new instructor makes me close my club face a lot

[gamblore99]

So my new instructor has changed my swing and now the club head is extremely closed. I am hitting much better, and the swing feels really good. I still sometimes fade a little to the right, or hook it left, but usually its sweet.

While at the range today I ran into an old acquantence who is a hardcore golfer who shoots about scratch. I asked him about the fade and showed him my swing. His immediate response was that closing my clubface so much was a quick fix for my swing. We only talked briefly, but he gave me the impression this was a bad thing, and that I was getting jipped by my instructor. I am wondering if down the road this will limit my swing. If so how much? Or is this fully normal? Thoughts? Unfortunately I do not have a camera so no pictures.

cliff notes: instructor has me close club face a lot. Swing is much better. Worried this is a quick fix and may limit my swing from getting much better.

[westhoff]

When are you closing the face? At address? Take away? Top of the swing? If you hit a slice before and now hit it better, closing the clubface seems fine. It fixed your problem. I don't see there being any such thing as a "quick fix". It either fixes your problem or doesn't. Unless you're practicing everyday, going with a simple solution that works is fine.

[ntnBO]

[ QUOTE ]
If you hit a slice before and now hit it better, closing the clubface seems fine. It fixed your problem.

[/ QUOTE ]
I disagree. This is fixing a swing flaw by introducing another flaw. Two wrongs do not make a right.

The OP has no idea whether or not his swing is better, only that for the time being he is hitting the ball better. There is a difference.

I would hypothesize that the instructor did give him a quick fix as a slice is rarely caused by the clubface being too open during the backswing. Most likely his slice is caused by coming over the top and casting, thus cutting across the ball at impact to create that ugly banana. One can hit the ball somewhat straight with a hooded clubface while cutting across the ball. However this would tend to cause a loss of distance as a deflected ball goes much shorter.

Standard fixes for a slice include a stronger grip, making sure the first move down from the top is dropping the right elbow straight down into the body, and making sure to maintain the wristcock as long as possible.

BO

[westhoff]

Obviously I would want a student to fix a slice "properly". Mainly by doing the things you mentioned BO. However, one needs talent and practice to do that. If OP just golfs 5 times a year then just closing the clubface is the way to go. If he wants to be a better golfer then he has some other things to work on. It's really up to him.

[TripleH68]

For years I fiddled with my grip and setup, never fully realizing it was my swing that needed attention. At times I would get some nearly instant gratification, like you describe, from some change in my setup. In my opinion these changes set me back in the long run. The discussion below hits the nail on the head I think...

bad grip/setup masking swing flaws?

[JackInDaCrak]

[ QUOTE ]
bad grip/setup masking swing flaws?

[/ QUOTE ]

Are those illustrations directly from Hogan's book?

[midfielderdave]

Like the OP, I ran into a similar situation. I had a short lesson/consultation the other day and I told the instructor I wanted to work on my slice, specifically my drives.
He showed me a drill where I close the face drastically, as if I were trying to hook it. He told me to try to put it left but no matter how hard I tried it went straight. I was also wondering if that would just be a quick fix. He did say that it was just a drill to show me to get my hands to move before my shoulders. I was left more confused than when I began but I guess you can't expect much from just 15 minutes.

I can't imagine actually setting up like that consistently, but he said there are a handful of pros who do the same thing.

Should I start taking lessons with this guy, or just let him know that I don't want a quick fix?