Bigger Guys Golf Swing - Differences I have Learned

[BogeyBrian]

On 2/15/2022 at 8:57 PM, cardoustie said:

Well as another “husky” fellow, here’s a few things working like magic for me currently

 

1. Jon Kim Moss vid of extension of right side going back and left side going thru … wow … so much more room past the ball For my arms targetwards.  Eye opener

2. Right shoulder direct to target from top, never drops and resultant right side tilt is gone … and stay taller

3. Feeling a tiny bit of hit hit from the inside by leading downswing with right elbow and arms tight together

4. Letting my takeaway go where the left shoulder sends it.  Not trying to artificially keep the head going straight back or way outside the hands … I am way more connected … downswing simpler

 

took down two +3’s yesterday … chest puff 

Do you remember the title of that Jon Kim Moss video? Thanks!!!

[cardoustie]

4 hours ago, BogeyBrian said:

Do you remember the title of that Jon Kim Moss video? Thanks!!!

How to keep your left arm straight 

 

 

 

[slantsflood]

Great thread!  Got a lot of help with these issues by going to a clinic of Monte's years ago.  One other thing I would add that I've learned from my journey is grip.  I have long "meaty" fingers/pad.  The grip likes to split out of my left heel pad mid swing.  Had to go to much smaller grips to have it stay under the pad throughout the swing.  If you have this issue, choke all the way down your grip and take a few practice swings.  If it stays under your left hand pad, then there is your answer.  Big hands doesn't always equate to larger grips imo

[BogeyBrian]

On 2/12/2022 at 8:13 AM, Hstead said:

This thread is turning into a good one, thanks fellas for sharing. 

 

I was able to hit some balls yesterday and play some.  Here are the Goals - low point control, be able to hit down 4* or more, be able to change swing path from 5 left, 0, to 5 right.

 

I have two different feels.  What Chase calls, "Lasers", and "Left Arm In".  Lasers means keeping my eyes down and left like I had laser beams coming from my eyeballs and tracing a line on the ground down and around to the left then up.  It also helps to think about my nose moving in those directions.  The Left Arm In is trying to squeeze my left arm against my chest so I do not get the hands way out and over the top left.

 

The way we changed the swing from too much right tilt, was to learn how to hit little over the top pull cuts.  I would take 8 iron or 9 iron and hit 110 to 120 yard little pulls cuts.  You cannot pull cut it if you are under plane right tilting.  Once I could get the pull cut established consistently and hit the ground in the same place all of the time, then we added in draws with the arms.  That is the left arm in feeling. So hit little low slices for better players right tilting, and then add the draw arms.  If you're a higher handicap that comes over the top already, maybe just jump straight to the draw feel with the arms.

 

One other issue I get into is getting too deep.  If I get too deep, I cannot get my chest open at impact in time like Chris S said.  I have to have my shoulders a little open at impact to control the low point.  I am trying to slowly get deeper and also get the chest open so I can add more speed.

 

 

 

 

can you please explain left arm in more? don't quite understand. excuse my ignorance! lol

 

great thread!!!!

[Hstead]

5 hours ago, BogeyBrian said:

can you please explain left arm in more? don't quite understand. excuse my ignorance! lol

 

great thread!!!!

If you can imagine on the downswing, when your left arm is parallel to the ground, if you video yourself from down the line, you want to see your hands in about the center of your chest, in a little bit, so your left arm is angled away from the ball slightly.

 

The feel is that I am holding my arms and hands in closer to my body on the downswing.  Steve Elkington called it "pinching the t I t t y" because it feels like you are squeezing your upper left arm against your pec.  

 

Make sense?

[BogeyBrian]

1 hour ago, Hstead said:

If you can imagine on the downswing, when your left arm is parallel to the ground, if you video yourself from down the line, you want to see your hands in about the center of your chest, in a little bit, so your left arm is angled away from the ball slightly.

 

The feel is that I am holding my arms and hands in closer to my body on the downswing.  Steve Elkington called it "pinching the t I t t y" because it feels like you are squeezing your upper left arm against your pec.  

 

Make sense?

Perfect sense. Appreciate the reply 

[games]

Coming back from PHX striking the ball really well.  @lv_2_hack wants me to feel lead wrist more extended than flexed at the top. Helps me feel more shallow on way down.  @MonteScheinblum wants more vertical drop before hitting ball with horizontal “broom force” move.  
 

I’ll post video on my swing thread when I get back.  I’m going to start Stack system when I get back, too.

