Thread: Fixing "Rugby" and other things....

Normally when it comes to golf I can shrug off a bad shot, round, putt, week, month, but this is really starting to get to me. I have been really trying to fix my swing since the season ended and I have made no progress, even whilst trying to do the right things. I just can't seem to put it together. I'll think I have one key to focus on, but then something else comes up or someone says something to make me think otherwise. I have watched ALL of the videos, read all the books, scoured the forums, tried all the drills and have devoured anything else I could get my hands on. I just can't get my body to do it.

I am very athletic, have played sports all my life and continue to play rugby and baseball competitively even 2 years after college. I have never, ever struggled with ANYTHING as much as I have with golf. It's infuriating and I am contemplating using my time in other endeavors. I don't want to quit, but I am wasting so much time and money being terrible that continuing to invest in something that has offered little return on my time is becoming foolish.

The last thing I am going to try is professional lessons. After that, I'm done.
The crux of my entire swing, is that I am ALL ARMS and no lower body. What's stupid is that I can put up big squat numbers like no ones business, yet can't figure out this stupid swing or game.

Someone please calm me down. Brian or anyone else. Also, if anyone has a highly recommended instructor in Minneapolis please let me know.

rugby,,,you really do have a very fluid swing that many will envy. you said you have all arms and no legs, can you elaborate for the board what specific shot patterns as a result?

i am not a teacher, but you may want to have someone share with you how to pivot better. without an effective pivot of your hips, the force chain will leave the hips out. it is like you are sitting down swinging the club. think of how you move your body/hips when you throw water out of a bucket to the side,,,that feeling. if you use your arms to throw the water hard, the water may come up to your face. if you engage your hips, your arms will just go with the flow and water will go far. once you find a visual that works for you, i cannot imagine you not to use your hips.

calm down. you are really almost there!

ps,,,really like the disco ball lighting effect

Trust me, it takes time. I've been seriously working on "fixing" my swing for the last year and a half--albeit on my own. I now have a much better swing and need to keep reinforcing the good things to get them automatic.

I suggest you do work on your pivot more. Grab a bath towel at home, grip it like a golf club and hit a chair or couch just with your pivot and your arms/hands/towel just along for the ride and never let the towel get ahead of your hands.

Rugby ... have you read The LAWs of the Golf Swing by Adams, Suttie, Tomasi ... which matches your body type and golf swing style? If you have, what were your results? If you haven't, I highly recommend you study this book.

When somebody with a husky chest like yours executes a full 90º shoulder turn and their hips are locked and leg action seems to be nominal ... well I wonder what your swing looks like full speed ...!!!!

I think if I tried what you are doing, I would hurt myself ... crack my spine or something. Have you ever considered reducing your backswing to maybe 3/4 to see what happens?

Maybe your huge shoulder rotation is stressing your back and spine, and the reflex reaction is a freezing of your lower body. Or are you consciously blocking your hips and stopping your knee/leg action ...?? !!!

Also, what is your pant size inseam ... because from the vid it looks like you have short legs and a long torso. How tall are you and what's your weight ... plus your shoe size ... and your chest measurement out of curiosity .... because structurally it all matters in a stationary golfswing ??

Btw ... are you slightly bow-legged ... because that will stop hip rotation ...??

[QUOTE=Rugby;182191]Normally when it comes to golf I can shrug off a bad shot, round, putt, week, month, but this is really starting to get to me. I have been really trying to fix my swing since the season ended and I have made no progress, even whilst trying to do the right things. I just can't seem to put it together. I'll think I have one key to focus on, but then something else comes up or someone says something to make me think otherwise. I have watched ALL of the videos, read all the books, scoured the forums, tried all the drills and have devoured anything else I could get my hands on. I just can't get my body to do it.

I am very athletic, have played sports all my life and continue to play rugby and baseball competitively even 2 years after college. I have never, ever struggled with ANYTHING as much as I have with golf. It's infuriating and I am contemplating using my time in other endeavors. I don't want to quit, but I am wasting so much time and money being terrible that continuing to invest in something that has offered little return on my time is becoming foolish.

The last thing I am going to try is professional lessons. After that, I'm done.
The crux of my entire swing, is that I am ALL ARMS and no lower body. What's stupid is that I can put up big squat numbers like no ones business, yet can't figure out this stupid swing or game.

