Getting more open at impact

[jamgam]

Just searching for ideas.  I've done slow swings etc and used youtube to find drills.  Done the drills, done the drills slowly but I'm not getting any better at it.  I'm old and fat, not going to look like DJ or the other young guys but I'm flexible enough to get more open than this

 

Sorry about the crappy live view camera, i can record with my gopro tomorrow

 

 

 

 

[LeftDaddy]

I’ve been on this journey for a little over a year. I’ll just say (a) it isn’t easy, but (b) your swing looks better now than mine did when I started.  I’m still not as open as I want to be, so still have work to do, but I have gotten much better. 
 

So here’s the deal, though. It requires a lot of “fundamental” type stuff to fix it. It won’t get “fixed” with a bucket of balls. 
 

My thoughts on your swing (for what they are worth, as I’m a lowly 10 handicap):

 

- Your shoulder turn is too flat…you need more lead side bend on the way back.

- Your backside is stuck out too far behind your heels in your stance. 

- You need more hip turn on the way back. It means extending the trail leg and pushing your trail foot almost back toward the target. 
- You pull your arms straight down, release your angles, and early extend on the downswing, so there’s no way you will be able to get more open after transition. Those things are likely due to the setup and backswing things mentioned above, but it will also take a lot of mirror work, slow-mo swings, freezers, etc etc to “train” you to shift your weight properly, keep your arms / hands back, and rotate before you start really “swinging” at the ball with your arms. This is probably the hardest part of the changes that you will need to make because it is somewhat a result of many changes before it so it is hard to isolate why it isn’t working like you want it to. But keep at it and it will eventually get better. 
 

You might be thinking “that’s a lot, forget all that, I just wanted some quick tips “, and “I’m too old and inflexible to make those kinds of changes”.  The reason I know this is that I thought exactly the same things 3 years ago and even told an instructor I was working with that I was as rotated as I could possibly be…it was just too late in my life for me to get more rotated. But I was wrong, and in retrospect I would have gladly signed up for basically a 2-year get legitimately better at golf plan. 

[dvq9654]

My two cents - do not chase being open. Trying to be "open" and "turning through the shot" are dangerous if the moves before that are not correct. I chased turning through the shot and it ruined my sequencing (still fight it). Get the backswing right, then get your arms / wrists moving correctly on the downswing and other things will follow. I'm not going to try to tell you how to do that, cause I don't know based on your specific swing, but find someone who can tell you and you'll love the result. 

[MonteScheinblum]

If you got more open you’d hit it way worse.

 

They are at least two things you’re doing that need to change if that’s your goal.

 

 

The hips are Over rotating as a result of turning flat and your right knee is hyper extending.

 

Your arms are well behind your body.

 

Face on might show more.

[jamgam]

8 hours ago, LeftDaddy said:

I’ve been on this journey for a little over a year. I’ll just say (a) it isn’t easy, but (b) your swing looks better now than mine did when I started.  I’m still not as open as I want to be, so still have work to do, but I have gotten much better. 
 

So here’s the deal, though. It requires a lot of “fundamental” type stuff to fix it. It won’t get “fixed” with a bucket of balls. 
 

My thoughts on your swing (for what they are worth, as I’m a lowly 10 handicap):

 

- Your shoulder turn is too flat…you need more lead side bend on the way back.

- Your backside is stuck out too far behind your heels in your stance. 

- You need more hip turn on the way back. It means extending the trail leg and pushing your trail foot almost back toward the target. 
- You pull your arms straight down, release your angles, and early extend on the downswing, so there’s no way you will be able to get more open after transition. Those things are likely due to the setup and backswing things mentioned above, but it will also take a lot of mirror work, slow-mo swings, freezers, etc etc to “train” you to shift your weight properly, keep your arms / hands back, and rotate before you start really “swinging” at the ball with your arms. This is probably the hardest part of the changes that you will need to make because it is somewhat a result of many changes before it so it is hard to isolate why it isn’t working like you want it to. But keep at it and it will eventually get better. 
 

