Golf Digest Article: The New Swing

[WichitaDM]

Well i was flying home from New Orleans today and i picked up a golf digest. There was an article in this months edition (the one with vijay on the front) that discusses a new approach to the swing. It appears the main differences are a shorter backswing, a noticeable left spine tilt shortly after take away, and a focus on keeping the weight more on the front foot than the traditional golf swing. It helped three new pros win their first times last year and i was looking to get some input from better golfers. I am a 5 handicap and can only describe myself as a "scrambler" My ball striking while generally pretty straight tends to be the weakest part of my game. After taking lessons from three different instructors i havent found anything over the years that has worked for an extended period of time.

This includes my first teacher who taught me thru high school and had me down to like a .5 handicap before i blew up my senior year with a horrible putting problem as well as everything else. It inevitably seems after playing this game for 20 years that the cycle with my golf game is something like this.

Struggle
Take series of lessons
Drop down to about a 1-3 handicap
keep practicing
wheels fall off of golf swing after 6 months - 2 years and im back to the drawing board
back to 5-6 handicap
Switch pros

Its frustrating and while there arent any teachers near me that could work with me on this im tempted for the first to actually make swing changes based on a golf digest article lol. The points made in the article about weight shift having to be exact in the traditional swing seems to be exactly my problem. When my tempo is good and my confidence is good, i can hit it as well as any one, and when its not my game just goes into the dumpster.

Any comments/suggestions from good golfers who read this article?

[scorer]

They are getting alot of buzz in the press these 2 teachers. I'm not sure this is something that will be the new so called method. Phil won the players with a reg swing coach in harmon..i think its jst a different method used. If you want to get closer to a scrtach golfer you need 3 things... greens in regulation, short game chipping and pitching and putting. I'd concentrate on the short game and it will help you alot.

[dzh90]

This swing takes rotational hitting to its full extent. It is a total coil around the spine, without any lateral movement away from the target.

I swing pretty similar to what they teach, but not as drastic. I have a slight shift away from the target.

For the most part, going from 5--> scratch is short game.

Edit: see you're a scrambler. 150 yards and in is key as long as you can put the ball in play off the tee

[WichitaDM]

Ya my short game is pretty good. Putting and chipping is and always has been my bread and butter. (Except for a one year period my last year of high school where i developed a nasty case of the yips, i have since switched to left handing putting and all is right in the world) However i have always been relatively short off the tee 240-250, not incredibly accurate either, and probably averaged 6-7/18 greens in regulation. My biggest problem has always been getting "stuck" on my right side and hitting that weak right push we all hate. This article interested me mainly because ive always struggled with tempo/weight shift and this approach seems to take that out of the equation more than the standard golf swing.

[dzh90]

Try hitting some balls with it. I tried it and it felt pretty cool. I made sure to get a tight coil around my spine (feel all my muscles stretch) and then snap my left leg/hips through to start the downswing. perhaps easier said than done...

[SlyGuy]

Anywhere else I can read about this fancy new swing online?

[WichitaDM]

I dont see it online but next time you are at the supermarket/gasstation/walmart you could take 5 mins and read it im sure...

[thisnamedoesntfi]

http://golfdigest.com/instruction/

[sean c]

The stack and tilt swing is pretty radical compared to the traditional swing methods taught. I wouldn't attempt it just from the article. I'm pretty sure there aren't any instructors who teach this near you. I'll try and find out.

[Shoot59]

Players who fight a high snap hook may find a benefit from trying to "cover" the ball more with the chest (page 123). Keep in mind that Badds is exaggerating the positions in the article. Look at his position at the top for example, then look at the tiny little photos that comprise the border of the article. Those little photos are his real swing sequence, and you can probably spot the differences. (Look where his head is relative to the ball at the top for example)