Why amateur golfers cant create compression (what they don't tell you golf tips)

[@bshiro4153]

Lost my swing for 2 months, BUT your video gave me the light bulb moment especially the backswing with tight right elbow then coming over the top explanation. Did as you said and tried doing the opposite with a wide backswing then shallowing with my right elbow naturally tucking in. Combined it with a compression drill in the sand with two lines and magically found my swing. THANK YOU SO MUCH. It’s more fun to play well. That’s just a fact.

[@TheECUDave]

I've been working on my swing this year, the other day I hit one with compression, it scared the crap out of me! Great video! thanks.

[@Neeper78]

It’s such a great feeling, isn’t?

[@Kelly-lm7ez]

Been following your tips, rebuilding my swing. After 4 months I went to the course to measure my swing. Took 17 strokes off my previous outing. Could have been more but had a few terrible holes. Thanks for all the great advice!

[@scratchjourneygolf]

Great to see the channel growing Mark! Content is always accessible but offers detail and options. Ive been watching for 10 years and I still look forward to a video dropping! ❤

[@MarkCrossfield]

Thanks for waterskiing

[@MarkCrossfield]

Watching. Haha

[@scratchjourneygolf]

@@MarkCrossfield If only I could post a GIF 🤣

[@djones1304]

We need Ray back for a lesson/Guinea pig series.

[@OllieW501]

@@MarkCrossfield haha, it helps with the grip!

[@stevetierney2630]

Your instruction keeps getting better and better. Thank you.

[@GregoryWJones]

Explains how to feel the right forces in your body is everything. The physics of all good swings have those key commonalities. Practice the right feels can really make all the difference. Great approach, Mark- per usual!

[@ignorance123]

Best, most complete video you've done in a while. Nice reminder...

[@Libbyyyyyyyyyy]

i agree this is the type of stuff I subscibed for

[@TheSMPStudios]

Very good explanation!! I love watching Ben Hogan because of his right hand body connection to the body (I’m right handed). Thank you, Mark!!

[@itkilledharper]

Just finished my round after watching this video last night, never hit my irons so pure and consistent, and gained atleast 12-15 yards on each club!!!! Thank you very much mark. Off to turkey saturday, bring on the pasha/ sultan and the montgomerie 👊👊👊👊 cheers bruh

[@cjetblack]

This has helped me more than you would ever believe! Thank you, Mark!

[@MarkCrossfield]

So happy. Thanks for the comment. 👍

[@TeddyCavachon]

The more the club force whips the club head mass up around the hands in the takeaway / backswing sequence the more it pulls the wrists in to radial deviation which increases the potential for accelerating it on the way down the same way, by allowing it to again freely release and accelerate around the hands. As a noob I gripped the club to tightly, which locks up the wrists and also pronated my lead hand and brought the club head path inside the hands in the takeaway bending the lead arm at the elbow. Those two swing faults restricted radial deviation cocking on the way up so it was very difficult to hold it on the way down resulting in early release (casting). The term “casting” to describe early release is unfortunate because the ideal downswing in terms of the physics and maximum acceleration of the club head mass to create F = MxA striking force is to use the same action as casting a fly rod, hammering a nail, or cracking a whip; a snapping down action from maxed-out thumbs-up radical deviation to maxed-out thumbs down ulnar deviation. It is what Hogan called “waggle action” in the hands and why he was a renowned compressor of the golf ball, so much so that sports writers commented on how his shots sounded different from those of his contemporaries using the same equipment, With regard to compression both the amount and rate of compression / decompression need to be considered. You may have experienced or heard about the “hitting the wall” feeling in the downswing. It is caused by keeping the back foot grounded as the hips move laterally and turn open in the downswing which restricts the turn to 45° open UNTIL that back foot is lifted. What happens when the hips hit the wall is that it slows down the shoulders and hands creating physics similar to driving a car 80 mph then hitting tapping the brakes hard-the occupants fly forward off the seats. What happen when the momentary “hitting the wall” slowing of the hands occurs just as the golf ball compressed on the face of a golf club is ready to release is a higher rate of decompression of the ball compared to how it would decompress and come off the face of a club head still traveling 80+ MPH. I realized this by studying Hogan’s swings frame-by-frame watching the relative speed of hands and club head and the timing of lifting and turning the trail foot. When it happens the difference in the sound and feel of the ball strike is noticeable as it was with Hogan.

