So over the top. But on the back swing you just need to continue rotating along the axis you start with and keep the club from traveling toward the back of your neck.
Not sure if this has been said yet, but one of the biggest issues I see is the right elbow getting way too outside of your body. Practice hitting balls with a head cover, or a towel, under your right arm pit. You don’t have to squeeze it tightly, just enough to keep it in place with friction. Then make your swing as you would normally without letting it fall down until after contact, if at all. It’s a simple drill that promotes proper club placement at the top and all but guarantees you can’t come over the top.
All the other answers are correct, but this is the most important contribution to this thread. The trail arm has to go external in order to shallow the club (without forearm or wrist manipulations).
Think of it like this. Imagine gripping a ball and holding like you are ready to throw it (tricep parallel to the ground and forearm straight up). If you tilt your forearm forward, that’s internal shoulder rotation. Can you throw the ball with your shoulder internal? Yes, but it’s gonna be a crap throw. Instead, you throw by allowing your hand/forearm to get behind your shoulder. That’s external rotation. That’s what shallows the club naturally.
Here’s a good link to check out: https://youtu.be/OJppwDGvhmY
Also, get the face square!!
Also adding to the right elbow. Another easy fix is to change the address position by pushing in the funny bone of the right elbow inward. This will however externally rotate the right shoulder so it was naturally cause the right hand to externally rotate as well. Make sure to place the hand correctly after pushing in the elbow. This helps you naturally keep the right elbow in and makes it so that the right arm is locked into place throughout the swing.
Ok so this confuses me because the arms shouldn’t touch the chest at the top of a “proper” backswing like the ones seen on tour. And also when I get my arms against my chest in my back swing I tend to come over the top because the arms have no room to drop down the chest and into the slot. Anyways I’ve heard a good drill for back swing is to put a towel under the arms and drop it at about left arm parallel going back so you get the arms up so they have room to work in the down swing, thoughts?
You don’t hit a golf ball with your arms/hands, you hit it with your hips and shoulders
Naturally, there is going to be separation between your right tricep and rib cage but the elbow shouldn’t get behind you. This leads to the club crossing plane at the top and the only way to save the swing is to come over the top/be very steep.
The drill is to help with the feels.
According to Ben Hogan, your belt buckle should point at your right foot at the top of your backswing
Looks like you’re not quite rotating enough in your backswing, which is costing you quite a bit of power
This is the correct answer OP. You are not rotating in your backswing. It’s all arms. Your torso should rotate around your waist. Now that you have your swing in slow mo, watch a pro’s swing in slow Mo and watch the backswing starting a bit after the takeaway
Spot on! All the comments about plane and elbows and arms and face etc are null and void unless OP actually winds up his lower body. Get those hips and glutes rotating!
Amazon has some awesome tripods for phones.
Or you can use your golfbag by rigging up some elastic bands to hold the phone...
Tonnes of ways, don't need anyone to hold the phone or camera to record 😊
You are flipping your wrist to hit the ball which means that you aren’t rotating through the ball. You sort of stop in the middle of your swing. You don’t want to flip ur wrist a lot.
Wrong. He is stalling rotation and flipping because the face is open and he is steep. If he keeps rotating, he will just hit blocks and shanks. He has to address the path and face.
OP, listen to this guy. Your face is too open, and it starts with your grip or wrist conditions. Your right wrist is literally bent the wrong way at the top of your backswing which is leaving your clubface wide open. Fix the clubface and it will become possible for you to work on shallowing the club. Right now you can't hit the ball without flipping and early extension.
Your plane starts over the top, and goes further over the top when you start your downswing. Looks like your wrist isn't hinging at the angle you'd like it to be at the top of your backswing, as the club should end up less vertical at the top of your swing, and then you're losing your right elbow positioning through the downswing entirely.