[games]

My latest swing.  This is only 91 mph with 132mph ball speed for 1.46 smash.  Tough to see with MEVO camera, but exit is markedly improved as much lower.  Sad struggle to swing "over em" or "under em".  But, the wrist position Chase has me in, and Monte's Sledgehammer drill are helping me learn to make it work for me.  Will discuss more detail in my own thread.  

 

 

 

[eric61]

I'm bumping an older thread here because I love it so much. This thread has led me on a path to some serious improvements -- so thank you, @Hstead, for starting it! 

 

I've been working a bit with @lv_2_hack, who I found out about thanks to this thread. He has shown me some things that are much different than what I'd heard from a couple coaches before him who were having me try to do stuff that wasn't working for me (and I now understand why). 

 

It's taking time, but I'm seeing some real progress. My handicap is 11.7 right now and it's been inching down thanks to rounds of 82, 82 and 80 since my last lesson from Chase. (Home course is about 6,700 yards, rating/slope about 73/135, shifts a few decimals depending on which two of the three 9s you're playing.) 

 

I've had a couple stinkers in there too. I can start strong and then develop a nasty mid-round case of fats and pull-hooks. But overall I think I'm on the right track.

 

On 2/10/2022 at 6:48 PM, Hstead said:

 

I also tried to get a ton of extension past impact, I tried to get the butt of the club as far from my belt buckle as I could.  Those two goals led to continued consistency issues, mostly controlling low point.  I would get the club way too under plane because I would right tilt too early and that caused low point control issues, blocks, and hooks.  I also lost speed because I would hold off the release thinking I wanted all of this arm extension past impact.

 

 

This part of @Hstead's comment describes me too. I've worked with coaches who have focused a ton on arm extension past impact. And I do get why. But trying to achieve it causes all kinds of problems before impact for me. 

 

Looking at videos of my swing, what I see is myself leaning back before impact -- trying to get arm extension by not just extending my arms, but by getting my body away from the butt of the club. As I'm driving up from my lead leg, there's just not enough room for me to chase that arm extension past impact and keep my hips from sliding out from under my upper body. I can do it right on slow practice swings, but just can't do it at any real speed. I've been having low point control issues and that's been a part of them.

 

On 2/12/2022 at 8:36 PM, lv_2_hack said:

3. Can’t have a lot of lateral motion off the ball. Have to stay fairly centered. Also don’t need a ton of width in backswing. Tends to pull upper center to far off ball when chasing width. Playing from a narrow armed P4 could help a lot of you stay in your tilts and stay centered. 
 

4. Can’t get the arms super deep in backswing. Just not enough room to make it work. 

 

These are two of the big things that Chase pointed out recently. I had a lot of load into my trail side (left side -- I'm a lefty) late. And I've been getting too deep in the backswing, resulting in my trail elbow sort of getting stuck. 

 

He's used Colt Knost's swing as a guide for me. In particular, the idea of soft arms was as game-changer. That's something no coach has ever told me before -- and most have said the opposite. 

 

Right now, the things I'm working on are: 

 

1. Just setting up more open to the ball. Before I started working with Chase, I had a really strong grip and had that tilting-back move before impact, which meant I had to flip. Because I had to flip, I'd been setting up too closed to keep from hooking the ball way off target. Problems compounding themselves here. 

 

2. Less depth in the backswing. The goal is to free up my trail elbow. What @Hstead does in the video he posted early in this thread looks like a great example of what I'm trying to work toward on this point.

 

3. That Colt Knost-inspired backswing. Stop the heavy load late and keep my arms softer. Keeps me in a much more centered position. Yeah, it probably costs me distance, but honestly my course isn't that long -- I'd sacrifice distance for consistency in a heartbeat, and can figure out how to add the power back in afterward. 

 

Anyway, just wanted to bump this thread up, thank everybody who has contributed so far, and throw in my two cents! 

[me05501]

On 2/24/2022 at 10:51 AM, games said:

My latest swing.  This is only 91 mph with 132mph ball speed for 1.46 smash.  Tough to see with MEVO camera, but exit is markedly improved as much lower.  Sad struggle to swing "over em" or "under em".  But, the wrist position Chase has me in, and Monte's Sledgehammer drill are helping me learn to make it work for me.  Will discuss more detail in my own thread.  

 

 

 

 

 

I saw a TikTok or similar last year with a woman golfer who joked that the lead arm had to go "over t**" and the trail arm had to go "under t**." 🙂 

Edited July 12, 2023 by me05501

[ApostateDrive]

Oh man, what a great thread! I golf as part of a much larger initiative to get healthy in my life. I'm currently 5'9" and around 400lb, so to say my swing is an event is an understatement. The biggest struggle for me has been activating the lower body and not just swinging with all arms/flipping through impact, etc. Great thread!

