[Yoda]

I have new video up of my swing after 2 days of trying to eliminate my forward sway. Feedback please!!!

http://www.geocities.com/robmont64/swing2.html

tgmnut,

There is a lot to like in your Total Motion. I am particularly impressed by your ability to maintain your Flat Left Wrist through Impact. Whether acquired through hard work or athletic birthright, it is the reason you play as well as you do.

As I see it, three major stumbling blocks stand between you and your potential. Here they are, along with my recommended cures...

1. The Start Up. Yours is a very 'Handsy' Full Sweep Action (10-22-A) that results in an exaggerated Left Wrist Turn and an Off Plane Clubshaft as you move into the Backstroke. You stated that you have experimented with both the Impact Address and the Standard Address and that you prefer the latter. I suggest you use it to its full advantage by using your Right Forearm -- not your Turning and Cocking Left Wrist -- to move the Clubshaft back along the Plane Line in Start Up. It will be easy because in Standard Address, your Right Forearm and Clubshaft are pointing at very nearly the same spot on the Plane Line. So, think of this initial move as a 'Flat Right Wrist' Takeaway. Practice this diligently with the Right Forearm and Club only.

Drill: Position an Impact Bag behind your Right Foot and on the Arc of Approach. Then, hit it with the Club on the Backstroke using your Flat Right Wrist and Forearm to initiate, direct and sustain the action. Do this over and over until your Right Forearm assumes full control of your Start Up. This will put you well down the road to happy times.

2. The downward Bob. I am not nearly so concerned about what is being labeled the 'forward Sway' because you are merely returning to a Centered position. And Tiger has shown us that even the Bob is not exactly a fatal Snare if it is compensated. Nevertheless, your Head is moving way too much. As a result, your Pivot Center is unstable and Centered Arc is in jeopardy. Until you bring this element under control, you will always struggle for consistency.

3. The Looping Plane Shift. You begin your Stroke on the Elbow Plane and then gradually Shift to the Turned Shoulder Plane. So far, so good. But then, at the Top, you Loop to the very steep Squared Shoulder Plane (10-7-F). All this requires a ton of compensation. The cure -- Pivot correction -- will also go a long way toward curing the above-mentioned Bob.

The first step is understanding exactly how the Pivot should work. Here I would reference the On Plane Shoulder Turn combination of 10-13-D. The student must learn to turn his Right Shoulder as Flat back to the Plane as he can -- you do a good job here -- and then to take the Shoulder directly Down Plane toward the Ball (and not back 'out' to where it came from, i.e., its Address position, which is what you do). And this requires the proper Hip Action -- Slide with a Delayed Turn -- to tilt the spine (the Shoulder Turn's Axis) and enable the Hands to take their desired Straight Line (10-23-A) or Angled Line (10-23-B) Delivery Path to the Ball. So, as a first step, you must work on the Pivot Motion itself without the Arms and Club per Photos 9-1-1/12.

Once you have a crystal clear picture of how the Pivot should function and are able to do make that Motion without Arms and Club, you should immediately turn the control back over to the Hands. This is where the 'magic' will happen.

Without a Club, raise your Right Hand to the Top of your Stroke. Then, leaving the Hand turned palm-up to the Plane, bring the Right Forearm down in a 'karate chop' motion through your line-of-sight to the ball. You will find that the Right Shoulder will cooperate beautifully to enable and suppport that Motion. In fact, it would be quite foreign for the Shoulder to go 'out' and still make the Forearm motion I've described.

Not only will this better keep the Clubshaft On Plane, it will also promote Maximum Trigger Delay of the #3 Accumulator. And that means Maximum Distance. Because of the nature of Right Elbow Participation, Swingers will be able to delay that Release a bit longer than Hitters, but with practice, even Hitters can learn to get that Right Elbow 'past the Ball' before Triggering.



From the Top, Feel the Pivot's Pull of the Arms and Club -- practice Start Down Waggles endlessly -- directly toward the Plane Line. Regarding what 'spot' to Pull toward from the Top, just Pull toward the Plane Line. Since you are always pulling the club lengthwise in the direction it is pointing, and since that direction is changing every split second, the specific point you are Pulling toward is likewise changing. So, just pull toward the Line, and you'll get the job done.

In summary, tgmnut, each of these three items are closely related. Learn to use your Tracing Right Forearm to stay On Plane in Start Up and to guide your Stroke to a Turned Shoulder Plane at the Top. Then, use the Magic of the Right Forearm to deliver the Club Down Plane into Impact on either the Turned Shoulder Plane (Single Shift / 10-7-B) -- probably your most 'comfortable' alternative at this point -- or on your original Elbow Plane (Double Shift / 10-7-C). This focus on Hand-Controlled-Pivot will train your Body to support -- not bully -- the Hands. Finally, work on keeping your Head Stationary. Your reward will be Centered Arc and a new level of consistency.