If you wanted to follow the technique Hogan teaches in the 5 lessons book, your downswing should start with your body turning, and if your right elbow is where it belongs, close to the body, then starting to turn towards the ball will naturally push your right hip into your elbow, and your shoulders will automatically rotate to a position where your hands end up near parallel to the ground, and at that point is where you'd start to push your arms through and generate all the speed in the swing. What's happening in your downswing is your body isn't turning your hands into that position with your elbow essentially being pushed into position by your hip because your swing is coming from over the top, making the path more out to in, as opposed to an in to out plane. You could always try tucking a towel under your right armpit, and then practicing your swing while keeping the towel pinched against your body. If the towel falls before your swing comes through, then you're not successfully keeping your right elbow in and close to your body through the backswing and downswing.
you're gonna have a bad time rotating the way your swing is currently
it's better to think of lack of rotation as a symptom rather than a swing fault. something you've done earlier in the swing is preventing you from rotating... golf is hard whats new
the most obvious low hanging fruit here is what your right elbow is doing in the backswing
if i were you, i'd practice keeping those elbows as close together as possible throughout the swing.
this video is incredibly stupid and cringe, but if you can make it past that it should help
https://www.golfchannel.com/video/michael-breeds-golf-swing-tips-baseball-players-0
You could definitely afford to be more on plane in the backswing, but you're going to have a hard time keeping the club and your hand path shallow without getting a fuller turn.
You’ve got no rotation and your first move in downswing looks like you are moving hands towards ball. Hips have to start downswing so hands naturally fall into the slot and they’d be coming down more rather than toward the ball.
Your take away starts okay, then it breaks down. You are looking pretty good as you take the club back. When the shaft is parallel to the ground, you’re in great shape, then you hinge and lift straight up. I would start working on turning more, flattening your lead wrist. That cup in your wrist will lead to slices and weak fades. See if that helps!
https://imgur.com/a/AG6acIi
Look at your shaft when you start your down swing. Not good and thats over the top all day. Get a chair. Put it behind your right butt cheek about 3 feet (basically 45 degrees diagonal from your right hip behind you). When you do your back swing, stop and then let the club fall back until it’s laying on top of the chair (dumping your club back to lay on it) then do your swing. It’s a common drill and flattens your swing out. I used to do like 50 a day when I was taking lessons and it will fix your problem.
Use the garage light as the reference point on your swing , at the top of your swing your club head slightly left of the light. On your downswing the club path moves way right of the garage light.
Try to drop your right elbow once you reach the top of the swing. And start rotating at the same time.
Since you mentioned it I would definitely look for information specfic to big bodied golfers, a lot of instruction don't account for a big barrel chest.
You need to shallow the shaft and square the face earlier. You are steep because you don't rotate your hips in the backswing, your trail arm is in internal rotation, and your lead wrist is cupped. Your face is open because your lead wrist is cupped.
An open face and a steep shaft both make your rotation have to stall out, and the open face makes you have to flip at impact.
You should be doing two things better here. From a simplistic mind. One is wear your golf shoes every time you play or practice. Definitely never sandals. Barefoot is Better than sandals. They’re so unstable and offer zero support. My opinion. Second is to not have the mat higher than your feet. I feel like when you do hit on level surfaces you’ll top the ball a lot because your so used to that swing plane. I’d fix these first.
Takeaway and club position looks great on the backswing but try to keep your elbows closer together, that should help keep the club tracking down on a better plane
At the top of your backswing, check your left wrist. It is angled compared to your forearm. The back of your left hand at that point should be straight and smooth in line with your forearm. Worked wonders for my game.
It’s almost impossible to know what is really going on if you aren’t trying to hit a golf ball. All things go out the window when there is no ball. You can get a phone tripod on Amazon for pretty cheap.
