Webinar 1: The Core
Webinar 1: The Core

Get to the "core" of the issue in your swing and understand how THE GOAT makes his swing s ...

Webinar 2: Core Power & Putting
Webinar 2: Core Power & Putting

In webinar 2, we discuss the Core Power video and how to grip the club properly so you can ...

Webinar 3 - Compression & Clubface Control
Webinar 3 - Compression & Clubface Control

Control & compression, that's the name of the game in ball striking and when you follow th ...

Webinar 4 - Fascia & Effortless Power
Webinar 4 - Fascia & Effortless Power

This is a webinar I did with the RSA members on how to load the fascial lines. This will h ...

Larry's Lesson - Pt 1
Larry's Lesson - Pt 1

The #1 most important thing you have to learn in the golf swing is how to release the club ...

Larry's Lesson Pt 2
Larry's Lesson Pt 2

Larry's Lesson Part 2

Larry's Lesson Day 2 - Part 1
Larry's Lesson Day 2 - Part 1

Starting in Day 2, we begin to work on Larry's body movement to sync up with his hand spee ...

Larry's Lesson Day 2 - Pt 2 - Using the Hackmotion
Larry's Lesson Day 2 - Pt 2 - Using the Hackmotion

Now we begin to use the Hackmotion to make a huge change in Larry's shut faced takeaway an ...

Larry's Lesson - Day 3 - Pt 3 - Swinging w/ Speed
Larry's Lesson - Day 3 - Pt 3 - Swinging w/ Speed

In the final part of the lesson we start getting Larry to pick up his pace to naturally re ...

How to Swing on Plane w/ The GOAT Code
How to Swing on Plane w/ The GOAT Code

Have you been searching for the right feeling to get the club to naturally swing on one pl ...

How the Hips Move in a Throwing Pattern
How the Hips Move in a Throwing Pattern

How the hips move in a throwing pattern in the golf swing.

How to Compress the Ball & Get Shaft Lean Lesson
How to Compress the Ball & Get Shaft Lean Lesson

Do you struggle with casting the club and losing lag? No compression on the ball? This gol ...

Winter Golf Training Program - Setup
Winter Golf Training Program - Setup

Our premium golf training program for winter months

Proper Muscle Activation
Proper Muscle Activation

Understanding how to properly activate muscles is critical for producing effortless power ...

Golf Grip Checkpoint Tips
Golf Grip Checkpoint Tips

For years, golf instructors have put band-aids on your golf grip and your golf swing by m ...

Should You Splay Your Feet At Setup
Should You Splay Your Feet At Setup

In a perfect golf setup, should your feet point out or be square to the target? This premi ...

Connect to Your Core - Get in Box
Connect to Your Core - Get in Box

This video gives you a drill to get connected to your core and "in the box." It is imperat ...

Fix Your Setup For More Power
Fix Your Setup For More Power

Did you know that a simple setup change can increase your distance off the tee? In this ...

The Golf Grip and Being Out of the Box
The Golf Grip and Being Out of the Box

Another video to disspell some of the common swing myths. This one deals with the old adag ...

The Gorilla Grip
The Gorilla Grip

Here’s a golf instruction myth about the grip that can’t die soon enough. The myth sta ...

Problems Caused by Poor Ball Position
Problems Caused by Poor Ball Position

Having the ball in the wrong position will not only cost you accuracy, but as this video t ...

How Your Setup is Causing Your Left Arm to Bend
How Your Setup is Causing Your Left Arm to Bend

I bet you've never heard this explanation for why your left arm is bending at the top of y ...

Phase 1 Follow Along
Phase 1 Follow Along

Learn how to practice your golf swing productively and follow along with a pro in this pra ...

DEAD Drill Step 1 - The Backswing
DEAD Drill Step 1 - The Backswing

Here's the first step in building your perfect golf swing using the DEAD Drill. It's criti ...

DEAD Drill Step 2 - The Transition
DEAD Drill Step 2 - The Transition

The DEAD Drill transition is DEAD simple. One move to have a powerful and dynamic transiti ...

DEAD Drill Step 3 - The Post-Up
DEAD Drill Step 3 - The Post-Up

The Post Up move is where all the magic happens in the golf downswing. If you've never rel ...

Flip vs. Release in Golf
Flip vs. Release in Golf

What is the difference between a proper golf club release and a flip in the golf swing? To ...

How to Get Perfect Shaft Lean at Impact
How to Get Perfect Shaft Lean at Impact

You want to hit those boring, hissing shots that scream off the face like a rocket? This g ...

Golf Impact Position Face On
Golf Impact Position Face On

After all your hard work on the backswing, it's time for the big payoff! Getting into the ...

Golf Impact Position Down the Line
Golf Impact Position Down the Line

As I discussed in the video on Impact Alignments Face On, impact is everything in RST. All ...

Cure Chicken Wing in the Golf Swing
Cure Chicken Wing in the Golf Swing

You now have a 3-step drill to help you cure your chicken wing golf swing once and for all ...

Left Elbow Position at Impact
Left Elbow Position at Impact

Find out a simple trick to hit straighter shots while also virtually eliminating your chan ...

3 Steps to better impact position in golf
3 Steps to better impact position in golf

Golf is a sport that can leave you frustrated round after round, but WHY? What exactly are ...

Golf Impact - Part 2 of 7
Golf Impact - Part 2 of 7

In part 2 of this new 7 part video series, I'll discuss one of the most important parts th ...

Perfect your golf impact - 1 of 4
Perfect your golf impact - 1 of 4

Compressing the golf ball like a tour pro can be very hard to do. In this new video series ...

Perfect your golf impact - 2 of 4
Perfect your golf impact - 2 of 4

Effortless power in the golf swing is a difficult concept for many amateur golfers. In vid ...

Perfect your golf impact - 3 of 4
Perfect your golf impact - 3 of 4

Learn how to add more speed to your golf swing by leveraging the ground like a tour pro.

Perfect your golf impact - 4 of 4
Perfect your golf impact - 4 of 4

Lag in the golf swing is key for clubhead speed. In this video, I'll show you how to add m ...

Perfecting your golf impact - Bonus
Perfecting your golf impact - Bonus

Perfecting your golf impact video series. Special bonus video that will help you correct s ...

Overview of the Push Release
Overview of the Push Release

An overview to the push release for those who want to use the right side to help power the ...

Fix Your Swing Sway w/ the Wall Drill
Fix Your Swing Sway w/ the Wall Drill

Fix your golf swing sway with this awesome and simple drill! Swaying off the ball in the b ...

Weight Shift Sweep Drills
Weight Shift Sweep Drills

The best golf swing drill for weight shift right before you play or when you're just on th ...

Intro to Weight Shift in the Golf Swing
Intro to Weight Shift in the Golf Swing

Weight shift in the golf swing is the FIRST thing you must master before worrying about an ...

Weight Shift in the Golf Swing - Pt. 1
Weight Shift in the Golf Swing - Pt. 1

Using our Science and Motion (SAM) Balance Lab, we can pin point weight shift and weight d ...

Weight Shift Part 2 - Right Hip Line
Weight Shift Part 2 - Right Hip Line

In this second video on understanding weight shift in the golf swing, I discuss specifical ...

Weight Shift Part 3 - To the Left
Weight Shift Part 3 - To the Left

The culmination in the three part series on correct weight shift in the golf swing gets us ...

Step 1 - Weight Shift
Step 1 - Weight Shift

Step 1 of the RST 5 Step System - Mastering Weight Shift

Step 1 - Weight Shift - Drill Only
Step 1 - Weight Shift - Drill Only

Step 1 - Weight shift drills

5 Minute Golf Setup w/ Weight Shift
5 Minute Golf Setup w/ Weight Shift

Once you've mastered the setup, you can add weight shift to your program to begin developi ...

Fixing Your Weight Transfer in the Golf Swing
Fixing Your Weight Transfer in the Golf Swing

In this video, I will show you 2 of the most common faults in downswing transition by not ...

How Attack Angle Affects Compression
How Attack Angle Affects Compression

Ever notice how the PGA Tour pros take razor thin divots? That's exactly what you want. Th ...

Taking a Divot in Front of the Ball
Taking a Divot in Front of the Ball

Taking a proper divot is something that is critical to crisp and consistent iron play, but ...

Angle of Attack
Angle of Attack

Taking deep divots? Are you supposed to? What do the pros do? This video tells you how ste ...

Swing Faults When Your Stance is Too Wide
Swing Faults When Your Stance is Too Wide

One of the most common problems with the setup, here's what happens when your stance is to ...

Fix Your Release - Trail Shoulder Back
Fix Your Release - Trail Shoulder Back

This golf instruction video is for those who struggle to stop spinning their shoulders ope ...

Moving the Fulcrum & Hitting Shots off the Toe
Moving the Fulcrum & Hitting Shots off the Toe

It's one of my most important golf instruction videos ever, this will completely transform ...

How to Cure the Shanks in 3 Steps
How to Cure the Shanks in 3 Steps

The golf shank is the ugliest, nastiest, rottenest, and most frightening shot in golf. If ...

Phase 2 Follow Along
Phase 2 Follow Along

In Phase 2, you learn how to take your straight shots you learned in Phase 1 and add effor ...

Bonus Challenge 1 - Curving the Ball
Bonus Challenge 1 - Curving the Ball

Bonus Challenge 1 is about learning how to curve the ball in both directions. This challen ...

Getting Stuck on the Downswing
Getting Stuck on the Downswing

Tiger Woods used to always complain about getting "stuck" in the downswing; a position tha ...

Blocked Golf Shots | Fwd Shaft Lean
Blocked Golf Shots | Fwd Shaft Lean

If you want to compress the ball for explosive distance, then you need to be working on st ...

How to Fix the Two Way Miss in Golf
How to Fix the Two Way Miss in Golf

Struggle with the dreaded two-way miss in golf? One shot goes right and the next goes left ...

2 Finger Release Drill
2 Finger Release Drill

This awesome drill forces you to release the golf club like a tour pro! You're going to lo ...

Stop Coming Over the Top in the Golf Swing and Slicing
Stop Coming Over the Top in the Golf Swing and Slicing

You're well aware that slicing destroys your distance and your scorecard. What you may not ...

Stop Slicing and Start Releasing the Golf Club
Stop Slicing and Start Releasing the Golf Club

In this video, I’ll show you how to release your club to stop slicing and get better com ...

Square the Clubface Early
Square the Clubface Early

Learning how to properly square the club face at impact is something that most amateur gol ...

Hitting a Fade
Hitting a Fade

Learning how to hit a fade is all about learning to control the release of the golf club. ...

How to Stop Hooking the Golf Ball
How to Stop Hooking the Golf Ball

How to stop hooking the golf ball once and for all! If you struggle with hitting hook shot ...

Hitting a Draw
Hitting a Draw

Once you've mastered the RST swing method, you realize that, due to the simplicity of the ...

How to Hit the 3 Yard Draw
How to Hit the 3 Yard Draw

Learn how to hit the delicate little three yard draw and why you're struggling with gettin ...

Phase 3 Follow Along
Phase 3 Follow Along

It's in Phase 3 where you will start to really experience power AND control like never bef ...

Bonus Challenge 2 - Trajectory Control
Bonus Challenge 2 - Trajectory Control

Bonus Challenge 2 is where you become the master of your own destiny by learning how to co ...

How to Fix Golf Reverse Pivot
How to Fix Golf Reverse Pivot

A reverse pivot golf swing can cause a whole lot of bad shots, from hitting it thin to hit ...

Cure Reverse Pivot w/ the Necktie Drill
Cure Reverse Pivot w/ the Necktie Drill

Axis tilt is a necessary fundamental of the golf swing that many golfers ignore or fail to ...

5 Minutes to Master Rotation
5 Minutes to Master Rotation

This video holds the 5 step pathway to mastering rotation in the golf swing. At the end of ...

Keep the Right Arm Straight to Turn
Keep the Right Arm Straight to Turn

One of the most common faults that destroys a powerful turn in the golf swing is how the r ...

How to Fix a Flat Shoulder Turn
How to Fix a Flat Shoulder Turn

Fix a flat shoulder turn in your golf backswing with this simple and easy to do drill.

Simple Fix to Make a Full Shoulder Turn
Simple Fix to Make a Full Shoulder Turn

Struggle with making a full turn, even though your fit and flexible? Lacking the distance ...

Using the Core
Using the Core

Using a side by side face on view of Tiger Woods with a driver and a recent swing of mine ...

The Bucket Drill - Golf Shoulder Turn
The Bucket Drill - Golf Shoulder Turn

The Bucket Drill is one that provides a very simple and clear picture on how to rotate cor ...

Intro to Core Rotation in Golf Swing
Intro to Core Rotation in Golf Swing

The rotating core is the "engine" of the golf swing and the primary mover of the entire sw ...

Step 2 - Core Rotation
Step 2 - Core Rotation

Step 2- Adding body rotation

Step 2 - Core Rotation - Drill Only
Step 2 - Core Rotation - Drill Only

The drill only for Step 2 - Body Rotation

Clamshell Drill - How to Cure Early Extension
Clamshell Drill - How to Cure Early Extension

The Clamshell Drill is the key to the golf swing, no seriously! If you want to see how the ...

Eliminate Early Extension in Golf Swing
Eliminate Early Extension in Golf Swing

The REAL causes of early extension in the golf swing and the only TRUE way to fix it.

Closed Hip Slide
Closed Hip Slide

A closed hip slide is detrimental to your golf swing when learning how to shift your weigh ...

Live Lesson - How to Stop Losing Tush Line & Boost Consistency
Live Lesson - How to Stop Losing Tush Line & Boost Consistency

Struggling with a 2 way miss and lack of consistency? Watch this Live Lesson to learn a si ...

Losing the Tush Line
Losing the Tush Line

One of the most common questions I get regularly is how to stop losing the tush line, or s ...

Squat to Square in the Golf Downswing
Squat to Square in the Golf Downswing

If you watch golf on TV, it seems that you can't turn your hips fast enough or far enough ...

Squeeze the Cheeks for Consistency
Squeeze the Cheeks for Consistency

The glute muscles (your butt cheeks) are some of the most important muscles in the golf sw ...

Role of the Right Foot in Downswing
Role of the Right Foot in Downswing

Footwork is a bit of a misnomer in the golf swing but you hear it every week on TV. What i ...

Fix Your Over the Top Swing by Fixing Your Hand Path
Fix Your Over the Top Swing by Fixing Your Hand Path

Learn how to fix your over the top golf swing by simply being able to read a clock. If you ...

Stop Coming Over the Top in the Golf Swing and Slicing
Stop Coming Over the Top in the Golf Swing and Slicing

You're well aware that slicing destroys your distance and your scorecard. What you may not ...

How to Shallow Your Golf Swing Fast and Easy - Live Lesson
How to Shallow Your Golf Swing Fast and Easy - Live Lesson

Do you struggle with shallowing the club in the downswing and keep hitting a pull cut or e ...

How to Shallow Your Hands During Transition
How to Shallow Your Hands During Transition

Do your hands go straight out toward the golf ball and don't shallow out during the transi ...

Over the Top Stick Drill
Over the Top Stick Drill

Are you tired of yelling “Fore!” when you hit big, nasty slices off the tee? If so, he ...

Drill to Learn Inside Path to Golf Ball
Drill to Learn Inside Path to Golf Ball

Tired of the over the top slice? This drill and training aid will teach you how to approac ...

How to Fix Your Over the Top Move - Live Lesson
How to Fix Your Over the Top Move - Live Lesson

Do you have a steep, over the top golf swing? No matter what you try and do, you can't sto ...

9 to 3 Lag Building Drills
9 to 3 Lag Building Drills

Learn how to build lag in your golf swing with these 9 to 3 lag building drills. You'll le ...

AXIOM Lag in the Golf Swing
AXIOM Lag in the Golf Swing

Producing incredible lag has never been this easy - or fast

Increase Lag - Impact Cube Drill
Increase Lag - Impact Cube Drill

This awesome drill will teach you to not cast the club and maintain lag into impact.

Speed vs. Power in the Golf Swing
Speed vs. Power in the Golf Swing

Speed vs. Power - Which is it that you want in the golf swing? Many golfers think they nee ...

Reshaping Your Golf Swing for Lag
Reshaping Your Golf Swing for Lag

It's no secret that you want more lag in your swing. In this incredible video, I give you ...

RST Student Success - Building More Lag
RST Student Success - Building More Lag

RST student uses a simple 3 step process to shallow his golf swing and build in a ton of l ...

Intro to Fix Losing Lag and Weak Release
Intro to Fix Losing Lag and Weak Release

Find out how to work through this section on how to cure your golf casting / loss of lag o ...

Sklz Gold Flex Lag Trainer
Sklz Gold Flex Lag Trainer

This KILLER training aid will help you master a smooth, one-piece takeaway and help you bu ...

Rickie Fowler - How to preserve Lag
Rickie Fowler - How to preserve Lag

Lag is the most efficient way to increase clubhead speed. In this video, RST Instructor Ch ...

Lag and Speed Drills
Lag and Speed Drills

To get more distance in golf, you've got to get maximum speed from your arms and not let y ...

Key to Creating Lag
Key to Creating Lag

The secret key to creating lag has been an elusive thing for most amateur golfers. In this ...

Downcock Pump Lag Drill
Downcock Pump Lag Drill

Every golfer wants to know how to create more lag in their swing to hit the ball further. ...

Golf Grip's Effect on Lag
Golf Grip's Effect on Lag

As you've no doubt seen, my golf students have been picking up some serious distance throu ...

Become a Golf Swing Lag Monster: Shocking Success Story
Become a Golf Swing Lag Monster: Shocking Success Story

In this video, I’ll show you how RST student David became a "lag monster" with RST swing ...

