Some Help for Ramzi

Some of you may remember that Ramzi Abdullah from Malaysia left some comments on last week's post about Na Yeon Choi's swing, asking for some help with a pull. Ramzi has written before -- I did a post for him called Golfing Large , in case you missed it -- and he says it helped some. (That post focused on his driving, which he says has improved but still isn't great.)

Today I'm going to look if I can not provide him a few higher help. I requested him some questions in the NYC post comments, and he sent me an e mail with a few solutions. He additionally sent me a quick video, so I actually have a bit extra to work with this time. Ramzi says he shoots within the 104-a hundred and ten variety (I don't forget being caught there once myself), and I virtually think we are able to help him get that down quite a bit.

The video helped, but it turned into at the incorrect attitude to inform me the entirety I'd want to recognise. As you may see from this nonetheless of Ramzi's setup, it is neither a face-on or a down-the-line view... But I assume I've determined some matters we will paintings on, particularly with the info he covered in his email.

Just a note: Sometimes I'm speaking directly to Ramzi in this post, but often I'm talking to everybody because Ramzi's problem is a common one. Don't let the sudden change between the two confuse you!

Ramzi's address position actually looks pretty good. From this position I can't tell for sure, but it looks as if his knees aren't flexed enough -- but let me make this clear: From this angle I can't tell for sure. However, if Ramzi's knees are too straight, that would definitely contribute to an over-the-top swing. And if you come over-the-top, you'll almost certainly pull the ball.

But Ramzi, I can not tell for certain from this attitude. Don't change your knee flex till you figure on the other matters I'm going to talk about. Even if your knees are too directly now, I suspect they may not be by the point we're finished... So simply preserve studying.

I noticed when viewing the video that Ramzi seems to be "losing the brace" in his right leg a little bit as he makes his backswing, but he knew about that problem and he tells me that he's gone to more of a "reverse K" setup since this video was made roughly 4 months ago. First, let me make sure you know what a reverse K setup is. Here's Michael Breed -- and yes, this is a Golf Fix video from Taiwan, but it's the only way I could embed it. The subtitles shouldn't cause a problem:

Note that I referenced this position indirectly in the 3rd All About Pushes post last week, only I did it using the "Gary Coilman"  prop. Gary's shoulder position gives you a reverse K setup.

Anyway, Ramzi says he's a whole lot extra solid over the ball now and is hitting it extra solidly. He describes it this way:

I seem to have better touch with all golf equipment after I feel that I've set my weight close to the vicinity around my big toe on the proper foot.

That description sounds about right. In the last of my All About Pushes post series last week, in the 5th and 6th paragraphs, I talked about this braced position and how to learn it if you're having trouble. Try it and you'll see that Ramzi's "reverse K" is a good description of the proper position.

However, except his address function has changed pretty a bit from this image, he is not doing precisely what he thinks he is doing. (That's commonplace for any golfer, Ramzi, so do not feel awful approximately it.) In his e-mail he wrote:

I've learnt a brand new trick to hold my swing plane before the backswing that is to push the club into the floor in a way to cock my wrist - and it works. This is blended with the reverse K (which I recognise opens my hips, and as a end result I must near my shoulders a chunk earlier than the swing).

But take a good look at the photo. Ramzi's shoulders are OPEN, not closed. (If they were closed, His proper shoulder might be further from the ball than his left shoulder, not closer as it appears in this photo.) That right now units Ramzi up to drag the ball because his shoulder line is now aimed to his left. (That would be "aimed to his right" for you lefties out there.)

And 2nd, a reverse K setup doesn't robotically open your hips. If your hips are open, Ramzi, your opposite K setup isn't always quite right. Again, do not worry about that right now; just maintain analyzing. There's a larger trouble that we need to repair first, and it's greater critical. If we get the most important trouble fixed first, a variety of smaller troubles will in all likelihood disappear on their very own.

One of the matters I asked you became in case you were rolling your forearms throughout your takeaway. You wrote lower back:

Yes, I use lots of forearm action. After I attain the top of the backswing I absolutely start pulling, rolling and releasing with my right arm. I recognize its incorrect however I do trust that Tom Watson additionally did the equal element. Releasing from the pinnacle turned into what my first golfing teacher informed me to do to fight my slice. I'm very competitive in the downswing (I do no longer recognise how to swing at eighty% or 70%)

Even if you hadn't told me so, I would have known the second I viewed your swing video. Here are a couple of other stills I took from it. While I couldn't be sure about some things from this camera angle, it's perfect for viewing the biggest problem:

See those arrows pointing at your right elbow? You don't just roll your forearms on the way down. You roll them on the way up! And I can tell because your right elbow is bent so early in your swing. You can't bend your elbow that way without rolling your forearms.

And if you go back and look at your swing video again you'll see your right shoulder and head diving toward the ball as you start your downswing. You're coming over-the-top, big man! And when you come OTT, you pull the ball -- it's just the natural mechanics of your swing.

When you roll your forearms on the manner back, you lay the club off and are available too much inner. Tom Watson -- and plenty of players -- do train you to roll your forearms. It's a part of the cause all of them have problem hitting the ball straight when they may be underneath strain -- it is tough to roll them precisely the identical amount coming down as you did going again. And, more importantly, this "rolling" takes place on its own -- and in a completely consistent count -- in case you do not consciously do it. Even Ben Hogan wrote (in capital letters, no less), and I quote:

The action of the arms is motivated by the movements of the body, and the hands consciously do nothing but maintain a firm grip on the club. (Five Lessons, p82)

I explained all the mechanics of it in detail in my Stop Coming Over-the-Top Quick Guide -- in fact, I included a drill that lets you go from address to the top of the backswing without ever twisting your forearms so you could see for yourself that it works. You can get the book if you want the full explanation. (I'm not plugging the book. I just want you to know that it took an entire book to explain all the details of why swings go OTT, which is why I'm not going to try and do it in a blog post! But do not worry, I've got stuff here at the weblog to help you.)

So while I suspect that Ramzi has some setup problems, I'm much more concerned about his -- you guessed it -- lack of a one-piece takeaway. So here's what I want you to do: Go to the Some Useful Post Series page and find the listing for the Dexter's Coming Over-the-Top series. Read all of the posts in that series, but the drills are in the 3rd post.

Ramzi, let me stress that I don't want you to rotate your forearms when you do the drills. When your hands are at waist high, I want you to feel as if you're cocking your wrists straight up in the air! Although you'll be pointing the club shaft straight up in the air when you do the drill, it will actually be on the correct plane when you make a normal full-speed swing. I'm not going into the mechanics here -- as I said, that's all explained in the book -- but it has to do with all the angles that already exist in your swing. (Your spine angle, shoulder tilt, bent elbow, etc.)

As for you concern about your belly -- which is not as big as you watched -- the one-piece takeaway will circulate your hands and club a bit farther far from your frame, so it is going to be much less of a hassle than you think.

And once you get the cling of that one-piece takeaway, then you will be in a higher function to make modifications in your setup if they're still wished.

So Ramzi, that's wherein I think you need to start. Focus on the one-piece takeaway. You can also want to adjust your grip slightly as you get used to beginning again in a single piece. Make as few modifications as essential till you sense comfortable with the move. Dexter observed that solving his takeaway made immediate enhancements at some stage in his game -- both in how far and the way immediately he hit the ball -- and his score started out to drop inside weeks. So give it a try and maintain me knowledgeable on how it's going. Then we will see if anything else needs to be modified.