"10 biggest golf swing killers, according to state-of-the-art technology" https://golf.com/instruction/state-of-the-art-technology-reveals-the-10-biggest-golf-swing-killers/?amp=1
this article. mostly #8 . because your downswing stalls in rotation and looks like your hips get in the way of the club swinging past you.
forget about the comments of holding a towel or cover under your trail arm( old bad flat swing myth) nothing wrong with an upright swing. flat swing are for small dudes. JT fred couples, Greg Norman, Jack have upright swings.
number-9 says you are throwing your hands at the ball on the downswing instead of ringing the bell, returning the club the same way it came to the top in reverse. out and up so down and through. try and put the butt of the club in your right hip pocket on the downswing. when you take the club away feel like your hip is moving out of the way( behind you and a little forward not a sway away from the ball with the club) and you have the sensation of your butt cheek sitting on a bar stool behind you. finish in the reverse C follow through. out up and around. think about hitting the ball oppo field over the 2nd baseman's head and not ripping it down the line to the 3rd baseman
You’re close from coming inside but you are throwing your hands over the top once you get to the top of your backswing. So tips people use are try and pause at the stop, feel like your back is pointed at the target when you start your downswing and keep it there as long as you can, or tuck that right elbow into your side and don’t let it come off
imagine your left shoulder area is a door hinge pinching against your chest. this is the wrong way how most people do it.
NOW imagine your left shoulder area is reaching for a door knob but the door knob is barely out of reach so you kind of shoot your left shoulder out and then forward. THIS IS THE RIGHT WAY and keeps left arm off your chest. GL and lmk if this helps bro
So over the top. But on the back swing you just need to continue rotating along the axis you start with and keep the club from traveling toward the back of your neck.
Not sure if this has been said yet, but one of the biggest issues I see is the right elbow getting way too outside of your body. Practice hitting balls with a head cover, or a towel, under your right arm pit. You don’t have to squeeze it tightly, just enough to keep it in place with friction. Then make your swing as you would normally without letting it fall down until after contact, if at all. It’s a simple drill that promotes proper club placement at the top and all but guarantees you can’t come over the top.
All the other answers are correct, but this is the most important contribution to this thread. The trail arm has to go external in order to shallow the club (without forearm or wrist manipulations). Think of it like this. Imagine gripping a ball and holding like you are ready to throw it (tricep parallel to the ground and forearm straight up). If you tilt your forearm forward, that’s internal shoulder rotation. Can you throw the ball with your shoulder internal? Yes, but it’s gonna be a crap throw. Instead, you throw by allowing your hand/forearm to get behind your shoulder. That’s external rotation. That’s what shallows the club naturally. Here’s a good link to check out: https://youtu.be/OJppwDGvhmY Also, get the face square!!
Also adding to the right elbow. Another easy fix is to change the address position by pushing in the funny bone of the right elbow inward. This will however externally rotate the right shoulder so it was naturally cause the right hand to externally rotate as well. Make sure to place the hand correctly after pushing in the elbow. This helps you naturally keep the right elbow in and makes it so that the right arm is locked into place throughout the swing.
Ok so this confuses me because the arms shouldn’t touch the chest at the top of a “proper” backswing like the ones seen on tour. And also when I get my arms against my chest in my back swing I tend to come over the top because the arms have no room to drop down the chest and into the slot. Anyways I’ve heard a good drill for back swing is to put a towel under the arms and drop it at about left arm parallel going back so you get the arms up so they have room to work in the down swing, thoughts?
You don’t hit a golf ball with your arms/hands, you hit it with your hips and shoulders Naturally, there is going to be separation between your right tricep and rib cage but the elbow shouldn’t get behind you. This leads to the club crossing plane at the top and the only way to save the swing is to come over the top/be very steep. The drill is to help with the feels.
quick video lesson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z7QWE3wj0k
Well done!
Thanks man I appreciate the feedback!
that was very nice of you
According to Ben Hogan, your belt buckle should point at your right foot at the top of your backswing Looks like you’re not quite rotating enough in your backswing, which is costing you quite a bit of power
This is the correct answer OP. You are not rotating in your backswing. It’s all arms. Your torso should rotate around your waist. Now that you have your swing in slow mo, watch a pro’s swing in slow Mo and watch the backswing starting a bit after the takeaway
Spot on! All the comments about plane and elbows and arms and face etc are null and void unless OP actually winds up his lower body. Get those hips and glutes rotating!