4 Step Golf Swing Lag Builder
4 Step Golf Swing Lag Builder

The 4 steps to building INSANE lag in your golf swing - and you can do it TODAY!

Golf Left Thumb: Fix Pain, Soreness, Casting
Golf Left Thumb: Fix Pain, Soreness, Casting

Casting the club in the downswing is a sure way to destroy club head speed. Check out this ...

Right Arm in Downswing: Stop Casting
Right Arm in Downswing: Stop Casting

In this video, you’ll find out: 1) How Tiger Woods builds lag for power, 2) What to feel ...

Sequencing the Downswing - Dump Truck and Drag Racer
Sequencing the Downswing - Dump Truck and Drag Racer

Sequencing the downswing is the HARDEST overall part of the golf swing - and also the MOST ...

Bonus Challenge 3 - 9 Ball Challenge
Bonus Challenge 3 - 9 Ball Challenge

Bonus Challenge 3 is the culmination of all that you have learned. You will learn how to t ...

AXIOM Introduction
AXIOM Introduction

Have you been looking for a wait to learn a tour pro swing through a simple feeling so you ...

The AXIOM Golf Video
The AXIOM Golf Video

What if you could learn a swing just like the tour pros, increase your distance and consis ...

AXIOM and the DEAD Drill
AXIOM and the DEAD Drill

How does the AXIOM work with the DEAD Drill to build a consistent golf swing? Find out how ...

AXIOM Golf Discover Your Natural Rhythm & Tempo
AXIOM Golf Discover Your Natural Rhythm & Tempo

At last, a simple way to have perfect rhythm and tempo on every shot.

Justin Rose AXIOM Force Plate Study
Justin Rose AXIOM Force Plate Study

Want to see proof of the AXIOM in tour pros with irrefutable data? Then look no further th ...

AXIOM in Jessica Korda
AXIOM in Jessica Korda

Top ranked LPGA star Jessica Korda is a wonderful example of power and simplicity as she d ...

AXIOM in Jon Rahm
AXIOM in Jon Rahm

A perfect example of the AXIOM can be seen in tour pro and top ranked Jon Rahm. This compa ...

The Post Up Move - How to Use Lead Leg for Power and Maintain Posture
The Post Up Move - How to Use Lead Leg for Power and Maintain Posture

Have you ever wondered how the pros use their legs for power in the golf swing? This video ...

My Golf Power Secret
My Golf Power Secret

How do the pros hit the ball so darn far? I tell all inside with this power secret!

Using your wrists for speed in golf swing - 5 of 7
Using your wrists for speed in golf swing - 5 of 7

Your body uses tension as its primary mechanism to sequence the golf swing. In general, th ...

Vertical Ground Force and Double Peaks
Vertical Ground Force and Double Peaks

Should you be trying to increase vertical ground force in your swing and if so, how should ...

Throw the Club Head at the Golf Ball
Throw the Club Head at the Golf Ball

Unlock the leverage, speed and power of your golf swing by understanding the physics behin ...

Throw for More Natural Golf Swing
Throw for More Natural Golf Swing

Do you want a more natural golf swing with much more speed? Then you need to focus on how ...

Using the Wrists in the Golf Swing
Using the Wrists in the Golf Swing

The wrists play a very dynamic role in your golf swing. In this video, I'll cover the term ...

The Tour Pro Downswing Sequence Drill
The Tour Pro Downswing Sequence Drill

If you are looking for a golf swing drill that can INSTANTLY improve your ball striking po ...

Trail Arm Release - Throw the Ball Drill Pt 1
Trail Arm Release - Throw the Ball Drill Pt 1

This is THE key drill for really understanding how the downswing sequencing works. This 20 ...

Trail Arm Release - Throw the Ball Drill Pt 2
Trail Arm Release - Throw the Ball Drill Pt 2

Are you ready to maximize your club head speed at impact? If so, you need this missing pie ...

Tim Burke - Kinetic Chain
Tim Burke - Kinetic Chain

Tim Burke wins his 2nd World Long Drive Championship. In this video, I'll show you the key ...

Golf Takeaway | Overview
Golf Takeaway | Overview

An overview of the RST takeaway by RST Founder, Chuck Quinton. This video walks you throug ...

AXIOM Refine Your Takeaway
AXIOM Refine Your Takeaway

Simplify your takeaway with a simple 2" movement that moves the club 6 feet!

Learn a Perfect Golf Takeaway with Just a 2 Inch Movement!
Learn a Perfect Golf Takeaway with Just a 2 Inch Movement!

Learn how to pull in this video: Pushing vs Pulling in the Golf Swing Learn the simplest ...

Fix Inside Takeaway - 4 Square Drill
Fix Inside Takeaway - 4 Square Drill

You probably overuse your hands during the first half of the backswing, like most golfers, ...

Understanding Shoulder Blade Glide
Understanding Shoulder Blade Glide

If you have questions about exactly what the shoulder blade glide is or what it should fee ...

Golf Takeaway, 5 Minutes to the Perfect Golf Takeaway
Golf Takeaway, 5 Minutes to the Perfect Golf Takeaway

This 30 minute long golf instruction video is key to setting you on the right path for the ...

Right Wrist in the Takeaway
Right Wrist in the Takeaway

The role of right wrist in the takeaway is often misunderstood and has been the source of ...

Fix Inside Takeaway - Pushing with the Lead Side
Fix Inside Takeaway - Pushing with the Lead Side

An extremely common swing fault, so common that many golf instructors actually teach the s ...

Role of the Right Arm - Takeaway
Role of the Right Arm - Takeaway

Collapsing the right arm early is something that at least 90% of amateur golfers struggle ...

Pull for a perfect takeaway - 6 of 7
Pull for a perfect takeaway - 6 of 7

So many golfers try to perfect the takeaway in the swing and they constantly fight an uphi ...

Thorbjorn Olesen - Perfect your takeaway
Thorbjorn Olesen - Perfect your takeaway

See 2 key moves that Thorbjorn Olesen uses to build a picture perfect takeaway position ev ...

One Simple Key to Fix Your Takeaway
One Simple Key to Fix Your Takeaway

In this video, I’ll show you the one swing change that’ll fix your takeaway once and f ...

Posture's Effect on the Takeaway
Posture's Effect on the Takeaway

Posture at address is something that Tiger Woods always does right and it's something that ...

How to Fix an Inside Takeaway
How to Fix an Inside Takeaway

This one simple trick will fix an inside takeaway instantly, I guarantee it!

Fix Inside Takeaway - Shake Hands Drill
Fix Inside Takeaway - Shake Hands Drill

This is the best golf swing drill to teach you exactly how your hands should work during t ...

Golf Swing Takeaway & Drills
Golf Swing Takeaway & Drills

The golf takeaway has been described by golf instructors countless ways, so many ways that ...

Fix Inside Takeaway - Belly Button Drill
Fix Inside Takeaway - Belly Button Drill

This simple takeaway drill will give you that one piece takeaway you've been looking for o ...

Fix Inside Takeaway - Forward Press
Fix Inside Takeaway - Forward Press

If you've ever wondered whether or not you should have a forward press at setup, this golf ...

Wrist Cock vs. Wrist Hinge in the Golf Swing
Wrist Cock vs. Wrist Hinge in the Golf Swing

Do you know the difference between wrist cock and wrist hinge in the golf swing? The diffe ...

AXIOM Body Backswing
AXIOM Body Backswing

Eliminate your reverse pivot, handsy inside takeaway, your head swaying off the ball and y ...

AXIOM Refine Your Backswing
AXIOM Refine Your Backswing

Dial in your arms during the backswing to start easily shaping the ball, changing trajecto ...

Body Rotation in Golf Backswing - Chair Drill
Body Rotation in Golf Backswing - Chair Drill

If you want to power up your swing in golf, body rotation in the backswing is crucial. Unf ...

Left Shoulder Push in Backswing
Left Shoulder Push in Backswing

This "Left Shoulder Push in the Backswing" video is for you ONLY if you already pull perfe ...

5 Minutes to the Perfect Golf Backswing
5 Minutes to the Perfect Golf Backswing

Once you've mastered the takeaway using our "5 Minutes to the Perfect Takeaway" video, you ...

My Golf Backswing Secrets
My Golf Backswing Secrets

My keys to success for a perfect golf backswing - how to make the backswing simple and rep ...

How Much Shoulder Elevation
How Much Shoulder Elevation

It's time to help you decide how to power your golf swing. And it all starts with how you ...

Right Elbow Pit in Golf Backswing
Right Elbow Pit in Golf Backswing

Do you struggle, like most golfers, with a flying right elbow at the top of the backswing? ...

Understanding Arm Elevation
Understanding Arm Elevation

In this video, Ill show you what arm elevation is, why you need it, and exactly how much y ...

Fix Overswing/Across the Line - Flying Right Elbow
Fix Overswing/Across the Line - Flying Right Elbow

If you want to cure your overswing/across-the-line swing, you first need to diagnose the c ...

Live Lesson - How to Fix Your Arms by Fixing Your Legs in the Backswing
Live Lesson - How to Fix Your Arms by Fixing Your Legs in the Backswing

Do you struggle with your arms getting too deep or too disconnected during the backswing? ...

Right Arm Backswing Drill
Right Arm Backswing Drill

This is an excellent drill to train your mind to use your torso rotation to move the club ...

Should You Restrict Your Hip Turn in the Backswing?
Should You Restrict Your Hip Turn in the Backswing?

For years, you've been taught to restrict the hips in the backswing. Is that what's best f ...

Simplify Your Backswing with Shallow Arms
Simplify Your Backswing with Shallow Arms

Make this one simple change to reduce tension in your backswing to start hitting more EFFO ...

Stop Overswinging | Get Your Backswing Under Control
Stop Overswinging | Get Your Backswing Under Control

A powerful, compact backswing is essential for creating good contact with the ball. If ...

Fix Hip Overturning in Your Backswing
Fix Hip Overturning in Your Backswing

If you're letting your hips over rotate in the backswing, you're costing yourself a ton of ...

Fix Loose Lower Body w/ Laser Beam Knee Drills
Fix Loose Lower Body w/ Laser Beam Knee Drills

Lower body stability is key for power and accuracy in the golf swing. This drill will help ...

Torso, Hips Over Rotating in Backswing
Torso, Hips Over Rotating in Backswing

How much shoulder turn is too much and how much is not enough? Depends on how it's measure ...

DEAD Drill Step 1 - The Backswing
DEAD Drill Step 1 - The Backswing

Here's the first step in building your perfect golf swing using the DEAD Drill. It's criti ...

Golf Backswing, Completing the Golf Backswing
Golf Backswing, Completing the Golf Backswing

Once you've mastered the setup, weight transfer and takeaway, it's time to progress to the ...

Winter Golf Training Program - Backswing
Winter Golf Training Program - Backswing

Snow on the ground? Too cold out? No problem! NOW is the BEST time to work on your golf sw ...

Upper vs. Lower Body Rotation in Backswing
Upper vs. Lower Body Rotation in Backswing

Confused about how your upper body rotates in the backswing compared to your lower body? T ...

How to Keep Your Left Arm Straight in the Backswing
How to Keep Your Left Arm Straight in the Backswing

The secret to why you can't keep your left arm straight at the top of the golf backswing.

How to Avoid a Cupped Left Wrist at the Top
How to Avoid a Cupped Left Wrist at the Top

Learn the cause of a cupped left wrist at the top of your golf backswing and how to fix it ...

How to Fix Trail Leg Straightening in Backswing
How to Fix Trail Leg Straightening in Backswing

Is your trail leg straightening in the backswing? Do you know what kind of issues this sim ...

Do You Start Backswing w/ Hips or Shoulders?
Do You Start Backswing w/ Hips or Shoulders?

To start the golf swing with the upper or lower body, that is the question! I think Shakes ...

Checkpoints - 5 Minutes Backswing
Checkpoints - 5 Minutes Backswing

If you who have already watched the complete 5 Minutes to the Perfect Backswing video, thi ...

5 Minutes to a Perfect Backswing Pitfalls
5 Minutes to a Perfect Backswing Pitfalls

In this premium video, I am going to cover some of the common mistakes that RST students m ...

3 Functions of Right Arm in Backswing
3 Functions of Right Arm in Backswing

In this video, I'll show you the 3 functions of the right arm in creating the perfect back ...

Henrik Stenson's Backswing Moves
Henrik Stenson's Backswing Moves

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9 to 3 Golf Swing Drill

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The 9 to 3 Drill is the key to working on the Rotary Swing Tour while on the range actually hitting balls. While it is much quicker to create new movement patterns without the distraction of hitting a ball and swinging a club, at some point you must begin transitioning to the real world and this is THE drill to guide you through the transition.

  • The 9 to 3 Drill is 90% of the golf swing
  • Pull the right shoulder back to rotate upper body - hips stay anchored
  • Push right heel into ground to activate right glute
  • Make sure arms remain in front of the body
  • Next step is weight shift, using the left hip & glute
  • The left oblique pulls hands down into impact
  • You need to practice this a lot - if it gets boring, you can add a little bit of wrist hinge to gain some speed

If I had to pick one drill that was more important than any other, it's the 9 to 3 drill. What is the 9 to 3 drill? It is basically understanding how to make a perfect golf swing from here to here, parallel to the ground on your backswing or bound swing as it's going to be, and parallel to the ground on your release. If you can do that right, the rest of the golf swing is just details. It doesn't matter nearly as much as getting this right.

So let's understand, first of all, when we're saying 9 to 3, what are we talking about? Imagine a clock face, 12 o'clock would be straight up and down, 3 o'clock, 6 o'clock and 9 o'clock. So when you're making a 9 to 3 swing, you're really just taking the club back, 9 o'clock, or basically the completion of the takeaway. And then we're going to start our downswing from there, get to 6 o'clock, impact, and release. If you can do that right, everything else is going to fall into place for your other golf swing.

However, if you can't do that right, nothing else matters. This is going to get you in the right position halfway down, having lag, getting into a proper impact position and getting into a proper release. That's the most important things of golf. So to practice this, what I want you to do at first, what we do with all rotary swing tour drills is you can start by taking pieces off, because we focus on isolating the drill to its simplest common, lowest common denominator.

In this case, we can do this 9 to 3 drill with just our body first and that's how you need to start, 'cause you need to be able to get the inside stuff working correctly before you ever worry about what's happening in the periphery. If I was to say a place where people make more mistakes than any other is when they're doing the drills, they skip this stuff, just doing it with their body with no arms. You have to do these correctly, because if you don't and you just start grabbing the club, you never learn how to move your body correctly. So that's what we're going to start with.

For 9 to 3, proper setup, we're going to go halfway back, which is about a 45 degree turn with my shoulders. If you're not sure, you can hold a club across your chest, it's going to point just about 45 degrees, or a little bit out in front of the ball. My weight is going to shift to my right side. My arms are in front of my chest. I've maintained my tilt. Perfect, I've got 9 o'clock just right. I don't have to worry about my arms yet.

And then from here all I want to do is shift back from the left and post up, rotating my hips slightly open and not turning my shoulders at all will get my shoulders perfectly square to the target line. If I can do that, that's actually a 9 to 6, why don't I keep going to 3 o'clock? There's no momentum, I don't have my arms or club out here. So as far as I'm concerned, the golf swing is done. If I could stop at impact every time, why wouldn't I?

The follow through serves no purpose other than to safely decelerate the golf club. So when you're doing these drills, don't try and get to a follow through, that's absolutely, not only is it futile, but you're teaching yourself bad habits of trying to turn with your upper body. Your hips do all of the work in the downswing to get you posted up and get your shoulders back to square. You don't turn your shoulders.

So once I have that down, now I can do it with just my lead arm. Halfway back, like you've seen in other videos, I'm going to shake hands on this side. Now look where my hand is, a perfect impact position. I didn't move my hand or my shoulders. I just moved my hips. Now there's not any momentum here 'cause I don't have a golf club. So I'm just going to stop right after impact. Perfect.

Now, we're going to go back again, halfway back. I can shake hands now with both hands. Turn back to impact. Look where my hands are. I didn't try and move my hands. Where you're going to make mistakes here is trying to move your hands before you shift your weight and turn your hips. As you've seen in the RST 5 step, the movement is all from here down, to get you down into impact. So that's what's getting my hands to here.

Now, I can take a golf club, now that I'm moving my body correctly, and for some of you, this may take days, weeks, hopefully not longer than that. But to be able to get this centered movement correctly, the movement from your core, don't rush and grab this club. I'm doing it in two minutes. This might take you two weeks to be able to get to the point where you can grab a club and still do the drills correctly. Don't be in a hurry, because this is the meat of the golf swing. Get this right, the rest of it's going to be easy.

So now I'm going to take my club halfway back. My drill, if I drop the club is exactly the same as what I just started. So the club having to be out here is inconsequential. But now that it's here, I can check some checkpoints. Can I shake hands? Is the club face vertical or slightly toed in? I don't want it way back in here. It needs to be in line with my toes. We'll cover this one down the line in just a second.

Now, from here, all I'm going to do is shift my weight and post up and that's going to get me back to impact. Now if I do this with a little bit of pace, a little bit of rhythm, the club starts to turn and release naturally.

Now from down the line, let's take another look at it, my good takeaway puts the club right down my toe line, just over the balls of my feet or so, not way back in here. Turn to my body, club face is toed up. Shift to the left, impact, release. Note, as I get into the release, I'm not turning my body anymore. Remember the swing's done at this point. All I gotta do is let my forearms turn over. So we're going back, shift, release.

As you do this with a ball, the fact that the ball's there doesn't matter. We're just going back, release. Keep your head down, don't need to look out and see it. I know if I do everything correctly, ball's going to go where I want it to. So I'm not going to worry about it too much. I'm just going to worry about doing my movement and making sure they feel and look just like I did them without a club. If you can do that correctly, then we've got some great things that are going to happen in your swing.

