering your task to the flight plan and short circuiting you. See “goldilocks series” and get that checked out fully and then see “stick your finish despite the ball” and see what happens to the ball when you stay on task and it will give you the pattern you need!
here are the non-negotiable items: Here is the Pre shot routine’s non negotiable items:
1-Best option for shot
2 rules: 1-Release into safe direction and 2-No strain required to execute your shot
2-Choose flight plan-what line do you want to start the ball and what line do you want to end? (include roll out)
3-Choose intermediate point; can be straight on or slightly off line, as long as it’s easy to see and well into your peripheral vision (6 to 12 inches in front of ball only)
4-Confirm alignment of momentum-get ready to see the blur of the path of the club and match it to the ball and intermediate point and prepare to make the ball a PRECISE INTERSECTION on the way through the IP into the flight plan!
5-Confirm ball position matches the flight plan and the direction you want to start the ball.
6-Confirm distance to ball and see that when you let momentum ride through the blur through ball and IP that you don’t feel the need to reach out from being too far or hold on from being too close and you can let it ride
7-Confirm Grip club relation; see that you know it will curve the way you want to in the air once you allow the momentum to release you through the arc-blur into the flight plan through ball and IP
8-Confirm levels with relaxed and engaged legs; legs are ready to heave the arms and club into the backswing that would match the direction of the flight plan; and feels like you are ready to allow that solid dose of momentum to ride through the arc-blur through the ball and IP into that flight plan
9-Ready? Where is that dose of momentum? Witness the shot that is being played out for you; you have done your homework and it’s time to get out of the way and let it happen with full abandon; the glue that holds EVERYTHING together is the staying with the direction of flight.
10-once you have confirmed that you stayed with letting momentum execute task through blur of club into flight plan it’t time to observe:
11-scale of 1-5 how free was it and did you stay all the way through with direction?
12-what is pattern of flight?
13-how is contact pattern
Solutions for these patterns that result from your shots:
Pulling and slicing pattern
-alignment reload
-blur of club and arc blur series
-goldilocks ball position
-important grip update
-goldilocks grip and club face
Hooking and pushing pattern
-using the weight in swing-axe drill with Savy
-backswing levitation
-Battering ram and Shawn’s New Favourite
-goldilocks grip club
Thin and top and toe pattern
-feet together and back to feet apart
-kinetic chain facilitation and engagement
-Alignment reload
-arc blur and club blur
Fat and shank pattern
-target confirmation series
-stick finish despite ball series momentum
-kinetic chain facilitation
-goldilocks distance to ball
-football drill series
Toe shots driver and fairway woods
-Diagonal stance series
-Distance to ball goldilocks
Heel shots driver and fairway woods
-blur of club
-arc blur series
-hammer throw driver
-goldilocks distance to ball
Should I keep clubface square going into backswing or turn my wrist over. If you were to see me swing my clubface points towards the sky but I watch you and the toe points towards ground and or clubface points towards your back. Which do you recommend. It’s really been bothering me. Thanks And God bless
Hey Brett! This is when understanding human anatomy is a huge plus; no stress! You are made to properly fold if you ALLOW the arms and club to fold on their own without holding off or manipulating to make it fold. Please see the “perpetual motion drill series” and when swinging from the follow through back into the backswing, let gravity and the G forces release you into the backswing.
Shawn one thing I’ve been focusing on lately is really driving into the ground to initiate the backswing. Legit feel?
Almost like I’m pushing down on the earth to levitate the ACU up, replanting the left heel, then doing the same in the opposite direction. Down – up – down – up
Awesome Matt! Exactly! Like when you do the walking drill or the “kinetic chain facilitation and engagement series” where I am walking and sending grass divots into the bushes! There are 2 kinetic chains in the swing that are reunited by the transition.
Another lightbulb! I was more “up down up” without the initial down. But the beginning of the backswing from a static position is really just the end of the forward swing if you did perpetual motion drill. So the little down to heave the club up is really just sort of the jumper cable for the entire swing
This also makes my tempo feel inevitable. The initial pressure down w my feet creates a really smooth automatic transition into my downswing. Good stuff!
Hi Shawn, I am not able to keep my tilt through my swing especially at the top of the backswing. I start with a good tilt but when I get to the top it looks on camera like am straight up and down. Looks like my head moves quite a bit. I’ve watch 100s of your videos and would appreciate any tips to keep the tilt throughout my swing.
Hi David! Yes! See “tilt mile markers” and “head and hip swivel” for more in depth feel; these are there for this exact issue and for more application, practice this on uphill lies, but OUR WAY FOR UPHILL SHOTS, see “uphill shots” video; all these right here on premium!
let me know which one does the trick!
Hi Adam! I am not a fan of that device as it compensates for the inadequacies of the lack of strength in the grip-club relationship and the dual pendulum nature of the arc-club unit as it loads and unloads in the swing. Golfers who have weak to neutral grips and who don’t understand the dynamic aspect of impact need to manipulate the wrists to square the face, so they will bow the left wrist or cup the right wrist with this device to compensate…
Hi Shawn, I’m wondering whether you have some insight into how much forward shaft lean to apply at address with irons. Should the grip be vertical at address with irons? Or pointed more towards the inner left thigh? Thank you.
