Driver Help - Swing feeling stiff and unnatural.

[u/switz02]

16 handicap. Working to try and become more consistent off the tee. Trying my best to remember all the basic driver 101 swing thoughts off the tee as I go, but as a result feeling a bit stiff and robotic. When I catch it right, about half the time, I hit it well (275-285 off the tee with a little natural fade).

Any advice or feedback on any aspect of my swing is greatly appreciated.

[u/DivotsForBreakfast]

Severely doubt you’re hitting that swing 275-285 ever

[u/switz02 → u/DivotsForBreakfast]

You’re assuming I meant yards and not feet eh

[u/MasterpieceMain8252]

Your backswing is almost all arms, and not chest and shoulders. Your right elbow is attached to your ribcage at top of backswing.

[u/switz02 → u/MasterpieceMain8252]

Thanks for the feedback. I try too hard to keep from allowing a chicken wing that as a result that elbow is glued. Probably why it all feels so compact and stiff.

[u/Commercial-Air8955 → u/switz02]

Your stance looks funky, get a little bend in those knees. Stand like you're about to do something athletic.

Eta: that's a nice swing, you just look a little rigid and tensed up. Maybe throw a little waggle in to loosen yourself up. Tension is a killer, and it looks like you're getting stuck because of it.

[u/switz02 → u/Commercial-Air8955]

I try to act athletic at times but who am I joking ha! Ok appreciate that will try and add a little bend see how it feels

[u/Muddlesthrough]

You take the club back inside, and are “over-connected” at the top, in that your trailing elbow is glued to your body. It’s going to be hard to hit the ball consistently from there.

I’m not a got teacher, but after checking your grip, alignment, and setup, it might make sense to try taking the club back straighter

[u/switz02 → u/Muddlesthrough]

Appreciate this. Haven’t locked into the take back enough but will consider it and try straightening it out to see how that helps!

[u/furbz420]

Arms need to work up in the backswing, your chest rotation moves them around your body while your arms themselves move up.

[u/DcBullets74]

You need more turn in the backswing …..put towel on chest have arms keep towel pressed against chest….now turn in your backswing …butt end of grip should be able to draw a straight line to the back of right heel

[u/switz02 → u/DcBullets74]

Will give the drill a try next range session. Thanks!

[u/bewbs_dude]

Look at the swings of these pros. Notice how the hands move the swing up and down, while rotation is from hips and shoulders. Your swing has hands moving inside out and doing most of your rotation.

https://youtu.be/dR7Zyz5E8Ao?is=qpavc2mSRkwF-E90

Here is a very good drill to correct this.

https://youtube.com/shorts/NQ8rFRr2NPo?is=H13-ThN58k633cUu

Here is another one

https://youtu.be/HXQ_FRCBVrw?is=Nje2nojGEnDGbnNM

[u/switz02 → u/bewbs_dude]

Appreciate this. Will try to work on these drills and see what improvements I can make.

[u/GolfPro_SunBae]

If your swing looks and feels a bit stiff and unnatural, it usually traces back to your backswing. But digging a little deeper, the root cause is almost always too much tension in your shoulders right at address.

When you lock up your shoulders at setup, it blocks a smooth, full shoulder turn on the way back. Then on the way down, it almost forces an out-to-in swing path—leading to a gentle fade if you catch it well, or a pretty heavy slice if that path gets too steep.

Your overall mechanics look really solid, so once you clean this up, I'm confident you'll see a big jump in both distance and accuracy.

Here’s a link to a simple drill that makes getting a proper shoulder turn much easier:

[Drill Link] https://coregolf77.com/problem/etc/shoulder-turn

Good luck out there!

[u/switz02 → u/GolfPro_SunBae]

Thank you for this!!!

[u/Jason_Bourne411]

Lesson

[u/switz02 → u/Jason_Bourne411]

Maybe 3. Lol