So I want to give you now some checkpoints that you can check in your follow through on each phase of the swing here in your follow through. The biggest thing we're going to check for is that we first, are keeping our head down. Our head didn't move forward, it didn't stay way back. It's right back where it was at address. As my head's there, we're going to work our way down the list now.

My buttons on my shirt are still pointing at the ground. I don't want them open to the target, if I do that in the real swing, I'm going to hold the club face open. It's a great way to hit a slice. So instead, my chest is square and my forearms have rotated over so that the club face is rotated closed on the follow through. To do that I just let my forearm bones turn over, just like that. So my head is back, shoulders are square.

Now my hips are slightly open to the target. You can see that my hips are about 30 to 45 degrees open. My weight is stacked on my left side in neutral joint alignment. You can grab a club from roughly your first belt loop, drop it down through the center of your knee, center of your ankle, we're in a perfect impact position, safest position for your hip to be in. If that's correct, then my right heel is still on the ground and rolled slightly to the inside, to the point that the outside of my shoe picks up just a hair. If it's still really flat footed, I haven't shifted laterally enough to get my left hip in neutral. That's a great checkpoint in order to make sure that you've got a really nice, stable base and you haven't slid too far and you haven't hung back on the right side.

The last thing, and this is the big one for most golfers, is what this right knee does. You really need to key in on moving from the left side of your body, so that the spacing between your knees remains relatively constant. If you look like this, like you're clanging cymbals together, all you're really doing is really destabilizing your pelvis, changing your spine angle, hurting your back and giving yourself a really weak position to hit the ball from. Most tour pros you're going to notice these days are keeping their feet very, very planted to the ground so that they have more leverage from the ground, because it's more efficient to produce power that way.

So as you're coming through, don't drive hard off this right knee, relax the right leg. Use the left side to get into this nice impact position, and the right leg just gets pulled along. You'll see ... Imagine that you had a ball between your legs and that spacing remains constant because the ball doesn't leave your legs. If you do this, you pop the ball or balloon. So keep your knees stable, quiet and constant for a much better and more consistent contact.

So, last thing we're going to talk about is making sure that as you're doing this, you're not trying to crush the ball. At first, your whole goal is just little baby shots. This is it, if the ball goes 20, 30 yards, that's plenty. As you start getting more comfortable with this, the trick to adding more distance is not swinging harder. All you're going to do is add wrist set. So now I go from here, to there. That's a little baby shot going 25 yards.

As I go back and I add a little bit of wrist cock, the same movement, but now you can see that ball is going to go 100 yards. Just by adding wrist cock, my hands are going to go back a little further, I'm going to make a bigger turn and what you're going to find is most people start finding that doing the 9 to 3 drill correctly with wrist set hits the ball further than their normal swings. So I want you to experiment with this. Start really small. Don't be in a hurry to add wrist cock. Get the club just parallel to the ground on both sides and let's watch your golf swing improve dramatically.