[@DrGrape-iq7fi]

I didn't understand any of that, but some how I do.

[@marcosgarces6295]

Great video Mark! Very clear explanation of the swing detailing feel action throughout the movement. I will watch this video again. Thanks!

[@glyntapp]

Great video mark, can you do an up to date one for the downswing with these ideas in mind? I swing driver 120mph and struggle with snatching from the top and coming in really steep. Love how you explain your ideas in the videos and would help out a lot

[@SolomonLi]

Good stuff as always Mark! I feel like I have this problem with more lofted clubs for sure. Just the breakdown stuff is always a pleasure to watch with these drills and how it helps us understand the purpose of the drills…

[@tinmartinnage478]

My default error is I get into a good position at the top but then start downswing from top and get a bit stuck and don’t transfer weight. Think the step drill could help my sequencing 👍👍

[@gtjumper07]

Mark you meant lead arm adduction for downswing…great video!!!

[@salimali4312]

Hi Mark! Nice golf tips. By the way, what simulator brand are you using?

[@thebrewsterblock]

Great videos. Will definitely watch more!

[@Libbyyyyyyyyyy]

Hi Mark, I love these type of videos! thank you for the lesson!

[@MarkCrossfield]

Thanks for watching

[@jazzyjay4595]

I think “compressing” and “flighting” the ball are commonly confused with each other. If you are making contact with the ball on the club face, that ball is compressing. Whether you are hitting down and de-lofting the club or flipping and hitting up, making contact is compressing the ball. “Flighting” or “trapping” it to create lower launch and a more penetrating flight is different. As a master fitter, I get really tired of guys coming in saying they “don’t compress the ball” because they don’t have the speed/strength to be really steep and swing through the turf. Swing your swing and make sure it gets the results! The score card is all that matters at the end of the day. I don’t care if you hit a putter the entire time and roll it down the fairway to break 100. I’d rather people have a better understanding of the goals of golf rather than get caught up in the semantics of what the swing looks like and what the numbers say

[@wecolouritall]

Just the video I needed, thanks Mark!

[@bigphil5980]

Mark can do a video on how passive / active your arms should actually be in the swing 👍🏼

[@AutomationGolfer]

Would love to hear in a video or maybe on the podcast, what are good ways to know if your instructor is good or not. I feel that many KZbinrs and professionals recommend lessons but either don’t want to acknowledge that there are many bad instructors out there or don’t know how hard it is to find an instructor.

[@matthewjohnson2795]

Yet another lesson gem great drill Mark Matt from Wilmington nc big fan thanks

[@MarkCrossfield]

Hey Matt 👍👍

[@4g63mark]

The reason I was stuck flipping is because my right elbow was getting stuck behind my ribcage so my right hand was compensating to square the club face. Once I started visualizing my right elbow trying to touch my bellybutton through impact, a lot of other things started fixing themselves and the road to improvement began

[@lenniewalker1001]

Can you use the lead foot step with wedges too

[@paulgoulding2291]

Great lesson. Thanks.

[@grahamjones7371]

Warning,i do left arm swings strikes But you are highly likely to injure yourself unless youve done strength conditioning which although im a senior i do! so unless youre a fit young man hold the clubhead or use a tennis racket!

[@kennethmckinney2532]

This drill seems kind of similar to how Paddy Harrington plays. If I recall he was using it as a drill and hit it so well it translated to his actual game...

[@nickskerrett5240]

I have felt that lead arm abduction you mentioned when drilling my down swing sequence and thought I was doing something wrong although it did feel like a powerful movement. Hitting the course with some mates tomorrow and I'll definitely work this into a practice swing. Let you know how it goes.