Edited July 12, 2023 by ApostateDrive

[Hstead]

@eric61Glad it helped.  That is the reason I used to post on this site, I enjoyed sharing with people what I had learned.  With Chase's move to Oklahoma City, it is more difficult for me to get there from Chattanooga.  I will make it out there soon though I am sure.  Chase is as good of a person as he is golf coach.  I can't wait to listen to his new podcast with Raymond Prior.  Chase has taught me at least as much about playing and the mental game has he has mechanics.

 

I am actually heading down to get a tune up with iteachgolf this weekend before I play a couple of big qualifiers and tournaments.  I can drive to see Dan now so its more convenient for me.  You can't go wrong with Dan, Chase, or Monte though, they all three have forgotten more than most PGA teachers ever learned.

 

As for the "Big Guy" part, I have been working hard on that and losing quite a bit of weight has required swing changes too.

 

 

[jonsnow]

I'm 65, 6'1" & 234 (down from 255 in the last 5 months). Were most of you always big guys? I weighed 160 when I finished HS & 175 when I finished college, then the weight started accumulating around a pound a year until I reached 255. I think my swing changed subconsciously as I got bigger. I started taking the club back outside because there was too much in the way as I got thicker through the middle. I'm working to get back to 185 as I've had some health issues that required a pretty drastic change in my diet, not just how much I eat but what I eat.

 

I took a lesson last Saturday from a guy who is about the same size as me & the first thing he picked up on was my takeaway getting outside immediately. He had me hitting it much better by the end of the lesson & I've been working on the drills he gave me. Looking forward to getting out tomorrow & seeing what it feels like.

[cardoustie]

This thread delivers

[games]

Wanted to pop this thread back up.

 

@Hstead started a good one here.

IMO, Chase's "Fat Guy Swing" primer is instructional gold.

 

 

When I saw Chase for lessons, he wanted my lead wrist more cupped at the top.

Now that I'm back into golf, I bought a Hackmotion about a week ago to see how far off my wrist position was and what a proper wrist position feels like.

My left wrist was so flexed at the top. I suspect it was from years of bowling (left-handed bowler playing golf right-handed).

 

And, the wrist was so stiff, I had to use a whippy swing trainer to loosen it just to get to anything remotely resembling extension.

 

Anyway, it would be fun to get updates from the thread participants. And, hopefully this encourages some fresh discussion and helps us "svelte" folk who didn't catch it the first time!

[Hstead]

My natural tendency is to extend my left wrist quite a bit at the top, not to mention my right wrist doesn't extend very well and gets stiffer and less flexible the older I get.

 

I have to constantly monitor that I am not extending too much and getting the face too open.  iteachgolf Dan is usually getting me into less extension and getting my face a little closer to square vs open at the top.  My grip generally wants to move weaker as well over time if I do not keep an eye on it.

 

This game is so hard.  Every time I think I have it whipped it disappears.  I had been striping it for six weeks and evidently sometime yesterday the golf swing feels foreign lol.

 

Tomorrow will be a grind session getting my fundamentals correct, mostly alignment and ball position.  I get my feet a mile right of the target and my shoulders two miles left.  Felt like a pretzel today when I finally squared everything up.

Edited April 19 by Hstead

[games]

2 hours ago, Hstead said:

Tomorrow will be a grind session getting my fundamentals correct, mostly alignment and ball position.  I get my feet a mile right of the target and my shoulders two miles left.  Felt like a pretzel today when I finally squared everything up.

 

I identify with feeling like a pretzel. Was always flexible and if I just focused, I could maintain tilts and delay extension until the ball was struck.

Now, every time I swing, you can hear the faint sound of goats bleating in the distance. 

[CanFred]

3 hours ago, Hstead said:

My natural tendency is to extend my left wrist quite a bit at the top, not to mention my right wrist doesn't extend very well and gets stiffer and less flexible the older I get.

 

I have to constantly monitor that I am not extending too much and getting the face too open.  iteachgolf Dan is usually getting me into less extension and getting my face a little closer to square vs open at the top.  My grip generally wants to move weaker as well over time if I do not keep an eye on it.

 

This game is so hard.  Every time I think I have it whipped it disappears.  I had been striping it for six weeks and evidently sometime yesterday the golf swing feels foreign lol.

 

Tomorrow will be a grind session getting my fundamentals correct, mostly alignment and ball position.  I get my feet a mile right of the target and my shoulders two miles left.  Felt like a pretzel today when I finally squared everything up.

 

Preach it @Hstead - thanks for you and @games reviving this thread.  Its been a good read!