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charles
When I do the 9 to 3 drill with feet together I get 90% of my distance.and better ball striking Which is better than my regular stance and full swing.??? Need some advice. Cheers
October 3, 2023
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Charles. More than likely you are utilizing the leverage and release better while not concerned with the leg motion. However, the leg motion and change of direction is what generates the lag. I would say try a little chunked version ( Perfecting Your Golf Impact 3 of 4 Video) to see if you can add proper stance width into the process.
October 3, 2023
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Paul
When I got to phase 2 I was doing it wrong so I started my add shots over by resetting at the bottom but it also reset my phase 1 so do I have to start all over again in phase 1
July 20, 2023
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paul. I will ask tech support. The reset is to "reset" it doesn't just delete one phase. You may have to enter your scores again, or start working on phase 2 components.
July 20, 2023
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Chris
Sorry if you stop turning won’t the ball go left?
March 5, 2023
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Chris. If you stop turning too soon and stay closed the club face may rotate earlier to cause left. However, you do not want to rotate the chest through the shot as that actually delays club face rotation leaving it open.
March 6, 2023
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Gary
I have a bad habit of my arms being early active in the takeaway and downswing. Can you please explain the correct sequence to eliminate the early use of the arms meaning what part of the body should I feel initiates the takeaway transition and downswing? Thank you Gary
July 27, 2022
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Take a look at My Golf Backswing Secrets to see how a little weight and core moves the club a long way before ever needing any arm motion. Shifting weight into the trail leg (glute) is a great way to trigger the motion off the ball as the obliques/abdominals start to rotate moving the arms-hands (5 Minutes to Master Rotation Video). The transition will begin with lead knee external rotation followed by lead thigh adduction while finally settling into the glute. This way you can post up fully contracting the lead glute to clear the hips and decelerate in time to transfer the energy from the body while allowing the club to release.
July 27, 2022
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Gary C
I am noticing that when I do this drill and I allow my wrists to be really relaxed and soft I get what I can only describe as a cocking motion/feel as I change directions/beginning shifting my weight in the downswing. That all feels very fluid amd I notice that even from just the 9-3 positions I get a really good “whoosh” as the club moves and it brushes the ground in a very crisp way. It feels very powerful AND relaxed but still controlled. It definitely requires a bit more timing but when I get it right it feels very effortlessly powerful. Is this correct/ideal? I notice I still get a very solid and consistent stroke if I keep my wrists slightly more firm. Doing that I don’t get the cocking motion/momentum of the club head shifting but it still feels solid, effortless, and and easier to execute from a timing perspective but definitely less powerful. Which way is better or more ideal and what if anything changes between the two as I turn the 9-3 into a full swing?
April 21, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Sounds correct to me. Feeling sequence create lag and then the club releases the energy into the strike. You can be too loose. You need enough pressure to keep some control. I would rather you stay light however because I know as the swing gets longer and faster that grip pressure will naturally start to increase.
April 21, 2021
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Gary C
So I should get comfortable with the feeling of creating that much lag while doing the 9-3 drill and try to maintain the feel of soft wrists as I lengthen the backswing while understanding that my wrist will becoming more firm as the swing length increases. If I maintain the light grip pressure throughout will that help me maintain soft wrists as well? Also, would it be helpful or detrimental to have that amount of lag in a pitching stroke that would be more similar to the length of the 9-3 swing or would it generate too much power for a shot that is likely under 100-125 yds.
April 21, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. You don't need a ton of lag in 9 to 3, but I like where your idea is headed. Pitching/wedge (under 100) doesn't need crazy amount of lag.
April 21, 2021
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Gary C
When practicing the movement first with arms only I feel like my arms seem to want to swing out away from my body more than down, especially as I do a more full backswing and downswing. Is this an indication of an improper body movement or does that not matter as much as I expect the weight of the club will help my arms drop more quickly. What should my goal for doing this without the club be? Am I going to do this without arms for 3-5k reps before adding the club or is does the club help tie everything together once I am comfortable with the lower body controlling the swing and the arms stay passive. Also, does light grip pressure play a big role here in allowing the club to follow my body without my arms controlling or driving the swing. Am I thinking about this the right way?
March 13, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Without the club the goal should feel like a mini-dead drill. Movement of the body with good shift/post. As soon as that lower half is cooking add the club. No reason to do that many reps before adding club/ball. With the arms only it will tend to shallow a lot especially with the gravity aspect. Grip pressure should be light, but not to the point it is dead. You still need enough pressure for the rotation of the club to happen correctly.
March 13, 2021
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Gary C
So if I am grooving the lower body aspect correctly with arms alone would the correct “feel” or look be primarily that my lower body is pulling my arms around. If I am getting that aspect correctly then could I add the club and get more detailed with the look and feel. Also, I find myself thinking/worrying a lot about exactly how square the club face is at impact but I also keep thinking that if I am doing everything else correctly that all should take care of itself. How do I simplify my thinking and focus here?
March 13, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Exactly. You need to simplify focus. Think about body movement and 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release. You are adding proper lead release of club and allowing the body to do sequencing. Don't over think. Get the body movements good and allow lead release. If you are trying to square up the club manually. That's where the problems will ensue.
March 13, 2021
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Ben
When Chuck says “shift” is that the same as squat toe square?
January 23, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ben. Yes it will be the same as SQ to SQ.
January 23, 2021
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Stefan
Hi Craig, I keep struggling with Left arm only to get proper contact with the ball. Out of 20 shots only 1 or 2 times, the rest is topped, a few are shanks. I watched the video Move the Fulcrum, but still have the issue. Do you have any other suggestions for training and improving? I do notice on video that I loose my tush line in the down swing, which I find hard to correct (even after practising against a wall)
January 10, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stefan. Tush line is very important in the drill. However, it sounds like you are being way too active. Make it smaller and practice some impact type shots. Go to the 9 Days to Amazing Ball Striking Section Day 1 Impact. Sounds like you are just trying to hit them too far and the body is overly aggressive.
January 10, 2021
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Stefan
I do the 9-3 drill from shaft parallel to parallel, hitting the ball maybe 10 yards rolling over the ground. I can chip left arm only, but when I try 45 degrees shoulder turn back swing , shift and postup I cannot get proper contact. On my iPhone I entered parts of the title of the video you recommended but I didn’t see it in the search results
January 10, 2021
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stefan. Just type in "Day 1" and it will pop up. Also, it sounds like the club is going too far inside going back when you get the shoulder rotation. Have you checked that?
January 11, 2021
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Kevin
Hi Craig - I’ve been working on 9-3 drills inside a lot lately. I’m having some issues and learnings with where the club bottoms out. In general though I seem to “Whif” through impact if I don’t post early enough...post up move makes the club move down as know. Sometime if I do it too early it bottoms out behind. I assume this is a push or shoulder spin problem but wanted to get your thoughts...picture attached was a wif and my right knee looks banked in but if I deactivate it too much I don’t transfer my weight and hit it fat
December 30, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. The correct post up is vital for the bottoming out. To me it looks like some tush line lost and you sped up the arm. It wasn't a free release and clearing lead hip.
December 30, 2020
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Kevin
Thanks Craig - when doing the drill left arm only I struggle with over using the left arm and not left oblique and hips. Seems like I should do this drill body only and go to both hands and club to get some better forearm rotation at impact as Chuck demonstrates
December 31, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. That can help for sure. But, also remember you don't force the arm. The club will rotate itself with proper tension in the lead wrist/forearm.
December 31, 2020
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Eric
I had a break between rounds and it was hot (Scottsdale) so I did this drill focused on hitting the ball straight down. The yard markers. I broke 80 for the first time. The next day my swing eventually lapsed back into my typical pattern. I think when you do this drill and you focus on hitting it straight 50 to 100 yard your posture adjusts to perfect posture necessary to square the club and my takeaway club head stayed in box 2 vs going inside to box 3 because subconsciously your body knows it only has a short distance to square the club. Do you think if I do this drill hundreds of times it will just get ingrained into my full swing?
December 17, 2020
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Manny (Certified RST Instructor)
Hi Eric.... In short the answer is yes. The RST recommendation is a minimum of 3000 reps. Because it appears to be such a large and unsurmountable number, it is recommended to break it up to approx. 100 reps per session. Meaning if you only do 1 session a day... try to get in 100 reps for that session. If you do 2 session per day, then still do 100 reps each session. You will see it become much easier to accomplish with multiple sessions. Make sure to monitor the movement for consistency from start of session to the end of each session. Keep it up!
December 18, 2020
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Alan
Is there a video of the 9 to 3 swing drill that I can step through frame by frame? Where do I find the swing analyzer?
December 15, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Alan. There was one available in the swing analyzer. We had to remove the program due to flash. But, we will have a replacement coming soon to have the comparison videos back.
December 15, 2020
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Alan
Thanks for the info. Looking forward to getting the new analyzer.
December 16, 2020
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Alan
Am I correct in thinking that when you first begin this drill, the club shaft is not parallel to the ground at post up like in a full swing? Then it gets closer to parallel as you add more hinging.
December 7, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Alan. It doesn't have to do with hinging, but the length of the swing. The post up will finish just before impact.
December 7, 2020
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Jeffrey
I submitted my first video by swinging full speed. This was a mistake because I'm not ready for this in my training. I do a pretty good full swing with my left hand. The swing improves when I add my right hand but stop holding it just before the imaginary ball. Any further holding on with my right hand actually slows down the swing. So, I am eager to put in a new video but how best to do that given my level. Thanks!
November 18, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jeffrey. Not necessarily the worst thing because one of our instructors may be able to see what is the big component that needs correcting in the swing. Where to put the emphasis. Are you looking on how to re-submit the review?
November 18, 2020
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Jeffrey
Thanks Craig. I know how to submit. I want to submit my next video with a full swing and my right hand holding on lightly and letting to before the bottom. I believe I'm doing that pretty well. But, the inserted video with the comments will reveal the truth. Makes sense? Thanks.
November 18, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jeffrey. So, you are saying the letting go version you will submit to reveal the truth in the comparison of leaving it on vs letting it go and not over using it. That's what I gather.
November 18, 2020
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Jeffrey
Hi Craig, Correct me if I am wrong. I think it is best to submit a video in my full-speed swing that is the best I can do and correct in terms of what I have been taught. So, if my best performance means letting go with my right hand, then I must do that until further training lets me keep my right hand on without slowing me up. Or, should I submit a video with both hands on and the teacher that reviews it will give me all the results? Which of those two approaches would be best? Thanks!
November 18, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jeffrey. Either/or. I typically like to get a baseline. What the swing looks like as is to start. And, then work through drills together knowing the tendencies, or habits of the student. If you know the trail hand is messing up the equation. Stick with letting it go until you can corral the over usage and submit the next version.
November 18, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig, further to my previous comments I am unable to complete the takeaway and have the club pointing down the line and not bend the right arm . In fact it seems to be anatomically impossible if the arms stay in front of the sternum ie the equilateral triangle formed by the base (shoulders ) and each side (arms) . I have read the takeaway section of the instruction manual carefully (particularly the "hands 1 inch apart rotation drill) where it says that the hands will be directly in line with the sternum ,both completely straight . Let me explain my thoughts - If the shoulders are 45 degrees and the arms are in line with the sternum the club will be pointing out at 45 degrees to the target line . The only way it can move further round to be in line with the toes is to corrupt the base of the triangle ie the shoulder line . The shoulder blade glide will do that and accomplish an additional few degrees while still keeping the hands in front of the sternum but not the full required 45 . With the club added a little bit more turn is possible because of the lower right hand but still not enough. The only way I can force it is to lock the right arm by activating the tricep and then I lose the soft shoulders and arms . I have done about 2000 reps in the hopes that it will start feeling comfortable to no avail. So what am I missing?? A final thought - in the full backswing when the takeaway is complete and the club is still pointing out at 45 degrees it then lifts up and into the final position.
November 15, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. It would be tough without seeing it. Remember, you have elevation in the takeaway. Think about it like the belly button drill video. The club will have to come away from the belly button to help keep in front of the chest. Don't worry so much about the club being perfectly pointed at the sternum. The hands will stay in front, but I think you are subconsciously going for the club. The little bit of forearm rotation, wrist set and elevation should make this achievable. Do you have some images, or videos to share?
November 16, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig-thanks your comments about forearm rotation , wrist set and elevation lead to another train of thought. Thinking of the backswing in two stages the first would be the one piece takeaway at the end of which the club is still at 45 deg to the sternum ( Maybe 60deg with shoulder blade glide ), the club head hooded, and the club head at its furthest position away from the body . The second stage involves continued body rotation coupled with forearm rotation ,wrist set and elevation to the final full backswing position . If this is correct then the completion of the 9 to 3 backswing would be the point at which the club head is parallel to and crosses the toe line after which it continues its journey to the top of the backswing. ie the forearm rotation ,wrist set and elevation in the 9 to 3 is actually the the start of stage two of the backswing. What do you think?
November 16, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Sorta kinda. The takeaway has a little bit of forearm rotation, wrist set and elevation. The vast majority will take place in the second half of the backswing. So, if you look at it like a smaller mix of the backswing components (minus the flexion). Then, it is one way you could look at it.
November 17, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig. Well!! Where to now? As you know I have been stuck in the 9 to3 drill for a long time without being able to get over the finish line. Its like my own personal groundhog day. Must have offended the golfing gods -so I have a solution . At our club the practice fairway is a lake into which we hit special balls. I am going to take my most prized golf possession my 15 year old driver and at the break of dawn I will seek forgiveness by hurling it with my best right arm push swing into the lake . I will then kneel and ask for forgiveness assuring the gods that I will now give up my aspirations for the major tour and settle for the seniors tour. On a more serious note I will go with the " sorta kinda " approach and concentrate on the fundamental goal of the 9to3 , getting the body movements right ( the 9to3 drill program for RSA is very useful ) and if the right arm movement is not quite right so be it. Will send a video when I am ready to move on to the full swing. Thanks for your always timely and astute comments . Cheers
November 17, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Haha. Well, a nod to the gods always helps . Don't stay stuck in 9 to 3 purgatory. You will be moving through those positions. Always know I am here to help. Happy to take a look even when you think it may not be right because I might catch something you don't.
November 17, 2020
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Ian
Hey Craig, Have just been watching the slow mo section of Chuck's 9 to 3 again and low and behold he bends his right elbow , and not just a little. Very noticeable in the DTL view. ???
November 18, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. This is very little trail arm bend. May seem much more than appears.
November 18, 2020
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Jeffrey
In another video you show the importance of sinking onto your left side in preparation to post on that leg thereby greatly accelerating the swing velocity. But in this video you say to keep the weight between our legs. I have been practicing swinging an eight iron and increasing the velocity by pushing off my left leg in rhythm. The more force I push with along with keeping my shoulders, arms and wrists loose leads to, what is to me, amazing velocity. Thoughts? Thanks.
November 6, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jeffrey. Being dynamic with weight shift and post up will increase club head speed. This is to hone in your finer skills through the hitting area. The same thing is going on here as in a full swing Just not a dramatic because we aren't worried about hitting for distance in a 9 to 3.
November 7, 2020
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Jeffrey
Thanks Craig. I will be submitting my first videos soon. What a great site you have!
November 7, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jeffrey. Glad you are enjoying the site. Many thanks! Look forward to great progress in your swing.
November 7, 2020
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Gerry
After impact as the club releases to 3 o’clock the shoulders look like they open up. Is this correct or should I be trying to keep them closed
November 5, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gerry. With the trail hand on the club the shoulders will have to open up. Just not an active motion.
November 6, 2020
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Gerry
I have been doing this right arm only (lefty). I have been struggling staying square. I find I am not shifting my weight enough and my spine angle is coming up. When I keep my spine angle down it seems to cure the issues. Mentally though I feel like my hands are too close to the ball.
November 6, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gerry. The chest will stay square during the release lead arm only. Ala - 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release. A clean post up with chest staying down will help. Also, take a look at Moving the Fulcrum Video.
November 6, 2020
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Kyaw Thet
Hi Craig, Is that OK to work on this drill (alone) everyday and try do add the rotation incrementally until I reach the full swing? This drill forces me to relax my upper body during the downswing and synchronization as well.
October 18, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kyaw. Absolutely!
October 19, 2020
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Kyaw Thet
Hi Craig, Thanks for the reply. Another issue with me is I could hit the ball with lead arm only full swing hitting the check points. But when I add the trail arm it gets steep. Seems like I will have to use my lead arm only the rest of my life Please rescue me!
October 19, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kyaw. Sadly, takes more reps and time. You will get it.
October 19, 2020
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Mark
During the downswing when the club is parallel to the ground I should already be posted up?
October 14, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mark. In the 9 to 3 you will finish just prior to impact. Posting up that quickly would get you out of sequence.
October 14, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig- Re my comment below, an alternative to letting the left arm bend a little is to allow the wrists to cock with the momentum of the club while keeping both arms straight ??? In fact this would be what happens in a full swing.
October 12, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Sorry for the late reply. When you replied to your own comment below the system registered it as answered. Yes, you allow the weight of the club with the arms straight to set the wrists.
October 14, 2020
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Ian
Sorry -right arm not left
October 12, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig, In a full swing torque is created between the shoulders and hips. Should I be deliberately restricting the hip turn to achieve this in the 9 to 3 ?
October 4, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. The 9 to 3 isn't a power shot. You will still generate some torque. But, no need to shoot for mass restriction/separation.
October 5, 2020
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Ian
Thanks Craig-We need 3000-5000 correct repetitions ; is there a time factor involved as well? As an example would 1000 reps a day for 3 days be as effective as 100 reps a day for 30 days ? If the answer is no then what is the quickest time period over which the same result can be achieved? I have used the base line of 100 reps a day because this is the minimum number that can be done for the brain to recognize that it should create a new memory path. Another question arises which is , having created a new memory path, how many reps per day are needed to reinforce this path? I ask these questions because there are many occasions when, in performing the reps I find something I missed which is small enough for a very high number of reps in a small amount of time thereby avoiding the need to repeat the whole movement again over a much longer time .
October 11, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. You can perform that many reps in 3 days. But, the effectiveness may not be the same. It takes 2-14 days for myelination to take place. The brain needs time to insulate the newer movement pattern. Also, the 1000 in one day all would have to be correct. The odds of correct repping dramatically drop the more you do. Chuck used to max out around 300 which would take a few hours, and every rep being diligently thought about/watched/performed. A typical tour pro regiment would be about 300 reps per session to start to make changes quicker.
October 11, 2020
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Ian
Thanks . Another question - In the 9 to 3 backswing, with both arms and club, my shoulders are at 45 degrees and the club is at right angles to the shoulders with both arms straight ie pointing out at 45 degrees . To maintain the 45 degree shoulder angle and get the club parallel to the toe line my arms need to come in toward the chest and this results in the right arm bending . Chuck does not bend the right arm at all. The only way I can get there is to force a very uncomfortable right shoulder blade movement . What are your thoughts?
October 11, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. The trail arm doesn't need to fold. Slight elevation, wrist set, and forearm rotation. Sounds like you are gluing the arms to the body.
October 12, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig-No I am not gluing arms to the body. Is wrist set the same as wrist cock? If not please explain.
October 12, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Yes. The lead wrist will have some cock/set (roughly 25% in TW). The trail shouldn't have any hinge.
October 12, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig- I give up ,What does TW mean? Also ,how can the left hand cock without the right hand working in tandem?
October 12, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. TW = Takeaway. The trail hand will have some set/cock. But, you don't want the trail hand to hinge back. Take a look at Right Wrist in the Takeaway and Wrist Cock vs. Wrist Hinge Videos.
October 13, 2020
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Ian
Many thanks- puzzle now complete and back to the boring reps.
October 13, 2020
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Adam
I do short 9 to 3 drills and I hit most balls to the right—so I know that my clubface is open. I’m also pretty sure that i shouldn’t be TRYING to close the clubface, so what am i doing wrong?
September 28, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Adam. Make sure the shoulders are square at impact. Also, that the face is rotating enough and you aren't yanking the club through. Take a look at Fix Your Release.
September 28, 2020
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Jonathan
Craig, I have transitioned to my winter program with a focus on improving my DD transition and release. I went back to the March BC notes and videos as well as the 9 to 3 video. I noticed in the 9 to 3 video that while Chuck shifts and rotate his weight to the left side before he gets posted up, he does not squat. First question: do you agree with that statement? Second question: Is it a correct interpretation to say that there is no squat happening because there is not enough time to accomplish in the in the abbreviated 9 to 3 swing?
