The More Closely I Look, The More I See Exactly What I’ve Figured Out

I love to try to confirm suspicions or theories both forwards and backwards, so I am always going back to my swing video archive to see what’s what when I think I’ve figured out.

In this case and my stance theory with regards to shoulder and foot line angles (while most people can and should swing with their foot line and shoulders parallel to the target line, I cannot), I am finding confirmation looking at how well I strike the ball and how I’m set up over it.

I shot some swings on September 23rd of last year and I just happened to glance at some stills, where I immediately saw something jump out at me.

Look at this swing, and it was nearly perfect as I was aiming at the flag stick in the far distance:

A hair left of perfectly down the line, I’d say, which also bears out what I’ve been investigating this past week.

Now, have a gander at the setup:

Do You See It?

If you don’t, just watch the swing gif. a couple of times and the ball’s line of flight.

If you still haven’t see it, here’s the answer:

Exactly what I deduced last week and am currently working on setting in stone for the setup adjustments required by my scoliosis:

  • Shoulders slightly closed to the target line,
  • Foot line more closed to the target line

So, when I hit my best shots, it is most likely due to unconsciously having set up with a rough copy of the blueprint I’m building for my stance.  Such is the strength of athletic intuition, it makes you set up with a certain “feel” attained by years of throwing or swinging things at targets.

Funny, isn’t it?  Not really – by building a standard model and thinking I could swing in complete agreement with the metrics, I’ve been fighting my own intuition in the setup.

Hilarious

I would bet you that I didn’t even check my stance on this swing but rather set up over the ball by feel – had I checked, I would have adjusted my foot line, which would have opened my shoulders slightly.

It wasn’t exactly how the setup should be (needed a little more angle in the foot line), and you can see it in the tiny amount of bend in the right elbow – if my right hip is too close to the target line, I have to bend my right arm to take the grip.

So, a shade short of the proper foot line – that’s why, when I transferred my weight to the leading foot and began to leverage the club, the spine flex opened my shoulders slightly coming into impact, leading to a one-to-two degrees left of center ball flight.

The weather is still cool and damp here with lows near freezing overnight, so I’ll be making another foray to Tracer Golf to see if I can nail this setup once and for all to start the outdoor season.

More to come.