You might be thinking “that’s a lot, forget all that, I just wanted some quick tips “, and “I’m too old and inflexible to make those kinds of changes”.  The reason I know this is that I thought exactly the same things 3 years ago and even told an instructor I was working with that I was as rotated as I could possibly be…it was just too late in my life for me to get more rotated. But I was wrong, and in retrospect I would have gladly signed up for basically a 2-year get legitimately better at golf plan. 

 

Thank you.  Things to think about

 

7 hours ago, dvq9654 said:

My two cents - do not chase being open. Trying to be "open" and "turning through the shot" are dangerous if the moves before that are not correct. I chased turning through the shot and it ruined my sequencing (still fight it). Get the backswing right, then get your arms / wrists moving correctly on the downswing and other things will follow. I'm not going to try to tell you how to do that, cause I don't know based on your specific swing, but find someone who can tell you and you'll love the result. 

 

Yes, I know not to chase positions.  I guess a better question was "Why am I not more open at impact"

 

5 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

If you got more open you’d hit it way worse.

 

They are at least two things you’re doing that need to change if that’s your goal.

 

 

The hips are Over rotating as a result of turning flat and your right knee is hyper extending.

 

Your arms are well behind your body.

 

Face on might show more.

 

So to avoid the flat turn it would be a left shoulder more down in the backswing (as stated above also)?

 

Also "Arms behind body".  Does that mean the arms are too far in the direction the arrow is pointing in the picture below or do you mean my body is out racing my arms in the swing?

 

I'll get DTL and Face On with my GoPro today

 

 

Edited June 8, 2021 by jamgam

[jamgam]

So here's what I would feel like with arms not behind body.  This "feels" like Matthew Wolff to me (I know it doesn't look like it)

 

 

 

[RichieHunt]

I'd recommend seeing a good instructor for an in-person lesson or three.  

 

You're basically stuck as your 1st swing is much because the parts all matchup to each other.  It's a centered pivot, so you need an early hip turn, an early left tilt and the arms getting behind the seamline in your shirt.  If you to try and get well open at impact like a young Tiger, you'd probably hit shanks.  And if you were trying to get the arms less behind you it's like you would hit weak whipes.

 

The hyperextension of the right knee gives you the most problems right now.  It basically doesn't allow you get enough pressure shift to your right side in the backswing which in turn means you can't shift left enough in transition, use the ground and get some rotation into impact.  

 

The problem with all of this is that you may not be able to have a centered pivot without hyperextending the right knee.  Many golfers just can't do it.  

 

If you were to move to a non-centered pivot, so you could make the presusre shift to your lead side, then the hand path would have to change as well.

 

That's why I recommend a good instructor for an in-person lesson.  Trying to learn to center pivot without hyperextending the right knee is difficult.  And if you try a move-off-the-ball pivot, it's a completely different pivot and a very different arm action that will take in-person lessons to comprehend.

 

 

 

 

RH

 

 

 

[MonteScheinblum]

5 hours ago, jamgam said:

 

Thank you.  Things to think about

 

 

Yes, I know not to chase positions.  I guess a better question was "Why am I not more open at impact"

 

 

So to avoid the flat turn it would be a left shoulder more down in the backswing (as stated above also)?

 

Also "Arms behind body".  Does that mean the arms are too far in the direction the arrow is pointing in the picture below or do you mean my body is out racing my arms in the swing?

 

I'll get DTL and Face On with my GoPro today

 

 

Arms behind body is not at the top, it’s during the downswing and can be seen at P6....shaft parallel.

 

The arrow would be more pointed to the left in a face on video.

 

Its poor sequencing....the arms are only supposed to be .02 second behind to start the downswing and yours are way more   Hips have to stop to allow ares to catch up.

[jamgam]

Thoughts / drills on improving sequencing?  Drop the bucket drill from ballerina 68 on Instagram?

[MonteScheinblum]

That’s not the right drill for you.  Justin Rose drill

[indianagolf2]

Wow, Monte feedback amazing. Take a online lesson with Monte op. 

[Zitlow]

Hips and and shoulders opening is a reaction. Coast the rest of the way into the finish. Bend over pick up your tee and walk down the middle of the fairway.