September 26, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jonathan. Chuck is squatting in this video. But, the exaggeration is missing. When doing a 9 to 3 you aren't trying to hit it a mile. More a focus on quality of sequencing. It may appear that he is just shifting weight, but there is a tiny squat. Exactly. There is very minimal squat because of the shorter nature with the swing he wouldn't have much time to get out of a big squat to post in time for release.
September 28, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig. I am back to to the 9/3 drill , left arm only, concentrating on body movements with soft shoulders arms and grip and have just one question . On the downswing i feel as if the arm is being left behind . Should I keep some attachment of the left bicep with the pec. to retain the the arm /body angles. I have seen players using a headcover under the left arm to maintain contact.??
September 24, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. I wouldn't advise the head cover. However, you will still have some connection. But, you aren't trying to glue the arm to the chest/body. If you are feeling disconnected. Your arms may be running away a little going back so when you make a dynamic shift you feel you need to play catch up.
September 24, 2020
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Ian
Thanks Craig. As you Know ,because I could not master the 9-3 in particular a shank, you suggested I move onto the DEAD drill. Having done that , while I was OK with the lower body moves , it became apparent that their was still a problem with shoulders and arms being too tight so I went back to the 9-3 which I am now close to getting right (the shank is gone) . When the 9-3 left arm is OK what path do I take 1) add the right arm into the 9-3 or 2) move back to the dead drill ??
September 24, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Try adding the trail arm. See if you can complete the journey with full 9 to 3. You can always blend in some DEAD reps in-between.
September 25, 2020
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Ian
Thanks ,another question . I have a long standing problem of the club being toe down at impact ie divot is deeper at toe than heel . This ,I think, results from a deliberate uncocking downward of the left wrist ie left thumb is pointing downward as far as possible - in line with forearm . Also in backswing at 9 oclock there is no angle between the club and the forearm which are in a straight line . Compared to Chuck video where the set up angle is retained into the backswing but widened a bit at impact . I have tried holding the set up angle until 9 o,clock and as much as possible through impact . What do you think ?
September 30, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. There will have to be a little wrist cock/hinge at 9 O'Clock. But, it does sound like you are pushing hard with the lead thumb coming down. Manually uncocking the wrist. Try a few with the lead thumb off to see if it shallows out the toe down issue.
September 30, 2020
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Ian
Spot on- it is amazing how often I have read and understood the negative effect of the left thumb pushing without realizing it applied to me. Now I just have to work out how to restrain it with the right hand on the club. In addition to fully activating the last 3 fingers of the left hand I can move the thumb from being on top of the club handle to snugly up against the forefinger or do the opposite and let it sit on the right hand side of the club . Both will enable a comfortable fit between the two hands . What do you think?
September 30, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. The thumb in normal position will be just right of center. I think it should be snuggled with the index finger and just a touch to the right. Take a look at the Golf Grip How To Video and Golf Grip Checkpoint Tips Video
September 30, 2020
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Thomas
Hi Chuck new member to Rotary swing & being a predominantly a right handed golfer for 20 years im glad I found you guys been doing the reps & my golf has improved, not just physically but my understanding of the golf swing also. Question little confused in the full dead drill when your posted up your hands are in front of your right thigh parallel to the ground at 9 O,clock in a delivery position before the release, however when show this in the 9 to 3 drill once posted up your hands are in an impact position is this predominantly because of the speed of the full swing teaching us to post up early so we are not late with the release ?
September 19, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Thomas. Speed and length of swing. You will finish post up just prior to impact. This is a miniature version. You just don't have time to get rid of the same amount of lag, etc. This is focused primarily on sequence and release.
September 19, 2020
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Gary
Like the drill - question - it seems to me the arms would be faster then any other swing component - don't the arms have to fire first to avoid them being trapped behind the upper and lower body? This pulling motion with the torso and lower body seems to leave the club behind if the arms are not firing and active first correct?
September 17, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. The arms get pulled into position by the body. Think like the Frisbee Drill, or Step 3 - Add the Lead Arm.
September 17, 2020
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Gary
Craig can you please direct me to a series of videos that will help me build my swing like a 7 day series? With so many swing thoughts running through my head I have lost my game and swing. I need to get back to basics, Thanks
September 18, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. As Mikko said following the DEAD Drill is your best bet as an overall correction for the swing. Simple process to follow. You can also focus on starting with smaller impact shots and working your way back with the Perfecting Your Impact Series under the Video Menu.
September 18, 2020
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Mikko-Pekka
Hello Gary. I can relate. But everything is right here on the site. Remember what we are trying to achieve. Body driven swing with lead arm in control. So 5 step system or DEAD drill is your go to. Good luck!
September 18, 2020
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Alan
Hi, I feel as though I am getting the release wrong on the 9 to 3 drill as my left arm tends to “chicken wing!” What’s going wrong please? Alan
August 14, 2020
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Michael (Certified RST Instructor)
Hi Alan, chicken wing is almost always pushing from the right side. Focus on left hand only to start with and feel the club release. When you start to get a feel for it slowly add the right hand, but only touch it with your fingers until you stop pushing with it.
August 14, 2020
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Alan
Michael, I think I’ve been turning too flat so if my follow through is flat I think that makes chicken wing more likely? Also, as at impact the shoulders are square, isn’t that going to cause some chicken wing due the disparity in length of the arms??
August 15, 2020
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Michael (Certified RST Instructor)
If you look at the video again you can see as Chuck is saying the the shoulders are square to the target line at impact and the swing is "over". The follow through is the momentum pulling you up. If you chicken wing it's because you are pushing and not letting the club release and turn over so the club is toe up at 3 o'clock. Hope that makes sense.
August 15, 2020
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Alan
Michael, thanks for your response. I’ve also figured out that I may have been too flat with my shoulder turn which, I think, contributes to the chicken wing? Regards Alan
August 14, 2020
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Alan
Hi, in the 9to3 drill Chuck says from having his weight on the right hand side he shifts to hi left and posts up. Where is the “squat to Square” move?
August 7, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Alan. Squat to Square is in this move. It may not seem that way since it isn't exaggerated as much because you really aren't looking for lots of power.
August 7, 2020
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Alan
Craig, thanks for your response. However, I would have thought the 9to3 drill would have started with a slighty more exaggerated squat (as if you’re coming from a full backswing thus enabling a better “post up?” I feel that when I do the drill without some ( more ) squat I have difficulty posting up properly! Thank you
August 10, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Alan. You can put in more squat if you prefer. Certainly and option. Just know you will have to be more dynamic overall with the legs and it will tend to go a little further .
August 10, 2020
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Todd
One more try..its under 1 meg!
August 6, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Todd. The shoulders will have to open slightly to keep the trail hand on the club. The trail foot is a little flat which is limiting the finish in weight and how much the hips can open. Also, looks like the lead wrist is slightly cupped. Work on trying to keep the lead wrist flat/bowed through the release.
August 6, 2020
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Todd
Guys, I'm hitting the 9 to 3 consistently well which is great but am wondering about the finish checkpoints. Specifically, it looks like my shoulders may be a bit open and my hands don't look the same as Chuck's either. Nitpicking or need to fix? Thanks!
August 6, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Todd. I answered below the picture.
August 6, 2020
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Adam
Is there a point in the 9 to 3 where both arms are straight after impact? I ask because when I try to reach with the right arm (5 min to perfect release) and put my right hand back on the club at the 3 position, I have to bend the left arm in order to be able to reach the club grip with my right hand. I assume here that both arms are supposed to be straight after impact and when the club is pointing in front of the ball 2-3 feet with the shaft at about the 4:30 position—which would explain why i have to bend the left arm to get the right hand on the club at the 3:00 position. (side note: I have seen instructors say to aim for a both arms straight and club and arms pointing a few feet in front of the ball position after impact. is this a good idea, or does it tend to foster too much right arm dominance?)
July 29, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Adam. The shoulder plane will steepen just a slightly which will allow the trail hand to stay on the club without the lead arm bending. Don't worry about trying to force them straight after impact. You might introduce trail arm dominance. Take a look at Cure Chicken Wing Video. Nevertheless, you should be able to get that trail arm on there without a big bend in the lead.
July 29, 2020
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MILES
Wow! Your program is amazing! I‘ve made it up to the 9-3 drill and have been on it for a couple weeks now. I’m hitting the 9-3 with wrist cock better than I’ve ever hit in my life. Pure and crisp contact! I can even fade and draw after watching those videos too. HOWEVER! Lol... now that I’m trying to do a full swing I’m chunking it, I can’t hit it pure to save my life. It feels awkward as hell. I think after doing the 9-3 for a while I got used to not doing the squat to square, could that be? Any suggestions? Should I start all over with the earlier videos? Thanks anyway! I can beat my friends with the 9-3! Hahaha
July 21, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Miles. Great to hear the good news. You move through sq to sq in the 9 to 3, but it sounds like you aren finishing your weight and posting. Take a look at Play the Best Golf of Your Life in 6 Weeks 2,3,4 of 6 Videos. Working though those will help you graduate and the fat shot.
July 22, 2020
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MILES
Thanks!
July 22, 2020
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Adam
Is there a good video for 9 to 3 - Lead Arm Only? Chuck doesn’t talk about it in this one.
July 17, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Adam. 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release will be the closest. I will do some digging for you.
July 18, 2020
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Adam
In the video, Chuck says that you want your belt buckle square at impact (6:30). Shouldn’t you be at the Post Up position with your hips closed to the target line?
July 15, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Adam. At 6:30 Chuck says his chest is square. At impact chest will be square and hips open 35-45 degrees.
July 15, 2020
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George
When doing the 9 to 3 drill lead arm only. My club bottoms out closer to my lead foot, so I’m topping or hitting thin shots. Is this normal? What can I do to fix?
July 11, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello George. Take a look at Taking a Divot and Moving the Fulcrum Video. Let's make sure the lead shoulder is in the proper spot/combined with correct impact position.
July 12, 2020
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Dennis
I like this drill. Particularly with some wrist cock. Is there any reason why you simply can’t use this swing to pitch from say 40-90yards using the exact same 9to3 swing, but just changing clubs from SW through to 8iron ? I like the idea of perfecting one half swing and just changing clubs,
July 6, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Dennis. You certainly can use this for that type shot.
July 6, 2020
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Kevin
Im 49 years old and started golf when I was 6 or 7. I haven't played in 15 years and am sure glad I found this website. Ive always done this drill in the past but called it toe up-toe down. When doing this drill it always felt awkward because i would really have to manipulate my hands to ensure proper position. Now doing the drill this way is so easy it blows my mind. By just shifting weight on the downswing and doing nothing with shoulders and hands just makes it so easy to get the finish position every time without even trying. So simple, thank you!
July 5, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. Love it Kevin. Exactly. Move the body correctly and keep is simple.
July 6, 2020
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Bruce
Hi Craig - I love this drill and use the 9 to 3 with wrist cock both on the range and on the course. As Chuck says on the video, I can hit the ball further with this swing than my full swing...... Could you please help me understand how the 9 to 3 transitions into the full swing - specifically how best to find the “9” position In the downswing. When I just go halfway back with weight on my trail side it’s easy to move through. When I do a full swing I can’t get back to 9 and so can’t achieve the same result. Any suggestion on 9 to 3 progression? Thanks
June 25, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Bruce. I don't have many videos talking about progression, but basically you just start to rotate more. When graduating from 9 to 3 start making just a little bit longer swings. Don't go to the full monty. Lead arm parallel to the ground, full monty.. etc. Just rotate more. Some players have success while making it longer using the 30-60-90 drill which is about 3/4 swing. Take a look at Perfecting Your Golf Impact 4 of 4 Video.
June 25, 2020
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Gary
After working on the 9 to 3 drill, what is/are the next drill(s) to practice. Thank you for comments and suggestions.
June 24, 2020
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Michael (Certified RST Instructor)
Hi Gary. You want to progress the 9 to 3 drill up a full swing. When you master the 9 to 3 drill you just make you backswing gradually longer until reach full swing.
June 25, 2020
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Kevin
face on view for comment below
June 19, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. You are over using the trail arm and missing release extension. Hands powered it through the strike. Start with Perfecting Your Golf Impact 1 of 4 Video. Then, work from there through the series into a cleaner 9 to 3.
June 20, 2020
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Kevin
I have started to incorporate 9-3 drills into my pre round warm-up on the range. I videoed a few today and noticed a few things 1) my knees are clanging together in the finish indicating a right leg push put I looked rolled off the foot well 2) my misses were fat or a hook but the majority I hit well. Curious if you see anything else in these pictures
June 19, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kevin. You can see a little bit of right hip push and some tush line loss. The foot is rolled in well just a hair off balance.
June 20, 2020
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Barry
At 6.40 on the video , chuck says that he just lets his forearms turnover . For me , they are not turning over ‘automagically” and unless I consciously think about and deliberately help roll my left forearm over it does not happen and I shank off the hosel. Is it OK to be deliberate on the left forearm roll as opposed to being passive ? Thanks.
June 7, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Barry. You may need to train the motion first (5 Minutes to the Perfect Release). From here you will start to gain awareness for letting the club release passively. More than likely you are inhibiting proper motion of the lead forearm/hand.
June 8, 2020
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Barry
Got it. Thanks.
June 8, 2020
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Nick
Just for clarification, in the 9 to 3, should the shoulders stay pretty square as the club goes from impact (6 o’clock) to 3 o’clock? My shoulders seem to open to about 45 degrees at the 3 o’clock position.
May 22, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nick. The shoulders will have to open with the trail hand on the club. The goal is to let them get pulled through by the release. The feeling will be square, but they will open.
May 22, 2020
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Jonathan
Hi Couple things. Been working on dead drill, such a game changer! So happy! What I'm working on now is mainly my release. My misses have been the toe rotating closed right at impact leading to a shank. I cannot seem to get toe up on the backswing to toe up on the follow thru (9-3 drill). If I keep my wrist flat, the toe rotates more towards face down to the ground at the follow thru point. How far should the left arm swing (left arm only) in front of the body during the follow through? When should the left wrist cup during the follow through? Also I can typically maintain my lag with short swings, but the longer the swing, the more I just throw the angle. I can get to a perfect transition with club at 90 or more, but then the club just releases at that point. I still get good distance but my hunch is that I'm letting the angle go to square the clubface. So how necessary is it to have 90 degree angle (club parallel to ground) at the post up move in a real swing? And how low should the hands be at post up? Thanks and keep up the great work!
May 7, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jonathan. The lead wrist won't start to cup until after the 3 O'Clock position. Post up in the drill the club needs to be parallel to the ground in front of the trail thigh. At full speed post up will be complete just before the strike because of how quickly the downswing moves. Reading your notes you are either pushing with the trail hand, or adding shoulder spin. Take a look at Moving the Fulcrum, Fix Your Release, and Play the Best Golf of Your Life in 6 Weeks Video 2 of 6 to help. Thanks for the compliments of our site!
May 8, 2020
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Jonathan
Hi Craig. Those videos worked wonders. Thanks! I was definitely able to achieve more lag and get my release point forward. Check out the photo below. Not quite parallel to the ground, but my release point (impact position) is already right at the middle to the end of my front thigh with quite a bit of shaft lean. Is that okay? Also a couple other things. 1. Is it okay to just play golf with the right arm release right before impact? I had a right elbow injury (I'm a right handed golfer) and lost a bit of extension in my arm. So it can be quite difficult to keep it on the club during the release as I tend to do early release and/or create a lot of secondary axis tilt possibly due to the limitation. 2. Even with a fairly square clubface at impact, my ball curves pretty drastically to the left. I talked to my instructor about it, and I have a fairly strong grip (club feels nice and light held at 90 trail thigh just with my left hand). I tried to weaken it for it go straighter with success, but he told me he preferred the stronger grip for me. So what is the trick to having a strong grip and getting the ball to go straight? Rotating face less through impact? Aiming more to right field during the release? Again, thanks for tips and of course this site is legit!
May 9, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jonathan. Yes, much improved. The lead hand should be around the lead thigh pleat at the moment of truth. Absolutely can let it go with the trail. You may miss out on a little force transfer, but will gain more consistency. We prefer a slightly stronger than neutral grip, but shouldn't have issues with curvature from there. The main issue is letting Newton due the release. You are more than likely still steering the face. You have to make the release passive. I would start with small 9 to 3 Lead Arm only's to get consistent release/flight. Gradually make the swing longer and add the trail hand. See when it changes and correct it.
May 9, 2020
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John
Hello RST, hope everyone is healthy. I don’t want to make this more complicated than actually is.(Keep It simple stupid) but need some help., should I have the feeling the weight shift and post up move happen a split second before I release the golf club? Weight shift , post up, release club from trail hip ? Or should it fee like one fluid motion ?
April 7, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello John. Thank you. All the nest to you and yours as well. Feel is subjective, but it will feel like it happens a split second before release. It should feel fluid after repping the sequence.
April 7, 2020
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Jesse
For me, this is still the best drill on the site when the wheels come off. I just need to have the patience to do this over and over again. Thanks again, Chuck.
March 20, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jesse. I agree! Most welcome.
March 20, 2020
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Aaron
Hello Craig. In regards to the Tush Line issue, I have reviewed older and current videos of my swing and find that I don't have that issue. Apparently, this was a bad swing (in regards to the Tush line ) that I submitted to you. If I clean up the other issues do you want me to submit another swing review or rep out the two drills and then submit the 9 to 3 drill adding the trail arm? Thank you as always for your time.
March 11, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Aaron. I trust you to rep out the drills and then add the trail. I have seen your move enough and know you are diligent about practicing the correct components.
March 12, 2020
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Matt
Doing the 9 to 3 drill does squat to square come into play I know it’s a stupid question Just want to make sure in the video it doesn’t look like it does.
March 10, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Matt. In may not be as apparent, but yes the squat to square is in play.
March 11, 2020
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Aaron
Hi Craig, Thank you for the quick turnaround on the swing review today. I just need to clarify one thing that I need to work on in the 9 to 3 drill and that is in the transition to the downswing where you say you would like me to soften the wrist to get a little more lag. Are you asking to have a little more downcock in the wrist when starting the downswing? As always, thank you for your time.
March 6, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Aaron. Yes, just a little more downcock during the transition. Shy away from pushing the lag.
March 7, 2020
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Chuck
When you are adding wrist cock are you doing so actively, or is the momentum of the club on the backswing doing it for you passively?
March 4, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Chuck. Weight of the club. Wrist Cock vs. Wrist Hinge in the Golf Swing Video
March 4, 2020
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Matt
When doing the drill and you post up should you pause a bit before releasing the club ?
March 2, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Matt. If you are shifting a posting correctly the body will decelerate on its own to allow the club to accelerate independently of the body.
March 2, 2020
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Charles
Hello Craig, When I first started doing this drill I was pulling the ball. I did start hitting it straight after a while but was not sure if it was because I was shifting my weight better or when I tried to put the butt end of the club to the ball in the downswing as I was thinking my front wrist was breaking down. Any thoughts on the potential cause? Thanks.
February 29, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Charles. The typical pull in this shot comes from shoulder spinning, or flipping rather than releasing. Maybe be a combination of both after reading your notes.
March 2, 2020
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Richard
When Chuck says add wrist cock does he mean thumb up or right wrist back or a combination of the two.And in the full swing are the fore arms rotating prior to the front of the right thigh position and the snap just an accelerated continuation of that rotation?
February 18, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Richard. More wrist cock, then wrist hinge. Setting up and not backwards on the trail wrist. The club face will always be rotating, but the forearms don't really rotate much until the trail thigh and beyond.
February 18, 2020
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Sean
Hi, In doing this drill must I also look to keep my right arm straight as possible?
February 8, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Sean. Yes, because you need to make sure you turn.
February 9, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig- re Bob's comment below and your response are you saying that on a chip shot or even as long as 9to3 a full weight transfer to 80 pct back and 90 pct forward is required together with a shoulder turn of 45 deg?
January 28, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. On a chip shot you don't want to be shifting a lot of weight. The legs will be awake, but you don't need a massive load transfer back and through. For a 9 to 3 you need to transfer the weight. You can achieve a 45 degree rotation without it, but it will make the turn much easier to produce.
January 29, 2020
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Ian
So the 9 to 3 is a learning exercise only with the amount of turn and weight shift being only what is needed for every shot except a full shot ?
January 29, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. The same requirements are in a 9 to 3 as in a full shot. The only difference is a full shot will have 90 degrees of shoulder turn and completion of the arm motion to the top.
January 29, 2020
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Bob
I meant to say 7 to 5 for short chips!
January 9, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Bob. I read this comment before answering the last one. .
January 10, 2020
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Bob
Can the 9 to 3 drill be used for chipping? Shorter chips would be maybe 7 to 1 on clock face?
January 9, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Bob. Certainly, but making some simple setup adjustments will help keep the club nice and shallow through the strike. Golf Chipping Tips Video.