[@stevejohnny1111]

Nick, I have been waiting 13 days now. Please update us on how you got on

[@nickskerrett5240]

@@stevejohnny1111 Sorry Steve. I found it tough to take straight to the course as it seemed to move my strike pattern. At the range last week when I was less concerned about duffing an approach it was going well, definitely recommend giving it some time on the range mate.

[@stevejohnny1111]

@@nickskerrett5240 Thanks! Please let me know how you get on

[@nickskerrett5240]

@@stevejohnny1111 hopefully get out for a game tomorrow morning. May need reminding but I'll share what I can.

[@hoofhearted1102]

Hi Mark, can you review golfboy (launch monitor) and golf fix (swing analysis) app to see how accurate they are? They seem amazing with their AI and tracking everything but pointless if it doesn't mean anything 😂

[@stevejohnny1111]

I can explain, golf is a stupid game that is too difficult. But that one time when you hit a great shot, it's the best game ever

[@mattatter3850]

Here's a crazy problem I have. 4-6 iron is great 7-pw is terrible. Started last year. 230yd 4iron and 155yd 7 iron. Don't know what happened but I do feel I'm adding loft to short irons.

[@corbinchristensen1555]

I'm doing the exact same thing currently. Had it going on for a few years now. Extremely long with long irons and top end of the bag and then it falls off a cliff at 7i or 8i depending on the day

[@mattatter3850]

@Corbin Christensen and trying to find help I just get the opposite. Are your long clubs straight like mine but 7-9 cut way more than you want?

[@corbinchristensen1555]

@matt atter sometimes that's the case, but even when I feel like a absolutely smash a pw-8i they'll go very straight, but still be like 40yds shorter than I'd expect. I've hit on a simulator and I do spin my 9i like 10,000rpm which I'm sure is part of it, but they also launch higher than I think they're supposed to.

[@23lnp]

Try putting the ball back in your stance with you higher irons and wedges.

[@charlesbartholomew2910]

What shaft is that in your driver, Mark? I've never seen one like that.

[@npirish425]

Autoflex

[@charlesbartholomew2910]

@@npirish425 Interesting, never saw an autoflex in the colors of the rainbow. Ones that I saw were pink.

[@npirish425]

@@charlesbartholomew2910 they have a rainbow and sometimes have special color ways as well

[@zazhou]

True or false? Compression is a factor of clubhead speed and acceleration at moment of impact. Meaning maximum clubhead speed is after impact.

[@gunghogolf]

False. The club transfers a lot of energy to the ball, and slows down significantly (20-25% slower after impact) starting with first contact with the ball. Compression is a factor of clubhead speed and squareness of strike / delivered loft - the ball, and physics, don’t care if the club is accelerating at impact. That said, the FEELING and INTENT of acceleration through the ball is usually a good thing for someone’s swing.

[@zazhou]

@@gunghogolf yes, the ball being a physical object will slow the clubhead down at impact and therefore the clubhead speed will be less after impact. However, in my humble opinion, for a good (practice) swing with no ball in the way, the clubhead would and should be accelerating through the impact area. The physics of accelerative forces is the same as for martial artists who break blocks of wood with their hands and who would not be able to do so if their hands were decelerating at impact. Going back to golf, all experienced golfers know that deceleration is a killer in all golf shots and must be avoided always.

[@gunghogolf]

@@zazhou Like I said, having the intent of acceleration through the ball is a good thing, and I agree that in an air swing top velocity may come after where the ball would be. We agree on that. But the physics of a club hitting a ball are all about the kinetic energy of the club - and the KE equation takes only mass and velocity into account, not acceleration: KE = 1/2 m v2 If a club hits a ball squarely going 100 mph at impact, but is coasting or decelerating, the ball will go faster and fly further than when a club hits a ball at 99.5 mph and is accelerating. The ball doesn’t know or care if the club is speeding up or slowing down.

