Tip From the Archives

High Shoulder

Problem

You keep hitting the ball fat or you are hitting into the ground before contacting ball.

Cure

You might be swinging too steeply. Try using a more sweeping motion or even a baseball style swing and see if that helps.

Therapy

One cause for making too steep of a swing is if you are setting up with your trailing shoulder higher. This causes you to want to pick the club straight up. When you address the ball, set your forward shoulder a little higher than the other and it should help prevent this from happening.

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11 votes

 
merim | last year, at the end of January

I suffered from this for a long time. My personal point of view is not that people have a steep swing in general, it's that people don't have a smooth arc to their swing, regardless of the plane it's on. If you don't have a smooth swing all the way through, you may be releasing your hands too soon. Then, your shoulder fly's up because you are compensating for your early release and not trying to bury the club in the ground which you end up doing anyway (The chicken wing falls into this category as well) It took me a long time to finally understand what release means. If you let the club do the work, you'll see what I'm talking about. Swing as if the ball is not there and relax and let go of the death choke grip on the club.

Michael Henry | last year, at the end of January

I concur with merim. Take a grip on an 8iron by the club head end,in your right hand only.Now make your normal swing with your right hand only and listen. There will be an audible sound.If it occurs too early you are casting. The sound should increase progressively to impact and beyond. (I use a piece of 1/2" plastic pipe, the sound is far more audible,but the club handle is fine).The sound will tell you where the maximum power is being exerted.If the choke grip described above is used, you will notice that any wrist cock, remains cocked and/the soon like your swing will be pathetic! Relax and allow the club to do what it is designed to do.



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