When you are behind the ball, there will be a natural forward shaft lean as you don’t ever want to feel like you are manipulating the hands into any positions at address; you want to feel like the arm-club unit is hanging below the shoulders and already in the process of being in the follow through; see “braced tilt” video
Just saw your latest YouTube short using the battering ram task. The battering ram task has been a game changer for me. As I continue to practice, I’ve found that thinking about “ramming” the butt end of the club to the desired side of the intermediate point and into the direction I want to send the ball has helped me with better dispersion and also simplify my release. I am Really trying to be frictionless in all aspects and simplify my tasks as much as possible. Thinking sending the butt end of the club in the “jack-Knife” or Battering Ram position out to a target I pick out in the distance where I want to start the ball also seems to help me get more “through the ball”. Can you explain more what you are specifically thinking direction-wise when performing the battering ram task in terms of also being “frictionless” in the delivery and release? I think sometimes I may be inadvertently holding on too long to the battering ram position which creates unwanted friction. Also, I’m wondering why I have to really close the club face/strengthen the grip significantly more on my irons, but to avoid too much draw or even hooks it seems like I really have to back off the grip and use much less of a strong grip with my fairway woods and driver. Any idea on why that may be?
What a session! I stayed disciplined with my intermediate target throughout. Picked my flight plan, two swings to watch the blur, a takeaway away to match the picture and focus on staying behind the door frame (alignment rod)
Wow!
I got so much feedback by staying focussed on those tasks.
Went through the bag wedges to driver and then picked clubs at random.
I knew when I’d come off the shot plan, when I got a little ahead and when I was straining!
My ping i525 7 was flying 175 in 10* winter UK air and I could draw and fade at will!
Also was able to adjust my driver face, to a little more closed to keep on line. Small adjustments for maximum return. There’s a hill at the back of the range at 240 I was landing towards to top of the slope and enjoyed every minute!
I was also checking the face and was hitting the sweet spot on the majority of shots.
Thank you for another great video! I’m entering a new ‘fun’ phase of learning after a lot of frustration of unlearning what I had been taught for over a decade. No more body part positions or thinking I need to change my swing because I miss hit the ball. I was the calmest golfer you’ve ever seen yesterday, thanks to your life’s work and this amazing catalogue of information.
Throwing the club has helped me tons. Started out throwing it backwards, breaking a few roof tiles of my guest house behind me. Even threw it over the roof and almost hit my car in the front yard. Now I throw it straight and it really helped my game, hitting straighter than ever. However, my swing speed is very disappointing and has gotten worse. I’m suspecting a poor release, I don’t feel a snap and my club doesn’t spin backwards much when comparing to your throws. Maybe one or two iterations on a full throw. Seems like I’m not ”hitting the breaks” or whatever it is that causes a snappy release, it’s more of a smooth swing. Back when I used to swing towards the ball, I felt more of a snappy release towards the ground, resulting in flipping with higher speed but much worse shots, topping and duffing. Where do I go from here to get some snap and speed?
Right on Patrick! There are 2 more phases here that will get you to where you want to go!
priority is the release of the anatomy of the arms, so see these and experience them:
-trail hand release
-lead hand release
-important release update
-release fine tuning
-snap release polish
THEN
-turbo charge lead hand release
-turbo charge trail hand release
-pumping up the swing
-pumping up the volume
Really getting out of the way in the backswing to gather the range of motion you need to use MOMENTUM to throw into that snap release is key so the “lead hand release backswing” is your video there and finally, you can’t be worried about impact or contact with the ball when delivering through so see “goldilocks series” and “target confirmation series” and “stick the finish despite the ball series”
Take your time, enjoy the AH HAs along the way, you are built for this!
Thank you for your advice! I have watched and tried and I see an improvement in feel, but not in measured speed yet. I have noticed that in my backswing, I feel much more snap than in my late downswing. So I tried backhand or putting my lead hand below my trail hand. Immediately I felt MUCH more snap in the downswing aswell. I have tried your very clever drill with just putting my lead hand softly on my trail hand to practice the yield of my lead hand, which helped the feel but still a bad snap. Is it time to start playing left handed or do you have other suggestions?
Hi Shawn, with driver in particular I tend to stand up through impact. I think it might be that I’m standing to close to the ball (I don’t have Scotty Schefflers ability to jump backwards lol). When I do the perpetual motion with driver the low point blur actually feels much farther away than I’m used to! What do you think?
thanks for recommending this video Shawn.. i swing left handed but am right handed. with both hands on top of eachother my lead hand comes off club when i swing left handed but stays on when i do it right handed? i do feel the tug when doing the hammer drill though. re; clubs will there be a difference in how the “tug” feels.. i can only swing wedge in house so maybe i will feel it more with a 7i or a driver?
Hey Shawn,
I’ve watched this and other videos that you have on lag. If I understand what I’m supposed to do, I think that my biggest problem is shanking the heck out of it. I would rather hook 1000 balls instead of 1 shank. If this is correct, it’s a trust factor.
Thoughts are more than welcomed. They’re desperately needed! 😊
See “using the weight in your swing-axe drill with Savy” and hit some shots with the drill until you feel comfortable with it; then send me the clip for analysis.
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