Paul
Like this tip a lot. The Grapefruit analogy brought back some good memories of my time at your golf school. Hope you and Pete are both doing well.
Mark K
I’m definitely grapefruit though until you put e straight about the ‘straight arm’ it was more like a grape and not a very big one.
My question though not directly related is my 3 wood off the fairway. With the body turn if I connect properly then I can send it a long way. The plane is often very low and I’m trying to hit via a sweeping motion rather than down and thru like with my irons. Whilst I appreciate the concept of one swing for all clubs I’m wondering if you approach this one slightly differently?
Paul, you have one swing for all clubs. The length of the club changes the swing automatically. In no way do I change my swing. I am trying to do the exact same movement. Do a different swing and you will get a different result. Focus on perfecting your swing positions and do lots pf practice swings checking them. In the future the 3 wood will be just another club.
When you state we have one swing for all clubs – the driver must be an exception here? What are the differences between hitting your driver and irons e.g. Ball Placement / Weight Distribution / Hip Initiator? / Swinging upwards on the ball compared to downwards on the ball.
Do you have any videos that would perhaps highlight the differences between an iron’s swing and a drivers swing?
I have adopted your swing with straightening the left leg as a lower body initiator and it is working wonders for my iron game however I am left wishing my driver swing was as effective. I have found that if I swing my driver the same as my irons (even with ball inside left heal at address) my driver barley gets the ball off the ground. I think the main problem here is with the straightening the left leg puts the majority of weight over my left foot and I end up hitting down on the ball.
Because of this I am trying to initiate the lower body with a hip turn rather than straightening the left leg as I find it helps keep more weight back – I also have the ball in the correct position at address and try to feel like I am hitting upwards at the ball. Doing all this however makes the swing feel quite different as the irons and I don’t get the natural whipping release.
There is no exception. You only have one swing. The only thing that changes is the club and the set up. Because the clubs are longer or shorter your swing will be more upright (short clubs) or flatter (long clubs).
There are more which you can find in the red nav bar at the top. Just search for Full Swing > Set Up and you will find them.
Yes, you are not straightening the left leg correctly. It is not an immediate shift onto the leg. You should be thinking about turning. When you turn the leg will straight and the weight will gradually shift to the left side with it being about 70% at impact.
Hi Paul,
This is the first time I understood what an upright and a flat swing actually consisted of. Your expanations are remarkabley clear. Thanks very much for all the Lessons they are right on.
Keep up the good work and I know your new endeavor will be a terrific success.
Paul,
I’ve adopted your swing technique, and enjoy hitting the ball consistent and straight. However, you never discuss hitting a draw. What do you do when the shot calls for a right to left ball flight?
Kind regards,
I only have this in my shaping shots video video series. I will get around to doing a tip on this in the future. In the meantime you can read the tip on this here:
I like the “Bread & Butter” Jack Nickolas reference you mentioned in that tip. I’ve had a fair amount of success with your technique, therefore proper course management should produce the same result. Obviously I’d have a longer second shot, so that I’m now straighter the execution won’t be that difficult.
Thank you Paul for responding to my question. Makes my Swing Machine Golf series investment worth every penny.
Joe, Compared to a ball that is hooking this will lose a little power but you will gain accuracy. This accuracy will give you confidence in the future so you can swing harder. Just give it time and you will see that you will hit it just as far.
I want to tell you about a major breakthrough. Five years ago I started trying to break the arm swing, and succeeded after three years to start the swing with my hips. I developed a “left leg straight” trigger, and that was a good way to start the hips around. Even then I did not realize for a while that I still had the arms contributing to the swing. That contracted the muscles in the arms and made the radius of the circle of the swing small and tense. After two more years I have now realized that I must RELAX THE SHOULDERS and let the lower body swing the upper body, and the arms are along for the ride.
Perhaps this information will be helpful to others.
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13 Responses to “Power: What’s More Powerful Upright or Flat?”
September 14, 2012
MARKKEISEPaul
Like this tip a lot. The Grapefruit analogy brought back some good memories of my time at your golf school. Hope you and Pete are both doing well.
Mark K
September 15, 2012
Paul WilsonMark, I’m glad your back. Pete told me what happened. Just didn’t know if I should email you or not.
That school was a fun time. Glad this one sparked the memory.
September 14, 2012
PaulLucasI’m definitely grapefruit though until you put e straight about the ‘straight arm’ it was more like a grape and not a very big one.
