# Bad Swing Practice



## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

We all know that a poor impact position between the club and the ball will cause poor ball flights. Poor impact positions are usually caused by a poor swing. A poor swing is usually caused by a faulty grip, and/or address position. A bad grip and/or address position, possibly coupled with a bad take away, bad turn, swaying, poor elbow position, means the club head will be in the wrong position at the top (open or closed) of the swing. If it's in the wrong position at the top, then the golfer has to manipulate the club head in the down swing to get the club face back to a proper impact position with the ball. I could go on, and on, and still not mention all the little issues that cause a bad ball flights. I don't know all of them.

So why do golfers at the range spend their hard earned dollars practicing bad swings? I see this every time I go to the range. A golfer will continue to just "rake balls", and hit bad shots, one right after another. After too many range sessions like this, they haved grooved their swing to hit bad shots. When this happens they need to unlearn what they have been doing wrong, (muscle/brain memory) before they can learn to swing in a more correct manner. 

My tip is that when you are hitting bad shots at the range, don't continue to hit those bad shots when practicing. Stop as soon as you know you can't remedy what the problem is. Go do something else like work on putting, chipping, and if room allows, short pitch shots. It's my opinion that a good golf swing can more easily be learned backwards from the green to the tee, but that another topic. 

If you absolutely have to empty that bucket of balls, then just practice hitting easy, half swings with various irons. Leave those longer fairway clubs in the bag. Any golfer can usually hit balls straight enough using shorter, easier swings. This type of practice is better for the golfer's swing than just raking balls, and hitting one bad shot after another. :thumbsup:


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## Rothenfield (Jul 15, 2011)

Coming from a ‘much’ less experienced golfer who identifies with what you have said here about negatively ingraining a ‘bad’ swing to muscle memory; I would have to say that it is not always possible for the beginner to afford, or have access to someone who could watch and make quality corrections to a bad swing. As a beginner, I initially resented that the Forum’s answer to every golf swing question was to seek out a professional swing coach. I’ve come to the conclusion that this ‘is’ in fact the best solution. 

However, in lieu of that, I like your idea of starting with a half swing. There seems to be so many muscles and tendons that have to be aligned properly for a proper full swing, that the beginner gets overwhelmed before even having a chance to ingrain the fundamentals of addressing the ball, proper grip, stance, club alignment, and proper take away move. I’ve watched some golfers who I believe to be experienced at the range start out with a half swing and work their way up to a full one. I don’t see anything wrong with a beginner using a half swing all the time at the range until they have started feeling comfortable and hitting the ball somewhat straight.:thumbsup:


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## Rothenfield (Jul 15, 2011)

I'd just like to add that I've seen some old-timers who hit the ball incredibly accurately with a 3 quarter swing. Perhaps too much is made of the idea of getting the club up high and parallel.:dunno:


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## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

Most week end golfers would score much better if indeed they did use an abbreviated swing. Using a 1/2, and/or 3/4 swing is a good way to to break 90, as long as the golfer also has an adequate short game, and can putt. Most weekenders are just not flexible enough for the full hips, and shoulder turns to accomplish an in control full swing. I know I no longer have that flexibility, so a 3/4 swing suits me quite well. Yes, my distance suffers, but the accuracy (such as it is) I have makes up for that loss of distance. 

I realize that some folks don't have access to quality instruction. That said, they have, and should rely on their own ball flight for improving the swing that causes the slice. 
Example; Let's say a golfer is having a problem with wicked slices. What the unsupervised golfer can do is seek out info on the causes of slicing ball flights. A library, and even the internet has all the info they need to learn what causes a sliced ball. If the person can read, and more importantly understand what they have read, they can improve their own swing. Part of the problem I think is that new golfers don't want to learn for themselves. What I always hate to read when some asks why they slice is that they have an "open club face at impact". A true statement, but only a partial answer. What's missing is the various reasons "why" the club face is open at impact. 

I made reference in my first post as to learning to play golf backwards. By that I mean a new golfer would do well to learn to putt first. Then, after learning to putt well, move on to chips, then on to pitches, longer pitch shots, shots from the 150 marker, 200 yard shots and finally hitting from the tee box. In between those shots, practicing sand shots, from the rough, and other poor lies would take place. As the golfer progresses through the various shots/clubs from the green to the tee box, they are learning the grip, stance and swing to make the next longer shot easier. The shorter shots compliment the next longer shot because the grip, stance, and posture are already there.All that's left is to learn a longer swing. By the time they get to the tee box, when they do hit a poor tee shot, (and they will) the stroke saving recovery shot is already in their bag for them to use. I have used this method with 3 family members, and all score well enough to have fun when they golf. Plus they had fun learning the game this way. I have 14 year old grand daughter who consistently breaks 90 from the womens' tee, and has a low score of several 80s. 

One other thing. Bad shots are not always bad shots. If a golfer has a slice/hook, and knows what they are doing wrong, they should not forget how to hit that slice, or hook. Those two shots can come in handy when needing to escape from behind a tree, or some other obstacle blocking their way to the green.


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## Rothenfield (Jul 15, 2011)

Good stuff Hairy Frog.:thumbsup:


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## FrogsHair (Mar 4, 2010)

LOL, "hairy frog"...I like it. Just so new members don't think I am totally daft, check this link out. Frog Hair - Definition of Frog Hair in Golf


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