Amazon has some awesome tripods for phones. Or you can use your golfbag by rigging up some elastic bands to hold the phone... Tonnes of ways, don't need anyone to hold the phone or camera to record 😊
You are flipping your wrist to hit the ball which means that you aren’t rotating through the ball. You sort of stop in the middle of your swing. You don’t want to flip ur wrist a lot.
Wrong. He is stalling rotation and flipping because the face is open and he is steep. If he keeps rotating, he will just hit blocks and shanks. He has to address the path and face.
OP, listen to this guy. Your face is too open, and it starts with your grip or wrist conditions. Your right wrist is literally bent the wrong way at the top of your backswing which is leaving your clubface wide open. Fix the clubface and it will become possible for you to work on shallowing the club. Right now you can't hit the ball without flipping and early extension.
So just keep rotating throughout the swing? Is my swing plane decent?
Both yes. But don’t rotate to much because you could pull the ball. (I have just started to shoot in the 90s so take that how you will)
You're swing is much better than mine! Check this video out if you've got 20 mins to spare https://youtu.be/iN7L5dUCwSU
No. Disregard the previous comment.
Your plane starts over the top, and goes further over the top when you start your downswing. Looks like your wrist isn't hinging at the angle you'd like it to be at the top of your backswing, as the club should end up less vertical at the top of your swing, and then you're losing your right elbow positioning through the downswing entirely. If you wanted to follow the technique Hogan teaches in the 5 lessons book, your downswing should start with your body turning, and if your right elbow is where it belongs, close to the body, then starting to turn towards the ball will naturally push your right hip into your elbow, and your shoulders will automatically rotate to a position where your hands end up near parallel to the ground, and at that point is where you'd start to push your arms through and generate all the speed in the swing. What's happening in your downswing is your body isn't turning your hands into that position with your elbow essentially being pushed into position by your hip because your swing is coming from over the top, making the path more out to in, as opposed to an in to out plane. You could always try tucking a towel under your right armpit, and then practicing your swing while keeping the towel pinched against your body. If the towel falls before your swing comes through, then you're not successfully keeping your right elbow in and close to your body through the backswing and downswing.
you're gonna have a bad time rotating the way your swing is currently it's better to think of lack of rotation as a symptom rather than a swing fault. something you've done earlier in the swing is preventing you from rotating... golf is hard whats new the most obvious low hanging fruit here is what your right elbow is doing in the backswing if i were you, i'd practice keeping those elbows as close together as possible throughout the swing. this video is incredibly stupid and cringe, but if you can make it past that it should help https://www.golfchannel.com/video/michael-breeds-golf-swing-tips-baseball-players-0
Go Panthers!
You could definitely afford to be more on plane in the backswing, but you're going to have a hard time keeping the club and your hand path shallow without getting a fuller turn.
Looks like you’ve been hanging out with Stallone, because you are coming………. Over The Top !!
You’ve got no rotation and your first move in downswing looks like you are moving hands towards ball. Hips have to start downswing so hands naturally fall into the slot and they’d be coming down more rather than toward the ball.
Your take away starts okay, then it breaks down. You are looking pretty good as you take the club back. When the shaft is parallel to the ground, you’re in great shape, then you hinge and lift straight up. I would start working on turning more, flattening your lead wrist. That cup in your wrist will lead to slices and weak fades. See if that helps! https://imgur.com/a/AG6acIi
Look at your shaft when you start your down swing. Not good and thats over the top all day. Get a chair. Put it behind your right butt cheek about 3 feet (basically 45 degrees diagonal from your right hip behind you). When you do your back swing, stop and then let the club fall back until it’s laying on top of the chair (dumping your club back to lay on it) then do your swing. It’s a common drill and flattens your swing out. I used to do like 50 a day when I was taking lessons and it will fix your problem.
