Non Functional Golf Swings
We don’t create swing flaws for the heck of it. They are created from basic misunderstandings from an intellectual or athletic perspective. They can also be created because your technique doesn’t match your golfing persona.
Non functional golf swings are for me anything that keeps you from going under par in golf (from a long game perspective). That would mean if you hit less than 10 greens per round you have, if you are into the challenge, work to do.
My name is Petter Tärbe, and I write heavily researched articles for Snöleo Golf Academy. I’m a decent former scratch player and teacher that just loves to understand the golf swing. If what I tell you helps out, then that’s awesome!
Non Functional Flaws
I see three big flaws over and over again. They have somewhat different origins and one common denominator from a cure perspective - you need to increase your knowledge.
Everything is written from my own perspective with the sole purpose of helping out. The three are:
- Over The Top Slicer
- Crossing Forearms Snap Hooker
- Too Little Power Swing
Over The Top Slicer
This is what most people do in golf. Period. This is what beginners do without any instruction. They cut the ball.
What if I would tell you that you aren’t that far off the proper motion in golf? What if over the top might be the most natural thing to do but you just have misunderstood some basic things? I’ll come back to this.
Mental Origin of the Flaw
Most people are right eye dominant and therefore aim 10 degrees right of the target. Already here you have created motivation for coming over the top.
Most golfers have no idea how to close the clubface. Therefore coming over the top is a natural response to closing the face.
Coming over the top is natural. And it is not completely wrong - just parts of it.
Solution
The technical short answer is that your backswing position is f*cked and you need to open up your hips way more in the backswing. You also more than likely have the ball as the end destination for your club whilst good golf is played in acceleration and where the hit is a collision on course of a bigger movement. Read these sentences twice.
The other short answer is that you aim way out to the right. Start aiming more to the target through taking an intermediate target and you will now understand how much outside in you come. This only takes you to an aha moment though.
Go into depth in my technique frameworks and figure out which one fits you. You need to understand the key components of a healthy golf swing because at this stage - you don’t. Here is my How to change your golf swing guide.
I would say that most people that come over the top are hands dominant which makes them fit very well with what I call the The Hogan Golf Swing. My hitter protocol uses the fact that you slice the ball because it’s the most natural motion but I have other components that make this ok. Check this out in particular.
I don’t offer quick fix solutions because they don’t work.
Crossing Forearms Snap Hooker
A lot of people have been taught to cross the forearms to close the clubface and although it’s close to being correct the devil is the details. You basically close down your club face too late. This creates the athletic response of a chaotic face closure and there you go - off to the left in the bushes.
Mental Origin of the Flaw
You align too much to the right. Take an intermediate target and try to start the ball on the right path.
You lack knowledge of what the golf swing looks like in impact and follow through. Maybe you know it from a visual perspective on TV but you don’t know what it should feel like. All great swings basically rely on impact and follow through.
Where is the Solution?
From a very simple technical perspective you lack two things - blade closing knowledge and actual chest rotation. If you would close your face down earlier and then add chest rotation then you are golden. But how to do that?
Go through my guide on how to change your swing. It’s not hard at all to do a swing change but you need to do it in the proper way. Quick fixes don't exist and if they work they have a very short lifespan.
Most likely you are hands dominant which would make you suitable for the Hitter Golf Swing or the Old School Swinger Golf Swing. Check these out in particular.
Too Little Power Swing
This is a swing that produces steady results but doesn't use enough power components to achieve enough distance on the course. And today, yesterday, and tomorrow - distance is key to performing good scores. I would put anyone that is under 85 mph clubhead speed with the driver in this lack of distance category.
There’s a very big scoring difference between hitting a 9-iron vs. a 5-iron into the green.
Mental Origin of the Flaw
You basically lack knowledge of how to produce power in your swing. You have probably been taught that hands are something bad and all that type of garbage.
Where is the Solution?
Free yourself and dig into understanding how power is stored and released. Most power comes from using the hands properly.
Go into my golf swing technique frameworks and just rifle through the power mechanism. Understand what a breaking mechanism is so that you can release the power that you have created in your backswing.
Summary
Quick fixes don't work. You need the knowledge to fill the GAPS of what your flaw is today. Without this you’ll never subconsciously accept change proposals. Knowledge first, execution in a proper way later.
I wish you the best of luck!