Mike was having problems with his long irons and woods. The short irons were fine. Here's what I think the problem was ' and the solution.
Mike,
Great that you got the DVD's and are working on the swing. You mention that the short irons are working pretty good but the long irons and woods are slicing badly.
You ask if there are small adjustments to the swing mantra of 'a little turn and a lot of lift' that would be different between the 9 iron and the driver. You said you'd heard it said that the 9 iron is more UP and the driver is more AROUND. And you asked, 'What does DJ do to adjust from the 9 iron to the driver?”
I get this question (and similar ones) asked many times in lessons. A student who is hitting short irons asks, as you did, “Do I swing this way with long irons, fairway woods and driver?”
The answer is absolutely, positively YES! Then I throw in my superduper 'different clubs-same swing' Surgism. “The ball doesn't know which club you're holding.”
Another twist is when a student asks if his wife, or son and daughter should swing the same way. I respond to this with my superduper 'different person-same swing' Surgism. “The ball doesn't know who is holding the club.”
Your last question of what does DJ do to adjust from the 9 iron to the driver? DJ and, for that matter, me and you and everyone else must try to make the same swing with all clubs because the ball does not know which club you or any golfer is holding. The laws of physics do not play favorites with anyone or any club. The same swing thought and swing is used on all clubs.
But, because physics is physics, we have to know and realize that something changes and increases as clubs get longer and swing faster. One of the laws of physics is the law of Acceleration and Momentum basically states that “bodies in motion stay in motion the direction they were put in motion, until otherwise acted upon by an outside source.” This is like driving a car in a sharp left turn. The faster the speed, the more the car will want to just go right off into the woods, thus the more effort and energy you have to apply to hold the car on the road.
What this means, in regard to swinging a golf club from the sand wedge to the driver, is that when we start the backswing, the shaft wants to stay on its starting plane at address and into the mitt. When we reach the mitt and it's time to lift up the tree to go more vertical, the club really wants to stay on the same plane, (like the car staying on the same path toward the woods.) But, since the club has to go vertical staying in conformity to the law of gravity and your anatomical design of your arms swinging in front of your body and straight up and down in harmony with gravity, it MUST go vertically up the tree.
So, at the point in the backswing when the club is in the mitt, and then when the left arm, in the limited shoulder turn, reaches the toe line, it is time to go up the tree, vertically. What makes it go vertical? You and you alone are the SOURCE of CHANGE to make it go vertical. It is you, through the extra use of your right hand (notice I said your RIGHT HAND, the one everyone says not to use) change the plane, lifting the club up the tree to ¾ and 12:00 o'clock, which is the light club position. I will add at this point that as the clubs get longer, and thus the clubhead farther from the grip, there is more momentum and speed. It will take more effort, energy and strength for you to change the direction. You may not think about it or barely feel any difference with the short clubs, but you'll feel it when you get to the long irons, especially with the woods and driver.
Getting back to physics, as you swing down to impact and then through the ball and up to the finish, the club is really swinging fast. The acceleration and momentum, after impact, is speeding up. The forces are way greater here on the forward side of the ball for the shaft to stay on the same plane, which would have the club swing flat and wrap around your chest and cut your forward tree in half. You can't let that happen because you would just hit low pulls and duck hooks. Since there is a law of physics that states “for every action there is an equal and opposite re-action,” you, the source, have to make that re-action of swinging the club into the forward mitt and up the forward tree, the same thing that happened in the backswing. And, again, you do it with your right hand and forearm, getting control of the club and making it change to a more vertical upswing plane, swinging up the tree to over the left shoulder to the T – Finish. Since the forward upswing is so much faster, this change to vertical will be more powerful and use more energy and strength, and will happen as fast as a snap of your finger.
I describe this swinging up the tree in the forward upswing as I feel like the shaft hits or “bounces” off the tree which makes the vertical change really easy, efficient, speedy and balanced, and under control to the T – Finish.
The golf swing is the same swing with all the clubs, with the slight addition of the extra boost of effort, energy and strength, to cause the change of plane to vertical. It may sound scary (even difficult), but it's simple once you understand the concept and just do it. Just like driving the car into a turn, or real fast down the highway, I promise you that your grip on the steering wheel increases in pressure to control the extra forces the speed is placing on the car. Your instinct takes over, providing the right amount of extra energy, pressure and grip strength to drive the car. And, after practicing the forward upswing ,bouncing off the tree, your instinct will provide the right amount of energy, pressure and grip strength to drive your golf ball.
I think this will help.
The Surge!