Posted by Dexter Francois
| Posted in
Arjun Atwal,
Mike Southern,
Phil Mickelson,
Swing Mechanics,
The Driver,
Tiger Woods
| Posted on Monday, August 23, 2010
I just got back from practicing and what a huge difference. The loop is gone. Mike Southern of the Ruthless Golf blog has been working with me to help cure the coming over the top move in my golf swing, and I must say, Mike knows what he is talking about.
In part 3 of his Dexter's Coming Over The Top series, Mike gave me and my fellow over the top swingers drills we can do to remedy our struggles with the loopy swing. Mike explained what a one-piece takeaway is and why it is a effective way to start the swing. He also explained how to know when you are doing it right, which I feel is important, because if you understand this, you can stop yourself before you make an incorrect swing. Here is the set up for the drill:
1. Hold your left hand out in front of you, as if you were going to shake hands. (You lefties out there will need to use your right hand.)
2. Make a fist and stick your thumb straight up as if you were giving somebody a “thumbs-up.” Your thumb is the “shaft” of your club.
3. Take your normal golf grip by placing your free hand on the “shaft.” You’ll be surprised how much this feels like your normal grip; at any rate, it will give you a solid way to position your hands.
Who would have thought that your thumb could become a golf club? Mike broke down the drill into four parts. You will have to read it for yourself, because I will not be able to explain it as well as he did, but I'll say that it works. The information was easy to understand and easy to replicate. Mike used this picture of Paula Creamer as a demonstration as to where the arms should be at waist high in the takeaway.
I practiced the drill, without a club, in my living room, while watching the final round of the Wyndham Championship(congratulations to Arjun Atwal on being the first Indian born golfer to win on the PGA Tour). I was trying to ingrain the move so that it became second nature. When the tournament was over, I went out to practice.
The move completely got rid of the loop. It did take some getting used to, but I rehearsed the move before each swing. I was getting some funny looks from the people around me, but I didn't care. Anything to get better.
I only hit my 52 degree gap wedge and didn't take any full swings. Mike only gave us a drill for the takeaway up to the waist and I did not want to get ahead of myself. The most I would go to was just above 9 o'clock. I noticed that anytime my back swing got too long, I pulled it.
The other thing I noticed was that all my divots were straight at the target, which is new to me. With my old swing, my divots were always left of the target, probably because I swinging across the ball. Mike confirmed this by telling me that the over the top swing often causes the hook.
My balance throughout the swing was greatly improved. With the loop, I was all over the place, often fighting to keep my posture throughout the swing. I felt a lot more centered and was able to hold my finish without swaying.
It is incredible that such a simple change could make such a big difference. Throughout this process, Mike has been telling me that I am close. But to be honest, I did not believe him. How could I be close with a swing like mine? He pointed out the fact that we always hear Tiger and Phil say "I'm close." "The swing is almost there." Now I understand.
We tend to make things more complicated than it has to be and that is what I did. I had a case of information overload. I watched every video I could find to fix my problem and all I did was confuse myself even more. As Mike put it, and this true in golf and in life;
"Too many times we try to make big changes and get nowhere; that's because we're attacking symptoms, not the source."
Find the source of your problems and change will come much faster. Have a good round and always hit your target.
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