Need Stroke Advice
 

I have been a fan of this site for almost three years. This site introduced me the yellow book which for sure provided me a new demension in teaching golf. I am in South Korea where TGM is hardly known to people. Yoda's resource in this site helps me greatly in understanding TGM. Thank you.

Anyway, this is my first post seeking your valuable advice. The attached link is the swing of my student, Dohoon Kim. He was a gold medalist of 2006 Doha Asian Games thanks to Yoda and many experts of TGM of this site. Recently, he is struggling with his driver. I think the problem is mainly resulted from not able to sustain the lag. I post it in this hitter's corner because I think his stroke is closer to a hitter. Please verify this too. Your expert advice will be much appreciated and will help this promising young man (18yrs).

Changhyo Bae
South Korea

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q2hnfebGqQ

p.s. Forgive my poor English.

Welcome to the Site
 

Welcome to the site ....you have come to the right place for expert advice on TGM...unfortunately there is no video to see for the link you have created ...maybe others can see it ...hopefully...and good luck with your student's progression.:)

Thank you for the warm welcome. I've checked the link but it seems to play just fine at least for me. I wonder if others can see it.

I've checked it again, and found out I set the video for private only. How stupid! I am very sorry for giving you the trouble. Now the link will play. Thanks for your patience.

I'm very curious to hear what the instructors point out that could use improvement in this swing. It looks as good as many of the swings I see on Sunday.

Best of luck,

Matt

Impressive alignments - considering you have no access to TGM instructors you have done amazing work. Welcome to the forum.

Promising young man
 

I could say great swing! But that's not what you asked for- so here's my "internet" feedback- probably worth as much as the price you're paying.

You definitely want to have a vision of where you want the movement to be- in order to consistently guide you on your pursuit. The fact that he's not hitting his driver well now- isn't really a good reason to look for "what's" wrong. Anotherwords, it's not one tip here or another there- that will get you to where you need to be.

Minor points/observations
Driver stance looks a little wide, ball is extremely forward, and the toes of the feet appear to point not perpendicluar to the target line but angled "away" or behind the ball (to the right of the ball from the player's perspective)- possibly a subconscious adaptation to help prevent coming in "over the top"- or "too high and outside".

Major points/observations
The slow motion down the line sequences are the best to see the issues. The start down is not enough down, at impact the hands are not low enough and the right forearm is too high. Need more waistbend at setup, steeper hand swing during startdown, lower hands at impact, retain the waistbend through impact and into the follow-thru, which will help get the right forearm on plane. With a little more waist bend at set-up and a steeper start down while trying to direct the hands to a lower location through impact- I think you'll see a little better hip slide and the right heel rolling up sooner in the movement but that may take time to show up (just remember that the right heel motion would be an effect and not really something to work on directly). When you come down with the hands more out than down- the right hip doesn't have to clear and the right heel doesn't have to roll up as soon.

Great swing! (not Hit)

Mike . . . Maintain the Identities???? You got like 70. Are you off the pills? But you do better analysis off meds.

Cousins
 

12 Piece- By now I'm guessing that Bam Bam and Bagger Lance are closely related cousins to you- Because no matter how much I PM them to have you banned from this site- you continue to exist!:eyes: Further evidence - Bam Bam, Bagger, and Bucket- doesn't take a genius - you know what I'm saying:confused1

Oh ya- and how's the game? Fo Shizzle!:)

I am curious to know where Dohoon misses with the driver? What is the ball flight and direction?

This motion is FANTASTIC!!!! This is definitely a Swing and not a Hit. This dude could be the poster boy for Wrist Throw.

I'm not sure I'd touch this swing too much . . .

Could the driver problems be a FITTING ISSUE? That's where I'd start. This dude has great alignments in my opinion. As Mike O said maybe a touch more waist bend could help him keep the Right Forearm on plane a little longer through Impact.

I love the Centered Arc and stable head. Love the Left Arm Flying Wedge alignments at the Top. The Sweet Spot, Shaft and Left Arm are aligned perfectly for Swinging and that great Wrist Throw he executes. The only other thing I'd say is that looking at his finish makes my back hurt. Maybe he could "release" his eyes to the target a little quicker to take some bend off his back?

Great Swing!

My best guess is that he has a tendency to hook his driver, and if that is the case it is a result of not a lot of lower body clearing and a turned left hand grip. Personally, I would keep the lower body movement the same and turn the left hand about half as much.

Matt

An excellent swing. I would agree with Mike O's observations on setup, a bit too wide of stance/ball position with driver a touch too forward and a need for a bit more knee/hip bend at address (although not much). Let arms, the right arm/forearm be much more relaxed at address.

Hard to say, but there may be a bit of bobbing that is the root of misses that tend to be fairly straight flying pulls with some blocked pushes at times. I'd guess that the setup adjustments/stance width are the major cause, but also that at times the pivot takes control too much/hips fire too hard. As a swinger, getting to 'end' will help and still allow for those hips to provide their power. From 'top' position, those hips will tend to get you a bit over the top when you get out of sequence.

A few minor setup modifications and keep the mind in the hands, focus on the pressure points.

Great work!

Thank you and Thank you for your constructive comments! No wonder this is the best site in this entire world.

Mike O and EDZ's comments about Dohoon's setup are well taken. I will be adjusting his setup by the time you read this. Thank you.

As 12 Piece mentioned, I also think Dohoon can have more comfortable finish like Snead and Els. You should have seen his old swing. Believe me it was huge(?) finish.

Mb6606 asked about the pattern of miss shots, and as Matt suspected his misses are generally low hooks.

For Matt mentioned about Dohoon's turned left grip, I should tell you about what I found yesterday. I was working with him in my in-door range in front of my computer. His swing looked O.K. So I brought him to an out-door range. The first three drives were the drastic hooks. I explained about the lag and impact hand location. Then he hit several drives jus perfect. After about 10 min rest, he pulled out his driver again. The same thing happend. The first 3 or 4 drives were another hooks. When he hooked the driver I could clearly see the club was laid off during the transition. I figured that something must be misaligned.
I checked his grip. Left thumb is about 2:15. Right life line is about 1:30. So I can seen the part between right palm's heel pads. I asked him to turn his right hand grip a little bit more so that the crevis between heel pads firmly cover the left thumb. The laid off disappeared but he said he felt awkward and could not generate power.
Then I told him that instead of turning right hand move the left thumb more toward the top of shaft so that it can be aligned with right hand's life line( pressure point #1). The shaft is no longer laid off now, and he feels great. I have to see how he performs with his driver for next several days to confirm this, but I think Matt accurately pointed out a possible cause.

Anyway, I finnally get to know his stroke is swinging thanks to your valuable replies. How embarrased I am. I thought he was a hitter. ^^

Thank you and I'll keep on posting his progress.


Chang
South Korea