Recently, I was asked by one of my readers for an additional opinion regarding a swing analysis he received. He brought up interesting points about the adjustment of swing planes and I wanted to share them with you.
With the aim of improving his driving distance, he enrolled in lessons. He had also been experiencing push shots to the left.
His swing plane for the back swing on his video analysis was flat. Because he was large and had a lack of flexibility in his upper body, it led to a tendency for him to get tense. “wrap”On the backswing, the golf club should be around the body. This resulted in a short downswing, which came from an inside-out path of the club’s head. It often led to the left-hand pushed shot.
He needed to correct his push problem as well as improve his distance ability by adjusting his swing plane to be more upright.
The club’s head swing path would move further down the target line, giving him greater margin of error. This could also create more energy from the back swing at a higher top position. It would lead to a faster swing speed and impact.
This observation was picked up by his instructor. But, his explanation of the problem wasn’t entirely clear.
He advised that you “raise the hands”He was more focused on his backswing, which was essentially the result he wanted that would be achieved with a more upright swing.
Because I hear and read about it often, I felt it was important to me that I focus on it. “raising the hands”As a method of making your swing more upright. Some instructors use this method to promote trunk rotation to improve backswing torque.
This is because the instruction is not clear enough. It can cause other issues with your swing. It turned out that this was exactly what happened to our reader.
The instructor encouraged him to raise his arms above his shoulders and trunk, which encourages more trunk rotation. However, due to his inflexibility, it caused a lot muscle tension and a serious break to his left elbow.
Your hand movements do not control the swing plane. Instead, your shoulder movements govern it. The highest hand position is the “result”Do you want to have a higher upright swing? Not the means of getting there?
You must adjust your swing plane at the beginning and not at the end. This is because many golfers lack the flexibility to do so.
How you move your left shoulder is a major factor in how well you swing plane. The more that you rotate the shoulders, the less you will affect the glide. “horizontally”As was the case in our reader, the flatter your spine, the lower the swing plane.
Rotate your shoulders to increase your swing plane angle “vertically”You can drive your left shoulder towards the end of the swing instead of to the side.
You can initiate the backswing with a vertical shoulder movement. “lifting the hands”This allows you to relax in your left arm, and keep your elbows straight. It also helps reduce the risk of a hand releasing from the top.
As we all know, swing speed increases when there is more backswing torque.
This is achieved by rotating your shoulders further. To increase your shoulder torque, however, don’t break the left elbow in order to move your hands higher. You end up losing it.
Because your shoulders won’t turn further, that is why you need to break the elbow. You can only achieve maximum torque from your trunk turn when they reach their limits of flexibility.
Because the tension in your trunk turns causes the left elbow to break, the arm muscles cannot match it. The torque contribution of your arm muscles is released once the elbow breaks. “opt”Out of the total torque built up during the turn.
The result is that your backswing torque will be reduced after the break.
The swing is more complicated when the elbow is broken.
Take care of what you learn and see. “high hand position”. This is the perfect position in which to produce power and control in your swing. However, this requires flexibility.
You don’t need to be flexible, as it will cause more trouble than solve.
Recommendations:
1. Don’t try to reach beyond what you can do. “natural”Swing within your natural range of flexibility, which was what the instructor advised our reader. Swing within your natural flexibility.
2. Swing consistency and speed are improved by moving to a higher angle of swing. This is achieved by driving your left shoulder down at the beginning of each swing, not trying to raise your arms above your head.
3. Keep your elbow straight. Your hands should never extend beyond your shoulders. However, you must keep your left side firm in order to maintain backswing torque. This will simplify the timing and ease the swing.
4. You can only improve your flexibility and shoulder angle by strengthening your back muscles. – Go through simple lower back stretching routines every day for 2-3 weeks and you will increase your turn angle by as much as 10º.
Best of luck
Regards,
Les