January 10, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig, Have just sent videos and note that left shoulder still appears to be too high . Completely confused as when I watch in the mirror it looks OK. For your info. camera is waste high. Sequencing must still be all wrong as it was in the last video sent. Has it got something to do with only having one hand on the club. I feel like I am experiencing ground hog day on steroids . Please read this before you look at videos
January 9, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. I will take a look this evening and get you fixed up.
January 9, 2020
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Ian
Hi Craig, Thanks for your video review comments. I was aware that the head will move back a tad in the backswing but not a bit forward in the downswing . In fact I have been working hard to make sure that it did not happen. Will correct it with 9 to 3 . If that fails will move to fuller swing.
January 9, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Copy that. Just overcooked the gluing a touch .
January 9, 2020
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Raymond
9 - 3 drill It took three buckets of balls to figured out why I was shangking the ball while performing the 9-3 drill. For those who struggled like me, here is how I figured it out. The problem for me was I keep trying to square up the club face by trying to meet the ball at exactly 6 o'clock position. When I stop doing that and square up the club face at 5 o'clock position and let the momentum take the club forward, the club automatically squared up at 6 o'clock position as the shoulders squared up at moment of impact. I hope that make sense to some of you. LOL
January 3, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Raymond. Thanks for the post. Our members love hearing war stories. Sounds like you started letting the club release itself.
January 3, 2020
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Paolo
Hi Team, Do you have to have Ulnar Deviation (sometime called Adduction) in the wrist to release it? Ulnar deviation seems the most intuitive way to release the lag built in the wrist. But you never mention it so it must be wrong. Are we supposed to release the club by letting it to supinate the lead forearm with no ulnar deviation (hammer move) of the wrist? In all the videos when Chuck breaks down the swing and releases the club - from the post up static position - you cannot reach that clubhead speed, without actively using forearm muscles to supinate the lead arm and adduct the lead wrist. Thanks
January 2, 2020
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paolo. Yes, there will definitely be ulnar deviation. Take a look at Using the Wrists in the Golf Swing Video for full description of wrist motion.
January 2, 2020
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Rich
Hi Craig: I think I had another "Ah Ha" moment. I have never been a divot taker. Could never figure it out. However, after looking at the last couple of comments between you and Ian and then going and looking at Chuck in this video I think I understand something and would ask you if I am correctly understanding it. It is the importance of keeping the lead shoulder down as the weight shift transition move is made. That keeps the shoulder plane correct with the hip shift and weight transfer and it sets you in a position so that as you perform the post up with leg pressure and lead oblique pull and then the release, then the club motion will create ball then a divot contact in front of the ball. I have tried the move with intentionally letting my shoulder come up and then with doing it correctly and it seems to make a great difference. Can you comment if I am correct and that the proper shoulder position is a great contributor to taking a divot after ball contact? Thanks.
December 13, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Rich. 100%. If the lead shoulder does not stay down during weight and transition it will change not only (plane/lag), but the bottom of your swing arc. Keeping the lead shoulder (fulcrum) down is vital for proper impact and ground contact.
December 13, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig, Another thought to add to the post below. In the last video sent for review it is noticeable that, on completion of the hip and shoulder turn, the downswing commences with the hips moving forward and the arm moving further up which seems to indicate that the arms and shoulders are getting out of sync .
October 28, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Yes, the arms could be out of sync with your body motion. You had to work hard on the tendency to get armsy on the way back and pushy in the downswing. Hyper focus on weight and lead shoulder down to start the transition and the post up to bring the arms to the release.
October 28, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig, Thank you, I Have found a video that explains the transitional change of direction before the backswing has been completed,as being felt in the core and not the arms. Bingo problem solved , fingers crossed.
October 28, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig. Re my last video you pointed out that my left shoulder was too high when the left hand was opposite the right thigh and referred me to the DEAD drills 9( great stuff ). Now many weeks later I still have not managed to fix it. Looking at Chuck in both the 9 to 3 swing and the dead drill it is noticeable that in his first move down the angle of his shoulders does not change ,his head moves a couple of inches ahead of the position at set up and secondary axis tilt is delayed until post up . It seems that this move , beyond the set up , allows him to delay the bottoming out and moving up of the left shoulder. ( He then goes into secondary AT and drops the head back to its original set up position. ) Before I start heading down this path Could you please advise Thanks
October 27, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. It's all about maintaining the proper shoulder plane. Focus really hard on DEAD Drill 2 keeping the lead shoulder down.
October 28, 2019
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Gary
Questions - 1. on the takeaway and backswing how many degrees are the hips and shoulders turned ? 2. At impact how many degrees are the hips open and are the shoulders square as they were at setup?
October 22, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Takeaway should be 45 degrees (shoulders) and hips as little as possible. It may feel like you don't rotate them, but you will have a few degrees. Backswing 90 degrees of shoulders and 35-45 degrees of hips unless you need a few more degrees of hip rotation to facilitate a full turn. Yes, shoulders are square at impact and hips 35-45 degrees open.
October 22, 2019
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Gary
Craig thank you - to confirm the hips remain in the same position on the takeaway until the shoulders have reached 45 degrees? and that completes the takeaway ? at this point the lower body engages led by the turn of the hips which takes the shoulders back to 90 degrees? which is now the backswing ? once the shoulders reach 90 degrees on the backswing the backswing is now complete ? and the transition begins correct? Now do the hips initiate the transition then the upper body engages ? My challenge is the upper body including my arms gets out of sequence and initiates the downswing - I know that the hips and legs lead the downswing but I can't get myself to begin the downswing with the legs and hips. I have tried and tried to no avail to execute this properly with little or no luck - any suggestions how to correct this - sequence - is there a drill that I can do to get this correct and also a swing thought while playing ?
October 23, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Yes, relatively the hips will be in same position until completion of takeaway. Weight, 45 degrees of turn, and minimal hip rotation. The shoulders will continue to pull which starts to rotate the hips. Yes, backswing complete. Followed by transition. Legs start the downswing and upper half gets pulled into position. I would focus on doing the body solely first and then stack components. Either Step 2 - Core Rotation, or DEAD Drill 1-3. Then, build from there.
October 23, 2019
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Gary
Craig thank you - to review - 45 degree turn of the shoulders on the takeaway with the hips stationery at the completion of the takeaway - then the hips turn to 45 degrees naturally turning the shoulders to 90 degrees on the completion of the back swing? Does the reverse sequence happen on the down swing to impact? i.e. hips lead from 45 degrees then the shoulders follow down to impact?
October 24, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Yes to all. I think you are seeing the proper picture now.
October 24, 2019
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Martin
With the 9-3 drill I shank the ball a lot. Are there any common mistakes that make that happen?
October 10, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Martin. Too inside to out, tush line, and lack of release. Take a look at the How to Cure the Shanks Video.
October 10, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig. Would I be right in understanding that the torque built up during the backswing and transition to the downswing is maintained until the left hand is opposite the thigh after which it releases . If this is so then it would follow that the arms are never active in the downswing , being pulled down by the body and then released -
October 3, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Exactly. The core and legs do all the work to bring the shoulders and arms into impact.
October 3, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig. I now am beginning to understand the concept of keeping the left shoulder down in the squat to square. I have been increasing the axis tilt during the move . Is it correct to say that the AT should not change? If so it creates another problem ie. stopping the head moving forward which is contributing to the increase in AT. Please clear this up for me. Thanks for another A1 review -
September 26, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Thanks for the compliments. As you transition your goal is the keep the lead shoulder down and on a proper shoulder plane. Axis tilt (secondary axis tilt) will increase as your weight moves lateral in the downswing. Not a ton though. You don't want to push with the hips, or try to drop the trail shoulder down as you make the transition from backswing to downswing.
September 26, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig. Since sending the videos I have done some self analysis and adjusted the timing of the backswing turn and elevation to match Chuck. Also doing some swings with ball I am still shanking . There is clearly something wrong in the downswing both in the videos sent and after adjusting the backswing. Hope you see this before video analysis.
September 25, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. I will check it today.
September 25, 2019
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Paul
When doing 9 to 3 drill should it feel like you are compressing the ball .When I increase wrist cock to an L to L position and add a little speed I am hitting my 7 iron about 90 yds but on full swing only about 120 and trajectory seems to high I am 71 but feel like I should be hitting 150 on a full swing. Does this seem right
September 25, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paul. Yes, you should compress the 9 to 3. The goal isn't massive distance though and proper mechanics is the goal. Sounds like you are getting way too wristy and scooping it in the real swing.
September 25, 2019
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Paul
Thanks Craig I was thinking knuckles down logo down drill might help with that what do you think
September 25, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paul. Yes, and also remember the wrist set in the swing is gradual. Not quick set going back.
September 25, 2019
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Paul
Hi Chris thanks for the review I will go to work on getting that left shoulder stacked up????
September 16, 2019
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Sounds like a plan Paul!
September 16, 2019
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Paul
I notice when actually hitting balls with 9 to3 that when I add a little more speed that my left arm will fold on follow thru me thinks this is to much right arm is that the case
September 14, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paul. Sounds correct to me. Take a look at Cure Chicken Wing in the Golf Swing Video.
September 14, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig-Great review. I love the program you have outlined . Just one question , is it possible that the hooded club in the backswing is a grip problem?
September 10, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Thanks. It could be the culprit. I didn't see in the review the grip being overly strong. I think it is more of a tension aspect.
September 11, 2019
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Paul
Hey Chris thank you for the swing review I am totally excited about you being my instructor as I have watched many of your videos.I was working on your best golf in 6 weeks but dropped it as our season in Saskatchewan is pretty well toast and plan on doing it early spring.In the very near future I will send in a full swing so you can customize my training program.Thanks again and have a great day
September 10, 2019
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Sounds great Paul and excited to be working with you as well.
September 12, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig. Thanks for comments on swing . You mention a video for me to watch and where to start it but no video came up on the screen , only my swing. Could you please elaborate. Cheers Ian
September 7, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Look at the comments section of the review. You should see a YouTube Link. Copy and paste that into your browser. I looked at your review and it is there. If not let me know.
September 7, 2019
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Ian
Thanks Craig - I have decided to keep the changes as simple as possible and not to complicate it by adding the right arm . So I will send another video in the not too distant future to ensure I have got it right -then complete my 5000 moves and check with you again . Cheers Ian.
September 7, 2019
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Rayan
Sorry, but the site won’t let me send the photo.
August 21, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Rayan. Make sure it follows the requirements listed below. Sounds like it is either the wrong file type, or too large. Try a screenshot of the image as it usually is lesser megabytes.
August 21, 2019
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Rayan
I took a screenshot but the site still won’t let me submit it.
August 22, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Rayan. I am sorry you are having issues. It must be file size/type. Because, I just tested the feature below and it went through without error.
August 22, 2019
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Rayan
Here is the screenshot
August 22, 2019
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Rayan
Hi Craig, I’m right handed. I’ve been doing a lot of the 9 to 3 drills (over 3,000) and started looking at my divots, which are now finally “IN FRONT” of the ball and shallow. What I’ve noticed is that the divots are turning slightly left. Is this what should happen? Chuck says the club face is always turning, so I think this is correct and should happen. Just need conformation. I’ve included a photo of the alignment, divot direction, and I used a ball just above joy swing path to see where my swing bottoms out. Thanks, Rayan
August 21, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Rayan. I would be happy to take a look, but I don't see a photo attached. The divot should be pretty straight and not much of one. If you see a little turn towards the end you may be okay. But, being how it should be shallow and not too large. When you start seeing a lot of turn left something is usually amiss.
August 21, 2019
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Jamie
Hi there when doing this drill with no club I am getting pain in my lower back is there something that would cause this that I'm doing wrong
August 1, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jamie. Make sure you are shifting properly first. Then, check to make sure you aren't adding trail side push giving you excessive secondary axis tilt crunching the lumbar spine. Take a look at How to Fix Golf Back Pain Video for the most common causes.
August 1, 2019
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William (Certified RST Instructor)
chuck talks about the left knee starting, or being the first thing to move during the downswing. Is this something that you should be consciously thinking of when your learning this move i.e. moving the left knee into neutral to start the downsing, or is the left knee moving first a result of another body movement. Any suggestions on the thought or feel you have to start the downswing.
July 22, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello William. Take a look at Fixing Your Weight Transfer and Perfecting Lower Body Stability. The lead knee external rotation should happen first. Most players already make this move. However, if you tend to hip slide you might have deleted the motion. Which you would need to consciously add back in to facilitate proper weight shift.
July 22, 2019
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Fred
Good Morning. As I am progressing through my reps and starting to hit balls.....I typically do my drills at the range. I live in New York and our hitting surface is basically top soil with a few grass patches. Would you recommend hitting off of turf, use a tee in the grass or keep hitting it on this current surface?
July 18, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Fred. If you are releasing the 9 to 3 properly the divot should be pretty shallow. Any surface should be fine. However, in the beginning when players are going in and out of new movement patterns trying to change the old move. Sometimes they may experience fat, or thin shots. I recommend starting with a tee and graduating to some turf.
July 18, 2019
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Mark
For some reason I started out well in this drill but after a while I started to skull the ball consistently. It was very frustrating and I think it had to do with trying to turn my arms over. Any suggestions?
July 11, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mark. Thin and skull would be attributed to lack of post up, or bailing out with the lead shoulder. Take a look at You Hit the Golf Ball with Your Legs and Moving the Fulcrum Video.
July 11, 2019
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Ardell
Regarding the lateral movement back to 3 o clock. The post up move is more of a slight shift with a combination of rotation at the same time? I was just doing the downswing squat thus consequently my club would bottom out way behind the ball. Please clarify. Thank you in advance for answering my question.
July 1, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ardell. For a 9 to 3 it will seem almost simultaneous. But, you need to shift and post in order to clear the hips so that the club may properly release. As you move laterally the hips will rotate and being to post.
July 2, 2019
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Cliff
Really like this drill. Has helped me with developing the correct feel and understanding. The only thing that I’m still a little unclear about is when post-up occurs. Should this happen just before impact? At impact? How critical is that timing? I’d like to understand this more so that when I do these drills I can be confident that I am executing this portion correctly. Also, are there other videos you would recommend for this? Thanks for what you do!
June 27, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Cliff. You Hit the Golf Ball with Your Legs, Step 2 - Core Rotation, and Perfecting Lower Body Stability will delve more into the posting topic. Nevertheless, shift-post-release. After you shift you will begin to post. Posting will be completed just before impact. If you post after impact it will affect your power and how you release the club.
June 27, 2019
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Alan
Hi Craig - seems I have been missing a check point! On the downswing, when the club is approaching parallel to the ground (9 o clock) should the club be in line with the toe line? Thanks
June 26, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Alan. Yes, it will roughly be inline there. However, remember that will be a bi-product. You aren't trying to force club positions.
June 26, 2019
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Joseph
Hi Craig! When I try to do this drill, is it okay to have wrist cock during my takeaway? If I just do the toe up position and go through impact without the initial wrist cock, I feel like I don't have lag to release. My forearms don't have the momentum to rotate without this release as I post up, so my dominant hand forces my forehands to rotate as it hits the ball and for me to achieve the proper toe up position at 3 O'clock.
June 24, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Joseph. To reach the 3 O'Clock position the wrist should be set about 25%. You don't want to start with the wrists, but there will be some setting gradually to that position.
June 25, 2019
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M. (Certified RST Instructor)
Hi Graig, Marcel here. Making my 9to 3 drill reps I am not sure what my upper arms need to do. WhenI try to keep arms and shoulders relaxed I notce a little distance between upper arms and torso and then at impact there is no consistency in head location. If I do reps with upper arms connected with torso I get much more consisten impact location but arms and shoulders feel tensed. Question is what is correct? Thanks for helping!
June 24, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Marcel. Sounds like you get caught in-between releasing with the body vs the arms. I want you to take a look at Arms vs. Body Release and then work on Perfecting Your Golf Impact Position 1 of 4 Video. Let me know if solely practicing from impact with release of the forearms helps.
June 24, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig, Thanks for the great review. Regarding my left arm coming a bit too far across this is one of the bugs that I referred to. I will not obsess about it, as you say when the right arm is added it will help to fix the problem. Your pump action comments have had a light bulb effect regarding the release . I was unwittingly including a deliberate action to use my left arm rather than just release. The pieces are for the first time starting to come together and I see a light at the end of the tunnel ( hopefully not a train.) Cheers Ian
June 20, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Awesome. Glad you liked the review. I definitely see a light at the end of the tunnel for you. Looking good !
June 20, 2019
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Jack
Craig, do you know where I can find the referenced video below concerning left wrist position in the downswing? I have been looking for it but cannot find it. Thank you.
June 16, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jack. There are a few videos that talk about the bowing of the lead wrist in the downswing. Take a look at Squaring the Club Face Early, Knuckles Down, Fix Your Release and Using the Wrists in the Golf Swing. If those aren't the exact ones you are looking for let me know. I will provide some more suggestions.
June 16, 2019
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Jack
Thanks Craig. That is exactly what I was looking for. You are awesome.
June 16, 2019
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Jack
So many great videos. I think I have watched most of them. I struggle with the flip and have a difficult time getting my left wrist bowed at impact. There was a video I watched that discussed getting the left wrist bowed slightly earlier (probably 9 oclockish) in the downswing that I think would help me but I can’t remember where it was. Any help with this or just a more detailed video on left wrist positioning in the downswing?
June 15, 2019
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Mikko-Pekka
Hello Jack. Use search bar with keywords like "left wrist" etc. Keep it as broad as possible. There are plenty of videos regarding flip. You just have to do the drills!
June 15, 2019
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John
The left oblique pulls hands down into impact.., unwind shoulders ?., my question is that does the club follow the same path back to the ball as it did during the takeaway , shoulder turn.. I hope this made sense This comment section is the such a great feature of this site
June 14, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello John. Weight shift and using the core will pull the arms into impact. The path will be very similar back and through.
June 14, 2019
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Bill
I noticed on club face position in backswing as “toe up” or open. I’ve been working on keeping club face slightly closed matching spine angle. Wonder if this is ok. It means less forearm rotation on follow thru in the release.
June 13, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Bill. Take a look at the Shake Hands Drill, Forearm Rotation in Golf Swing for Power, and Pencil Tee Drill. If you are not allowing the face to rotate back and through you are fighting the design of the golf club. Agreed. It will tend to make you release more body centric. Take a look at Arms Release vs Body Release to see why this is hurting your speed.
June 14, 2019
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Steven
For the past 10 days I've been focusing my efforts on set up and weight shift with a few (10 to 20) 9 to 3 drills at the end of each session. Tonite while drilling 9 to 3, I noticed a slight lead arm chicken wing at 3 o clock. I feel comfortable w the drill, have a lil tempo and rhythm, and feel like I'm posting up, with shoulders relatively square at impact and hips at about 40 degrees. Is the resulting improper release position of my lead arm a function of not doing the 9 to 3 drill correctly or possibly because I haven't drilled for proper release yet?
June 3, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Steven. It sounds like improper release. Take a look at Cure Chicken Wing to understand where it comes from and 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release to start fixing.
June 4, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig, Thanks for great review. Just a few things . Pictures of Chuck did not show but I get the message . Using the V1 home system a line down from my left ear is only about 1 inch inside my left heel . I use a Sony action cam so wide angle may be causing distortion and the camera position was on a line touching left heel . Is it correct to position the camera with the centre line on the ball position?
June 3, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Sorry about the pictures with Chuck, but happy you understand the goal. Take a look at Proper Camera Setup for Recording Swings Video. A little more towards center.
June 3, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig. In doing the axis tilt at set up, when making sure that my hips are staying square , I feel as if the bottom of my ribcage is bumping against my right hip bone and in fact cannot go any further. The amount of tilt does not look excessive but I have never heard this feeling mentioned so I ask the question before I do too many reps Cheers
June 7, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. It sounds like excessive axis tilt. But, I have had students say they feel more awareness in the trail oblique when adding tilt.
June 7, 2019
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Steven
My takeaway position is improving, weight shift improvement marginal, but even in this abbreviated swing I sense my right hand and arm dominating my thru swing. Practicing full swings tonite, weight shift and strike is good w shorter irons, however w 4h and longer I'm getting stuck and hands have no where to go so hitting blocked shots to the right. Grrrr....
May 30, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Steven. When graduating to a longer club (full swing) the trail arm takes over? I would practice Step 5 - Add the Trailing Arm. You need to make swings where you gradually add it back and let it go coming down until you can leave it on without it taking over. If you are meaning longer club in the 9 to 3 Drill. Going beyond a 5 Iron would be really tough.
May 31, 2019
