Remember my post on swing thoughts the other day?

Well, today I had another great swing day and have one more modification:

Think more about the process of keeping your upper spine very vertical on the downswing and also think more about the downswing process and let the backswing dictate itself.

What I mean is that you want to be really thinking about the end result, which is good follow-through.  Once you get a good follow-through going, your backswing will naturally follow that path.  It’s never the other way around, similar to hitting bunker shots.

backswing, bunker shots, downswing, end result, swing thoughts, upper spine backswing, bunker shots, downswing, end result, swing thoughts, upper spine If you like this post, please subscribe to the ProGolferDigest via RSS or via E-Mail to receive updates.

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post

Well, the only reason I made this blog in the first place was to record my swing thoughts so I can go back in the future to see the swing thoughts I had when my ball striking and short game was good.

Today was a really good ball striking day, perhaps the best in a long, long time.

Here’s are my thoughts through the swing:

Address

Make sure to setup up with the left foot about 15 degrees open, I have a bad habit of opening up almost 45 degrees, which hinders my balance.

Takeaway

I really want to feel like I am taking my stomach and all of upper body together away from the ball on-plane.

After that, I simply feel the momemtum of my body (stomach and all of upper body) swinging a little further to the top of the swing while cocking the clubs with my hands.

From the Top of the swing

I don’t really feel the top of my backswing anymore as I feel the body constantly moving in action.  But from the top, I really feel like my whole body simply swings inside-out pivoting on my upper body or the spine.

Well, that’s about it.

This also worked really well with the short pitch and chip shots.

backswing, bad habit, blog, chip shots, left foot, long long time, momemtum, pitch, short game, spine, stomach, swing thoughts, swings backswing, bad habit, blog, chip shots, left foot, long long time, momemtum, pitch, short game, spine, stomach, swing thoughts, swings

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post

Okay, this does really happen to me every couple months.  That is that I find the secret to the golf swing.

You go to the golf course and return with this “amazing” feeling that you’ve finally mastered the game of golf, or at least just the golf swing in this case.

Let me tell you how it happend and the secret too.

I have been on a long-trail of hitting balls on the range and really not practicing my short game or putting.

Well, yesterday, I go to the range at Harding Park GC, and found that the range closes early on Mondays.  Of course, this was my first time going to the range after 6pm on a Monday.

So, I decided to practice my short game for 2 hours.  What happened after that was amazing.

For the first hour and a half or so, I was really struggling to hit these hard-pan lies.  After trying several things, I hit a goldmine, the secret to my golf swing.

You see, the secret is in the dirt just like Ben Hogan said.  Literally, I found it in the hardpan dirt, where it’s practically impossible to hit the shot good unless you strike the ball perfectly.

As such, I found the secret of the golf swing as the following:

Your full swing is an extended version of your short shots.  It’s never the other way around.

For example, you are hitting the 2-iron really well.  You miniturize that 2-iron swing on the short pitch shots.  It might work and it might not, simply because what’s working for the full swing isn’t guaranteed to work on the short shots.

However, if you are hitting your 30-yard pitch shots from a hardpan lie perfectly (as you do need to hit it perfectly on the ball in order to avoid chunking it or thinning it) and you extend that short swing into a 2-iron swing, you will find that 99% of the time, the swing works.

This is why tour pros practice their short game so much because the rhythm and the swing technique flows into other longer shots.

Now, that is how I found the secret, let me tell you the “technical” details of my findings:

You need to feel that on the downswing, you are rotating everything including your stomach, shoulders, arms, and hands to the left while your weight is centered over the left foot.  You also need to feel you are standing very tall.

Here’s the important part, you need to feel like your wrists are uncocking upwards toward the sky just after impact.

If you take a careful look at Hogan’s after-impact position, you will notice that his wrists are actually lifted toward the sky.  This really helps you to hit the ball perfectly while minimizing wrist action through impact.

Now how to achieve this feeling?

