struggling from the "inside"

Im really struggling with an over the top swing. Should the feeling I be aiming for be more like take the club to the top of the backswing and let my arms completely relax, but at the very same second start the hips moving left and rotating so they tilt upwards? ive been doing some little practice swings for the transition and notice the club defiantly stars down on the inside but I relax my hands so much I don't feel I will release the club. im off to the range tonight so ill give it a go but I was wondering if I was barking up the wrong tree.

Alan, I don't think you can play this game with swingthoughts in mind when playing a shot. Hence the need to practice the feeling you are after so that it becomes second nature. My over the top problem came from trying to hit too hard from the top. I cured it by the simple process of pulling my right foot back in the setup, thereby closing my stance. This made me come at the ball from the inside and mentally I had no reason to throw the club (in fact the opposite happened). My divots straightened out or pointed slightly right and my ballflight became far stronger, straight or with a slight draw. The wild left to right of the 'over the top' fade was gone. I have more control with my grip adjustment now than previous. Hope this helps. Good luck.

Joel, that's sort of what I was trying to feel last night at the range, at the top of the swing just let the arms and hands relax and use my hips to control the bulk of the swing, the odd one would slice but I knew I was leaving the face open then adjusted accordingly. I found my shorter irons going a lot straighter but I was sending the driver straight left (is that called a push?) getting good distance and ball flight was straight but they were defiantly going left. What's this caused by? as a side not I do have my titleist d2 set on a closed face (to the pro recommended I do this to combat the slice)

Is that right Lewis? you open the clubface and the fade goes away? I was under the impression a fade is a baby slice and a slice is caused by an open clubface.

That's certainly what im aiming to do though, im trying to ingrain the feel rather than aim for positions during the swing. its quite a change from my thinking about the swing in previous years but I find I use a lot less effort to get the ball to go just as far

ahhh I see what you mean, subconsciously compensating, interesting, ill give it a go, I think I might struggle with this however as a few months ago I had a lesson and the whole time was spent learning to address the ball with a square face, I had a bad problem of addressing with an open face and I really struggled to make the changes but persevered and got there. it cant hurt to try though.

Thanks for that info joel, I don't know of anywhere near me with a trackman except American golf and when I was there I think I saw one swing going 9* left!!! this is why im trying to address the issue hard and fast. anyone know how to find a trackman facility?

Alun,

Depends on how you swing the club!!! Generally an over the top action is caused by the clubhead coming way to far inside on the back swing meaning on the downswing the only way you can go is over the top. This is generally caused for me by an over rotation of my right arm or hips in the back swing I am a one plane swinger though and how you swing the club will make a big difference. But with any swing you need to keep the clubface from going to much to the inside on the backswing.

You said you work on firing your hips left, a great move for a one planer a real bad move for a 2 planer this can be a very bad move as your body will get way infront of the your hands and you will come into the ball with a massive open clubface causing a big slice.

Try and post a video and it will be easier for people to give usefull advice, combining moves from different actions is the worst thing you can possibly do.

don't know if this is related but I really do struggle to get a good complete follow through when im using my body to swing

swinging with the body is 1 plane, so you should be finishing left, i.e you should have a gated swing in to in. If you swing with your body and stay connected then this should happen automatically. If your trying to swing down the line or go outside then your going to have to get detatched in your swing and you will end up getting a push slice. Dont swing down the line finish left if your swinging with your body, and stay connected through the swing, i.e keep your left arm scross your chest and keep the clubhead behind your body.

ok, so im trying really hard to get my head around what "should" happen with the swing. from the top of the backswing I relax the hands and arms but should there be an order i.e. hips shoulder then hands, or should they all catch up with each other at impact point, as if all components have completed 50% of their move at impact or should it be as if, as they catch up with each other they move together until impact

thanks guys

I struggled with a fade-cum-slice for a long time. As many have said, everyone's swing is different, so without A. seeing your swing or B. being a pro it's difficult to give advice, but if you're up for trying things, for me the cure was simply standing slightly more upright and more body rotation. Start with a slight knee flex, neutral weight; for the first 90 degrees of lift, keep the wrists almost locked at neutral and simply rotate your torso back with little arm movement to get the club horizontal. Make sure you keep your left knee as close as possible to over the left toe (ie. don't 'slide' backwards in your stance). This ensures a full twist, then release the arms and wrists up to the full back swing. And slow the back-swing down to make sure you're getting the movement right. Finally make sure you're keeping your right elbow down as you begin the downswing - it's very easy at the top to let the elbow pop out and come over the top. If you hit a 'straight-right' shot from here, make sure you're relaxing the wrists through the swing to allow the club face to close through impact.

After months of trying different things this worked for me almost overnight, now have a slight draw on irons and can choose to hit either a straight wood, or when required not rotate so much and hit a controlled fade. You can actually see/feel the in-to-out swing on practice swings. Still can't really draw my woods without risking a snap-hook though.

Swing should start from the hips. But if you try and force it, your body gets ahead of your arms and you'll hit it wide open - relax and let it flow.

Finally - I found getting used to the movement easier with gentle wedge shots when you're not trying to hit it - if you can get a slight draw on those then just expand to a full swing. But really for a faster fix, if you've got the money get to a pro, trackmaster etc.

PS. I agree with the slightly open club-face from Dan, if I start to push things I open the face slightly, seems to unconsciously get my wrists to close faster to release.