[bladehunter]

On 2/12/2022 at 9:36 PM, lv_2_hack said:

Great thread so far guys. 
 

5 years ago I’d of said I hated when a ‘Big Boned’ student would come in the academy looking for some swing help. I just wasn’t sure the best way to fix them. I always felt like they had fewer options, which is still true, but I didn’t know what those options were. 
 

I had a break through with one of my college players. He was never known to be a great ball striker and also cane back from Christmas break complaining of back pain. He wanted to make some changes and was open to just about anything. 
 

We identified the excessive right tilt issues and started grinding on ways to stay in left tilt longer. The results were crazy good. His back pain went away. He went from being unranked in D3 to top 10 in less than a year. He was a cronic right path right tilter, so we had to continue to focus on tilting left and making sure he could fade it when needed. 
 

From there I’ve kinda simplified the ‘fat boy swing’ to a few of these keys…

 

1. It begins and ends with low point control. Nothing else really matters if you can’t hit the ground where you want. 
 

2. The body fades it, the arms draw it. Meaning, you can’t right tilt to draw it and you can’t throw your arms over the top to fade it. Have to keep arms deep enough not to slice and stay in left tilt long enough to be able to fade it. That tends to be Heath and Schnee’s balancing acts. 
 

3. Can’t have a lot of lateral motion off the ball. Have to stay fairly centered. Also don’t need a ton of width in backswing. Tends to pull upper center to far off ball when chasing width. Playing from a narrow armed P4 could help a lot of you stay in your tilts and stay centered. 
 

4. Can’t get the arms super deep in backswing. Just not enough room to make it work. 
 

5. Can’t play from a super closed clubface at the top (or too flexed left wrist). The closed face also delofts the face and most of you can’t manage that. You’ll tend to right tilt too much to try to get the ball airborne. 
 

There are obviously outliers to the above ideas but these are some general rules to watch for. 
 

Think that’s it for now. Hope this helps!

 

Man. What a prophetic post. 6-3 215 here . Even though I’m on the smaller side of big. I recognize a bunch of these bullet points as absolutely true. 

[games]

3 hours ago, bladehunter said:

Man. What a prophetic post. 6-3 215 here . Even though I’m on the smaller side of big. I recognize a bunch of these bullet points as absolutely true. 

 

I think a lot of the principles here can be applied to folks of all body types who lack flexibility like senior players and some body builders. Or people who lack strength in their core, quads, or glutes. 

[games]

A couple of 8 irons for your viewing pleasure (two different swings both carried 145 yards per Trackman). I am trying to retain lag / reduce casting. Anyone who has seen my prior videos will see the difference. I do suck the clubhead in on the takeaway. Also, need to stabilize my head.

 

 

 

 

 

Games_FO8i.mov

 

Games_DTL8i.mov

Edited May 18 by games
Added YouTube to Upload Video

[Hawkeye77]

11 minutes ago, games said:

A couple of 8 irons for your viewing pleasure (two different swings both carried 145 yards per Trackman). I am trying to retain lag / reduce casting. Anyone who has seen my prior videos will see the difference. I do suck the clubhead in on the takeaway. Also, need to stabilize my head.

 

Games_FO8i.mov 1.34 MB · 0 downloads

 

Games_DTL8i.mov 1.34 MB · 1 download

 

I'll take a heaping helping of reduce casting!

[games]

1 minute ago, Hawkeye77 said:

I'll take a heaping helping of reduce casting!

 

It's really the first time I ever focused on it. It's only been two weeks of work but will take months to ingrain fully.

My keys are:

 

1. Improved grip - All in the fingers now. Very comfortable with it. The old hybrid-palm grip inhibited lag and encouraged casting.

 

2. Retaining "slack" in the left arm. The looseness enables a clean vertical drop on the downswing. Any tension or straightness in the lead arm on the drop seems to trigger the casting motion AND an over the top move that pulls the ball left of Hillary.

 

3. Keep back to the target to start the vertical drop in #2.

 

For me, getting the grip cap just in front my thigh at P6 is a moral victory. I have never been able to retain lag like that. Very happy with face-on.

[games]

On 5/18/2025 at 12:21 PM, Hawkeye77 said:

 

I'll take a heaping helping of reduce casting!

Part of this starting over gig for me is to reduce casting and getting more shaft lean.

 

I watched this segment of video from John Daly. It inspired me to basically take my right arm completely out of the swing.

After doing one-hand shots for 15 minutes, I started taking full swings with both hands, and I actually have video of me creating shaft lean at P6.

That's more rare than video of Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.