Mike Southern Gets Ruthless With My Golf Swing Part 1 - Coming Over The Top

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Posted by Dexter Francois | Posted in , , , , | Posted on Friday, August 20, 2010

I just got back from practicing and the loop is still there. Last night while I was watching television, I was practicing the hanger drill which Michael Breed demonstrated on The Golf Fix. This drill is supposed to help put the swing on the proper plane. It felt good as I was practicing in my living room, but it did not transfer to my practice today.

Actually, I started off pretty good, but the loop crept back in slowly but surely. I quickly became frustrated and packed it in after about an hour and a half. Plus it is brutally hot and humid today. Nothing positive was going to be accomplished today, so no use practicing bad habits.

Since writing a post about needing "Medicus" attention, Mike Southern of the Ruthless Golf blog and I have been talking back and forth about the solution to my problem. He said that he needed to see a down the line shot of my swing to make a positive assessment of what the problem is in my swing.

I posted a few videos a couple of days ago for scrutiny and Mike said he would get back to me. Today I was pleased to see that he had posted this article about my swing. He posted these stills of my swing and the results are very telling.

Two stills of Dexter's swing


Mike said that the black lines are where the club should be during the takeaway. Because my takeaway is so shallow, I have no choice but to come over the top to try to get back on the proper swing plane. I had no idea I was dropping the club that flat. I guess it really is a good idea to film your swing so that you can see exactly what is causing the problems.

Mike also said that this type of swing produce a serious hook, which is exactly what happened in this video that he chose to feature. I am looking forward to part 2 of Mike's swing analysis of my swing. I really hope the fix is as easy as Mike says it is. I can not take much more of this ugly swing that is robbing me of distance and accuracy. This may be the fix that helps me to finally break 80. Have a good round and always hit your target.

*This is the video that Mike used to analyze my swing.



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Comments (2)

  1. Mike says...
    August 20, 2010 at 9:20 PM

    Dex, it looks like it's going to take me four posts to lock this thing down (plus maybe a video post when I can finally get some new camera batteries.) Here's what you should look for:

    Friday's post you've seen. It described why we go over-the-top rather than on-plane.

    Saturday's post will be about the difference between a "one-piece takeaway" and just "lifting your hands." I know it seems like I'm belaboring these points a bit, but you need to understand why you do these things so you can see why the fix works.

    Sunday's post will give you a simple drill, described step-by-step in nauseating detail, so can learn what a proper takeaway should feel like. (And you can do the drill with or without a club!) I don't want you thinking about mechanics when you're on the course; if you know what the proper mechanics feel like to you when you do them, you can just play by feel.

    And since Monday is the Limerick Summary, you'll have a couple of days to get used to the feel of the takeaway. Tuesday's post will then cover what happens from waist high to the top of the swing. I'll give you an swing drill that'll teach you how the top part of your swing should feel. It will also teach you how to start getting solid contact with your improved swing.

    While you should start seeing results pretty quickly, it does take time for us to get comfortable with changes, Dex... but most changes (in golf or anything) feel normal in about a month. When we're done, your swing may not be perfect, but that pesky over-the-top move will be gone and you should be hitting the ball pretty solidly.

  2. Dexter Francois says...
    August 21, 2010 at 5:16 PM

    That's awesome Mike. I am so excited. And don't feel bad. Belabor away. I like the fact that you will be explaining why I should do things rather than just telling me to do it.

    I coached basketball for a while and I always felt it was important to tell the players the reason why they were doing a certain drill, and more importantly, the situations the drill might be useful for in game situations. I think it drives the point home more effectively.

    Thanks again for taking the time to analyze my swing. I'm embracing change and if a change in my takeaway will lower my scores, then I'm all for it.

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