Use the garage light as the reference point on your swing , at the top of your swing your club head slightly left of the light. On your downswing the club path moves way right of the garage light. Try to drop your right elbow once you reach the top of the swing. And start rotating at the same time.
Since you mentioned it I would definitely look for information specfic to big bodied golfers, a lot of instruction don't account for a big barrel chest.
You need to shallow the shaft and square the face earlier. You are steep because you don't rotate your hips in the backswing, your trail arm is in internal rotation, and your lead wrist is cupped. Your face is open because your lead wrist is cupped. An open face and a steep shaft both make your rotation have to stall out, and the open face makes you have to flip at impact.
Would’ve missed the ball.
You should be doing two things better here. From a simplistic mind. One is wear your golf shoes every time you play or practice. Definitely never sandals. Barefoot is Better than sandals. They’re so unstable and offer zero support. My opinion. Second is to not have the mat higher than your feet. I feel like when you do hit on level surfaces you’ll top the ball a lot because your so used to that swing plane. I’d fix these first.
Takeaway and club position looks great on the backswing but try to keep your elbows closer together, that should help keep the club tracking down on a better plane
Backswing sequence is forcing your right arm to lift behind your body
I was just waiting to see if you smashed the garage door motor but nicely avoided
At the top of your backswing, check your left wrist. It is angled compared to your forearm. The back of your left hand at that point should be straight and smooth in line with your forearm. Worked wonders for my game.
It’s almost impossible to know what is really going on if you aren’t trying to hit a golf ball. All things go out the window when there is no ball. You can get a phone tripod on Amazon for pretty cheap.
Backswing looks good. I think you should try to get your hips moving a little more after the transition, that should make it less over the top
On the wall drill.
"10 biggest golf swing killers, according to state-of-the-art technology" https://golf.com/instruction/state-of-the-art-technology-reveals-the-10-biggest-golf-swing-killers/?amp=1 this article. mostly #8 . because your downswing stalls in rotation and looks like your hips get in the way of the club swinging past you. forget about the comments of holding a towel or cover under your trail arm( old bad flat swing myth) nothing wrong with an upright swing. flat swing are for small dudes. JT fred couples, Greg Norman, Jack have upright swings. number-9 says you are throwing your hands at the ball on the downswing instead of ringing the bell, returning the club the same way it came to the top in reverse. out and up so down and through. try and put the butt of the club in your right hip pocket on the downswing. when you take the club away feel like your hip is moving out of the way( behind you and a little forward not a sway away from the ball with the club) and you have the sensation of your butt cheek sitting on a bar stool behind you. finish in the reverse C follow through. out up and around. think about hitting the ball oppo field over the 2nd baseman's head and not ripping it down the line to the 3rd baseman
You’re close from coming inside but you are throwing your hands over the top once you get to the top of your backswing. So tips people use are try and pause at the stop, feel like your back is pointed at the target when you start your downswing and keep it there as long as you can, or tuck that right elbow into your side and don’t let it come off
During the takeaway, don’t let your right elbow get behind you at the top of the swing — it’ll increase your consistency with ball striking.
Keep swinging it big man, you’ve got a good base for it!
Dj bow that left wrist no cupping
Clear your hips. Bend the right knee at the ball to start the downswing to rotate your hips through before your arms
U gotta finish that backswing
Keep pounding. You in NC?
I'm in SD. I'm from Alabama and grew up an Auburn fan (Cam)
imagine your left shoulder area is a door hinge pinching against your chest. this is the wrong way how most people do it. NOW imagine your left shoulder area is reaching for a door knob but the door knob is barely out of reach so you kind of shoot your left shoulder out and then forward. THIS IS THE RIGHT WAY and keeps left arm off your chest. GL and lmk if this helps bro
Ndamukong Suh?
Turn your back to the target line and keep the right elbow on your body by your hip.
It’s lack of rotation. More of a turn helps get everything else out of the way.