Swing help needed

[Flowergirl]

Hiya Addam and any other golfer who can help me :)

My main problem at the moment is with my fairway woods - especially my three wood off the deck. I'm taking too much of a divot behind the ball and naturally not getting any distance. I had a quick word to my pro and he said I am "casting" from the top. I sorta understand - and normally he has time to explain and recomend a drill - but he's very busy at the moment and due to go on holidays.
I would like drills that I can do without a ball cos I practise in the backyard of my shop. :) And Subway next door gets a bit freaked out when I hit golf balls into their back brick wall -also it's hard to duck out of the way when the ball comes back at me especially when I hit driver into the wall :-D Only joking!!!!
I'm a "gulp" middle aged female golfer currently off 18. Been playing for nearly 4 years and very keen to learn and improve.
Cheers!!!

[BrisVegas]

Take note of your posture and balance at address Reenie. Sometimes we (all) creep into bad habits. Keeping steady & level through the swing, especially the head, can cure a lot of ills.

If you're hitting 3 wood fat, it's possible you have a similar setup position and spine angle as you'd use for a driver, ie. tilted away from the ball. While this is great to help you catch driver on the up, it's no good foor hitting shots off the deck. You might want to get youre spine a bit more "square", like you're hitting a mid-long iron.

Good luck!

EDIT: Oops! sorry Addam, didn't realise FG's post was directed at you. My bad.

[goughy]

Go find an old club and go buy a second hand old tyre (like $5).

Lay the tyre on the ground, take your stance and take easy half swings into it. The tyre is the cheap replacement for an impact bag.

It'll help you feel the right position at impact. 5mins a day for a month. That's all from me.

Casting was probably my worst problem. Now when I don't cast I can belt it out.

[Jono]

Do you have a video clip of your swing? 8)

[Flowergirl]

No video. Must get one> it'll probably help me see what my errors are. Also give you guys a laugh:-? :smt002

[markTHEblake]

No video. Must get one> it'll probably help me see what my errors are. Also give you guys a laugh:-? :smt002

which swing video do you mean, the one with Damo in it?

[ploppy]

I am a fellow caster trying to find a drill that works.
I’m currently trying swinging the club at 90 degrees.
Focussing on staying connected.

o
|-------
\

I’ll let you know how it goes, only on day 4.

HC +9.

Not Adam either.

[Jono]

Reenie, IMO hitting 3 wood off the deck is one of the hardest shots in golf. I'm not talking about a nice fluffy lie ... Ball sitting on a tight lie even on the fairway. I find it very difficult to hit a good 3 wood shot out of this lie. Unless it's sitting up, I go to my hybrid instead.

Re: casting. I don't mean to be sexist, but a lot of women cast. They simply aren't strong enough to hold off the release. I cast to a degree as well because I'm not very strong. The goal should be to get to a good impact position. The tyre drill mentioned by goughy is a good one to ingrain this.

Good luck. 8)

[Flowergirl]

Well I had the lesson on Saturday and I'm happy to say that I'm not hitting fat shots - at the moment. It was to do with the "casting" and by me dropping my right shoulder to start the downswing. I've been trying so hard to rotate my body through - I used to try to swing with my arms ( if that makes sense) but by trying so hard was dropping the right shoulder, altering the spine angle and trapping behind and hitting fat. And of course this was more prominent trying to hit 3 wood off the deck.:smt087

My backswing to the top position has been good for a while - the pro and I have worked over and over on it - so now I try to mirror that movement on the down swing. It's a very "simple" thought - makes a very "simple" and easy swing - and hey - it works!! I just say to myself swing back - swing through. It aint rocket science:-D

The ball flight and direction ( when I get my alignment right - but hey - thats a different problem I have) is consistant. I'm hitting my 7 iron about 110 meters and taking a nice shallow divot AFTER the ball.

Now.......who can teach me to putt...............:evil:

Any comments welcome guys.:p

[amanda]

That's fantastic 7i distance FG - mine is about 90-95m.

As for putting - get a hold of Dr Bob Rotella's book on putting - PM matt3jab and ask him to post you my copy - awesome :)

my fav drill for at home - set up 12 golf balls like a clock face around a putting cup (or even just a drink coaster) and try and sink 12 putts in a row. there's no hard rule on the distance of the putts but I usually make it about 1m. if I miss one, I start again from the beginning.

putting is all about confidence - especially over the 1m putts - so practicing lots of these means that when I'm out on the course - I'm automatically thinking that any putt within 1-2m is going in.

[Flowergirl]

So when you mean home you mean inside on the carpet? Makes sense. As you say it is all about confidence. Will give it a go.
I have Dr Bob's book. I lent it to a friend so I must get it back and re read it. Thanks.:-D