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William
When doing the 9 to 3 drill (and video recording it) I have two issues that I cannot seem to fix without breaking something else. 1) at impact, my head has moved noticeably backward from its address position. 2) My right knee kicks in (I am a 5 handicap hip spinner!) toward my left leg. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can practice to fix these? My left leg and hip look to be in neutral joint alignment. Thank you, Bill
May 29, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello William. I would take a look at the Level Shoulders Drill and Fixing the Two Way Miss. It sounds like you still have some push and adding excessive secondary axis tilt.
May 29, 2019
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Steven
Thanks Craig. I will. I also sense I over rotate my hips during takeaway. Best vid and drill to help?
May 28, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Steven. Problems w/ Overturning Your Hips in the Backswing and Load Right Leg Video. You're most welcome.
May 29, 2019
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Steven
4 Square vid was helpful. Probably being too analytical, however I was initially adding a lil wrist cock w my left hand. If I do it w my right, I sense it's easier to keep my right arm straight. Thanks.
May 28, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Steven. Take a look at Wrist Cock vs. Wrist Hinge in the Golf Swing and Right Wrist in the Takeaway Video. The trail wrist should be pretty quiet in the take back.
May 28, 2019
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Steven
HI Craig: My initial post was re my confusion. If I'm only rotating my torso 45 degrees and keeping my hands and arms in front of my chest, how does the club get parallel to the target/toe line @ 9 oclock without left arm push or some manipulation?
May 28, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Steven. There has to be some elevation in the takeaway. It's the only way to keep it in front. Little wrist set, elevation and forearm rotation. Not much compared to the body movement. Take a look at the 4 Square Drill and Pencil Tee Drill.
May 28, 2019
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Mathew
What is the best way to go about working through the system? Should I start with the 9 to 3 swing working through the 5 step system and then progress to the full swing or start working the full swing and then hit balls with the 9 to 3? I am struggling a little with this. I can do the core rotation moves pretty much at full speed in a full swing action but once I add my arms I struggle.
May 23, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mathew. There are many ways depending on your pre-existing movement patterns. However, I would work through the 5 Step System and once you can perform those moves. When adding the ball back start with the 9 to 3 and build the length back up into your full move.
May 23, 2019
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Mathew
Okay thanks Craig!
May 23, 2019
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Ib
Hi Craig. I do not understand your reply to me today in the swing review. Could you clarify? After the rep what do you want to see? Kind regards Ib
May 1, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello IB. A 9 to 3 Drill, but do it lead arm only. Don't add the trail hand. Similar to the 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release, but with good body motion.
May 1, 2019
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Anthony
Hi, Chuck talks about the shoulders being square, but when he gets to 3 o'clock, they seem to be open about 45 degrees matching the hips as the club moves down the toe line. Am I interpreting this correctly?
May 1, 2019
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Anthony
Here is a pic
May 1, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Anthony. Shoulders will be square at impact. They will have to be open slightly in the follow through. The hips will still be ahead of the shoulders slightly in the position described above.
May 1, 2019
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Gary
Do the wrists cock naturally as the club goes back or is one to initiate it ?
March 28, 2019
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Dean
Hey Gary, the wrist cock aka wrist set has to be initiated on the takeaway to the tune of about 25%. The body rotation alone won't get the job done unfortunately. You also have to have some elevation/rotation as well. It can be a challenge. "RST Pencil Drill" video by Craig has all the details you need on that.
March 28, 2019
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Gary
Does the tempo of the swing remain the same throughout the swing even when attempting to hit it further? I believe he said that distance comes from the wrist cock while the tempo remains the same? Is this correct?
March 28, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. The tempo may increase a little bit, but when you want to hit it further. Make a longer swing and allow for a little more wrist/lag. You don't need a massive jump in body speed.
March 28, 2019
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Gary
great video - question - are you consciously rotating your forearms on the follow through ? and does one rotate the forearms throughout the swing start to finish?
March 28, 2019
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Dean
Hey Gary, There is some forearm rotation in the takeaway with enough to allow for a little face rotation so you can get the toe up. The bulk of it is from the end of the takeaway on up to the top of the backswing. So the forearms are always rotating throughout the swing back and through. The release/throw of the club is passive and all the force from it will allow the design of the club to rotate over. The forearms will naturally have that crossover look on the followthrough without any conscious effort and just go for a ride.
March 28, 2019
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Richard
Is allowing the club to pull us to the finish after impact something we should cultivate in the full swing ?
March 26, 2019
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Dean
Hey Richard, in the full swing the momentum from the passive release of the golf club will naturally pull you into a finished position. So it's not something that you need to try to do or some kind of additional skill.
March 26, 2019
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Eldridge
I notice that a few a balls are off to the right. What am i doing to cause the ball go to the right?
March 24, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Eldridge. I would check to make sure the shoulders are square at impact and not open (Keep the Rear Shoulder Back and Arms vs Body Release Video). Also, make sure the club is releasing (Vijay Release and Fix Your Release Video).
March 24, 2019
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Matt
I want to know should you stretch before working on the drill cause when I get down my lower back is sore I tence my glutes and lower half as I have seen before
March 19, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello User63830. I would advise some stretch, or warm up. You are using and recruiting muscles you haven't engaged before in the swing. They need to be ready to work and fire.
March 19, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig. I am going through a Japanese beer phase at the moment. Sapporo is a beer produced in a small snow resort town and Asahi is the most popular of the Japanese beers. It comes in light 3.5 in the white box and normal in a black box. If you like beer give it a go. On to the swing my plan is to do the second swing in slow motion in chunks and then gradually meld them and speed up . When I can do it in one fluid motion at normal speed the rep clock will start. In the latest video I was careful to do the AT properly ending up with a 50/50 distribution .
March 19, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Definitely a beer and scotch type of guy . Will give them a go. 50/50 is a good thing I the chunking plan to get over the 9 to 3 hump should pay dividends.
March 19, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig- Thanks for your excellent video analysis however I can't figure out how to make the hips less static. You pointed out the relatively small amount of forward movement however arriving at the correct end position and said that I should start the back swing with a slight lateral move. This results in the head moving back as well as the hip which I understand is wrong . So I am confused. On looking at the video it seems that there is insufficient axis tilt at set up and the stance is a bit narrow ( particularly given the "knock knee" shape of my right leg?) Could it be that one or both of these factors are contributing . Another thought is the possibility of adding a bit more lateral shift to the forward swing. So where to from here?
March 16, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. The head will have to move slightly. Too much is definitely a problem. I think the knock knee may be more of a culprit. Lessen the knock knee lock/feel with the trail leg. Slightly wider with the trail leg stance. See if those adjustments give you a little more freedom.
March 17, 2019
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Giap
If my doing the 9 to 3 drill and still get stuck and the ball goes to the right. What am I doing wrong?
March 14, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Giap. Sounds like your arms are going deep back (4 Square Drill) and you need to release the club/not trail hand push (Arms vs Body Release and Vijay Release Drill).
March 15, 2019
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jay
Craig, A little frustrated that it's taken me 2 weeks to perform the 9 to 3 drill correctly. This includes practicing between 3 - 5 hours daily. Is this normal? I usually post my responses to swing reviews but I thought this might be the method RS is looking for.
February 28, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jay. I responded in your review. Completely normal when trying to create correct and new movement patterns. Patience is the number one key when going through a swing change.
February 28, 2019
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Kevin
Is it normal to hit say 40 good shots and then start to revert back to bad habits? Is that just fatigue? Is there a limit on how many balls should be hit at a given time?
February 20, 2019
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Kevin, check out the "How to Practice Golf" this will give you some great insight on what is ailing you. Type it into the search function if you're having a tough time finding it in the menus.
February 20, 2019
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Michael
In a small 9-3 drill my clubhead traces the swing plane (line drawn from hosel through elbow). As i take the club back further and add wrist hinge, I find my club to often be above the plane in the downswing, with the outside-in path causing a pull or even shank off the hosel. What should I be drilling to square up my path?
February 9, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Michael. Take a look at Keep the Rear Shoulder Back and How to Fix Plane and Path. Sounds like some shoulder activity too soon.
February 9, 2019
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Gary
What club do you suggest to do this drill with ? and is the feeling from the top that the left knee leads the downswing to post and impact? I understand that the lower body leads but when I do the drill with my arms crossed on my chest I feel the left knee leading and the hips and upper body follow. Is that correct sequence and feeling?
January 31, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. A short iron is fine (8,7,6). The lead knee will externally rotate slightly to start the transition followed by pull from the inner lead thigh adductors.
January 31, 2019
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Gary
Craig the left knee feels as if it leads the downswing the the hips then the shoulders and arms - my challenge is doing this sequence at speed - any tips on transitioning from the 60 yd 9-3 to a full swing ?
January 31, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Take a look at Fixing Your Weight Transfer for more discussion on the lead knee. Do it slowly. Just because the length changed to 9 to 3. Focus on a slower pace in the initial and until you are comfortable. Gradually add some speed.
January 31, 2019
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Gary
Thank you should the club head regardless of speed always feel like it lagging throughout the downswing until after impact and release?
January 31, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. The feeling may be similar to lagging until impact, but you have to make sure you release the club. Throw the Club Head At the Golf Ball Video.
January 31, 2019
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gordon
The 9-to-3 drill is really very useful. Recently I have therefore expanded my pre-round warm-up routine to include reduced swings, e.g. shaft horizontal, arms horizontal (9-to-3), as well as full swings. Puzzlingly the distances I hit with the reduced swings for driver, 3w, 3h and 5i, are not much shorter than with the full swing, - typically 80%. The full swing seems to add height but little extra length. It also increases scatter! With wedges modifying swing circumference is a recommended way of dialing in distance. Do you have any idea why this does not seem to apply to my longer clubs? Thanks in advance, Gordon.
January 25, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gordon. Any idea why the modified swing doesn't apply to longer clubs? Or, bigger increase in distance when going to a longer swing vs 9 to 3?
January 25, 2019
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gordon
Hi Craig, actually I was hoping you could give me a hint as to why the increased swing circumference wasn‘t bringing more distance. In the video there is a comment that the distance achieved with 9-to-3 is quite appreciable. I should add that I am not explicitly looking for more distance. Taking my age and hcp into account my driver, 3w, 3h and 5i distances are ok. I am puzzled as to why the full swing is not longer than the reduced circumference swings. I do have an hypothesis (!), could it be lack of weight dhift on the fuller downswing? Perhaps my swing is still too dependent on the upper body for the power source? Regards, Gordon.
January 25, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gordon. I think you hit the nail on the head. When performing the 9 to 3 Drill. More than likely you are working in sequence and more efficient. The longer the swing the worse your efficiency gets. Especially, if you start down with the upper half too soon you will lose lag and tend to bend steeper with your swing plane. I would film both swings and look for the difference in transition from the ground up.
January 25, 2019
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John
Hey Craig, A quick question...When I do this drill lead arm only it seems like my left elbow and arm really come away from my body and my left arm extends out to a straight line when it reaches 3 o’clock. But, when I do it with two arms my left arm feels more connected to by body and not as straight out at the 3 o’clock position. Is this normal when I am doing this lead arm only vs. with two arms? Also, I know I’m supposed to start doing this drill with the lead arm only at first but out of curiosity when you do it with two arms I know you’re supposed to let the club release naturally into the the 3 o’clock position without trying, but should I feel more of the back of the left hand rotating over so my palm points behind me or should it feel more like the right hand is turning over? Thanks, John
January 24, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello John. That is normal the difference between 1 and 2 arms. The shoulders will have to rotate more with both on the club negating the straight down the line feel. More like the back of the lead hand is facing behind you and the trail hand is following the motion.
January 25, 2019
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Ian
Hi Craig-I have been struggling to fix the tush line since our last review. So I did an analysis of Chuck's slow motion video and found that he was straightening the body up a little and moving his head back about 2 inches during the downswing. At the same time his left arm was stretching out from centrifugal force and flattening the angle between his arm and the cub shaft. Also his left heel remained firmly on the ground just rolling to the inside a little. This all makes perfect sense. (As an aside ,if he did not move back the tush line would not be maintained and the left heel would come up.) So it would seem that keeping the heel down would go a long way to solving the problem . I could be barking up the wrong tree so please let me have your comments. Cheers Ian
January 14, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Not barking at the wrong tree at all. The footwork/stability is crucial for tush line. The movement of the head isn't a conscious decision. More of a byproduct. However, it does sound like you have a grasp of how the heel down would affect you ability to keep tush line.
January 14, 2019
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jesse
Hi Chris - long time member here. I decided to work on this 9 - 3 to really get the slow movement sequence on the downswing. I’m loving it. I’m noticing that when I get to 3, my chest is almost always open to the target. I guess I naturally do this out of fear I’ll hit the ball fat and due to not feeling momentum from the 9 position. Is the idea here for me just to go extremely slow? Thanks for all you do.
January 11, 2019
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jesse
Craig! Apologies. Craig..not Chris.
January 11, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jesse. No worries. I apologize for the late return. When you answered, or replied to your own post. The system believed the question was answered and deleted it from the system. Nevertheless, open with lead arm only, or both hands on the club?
January 14, 2019
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jesse
Both arms. I’m probably being more concerned with seeing if the ball is flying straight. Both arms and chest finish towards the target. Im thinking my instincts believe I’ll hit the ground first which I have done some.
January 15, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jesse. With both arms on the club it will be very hard to keep the chest square. It will be slightly open by the 3 O Clock positioning. Make sure though it isn't open because you are spinning the shoulders. Keep the trail shoulder back and release. Arms vs Body Release and Keep Rear Shoulder Back Video.
January 15, 2019
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jesse
Perfect. Thank you.
January 15, 2019
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Nolan
Can I submit a video of my 9-3 drill to make sure I’m doing it right or will that be extra cost to have done?
January 7, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nolan. You can submit anything you would like us to check. 9 to 3 can certainly be done. Depending on your membership you will either have to purchase a review, or use one of your grandfathered in reviews. Customer Service can help you if you are unsure.
January 7, 2019
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Chris
On takeaway when doing this drill my right need tends to be straight and stay straight until I start downswing- I see Chuck maintains knee bend in his right leg - is this what I should be going for?
January 6, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Chris. Yes, ideally maintaining knee bend from address to the top. Take a look at the Laser Beam Knee Drills and Problems Over Turning Your Hips.
January 7, 2019
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Ian
Happy new year - hope you have a good one. Just one question when you are back in work mode. In the video notes Chuck says" Pull the shoulder back to rotate body - hips stay anchored" Is the body coiled tight at top of backswing ? Cheers Ian
January 1, 2019
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Happy New Year as well! The body will be coiled and you should feel some stretch. The engagement will be more in the core and glutes. The shoulders should be fairly relaxed. Take a look at Proper Muscle Activation Video.
January 2, 2019
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Paul
Craig not sure what you mean by early extension
December 27, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paul. Early Extension is losing the tush line. When the hips start driving towards the ball and losing space. Typically, making you come out of posture. Take a look at Eliminating Early Extension and Losing the Tush Line.
December 28, 2018
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Paul
When I do the 9 to 3 drill hitting balls I will start shanking it and cant figure out how to get out of it any idea what to look at
December 27, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paul. I would check for Early Extension, or Lack of Release. Take a look at How the Cure the Shanks in 3 Steps Video.
December 27, 2018
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Arthur
I've watched the 9-3 video so many times, and done so many reps, and don't submit a video until I think it's right, so it's a bit demoralizing that you just refer me back to the video without a comment. If I knew what was wrong just from watching Chuck's video and mine I wouldn't need your help.
December 24, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Arthur. I hope all is well on this Christmas Morning. The reason I referred the 9 to 3 Video in your last review was for you to see the progression Chuck goes through while trying to achieve the best move. Specifically doing the drill without a club. When we looked at the swing there were a few items that needed clean up. Setup (stance), maintaining axis tilt, tush line, and posting up. My goal with giving you the 9 to 3 video and the other supplemental videos that focused on your particular issues is to get the body movement perfect. Let's get rid of the club and arms until we can move the body in proper sequence. Deleting the variables of the arms/club. Hyper focus on cleaning up the engine of the swing. This way we can work through the drill in sequence and get over the errors together.
December 25, 2018
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Billy
Just started the 9 to 3 and more often than not with lead arm the club head impacts the ground in front of the ball. I feel that it is weight shift.
December 24, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Billy. Make sure you are getting enough weight shift and posting up before impact. Lack of weight and post can easily cause the fat shot. Also, tension in the hand and not allowing for a free release. The rotation of the club will help keep the strike shallower.
December 24, 2018
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Billy
Craig. Thanks- I will concentrate on weight transfer and posting. Same as a full swing - I think I got lazy with the abbreviated swing.
December 25, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Billy. You're welcome. Keep us posted.
December 25, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. Thanks for a great review-on the money as usual. The "hit with the legs video" now gets me focussed . A couple of video practice sessions has shown me that I can do the move but I will now need to put in the reps so its back to work.
December 19, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Thanks. Much appreciated. Exactly! You hit the golf ball with your legs.
December 20, 2018
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Alex
Watching my swing during a club fitting today I noticed my shoulders are level at impact. I'm not sure if that's a cause or result of a swing flaw. I think there should be some right to left shoulder tilt at impact but I have not heard Chuck mention how to create it. Does it have something to do with the posting up on the left side and pulling around with the left hip? Thank you
December 14, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Alex. The trail shoulder will be slightly below the lead shoulder at impact due to the increase in secondary axis tilt. This tilt is a byproduct of proper weight shift and not over using the shoulders initially in the downswing. Focus on keep your rear shoulder back and shifting weight. Keep the Rear Shoulder Back Video and How to Fix Plane and Path.
December 15, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. In one of Chuck's roadshow videos he said that any lifting of the trail foot indicated that some pushing from the trail side was occurring . My question is that having loaded up the trail glute how is it possible not to get an automatic unloading resulting in some push . Also what is the purpose of loading up the trail glute if it plays no role in the downswing ?
December 3, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Because the goal is to keep the trail glute engaged and pull the weight over with the lead thigh inner adductors. Pulling the weight and keeping the trail glute engaged will help you shy away from early extension. You don't have to push yourself from right to left. The trail glute plays a big role. Loading for better separation going back, more muscle fiber recruitment, hip stabilization and trail side braking.
December 3, 2018
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James
When you do a full swing I I try to feel my left hip shift towards target before I have completed my backswing. I am only talking micro seconds here. What I would like to know in this 9 to 3 drill should I be doing the same before I have reached completion of my backswing, to shift towards my lead side before my club has reached transition point around 9 o'clock?
November 24, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. When you start trying to make the 9 to 3 more dynamic with a little more pop behind the ball. You will start shifting slightly before completing the backswing. You can see some of these dynamics in the 9 to 3 Lag Building Drills.
November 25, 2018
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van
Chuck mentions that the forearms turn over after impact to the 3 oclock position. Is this a conscious movement or happen automatically? In my case I do not automatically get them anywhere close to the golf club pointing at 3 oclock position. Am I /better yet what am I doing or not doing? Better yet is there a video which discusses this in more detail?
November 10, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Van. You need to train the move first. 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release, Fix Your Release, and Arms vs. Body Release. Once, you understand the concept of allowing the club to release. It will become more automatic with your post up move and not be a conscious steering of the club.
November 10, 2018
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Gary
Great web site - suggestion - when replying to comments may I suggest that when you refer to a specific video that the we are able to simply click on the link to access the video vs searching for it? Thank you Gary
November 10, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Thank you for the compliments. We appreciate your support as well. Thanks for the suggestion. There are some security protocols right now which is why we try not to post the link.
November 10, 2018
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Gary
ok but why is it available on the articles written ?
November 10, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. I am unsure. I handle more of the instructional support and videos. Customer Service will know more of the technical details of the site. I apologize for not knowing more about the topic. Also, I try to make sure that the videos I list in the forum for member responses. While be the exact title you can use to populate the video in the search box.
November 10, 2018
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Gabriel
Hi Craig, I have been working on the 9 to 3 drill. I am struggling to make good contact with the ball. Most are being hit thin and/or rolling right badly. Any advice? Thanks
November 8, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gabriel. Check to make sure you aren't sliding the lead hip with a lack of post up. Also, make sure you allow the club to release keeping the shoulders quiet. Sounds like some sliding of the hip and shoulder spin.
November 8, 2018
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Want to clarify something about the back swing after the takeaway....after completing the takeaway, does the right hip or weight transfer any further back or is the rest of the backswing really only performed by elevation and flexion and hips stop moving till the backswing is complete?