My question though not directly related is my 3 wood off the fairway. With the body turn if I connect properly then I can send it a long way. The plane is often very low and I’m trying to hit via a sweeping motion rather than down and thru like with my irons. Whilst I appreciate the concept of one swing for all clubs I’m wondering if you approach this one slightly differently?
September 15, 2012
Paul WilsonPaul, you have one swing for all clubs. The length of the club changes the swing automatically. In no way do I change my swing. I am trying to do the exact same movement. Do a different swing and you will get a different result. Focus on perfecting your swing positions and do lots pf practice swings checking them. In the future the 3 wood will be just another club.
September 21, 2012
DaneCreightonHi Paul
When you state we have one swing for all clubs – the driver must be an exception here? What are the differences between hitting your driver and irons e.g. Ball Placement / Weight Distribution / Hip Initiator? / Swinging upwards on the ball compared to downwards on the ball.
Do you have any videos that would perhaps highlight the differences between an iron’s swing and a drivers swing?
I have adopted your swing with straightening the left leg as a lower body initiator and it is working wonders for my iron game however I am left wishing my driver swing was as effective. I have found that if I swing my driver the same as my irons (even with ball inside left heal at address) my driver barley gets the ball off the ground. I think the main problem here is with the straightening the left leg puts the majority of weight over my left foot and I end up hitting down on the ball.
Because of this I am trying to initiate the lower body with a hip turn rather than straightening the left leg as I find it helps keep more weight back – I also have the ball in the correct position at address and try to feel like I am hitting upwards at the ball. Doing all this however makes the swing feel quite different as the irons and I don’t get the natural whipping release.
September 21, 2012
Paul WilsonDane,
There is no exception. You only have one swing. The only thing that changes is the club and the set up. Because the clubs are longer or shorter your swing will be more upright (short clubs) or flatter (long clubs).
Ball Position:
Ball Position: https://ignitiongolf.com/ball-position
How to Set Up With Different Golf Clubs: https://ignitiongolf.com/setup-different-clubs
There are more which you can find in the red nav bar at the top. Just search for Full Swing > Set Up and you will find them.
Yes, you are not straightening the left leg correctly. It is not an immediate shift onto the leg. You should be thinking about turning. When you turn the leg will straight and the weight will gradually shift to the left side with it being about 70% at impact.
Watch:
Impact Head Behind Ball: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-head
Left Leg Impact: https://ignitiongolf.com/leg-position-impact
Again there are a bunch of impact tips too. Use the same search. If I post too many this response may get spam blocked.
September 14, 2012
Earl GGissingHi Paul,
This is the first time I understood what an upright and a flat swing actually consisted of. Your expanations are remarkabley clear. Thanks very much for all the Lessons they are right on.
Keep up the good work and I know your new endeavor will be a terrific success.
Fore,
Earl G Gissing
September 15, 2012
Paul WilsonEarl, thank you for you for the feedback and support. i truly appreciate it.
I just want people to get it. I know if they do they will play great golf.
September 20, 2012
JoeWalkerPaul,
I’ve adopted your swing technique, and enjoy hitting the ball consistent and straight. However, you never discuss hitting a draw. What do you do when the shot calls for a right to left ball flight?
Kind regards,
September 21, 2012
Paul WilsonJoe,
I only have this in my shaping shots video video series. I will get around to doing a tip on this in the future. In the meantime you can read the tip on this here:
http://swingmachineblog.com/how-to-draw-the-golf-ball.html
September 21, 2012
JoeWalkerI like the “Bread & Butter” Jack Nickolas reference you mentioned in that tip. I’ve had a fair amount of success with your technique, therefore proper course management should produce the same result. Obviously I’d have a longer second shot, so that I’m now straighter the execution won’t be that difficult.
Thank you Paul for responding to my question. Makes my Swing Machine Golf series investment worth every penny.
September 21, 2012
Paul WilsonJoe, Compared to a ball that is hooking this will lose a little power but you will gain accuracy. This accuracy will give you confidence in the future so you can swing harder. Just give it time and you will see that you will hit it just as far.
April 9, 2021
Dale JenkinsI want to tell you about a major breakthrough. Five years ago I started trying to break the arm swing, and succeeded after three years to start the swing with my hips. I developed a “left leg straight” trigger, and that was a good way to start the hips around. Even then I did not realize for a while that I still had the arms contributing to the swing. That contracted the muscles in the arms and made the radius of the circle of the swing small and tense. After two more years I have now realized that I must RELAX THE SHOULDERS and let the lower body swing the upper body, and the arms are along for the ride.
Perhaps this information will be helpful to others.
Many thanks for the help you have provided to me.