Hi Shawn, Just thought I’d say this is possibly THE most valuable golf lesson I’ve ever seen on Youtube. It has helped me enormously. Best wishes Tim . (UK)

Shawn - I wasn’t sure where to post this question. In your videos, you talk about slinging the club into the ball. I recently discovered a training aid call the Impact Ball that promotes keeping your forearms/elbows together thru the swing. It also seems to force me to keep my hands more passive. With it, I think I’m finally feeling this slinging action. Also - it seems to help me square the club. Could you comment on the concept this type of training aid?

Hey Matt; thanks for the comment; what you are looking for is the feeling of a loaded arm unit in that backswing; see the “golf pro lesson grip awareness” video; it has some good insight; see also “perpetual motion drill and simply be aware of the feel and position your arms pop into as you swing back and through giving control away to gravity; Shawn

Shawn,
I like this vid and agree. BUT if you have developed a swing where your arms detatch a lot wont it benefit you to do drills where you exaggerate really squeezing in the biceps/holding a wood cover etc. This is one of the things my pro is getting me to practice-almost swinging robotically, as my swing has become very lose.
Cheers
Matt

Bingo! Well said and described!
Shawn

Shawn, I have been trying for months to stop flipping the hands at impact and create more club head lag. I recently made a break through by LEADING the downswing with the right elbow (close to the body). To do this properly, I have found that you also must not have your elbow fly out at the top of the backswing. This makes it much easier to drop and lead the right elbow. My ball striking, distance and accuracy have improved significantly. Thanks, I only wish I had seen it before!

Pretty darn close; as long as the elbow is in front of the rib cage; and the body is giving it room to swing like in the “golf pro lesson tilted spiral” part 1 video;
Shawn

Yes; Have a look at my “golf pro lesson modern driver” part 2 towards the end of the video; also “golf pro lesson swing plane” Shawn

Shawn,
I couldn’t agree with you more… for iron shots. I like to have a more vertical plane. With my driver; however, I feel that keeping my right arm in close helps prevent an outside - in swing resulting in a banana ball - Any input? I love your videos btw.

Greetings from the UK =D

I wonder what your take is on this. I have quite a lot of upper body muscle, therefore I can’t get a full swing and I am also a 6′ 2″ ‘South-Paw’. (Kind of sets the scene) Anyway, I have noticed that on my downward swing, it feels a lot better if I keep my left elbow in close. As a rough guide how far away from my body should that elbow be?

Good job really, because if you have a deity as your caddy that must be concidered as cheating!?? =\

Hey thanks for the video. I have been having trouble keeping my elbow inside during my backswing. You also make a good point in saying this movement should not be exaggerated. Hopefully this video will help me get ready for this spring. Thanks.

LOL; No; it is just my wireless microphone;
Thanks for the comment though! Shawn

That was a great video! i hope to use this to better my swing!!!

btw, are you a priest???

Hey SWgardar!
I would look at the “Arm Motion”, “Taut swing Philosophy”, “Contact and spin”, “Compress through the ball”,’Braced tilt part 2″ and “Catapult Power” videos from my “You Tube Shawn” page of my website; I would also get my dvd as there is all this info and more in priority sequence on this…
Thanks for the question! Shawn

Shawn, I am so pleased to have your videos on You Tube. I would like to know if you talk specifically about the Frisbee Toss action of the forward arm on any of your videos. I have a tendency to hold on with the left had and hit high push shots.

This guy talks more sense than 99.9% of teaching pros I have met and played with. Amateurs looking to get down to category one should find his teaching of great practical use.

Hi Peter;
Good question!
The left arm does do it’s share of folding slightly out of the way post impact, but should not collapse against the body…the positions will be different because of the way the body rises up into a taller finish because of the forces of momentum and how the body responds by getting out of the way; you will see how everything should release in my “Golf Pro lesson Arm Motion” though…and yes, it will feel pointed down post impact; the rest depends on the shot!

hi shawn,in the finish would you have your elbows the same level,or the left one lower? i dont know if you have addressed this ive looked through a lot of your videos cant find it-you have so many!also have you considered showing the swing to the students with a swing to target line view,great instruction as always,thankyou shawn-peter.

Grip pressure should be around 4 to 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 at the start and into the backswing; then as you gradually pick up momentum in the downswing, that pressure will go up to 10 through impact before relaxing a bit back to 4 in the finish; try the 2 ball drill in the “Through the ball video” and see what happens to your grip pressure…Shawn

Hi Shawn,
I was wondering if you’re supposed to completely let your deltoid muscles loose to let gravity do the job. I’m trying to let the gravity do the work but my grip becomes loose. I injured my left pinky (right hand golfer)years back, and it’s not flexible enough to wrap around the grip. and I don’t want to lose my wrist hinge. So I think I subconsciously let it loose to hinge because you showed us how important wrist hinges are. Thanks

Great question;
You will see this to some extent with many great players; Moe did it a bit and Tiger does it a lot (too much with the driver). The reason you see this is because I am bracing against the left side before the downswing and trying to match the brace to the intensity of the shot at hand; Sam Snead was renoun for his squat in the downswing and had that slight head drop too…the head sits on the spine which sits on the pelvis>knees>feet…get it? Watch the “transition” video…

Shawn, I notice in this video (and others) that you have some kind of a “head dip” as you apply power into impact. I think maybe it is coming from a flex of your knees. Could you tell us what is going on there? Is it a compensation or a conscious move?

To really understand how “your instrument” (your body) is designed to swing a golf club, have a look at my “No Bones About it” and “Be a Solid Ballstriker” videos…you will see that having the arms or elbow behind you is a sign of a collapse; Shawn

Hey i was wondering if the elbow is supposed to be vertical at the top of the backswing(down the line) and if you can let it go behind your body while keeping it vertical??? pretty confused on this one. thanks