I'm relatively new to TGM. Been working for about a year on employing TGM concepts to my swing. My main goal was to improve my iron ball striking which I feel I am doing. Have logged a few lessons with Ted.
Struggling a bit at times trusting my new swing and thoughts, especially with long irons and woods where I want to revert back to my active body swing. I have been grooving my short irons very well recently.
I'm thinking my best option is to continue putting in practice and range time with the longer clubs - prove to myself that the easy TGM swing works time after time so I don't feel like I have to revert back? Ultimately - trust it.
My mistake (tendency) is to fire my hips too early / steer with my lower body especially when I feel that I have to crank one. Gets me out of sync, arms lag...slice.
I'm fighting the same battle. I don't slice it though...I either steer it straight, but weak, or I roundhouse and hit the guy on the first tee to the left of the range.
I have to feel like my hips don't even move during the downswing. The hard part about this for me is that I start thinking "don't fire the hips...don't fire the hips.." and I don't clear the right hip going back and just start out with the right hip already in the way.
I'm finding that trust is the crux of my problem. Mostly trusting that I'll hit the ball just as far without trying to add power w/ the hips. Besides the chip/pitch/punch, I've been trying to convince my brain that I don't need my rougue hips by making "easy" swings followed by a "hard" swing or two (ie. usually w/ hips or without). The easy swings go just as far and are mutch better struck and much more accurate...My brain is starting to trust it...
What drills, thoughts, etc.. (if any) have worked for you?
I think Lynn or Ted or someone else might be able to give you a better fix than I can.
But I think if you really learn to sustain Lag Pressure and really have a Flat as possible left wrist you will have to not do that early hip-firing, probably-losing-Lag-Pressure-in-the-process move.
...make sure you maintain a good amount of Axis Tilt in the process.....when I learned to really have Lag Pressure I started moving my head forward to try and hit down....no Axis Tilt.....hitting down on the outside-back of the ball....etc. I just always try to mention this cause I think it's easy to get into doing this when you're trying for Lag.
Last edited by birdie_man : 04-20-2006 at 01:16 PM.
I'm fighting the same battle. I don't slice it though...I either steer it straight, but weak, or I roundhouse and hit the guy on the first tee to the left of the range.
I have to feel like my hips don't even move during the downswing. The hard part about this for me is that I start thinking "don't fire the hips...don't fire the hips.." and I don't clear the right hip going back and just start out with the right hip already in the way.
I'm finding that trust is the crux of my problem. Mostly trusting that I'll hit the ball just as far without trying to add power w/ the hips. Besides the chip/pitch/punch, I've been trying to convince my brain that I don't need my rougue hips by making "easy" swings followed by a "hard" swing or two (ie. usually w/ hips or without). The easy swings go just as far and are mutch better struck and much more accurate...My brain is starting to trust it...
What drills, thoughts, etc.. (if any) have worked for you?
There is a fairly direct relationship between plane angle and hip slide such that if you have a flat plane angle, you tend to slide, and if you have a steep plane angle, you tend not to.
Work on right forearm pick UP - feeling the up/down more than the around.
A critical area is to ensure your right forearm is set properly at address - if you set it too high, right forearm pickup is instantly off plane. A level right wrist should help too (certainly improved my 'hit', thanks Ted and Lynn). This should help you feel the 'spoke' of the right forearm - as long as you set it lower than the left at address.
The wedges.... the flying wedges. Learn them and you'll love them!
__________________
"Support the On Plane Swinging Force in Balance"
"we have no friends, we have no enemies, we have only teachers"
Simplicity buffs, see 5-0, 1-L, 2-0 A and B 10-2-B, 4-D, 6B-1D, 6-B-3-0-1, 6-C-1, 6-E-2
That's funny...I've been discovering exactly that. Ted and I worked on getting my plane more up on the backswing; despite feeling like the club was pointing straight down at my feet, I was still a little flat by the end of our lesson. I've since gotten comfortable with it and am even more upright and on plane at the top; this has really helped quiet the spinning hips...or at least gotten them out of the way.
Cocking the right wrist was another problem, as well as a little throwaway (but only with total motion, and with everything but the driver). The right wrist cock was a dumb thing I was messing with...shouldn't have been there and it was easy to get rid of. Getting rid of the throwaway and learning to love and fully trust the wedges is where I'm at now. It's becoming more and more of a mental trust thing at this point, but it's coming along; shots are getting straighter and louder every day
Linear Mode