[@sub_second_life3174]

I have no problem holding a green down to a 4 iron as long as I land it a few yards short of the pin. What I don’t understand is how the pros hit those fricken 20k rpm wedge shots into the green and it comes ripping back 40 feet! I don’t want that but I dream of the day I can rip them back more than 6 feet with a wedge

[@jjmaxx3834]

I think it’s just the lack of clubhead speed. That’s why we can’t hit a long iron.

[@michaeljeremiah9221]

Nice 👍🏻

[@jasonkelley6185]

Nobody clarifies the compression term. I wish people in the golf lesson biz would just forget the word. It’s not just unclear, but people use it all the time in a false way to create incorrect impressions. They say thinks like, “you want to hit down on the ball so you can compress it.” Or, “you want shaft lean so you compress the ball.” They talk about it like it’s an on or off thing. You are always compressing the ball. You compress it more when you transfer more energy into it. Aka, when you hit hit harder. It’s a matter of degree. I wish teachers would just say, “do this to transfer more speed to the ball.”

[@gunghogolf]

While I generally agree with you, you do need to take dynamic loft of the club into account. For example, launching an 8-iron properly does require some shaft lean (de-lofting) to achieve a good smash factor (1.35-1.38 or so) and optimal launch angle. Doing that with slightly less clubhead speed than you would by early releasing will result in more compression and distance. In other words, it’s not all about swinging faster/harder.

[@jasonkelley6185]

@@gunghogolf of course. So you say something like, “more speed is transferred to the ball when you deloft the club. To talk about it as compressing the ball when you have shaft lean and not compressing it when you flip is just silly.

[@tu8z]

You just don’t get it then I’m afraid 😂

[@jasonkelley6185]

@@tu8z I get it. I know what they are trying to say. It's imprecise language and it confuses people.

[@jb0915]

Ok snowflake cry about it. Compression in golf means hitting the ball on a downwards on plane strike making the ball compress. Why is that so hard to understand?

[@bigglesthwaite]

Can we golfers come up with another term other than ‘compress’? I just see an image of a ball being squashed vertically between a 10 ton weight and a concrete floor. It does nothing good for my swing.

[@djs803]

"compacted" maybe...?

[@Simeon-the-Magnificent]

Creamed?

[@jasonkelley6185]

Have you ever seen a ball in slow motion being hit? Crazy how much it compresses! But I agree. We should talk about it in terms of transferring more or less speed/energy to the ball from the club.

[@bigglesthwaite]

@@djs803 isn’t it just a way of saying lean the shaft forward more?

[@shrimpflea]

Compression is the wrong term anyways. Technically the ball is deformed but it doesn't sound as sexy.

[@michaelgiammarino7313]

The titles of these videos need to be high handicappers. There are a lot amateurs that can compress the ball

[@dougd120]

Nhv boost ckarifies the issue of the issue of being in the bloodstream of things on things oh things on things of the correct normalcy of things.

[@gmoncada6]

When can we see more Muppet tour golf vlogs? Lol

[@DK-fx6wz]

If you think this is good, search for dr kwon golf. He refined these step drills into a science.

[@DK-fx6wz]

Thanks man. I don’t have telegram. Never heard of it in the States

[@paulf1256]

Mark slow your verbal descriptions down. You're talking so quickly at times, it is very difficult to hear each word clearly. Less Espresso before production may help. The pace of the verbal is also very exhausting and not as engaging as most of your past productions. It appears that you're in a rush to get it over like an unpleasant chore. As a fan since you started, these hurried videos are far less pleasant and appealing, though the content is exceptional as always!

[@jasonkelley6185]

Disagree. I love the pace.

[@gunghogolf]

Also disagree. It’s a video, you can rewind or turn captions on if you can’t keep up.

[@andyss5582]

Set the Playback speed to 0.75 or lower

[@Carsonsimon]

​@@andyss5582 I just put it on .50% playback speed for fun... Sounds like he's 10 beers in and trying to explain it to someone at the pub...brilliant...😂

[@neilfoskett4958]

​@@Carsonsimon Just did the same, brilliant ! Like being taught at 2am after 6 pints 😂