With all of the perfect positions and keeping the club on plane that is talked about in the mainstream golf media, this is the only one that matters. There are infinite ways to get there (or near there) and don’t let anyone tell you there is only one way.
Suggestions about setup/posture, eliminating unnecessary movements, ways of getting there easier, etc., are fine, but stay away from any advice where people tell you there is only one way to swing.
Everything I have written on this blog is not about “the right way,” they are my suggestions on how I think you can get to this spot (or near it) easier.
FYI-I have been too far underneath this “sweet spot” my entire golfing career. I was taught to delay the release and even when my game was near PGA Tour caliber, I was inconsistent on short wedges and pitches. In hindsight it is easy to see that is definitely what kept me from making it through q-school. For the first time in my career I am hitting this spot. Let’s see what this old man can do next year when I start practicing full time again.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEiapVg6aew]
Streaming Video Series
Great post Monte….really helpful when you add a video..
went to the range today to try the release,,,at first I was hooking but then slowed my forearms abit and my ball fight was corrected. I found it easy to correct. From your last post it sounds like the hook could also have been caused by a slower turn…do you advocate keeping the left arm connected which helps the synchronization of arms and body…
also , do you release when hitting a fade?
Thanks for the great posts.
Peter
I don’t advocate any kind of restirction. Keeping connected on the downswing will happen automatically if you turn and release in sync.
Yes, I release when I hit a fade. If the release is late, I hit a pig pull.
Monte, your emphasis on making an early release is helping me understand Jimmy Ballard’s left arm connection concept.
Anything that helps is good, but again, I think he is looking at things backwards. He is telling you the right thing to do, instead of what bad things make that hard to do…then eliminate those things and what is right happens autmatically.
If you are stuck underneath from taking it too far inside and swinging out too much, how are you going to keep the left arm connected without slowing the club down and contriving the move?
yes..that was my experience with Ballard as well…I liked watching his presentation but I was restricted when swinging and lost distance….and I believe he would be the last one to advocate releasing from the top….
how do you hit a fade if the clubface is closing? I thought you had to hold it square to open.
AH HA!!!! I am glad someone asked this question. It is not physically possible to hold the face open indefinitely. The face has to close eventually. That being the case, to hit a fade, you still have to release it, it just happens later and from a different angle. Hold off the release turns into a raking with the hands, causing a slice or a straight pull.
Watch Colin Montgomery, he releases the club as much as anyone who hits a draw, it is just more from the outside which makes the club close later, causing a fade.
It is individual how you hit a proper fade, but the way I do it is weaken my grip slightly, take it away slightly to the outside and release it just like I would a draw.
Not releasing the club gets the club out of position, causing you to work the ball with your hands too much, causing some major consistency issues.
Hey Monte…what does ‘raking’ mean?
P
It’s in the video on three releases and over the top. It’s when you grab it with your hands trying to delay the release and you just “rake” your hands across the ball independent of you turn.
If the club and hands are away from the body at impact is this over the top? How would one correct this? Ifight the laterals is this related?
It is only over the top if you change the path from the back swing to the down swing. Rarely does over the top cause the “laterals.”
There is an earlier post and video that describes both these issues. The laterals are usually caused by not releasing the club properly.
http://montescheinblum.wordpress.com/2009/09/22/the-release-and-over-the-top-videos/
Hi Monte, just discovered your blog and am having a great time going through your videos and blogs.
In videos of my swing, I notice that at impact, my hands are a higher than at address, changing the plane as well. If I take the impact shaft plane as my reference, then I am hitting the sweetspot very well. If I go by my address shaft plane, then I am above it, even at impact. I’m hitting it pretty straight, with a tendensy to pull.
Thanks for the great info. Very informative.
Just means you have what “they” are calling a two plane swing. As long as the club is hitting the shaft plane, you are good. Most golfers on Tour have a two plane swing…as do I.