It’s pretty simple, try to imagine there’s a giant ball hanging from the sky sorta like the above picture.

Then, try to rotate your body to move that ball foward toward your target.  Also try to hit the big imaginary ball with your elbows, this will automatically uncock your wrists the correct way by letting your wrists lift upwards.

I tried this and boy, I am going to the PGA Tour Q-School next year baby!

6pm, balls, Ben Hogan, dirt, full swing, goldmine, golf course, harding park, harding park gc, hour and a half, pitch shots, Rhythm, short game, swing technique, technical details 6pm, balls, Ben Hogan, dirt, full swing, goldmine, golf course, harding park, harding park gc, hour and a half, pitch shots, Rhythm, short game, swing technique, technical details

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post

For most of 90s, my two favorite golfers were Nick Faldo and Greg Norman.  They always seemed to win tournaments more than others during that time and also shared number one and two of the world back and forth.

Although Nick Faldo may be a sportscaster right now, he may be the best pro golfer to be a sportscaster.

You look at some of the other guys but no one else has an extensive resume like the Masters winner Nick Faldo.

I’ve even bought every book he wrote and although they were all too technical and confusing for most hackers, Nick is really good at details of the golf swing.

Let’s take a look at his downhill iron swing here.

For the downhill iron shot, Nick Faldo sets up with his weight favoring his right and his ball about center of his stance to make up for the hill.

At takeaway, Nick sets his wrists slightly early but looks very good.

At top of Nick’s swing, he has a perfect 90 degree angle between the arm and the club while not swinging more than 3/4 of his full backswing.

On half-way down, notice the 90 degree of lag Nick has.  A lot of tour pros go beyond the 90 degrees which is not necessary and Nick proves the point here.  Too much lag can actually produce a smaller swing arc.

At impact, Nick looks really good.

After impact, Nick chases down the slope with his arms, fully releasing his club.

At finish, Nick looks very good, standing super tall.

Nick Faldo has one of the best swings in golf with one of the best rhythms to go with it.

If he kept playing competitively, he would have won couple more majors but I am surprised he decided to retire from competitive golf.

Here’s Nick Faldo’s downhill iron swing in slow-motion explained by the man himself:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

Having Nick on golf channels is a really good thing.  I rather hear him saying stuff than an Peter Kostis.

backswing, competitive golf, degree angle, golf swing, golfers, greg norman, Nick Faldo, peter kostis, pro golfer, rhythms, slope, Slow Motion, sportscaster, swing analysis, swing arc, swings, takeaway, xu backswing, competitive golf, degree angle, golf swing, golfers, greg norman, Nick Faldo, peter kostis, pro golfer, rhythms, slope, Slow Motion, sportscaster, swing analysis, swing arc, swings, takeaway, xu

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post

With British Open coming up, players like Padraig Harrington will be at advantage as they get to play the course more often than American players.

Let’s look at Padraig’s swing and see his strengths and weaknesses.

I like how Padraig takes his club away from the ball.  He turns everything together nicely.

At the top, Padraig looks real good, starting his lower body as his backswing is finished.

At half-way down, Padraig looks pretty good, maybe a little too much lag than necessary.  (That might be why he hit this ball slightly to the right)

Too much lag can cause the golfer to release too late (or release not at all), causing the ball to fly well right of intended target).

At impact, Padraig hangs back a little too much but looks pretty good other than that.

After impact, Padraig loses control of his left foot, this could really be improved to help his stability and balance.

Overall, Padraig has a really good swing except some minor stuff he might want to concentrate on.

Here’s Padraig Harrington’s Driver swing in Slow-motion:

Click Here to View in Full Screen Mode

backswing, british open, fly, left foot, padraig harrington, s driver, Slow Motion, strengths and weaknesses, swing analysis, target backswing, british open, fly, left foot, padraig harrington, s driver, Slow Motion, strengths and weaknesses, swing analysis, target

Bookmark and Share

del.icio.us |Digg it |Netscape |reddit |SiteHoppin |  Email This Post