Someone please calm me down. Brian or anyone else. Also, if anyone has a highly recommended instructor in Minneapolis please let me know.

HI RUGBY

firstly amigo if you are on this site you are not ALLOWED TO QUIT..nope...quitting is not acceptable

here is a prescription for you..........call this number.502-417-4653............if you get a voice mail

it will be Brian saying he would like to helpo you with your golf game etc

leave your number......he WILL call back

he will i am sure talk you through a few things....and maybe you can go see him or 1 of his instructors

Brian is good about helping.....he will take time on phone..

just do it...trust me.....also...you must be about what?? 23 24 years old?? athlete.....that makes me

42-43 years n older then you......and if I AM NOT GOING TO QUIT.......you are not allowed to either

just do as i advised.....this is a great site and all PROS help all amateurs....its just the way it works

good luck........and remember...NO QUITTING

AJ

"Use them or lose them". It looks like you don't initiate with the lower body on the b.s. so they remain dormant(the hips/legs) because you haven't asked them to join in the golfswing party.

Originally Posted by SteveT

Rugby ... have you read The LAWs of the Golf Swing by Adams, Suttie, Tomasi ... which matches your body type and golf swing style? If you have, what were your results? If you haven't, I highly recommend you study this book.

When somebody with a husky chest like yours executes a full 90º shoulder turn and their hips are locked and leg action seems to be nominal ... well I wonder what your swing looks like full speed ...!!!!

I think if I tried what you are doing, I would hurt myself ... crack my spine or something. Have you ever considered reducing your backswing to maybe 3/4 to see what happens?

Maybe your huge shoulder rotation is stressing your back and spine, and the reflex reaction is a freezing of your lower body. Or are you consciously blocking your hips and stopping your knee/leg action ...?? !!!

Also, what is your pant size inseam ... because from the vid it looks like you have short legs and a long torso. How tall are you and what's your weight ... plus your shoe size ... and your chest measurement out of curiosity .... because structurally it all matters in a stationary golfswing ??

Btw ... are you slightly bow-legged ... because that will stop hip rotation ...??

I'm about 5'10, wear 32 length pants, about 210 pounds.

Originally Posted by golfdad

rugby,,,you really do have a very fluid swing that many will envy. you said you have all arms and no legs, can you elaborate for the board what specific shot patterns as a result?

If I hit it well, it's gonna go high. Back when I was just doin my own swing I was pretty consistent, not really anymore. Lots of mis-hits and shanks.

Originally Posted by spktho

I suggest you do work on your pivot more. Grab a bath towel at home, grip it like a golf club and hit a chair or couch just with your pivot and your arms/hands/towel just along for the ride and never let the towel get ahead of your hands.

What's most infuriating is that I KNOW that the pivot is my biggest problem and if I could fit it everything would be a lot easier. I can pivot with a baseball bat, a towel, or a golf club when I'm just doin dry swing. As soon as there's a ball on the ground in front of me I just can't do it, and I don't know why. Somehow I've managed to be able to get enough club speed with just my hands to duff around the course and occasionally pull off a good shot. 6 iron is somewhere around 100 and driver around 115.

Originally Posted by footwedge

"Use them or lose them". It looks like you don't initiate with the lower body on the b.s. so they remain dormant(the hips/legs) because you haven't asked them to join in the golfswing party.

I've been trying to limit my hipturn on the backswing because I felt I was turning too much and it was limiting my ability to pivot. Obviously, though, as evidenced by these videos, it doesn't really make a difference.

Your swing has the potential to be great if you can find a way to involve the legs and hips some more. Your whole body has to work together in sync. If you were going to throw a baseball from the outfield to the catcher you would have to use everything, not just the upper body. Golf swing is the same way.

Check out this video. It has a good pivot drill:

YouTube - brianmanzella's Channel

Good luck

Hit impulse is another reason, that's common, hitting at the ball instead of swinging through it, i think you need a good instructor to help you figure it out, it's not that bad. Get rid of the frustration by transferring it to an instructor ...lol.

I think the release is the biggest problem.Scooping the ball is not the ideal way to play.Need to hit down on it and extend "into the ground" more.