Blocking the tee shots

[Trig]

I'm a hitter learning to swing. My biggest issue with swinging is I'm blocking the ball big time. Ball starts right and then fades hard.

I'm wondering if it's because I'm still using angled hinging instead of horizontal?

Please give me some ideas of what to look for that might be causing the block?

Thanks!

[EdZ]

You are probably used to less shoulder turn with hitting. IMO, swinging it is more critical to get a fuller turn and 'wait for it' before startdown. Try drilling with the exaggerated feel that your left shoulder gets behind the ball and 'hit the ball with the back of the left shoulder' - this will help you synch up the feel of trusting your hands and chest to turn through together. Also, full roll means FULL roll - until you can hook the heck out of it on command with big sweeping hooks - then back off until you feel a 'smoooooooth' steady rotation through - let that club feel heavy.

Also, it is likely that you are not using a startup swivel, which to you will feel like a 'big' roll of the clubface to toe up position - trust that. If you shank, you are too inside and need more 'up'. Ironically, that startup swivel makes the downswing swivel fairly 'automatic' and you won't have to focus on the 'full roll' - CF will take care of that for you.

[Burner]

I'm a hitter learning to swing. My biggest issue with swinging is I'm blocking the ball big time. Ball starts right and then fades hard.

I'm wondering if it's because I'm still using angled hinging instead of horizontal?

Please give me some ideas of what to look for that might be causing the block?

Thanks!

Before embarking on any major reconstruction work, try moving the ball forwards a little - seems like you are getting at it a little too soon and with the face open a tad.

[bambam]

I get that kind of ball flight when I try to add too much speed/power w/ my lower body. It usually causes me to bend my plane and get shallow, which also wrecks any hope of a natural, CF roll through impact for me. I tend to get a bit of a reverse roll and push fade it unless I feel it happening and really hit down and roll hard through impact in hopes of saving it...of course this causes a lot of hard draws and hooks.

[birdie_man]

Remember...as Mr. Doyle (I believe...) says..."The only thing your hands have to do is hold onto the club."

Don't try to mash that wrist into the ball, as in hitting. You really need to be loose in your arms and let them flail with your body turn.

It'll take some practice to trust CF...it's hard enough to trust that "flail" feeling on the backswing and even harder on the way down. No steering!

[Trig]

Remember...as Mr. Doyle (I believe...) says..."The only thing your hands have to do is hold onto the club."

Don't try to mash that wrist into the ball, as in hitting. You really need to be loose in your arms and let them flail with your body turn.

It'll take some practice to trust CF...it's hard enough to trust that "flail" feeling on the backswing and even harder on the way down. No steering!

All good tips guys, thanks!

[jim_0068]

I can help you with this as i'm a hitter who is learning to swing to get rid of some bad habits.

(below is paraphrased from a chuck evans video short)

take a short iron (this is me though )
stand straight up
arm 90* to your body or directly in front of you
move your arm/body 90* to the left and 90* to the right
its important to keep the arm in front of you @ 90* and standing up

---

As you get the hand of this start lowering your arm to more of an inclined plane doing the same thing. No conscious hand manipulations. Once you reach the inclined plane that the golf swing will tend to be around you'll notice that your hand is TURNING to the plane on the backswing and TURNING back to the plane after impact.

using that same short iron, start hitting one handed pitches and chips. Once you start doing that well, move to two handed full swinging shots.

Eventually you are going to be really confident and once you are, move to the driver. This was helping me SIGNIFICANTLY today.

Just remember, swings UNCOCK then ROLL. It isn't a simultaneous release like a hitter.

[DDL]

Trig:

In what direction are your hips sliding on the downstroke? As a hitter, you were sliding your hips cross-laterally. Your delivery line follows your hips. COuld be you are not sliding your hips lateraly, parallel to the target line, thus your delivery path may be along the angle of approch, not the geometric plane line. Your hips could be in the way.

[bambam]

Trig:

In what direction are your hips sliding on the downstroke? As a hitter, you were sliding your hips cross-laterally. Your delivery line follows your hips. COuld be you are not sliding your hips lateraly, parallel to the target line, thus your delivery path may be along the angle of approch, not the geometric plane line. Your hips could be in the way.

Another good point. When I drive hard w/ my legs, I usually push off my right foot. The harder I push, the more I get my hips moving cross-laterally.

The drill Jim mentioned above has always helped me, too. Anytime I'm not feeling CF, I like to just take a couple baseball-type swings (horizontal to the ground).

The push slice has always been a problem for me w/ my driver. I've gotten most of the overactive lower body issues worked out, and have found yet another (hopefully the last) cause. If I don't really think about setting my weight towards my heels at setup, it creeps towards my toes in the backswing. In an effort to regain balance, everything straightens and flattens - collision + reverse role.

[Trig]

Trig:

In what direction are your hips sliding on the downstroke? As a hitter, you were sliding your hips cross-laterally. Your delivery line follows your hips. COuld be you are not sliding your hips lateraly, parallel to the target line, thus your delivery path may be along the angle of approch, not the geometric plane line. Your hips could be in the way.

This is a very good point and thanks for mentioning it. No doubt I had some issues here.

The good new is I think I fixed it! With the help of these tips. The main thing I had to do was take my hands out of the swing completely. And allow horizontal hinging to occur naturally via CF.