Re: ShopTalk: Tips for out to in swing

[Burgess Howell]

Yep, I can see where your sort of swing might not benefit so much.  OTOH, and I probably didn't emphasize it enough, the push back with the left shoulder is important.  If you can force yourself to get the "push back" feeling from the left instead of the "pull back" feeling from the right, it helps rotate your left shoulder under your chin closer to the swing plane and steepens the path back from the ball.

At least it does for me. :-)

The total mental picture I get from this swing drill is a teardrop-shaped path for the clubhead -- outside at the takeaway, passing over the plane at the top, then inside-out through the impact.

As you say, it's a very individual thing.  My league partner has been fighting a fade/slice fro as long as he's been playing.  The light finally switched on fro him when I told him to imagine throwing the club down the target line at impact.  Once he could visualize flinging the club toward the pin, he began coming more from the inside.  As a bonus, his wrists unhinged a lot better, too.

BTW, I've seen pictures of myself doing this swing drill and it's pretty unspectacular.  While I'm imagining a huge, loopy backswing and a Sergio-like inside-out whip through the ball, what shows up on film is "back on plane, through on plane."

At 01:23 PM 5/17/2006, you wrote:

Burgess,
I thought I'd report my experience with this drill.  The bottom line is that drills, like golf swings, can vary by individual.  What works for one might not work for another...