October 27, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Chris. The weight shift should be completed in the takeaway. From the takeaway to the top you will continue to rotate, elevate and add flexion. During this process your hip may rotate some to help facilitate a full shoulder turn.
October 28, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. Thanks for a great review. One more question in my mind-I notice in Chuck's slow motion video that he is starting the downswing before just before completion of the backswing and I am not. should I incorporate this? As a suggestion it would be very helpful if the slow motion video was included in the model swings for self analysis comparison.
October 6, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. The 9 to 3 Slow Motion Model is located in the Self Analysis. If you can't access it. Please let Customer Service know as you should have it available to use. The downswing does start slightly before completing the backswing. Feel free to incorporate the move as it help with lag. But, I didn't see much of a sequence issue in your move (starting the upper half before the lower half in the downswing). The main issue is the lower half push and tush line. Clearing the lead hip out of the way properly. Thanks for the compliments.
October 7, 2018
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Richard
I continue to turn through and after impact,out habits are not easily reversed.Is there a drill that can assist me in breaking the habit.
September 26, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Richard. Check out the Side Bend Video and Play the Best Golf of Your Life in 6 Weeks Section Video 3 and 4 of 6.
September 26, 2018
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Rosie
This is a question about the rotary connect training aid. I couldn't find a designed space to ask this and since Chuck references using the device during the 9 to 3 drill... ok, for obvious reasons, can women easily use this device correctly, on the upper body?
September 8, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Rosie. Most women should be able to use the device properly. Well endowed women may have to make a slight adjustment. The main issue I have seen is more due to the cuff size being a little bit to large for the arms.
September 8, 2018
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John
The 9 to 3 video says hips are open 30 degrees at impact. The 5 minutes to a perfect downswing video says the hips are square to the target line at impact. Which is it?
September 3, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello John. At impact the hips will be 30-45 degrees open at impact. After you shift you need to make sure the hips square (Closed Hip Slide Video).
September 3, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. In one of my video reviews you mentioned that ,as a result of the weight shift in the backswing , the head will move back a little . Assuming that the hip move is correct how many inches of head movement can be expected? Chuck does not seem to have any backward move? I find it very difficult to get 80% of my weight onto the back leg without 2 to 3 inches of head move. Can you clear this up for me please.
August 31, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. 2 to 3 inches would be a little over done. We are only talking about a 1/2 inch to maybe and inch. You are starting 50/50 balance and working towards 80/20 into the trail side. It shouldn't take much movement to shift the weight. You may be trying to feel 100% which is over doing the movement.
August 31, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. Thanks for latest review. Will continue to do reps to make sure it is embedded. Will do this as part of full 9 to 3 . Regarding the downswing my right heel comes off the ground a bit at impact and more at 3 o'clock. There seems to be conflicting advice in different videos . Should the heel stay on the ground with the foot rolling to the inside a hair.
August 27, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. At impact and to the 3 O'Clock position the trail foot will be rolled slightly onto the instep. Not, the heel lifted/pushed off the ground. No problem for the review. Happy to do it.
August 27, 2018
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MARK
Hi RST instructors, I am struggling with a conceptual issue related to the 9 to 3 drill, but also to the rotary method and golf swing, in general. I simply cannot quiet my right side, arms shoulders etc.. I am right handed and my tendency is to finish the 9 to 3 with my shoulders open. Chuck says” once you get in proper position on the right side, just leave it there and let the left side pull you through “ Please help me understand this! How to make my right side, arms, wrists, shoulders etc completely passive and swing a golf club? Thanks!
August 16, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mark. Take a look at Keep the Rear Shoulder Back Video for further help. Are you able to perform the proper move with body only? No arms/clubs. You must train the body first and then continue to stack pieces. If you tend to still drive the trail shoulder there that's where you need to start. This video above, or Step 2 - Core Rotation. I would suggest a Swing Review if you can't so one of our instructors can see where the issue is coming from.
August 16, 2018
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MARK
Thanks Craig, sounds good. I am trying to get the 9 to 3 right, because I am due to send in a swing review. So I definitely will send one in soon. Will also review the video(s) you have suggested. But, how do I think about my right side? Surely not 100% passive? Can you give me a better feel or thought about it?
August 16, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mark. Ideally, I want you to think 100% passive if you overdo it. The rear shoulder back video will help with thought/feel. But, the main thing is you need to train feeling your lower half pulling you into impact as the upper half stays in reserve, or the feeling of your back to the target as long as possible. That's why in the initial going you need to ditch the club/arms.
August 16, 2018
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MARK
okay totally get it Craig, thank you so much. This type of feedback is what I really needed! Back to work!
August 16, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig, You mentioned in the last video that it was natural to stand taller when doing the drills left arm only. In the backswing my hand tends to move about 3 inches further away from the body . I think this is due to the progressive elevation of the arms coupled with a taller stance and no right hand to prevent it flying out a bit with the momentum. Having said that, the position at 9 o'clock is correct. What are you thoughts?
August 13, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. I wouldn't want to confirm without seeing it. But, as long as you aren't pushing the wrist out (How to Fix an Inside Takeaway) and then correcting it. You are probably okay. It may appear they are moving more out than actuality.
August 13, 2018
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James
Worked on this for nearly two hours yesterday and in the video Chuck refers to hitting these baby shots of 20 to 30 yards. Not sure what club Chuck is using here, possibly an 8 iron but I was using a 9 iron and what I found if I tried to swing 9 to 3 really easy with reasonable swing speed my strike was really crisp and solid, maybe more 10 to 2 swing and the going about 45 yards. I did not try to hit it powerfully but did it with an easy swing and it felt really good as ball sailed effortlessly straight down the line and felt so good to strike it really clean. If I tried to play the shot really slow I found I was catching the ground a tad early and found it difficult to get proper momentum, yes it only went about 25 yards. Doing it really slow inhibited me from a proper lateral weight shift left. I did video it and could see that it was not that far off. Think Chuck must tremendous control to hit those baby shots just over 25 to 30 yards with that club!
August 8, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. The better you perform the movements. The more you will experience effortless power. Efficient mechanics for proper energy transfer. It does take good control to hit the baby shots. But, that's why we start small to get all the pieces moving properly. Better focus on the mechanics and allowing the ball to get in the way.
August 8, 2018
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James
Also I I was taking very shallow divots, almost just brushing the grass with the divot mark occurring after the ball.
August 8, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. Great. Superintendents love RST'ers. Shallow divots.
August 8, 2018
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Stephen
Sometimes when doing this drill my ball flight is a push slice
August 7, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. Sounds like your chest is spinning open, or you aren't releasing properly. Take a step back and see if you can correct it from impact. Perfecting Your Golf Impact Position 1 of 4.
August 7, 2018
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Stephen
At 6:17 in the 9 to 3 video, I see my problem. My chest is opening. Chuck says, "My buttons on my shirt are still pointing at the ground. I don't want them open to the target, if I do that in the real swing, I'm going to hold the club face open. It's a great way to hit a slice." I'm having trouble understanding the connection with the chest opening and the slice. It it simply that the club can't release if the chest is open at impact?
August 8, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. Exactly. Shoulder spinning will drag the club head into impact and delay the release. Take a look at Arms vs Body Release and Left Hand Release Drill.
August 8, 2018
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Stephen
I'm a right- handed golfer. During this drill, after impact, my right heel is lifting off the ground. Any suggestions?
July 28, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. Take a look at Eliminating Early Extension and Role of the Right Foot.
July 28, 2018
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James
The capture of Chuck's finish position from DL looking back to him, Chuck states that the shoulders are square and the hips open aproximately 40*. However, visually it looks like the shoulders are slightly open when the club reaches the 3 o'clock position. Is this an optical illusion or are the shoulders slightly open at that point?
July 21, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. The shoulders are square and hips 35-45 degrees open at impact. At the 3 O'Clock with the trail hand on the club. The shoulders will be slightly open and steeper "Side Bend in the Golf Downswing" Video.
July 21, 2018
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James
Sorry Craig the problem was my PC. After I rebooted it all was well. Good video that side bend and it is really explains a few things.
July 21, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. Great. Glad it played and cleared a few things up for you.
July 22, 2018
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James
Aah yes I fully understand that. So basically, when the trail hand is added and the club reaches 3 o'clock it is the trail hand is added it is that is causing the right shoulder to be pulled down, thus giving the effect that the shoulders are more open than they really are. Thanks for the explaination.
July 21, 2018
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James
I went to that link you suggested https://rotaryswing.com/golf-instruction-videos/full-swing-basics/downswing/golf-side-bend and for some reason that video does not play but the others do. Is there a problem with the video?
July 21, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. How much of your weight is on the trail foot at the completion of the backswing ie 9 oclock
July 20, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. 80% should be on the trail side.
July 20, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig- Thanks for quick reply. Just to be sure I understand that at the completion of a FULL backswing 80% of the weight is on the trail leg . If this is correct then all of the weight shift takes place in the first back swing move ie half way at 9 oclock ?
July 20, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Yes, full backswing completion 80% trail leg. Exactly. The weight transfer takes place in the takeaway.
July 20, 2018
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gordon
The 9-to-3 drill is very useful when tuning up the swing before starting a round. It really is surprising how far the ball goes. I would therefore like to use a slightly longer version, 10-to-4 or 3/4 swing during a round when, e.g. accuracy trumps length or a wind is blowing. My attempts, however, often go awry, pushed right. To counteract/correct this should I preload the lead side in set up? or perhaps take the club back slightly hooded? In formulating this question it now occurs to me that the swing I am attempting may be of the „penetrating wedge“ type, but I think the latter is said to be not suitable for clubs longer than 8 iron. Is that correct? and if so what is the difference between the penetrating wedge swing and 3/4 swing I am trying to develop for accuracy rather than length? Thanks in advance for your guidance, Gordon.
July 14, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gordon. Yes, I wouldn't go much above the wedges for the penetrating technique. If trying to use a longer 9 to 3, or 3/4 swing no reason to change the parameters to a penetrating wedge. I would practice Day 2: Hitting It Low in the 9 Days to Amazing Ball Striking Section. Learn how to ultimately control flight by lead wrist position and not having to alter the setup and ball position too much. That way you can get the flight, accuracy and still not forgo a lot of distance.
July 14, 2018
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gordon
Thaks Craig, I will persevere with developing lead wrist functionality. There are, however, situations where a reduced swing with a longer club is a better option than full swing with a short club. These e.g. 3/4 shots have a tendency to push for me. Should I preload lead side or perhaps take the club back more hooded to counteract this? Best regards, Gordon.
July 14, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gordon. The 3/4 shot really shouldn't be pushing on you. My guess would be you rush the transition when the swing is shorter. I would work on a smoother sit into the lead side and make sure the shoulders are really quiet to allow the club to release. I would rather see your move in a swing review versus changing too many parameters to make it work. Slightly closed may help with your issue though with a quieter release. Even though not my ideal scenario.
July 14, 2018
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gordon
Many thanks for your advice Craig. I think you are correct in your analysis, starting the transition with my upper body is one of the swing problems inherent in my DNA! Best regards, Gordon.
July 15, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. Further to the videos sent earlier today in comparing my move to Chuck several additional differences show. 1. hips not anchored in backswing 2. insufficient weight transfer in downswing ( hips not open enough) 3. My wrist uncocks (vs position at set up ) in the backswing reducing the angle between the arm and the club vs Chuck. Please consider these when instructing on next area of focus Thanks.
July 5, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Will do!
July 5, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. Thanks for great review. Lots of work to do. Just a question that's been niggling at me. At some time in the past I was taught to point my thumb down at the ball at impact ie uncock the left wrist to the max. This results in my left arm being parallel to the club shaft at impact. It is an ingrained move now. What do you think?
July 6, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. You don't need to manually force the release. I don't mind the sensation of the knuckles turning under, but you shouldn't need to push or aim the thumb to reach proper impact. Thanks for the compliments.
July 6, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. Got it. Another question re the left arm 9 to 3 . Working hard to soften arm to eliminate steering. A consequence is the left arm bends in the backswing with the elbow acting as a hinge . I have found that the arm can be kept straight without inhibiting the wrist movement . Must be different muscles controlling the elbow bend and wrist cock. Should I proceed to train the muscles in this way or just accept the elbow hinging. The 9 to 3 is awesome in the way that it highlights full swing faults for correction .
July 11, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Yes, the 9 to 3 brings out the faults. Ideally, I would like the lead arm to stay straight and the wrist angle to change. The little bit of setting going back and the change of direction coming down. You shouldn’t be creating so much tension that it is locked. But, enough not to overly flex at the elbow.
July 11, 2018
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David
I am working on this and sometimes find that as i start the downswing the weight moves towards my toes and then my upper body moves towards the ball then i feel i have limited room to swing through. Quite often the ball will go low and right but not hitting the hozzle.
July 4, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello David. Sounds like some trail side push. Use the Preventing Hip Pain Video to make sure you are pulling over to the lead side correctly. Also, Losing the Tush Line and Chair Drill to shy away from any early extension.
July 5, 2018
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David
Craig do you still squat into the left side even on a short pitch shot?
July 6, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello David. You will have a tiny movement. But, you don't need a massive squat, or aggressive shift in a pitch shot.
July 6, 2018
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Troy
I've been practicing the 9 to 3 drill just in the backyard to start without hitting balls. I've noticed at impact my left (lead) arm feels pins to my chest and the lead shoulder seems to raise a bit compared to when Chuck's doing it. I've also noticed the left shoulder not getting stacked enough over the lead leg. Is this because I need my arms to be more away from my body during the movement? Or, perhaps not shifting my weight enough to the lead side? Cheers
July 2, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Troy. Sounds like a weight and tension issue. Go to the Play the Best Golf of Your Life in 6 Weeks Video 3 of 6. This drill will help in 2 ways. Getting better weight/stacked, and reducing tension to allow swinging from the shoulder socket and not staying too glued.
July 3, 2018
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Robert
I'm having A. A difficult time keeping my right arm straight during the takeaway. What are the causes and is ok to have a slight bend since it is bent at the top?
July 2, 2018
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Howard (Certified RST Instructor)
Hi Robert. Pushing across with the left arm is a common cause of the right folding too quickly in the takeaway. There should be a small amount of elevation from the shoulders and a small amount of wrist cock while rotating the torso 45 degrees or so. Keep in mind, as Chuck always says, big body rotation, tiny little arm swing for this first move. Watch 5 minutes to the perfect takeaway.
July 2, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. Thanks for the excellent review . Added a bit more lag and kept my head down for longer and was pleased with result while hitting balls. On the range today was unable to repeat yesterday and get satisfactory results . Faults included hitting behind the ball (? weight transfer) , hands not rolling over ( no Newton effect) and pulling to the left . My conclusion is that while I now know I am capable of doing it properly the move is not yet the "default " system . So I do not think I am ready yet. What do you suggest for next steps?
July 1, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Appreciate the compliments about your review. 1) I would actually like to see the move if you can get a video of it with a ball. 2) Take a look at Play the Best Golf of Your Life in 6 Weeks Video 3 of 6. Try the step back and through drill to make things work in sequence and help with shifting/newton release.
July 2, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. I have had some problems when posting and am not sure that the posts below have reached you .
June 21, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. If you reply to your own post the system believes it hasn't been answered. Ideally, delete or edit the original posting.
June 22, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig. I am currently working with the above video in conjunction with the 9 to 3 and making good progress. In the above video Chuck says" we have already worked on squaring the club face early" . The point being made was that there was not a great deal of squaring to do when rolling the forearms in the release. What video is he referring to. I would like to view that video .
June 20, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. Hmmm. So, this was posted, but listed under the wrong video?
June 22, 2018
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Ian
Hi Craig, Yes but I probably did something wrong as I am a computer illiterate. Could you please respond to my query regarding the early squaring of the club .
June 22, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Ian. The video is called Square the Clubface Early.
June 22, 2018
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Ian
Craig - not sure why this comment is showing under the 9 to 3 drill as I was viewing the Left Hand Club Release Drill in which Chuck's comment was made
June 20, 2018
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Marc
Hi Craig, you mentioned that at impact the right side of my right foot should be slightly inclined instead of remaining flat. This I get right now, the question is what happens to the right foot when the club reaches parallel like at the end of the 9 to 3 drill. Is the right foot in the same position or is the right heel starting to get of the ground. My impression is that the right heel will start to lift after as a result of the follow through of the release but I just wanted to check with you. Best, Marc
June 19, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Marc. The trail foot should still be rolled in. You don't want the heel lifting off the ground before the 3 O'Clock positioning. From there the momentum of the release and the deceleration of the body the heel will start to come up.
June 19, 2018
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Luther
great drill, I find that if I am shifting my weight properly it doesn't put as much pressure on my lower back, or reverse C posture. My question is should my ARMS be close to my torso through out this drill, much like putting a club cover under your arms to practice hitting balls.... my big problem is not keeping arms close. Would this be correct and is there any video offered on the web site? Luther
June 17, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Luther. I wouldn't put a towel under the arms for practice. But, you may have the sensation the arms are working along the torso. The issue will be the hands are slightly higher at impact, than at address due to the release.
June 18, 2018
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Artur
Hello. Why the ball is in the middle? Not at left leg?
June 17, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Artur. The ball will be off the logo of the shirt (right handed player) or lead ear. The lead leg would be too far up.
June 18, 2018
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Vicente
Hi! So am I right to assume that RST will reduce or (wishful thinking here) even eliminate the learning curve to hit with new or different clubs, say for example, when someone buys new irons? As I see it, so long as you follow the fundamentals of the swing, you're taking a lot of the work out of the hands and club and such... so, you shouldn't have to struggle too much with learning to swing a new set of clubs as one would otherwise.
May 30, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Vicente. Yes. The swing remains the same. Even though the weapon has changed. You will take out the guess work. You may have new sensations for swing weight, face contact, etc.. But, overall wouldn't require a swing overall just because you have new sticks.
May 31, 2018
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Nick
I have been practicing the 9 to 3 drill now for about a week (body moves only). I just added the club back into it. With the club it feels harder for me to pull myself back over to the left and my club is not making contact with the ground at the bottom of the swing. Do you have any suggestions on why this would be and what I can work on to correct it. Without the club everything looks correct in the mirror. Thanks!
May 25, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nick. It takes patience and time to trust/allow the positions to trigger the club to release. Focus on getting the weight over doing some mini (Weight Shift Sweep Drills). Then, understand the posting will trigger your release (You Hit the Golf Ball with Your Legs). Combine good shifting and posting with a relaxed grip/non-spinning chest and the club will start to release. Maintaining your fulcrum position (Moving the Fulcrum Position) will be vital to the consistent bottoming out.
May 25, 2018
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Nick
Thank you Craig! I will keep working on it and check out these other videos.
May 25, 2018
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Ed
Started practicing hitting balls with 9 to 3 stacked with compressing the ball then taking a divot. I would take 5 practice swings and then 1 actual swing. My 6 iron and eight iron divots were after ball compression for most swings. its a truly new experience for me to make contact this way. Should I expect a certain divot depth with a mid iron vs a short iron? Does the depth make much difference in results. The ball seemed to come off the club face quicker and with a lower trajectory. Unfortunately I couldn't trac the complete flight of all my shots but they felt good and look straighter than most. I had a tendency to fade the ball.
May 23, 2018
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Chuck
All divots with all clubs should be very shallow, leave the roots of the grass. Most pros average -4* with a wedge (which is very shallow) and goes down to -2 with the longer clubs.
May 24, 2018
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Ed
What is the common cause for a deep divot? I don't usually take a divot. Could I be to close to the ball, exaggerating the motion or what?
May 24, 2018
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Chuck
Too aggressive with right arm. https://rotaryswing.com/golf-instruction-videos/full-swing-advanced/downswing/angle-of-attack-in-golf-swing
May 24, 2018
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Jaleel
As “working from the ground up” would suggest in the backswing; the right hip would start first and cause the right shoulder to turn back as a consequence. The suggestion here sounds like the right shoulder goes first and then the right hip loads into the right heel as a consequence. Is it one or the other … or is one just not a consequence of the other but actually independent moves? Incidentally, watching the pro’s on the PGA and the LPGA tours, it certainly looks like the right hip goes first.
May 20, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jaleel . The trail hip will not have a lot of rotation in the takeaway portion. The pull from the trail shoulder will start to pull/rotate the hip for you as you swing. For the drill above you want to be thinking load the glute with weight shift and pulling back with the trail shoulder. Don't think of it so much a rotate the hip right off the ball from the start.
May 21, 2018
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Jaleel
Ok, thanks for clarifying that Craig. Appreciate it.
May 21, 2018
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Fred
Hi Craig, Not sure if this is the same comment as Christophers, but following your latest instructions I have been concentrating on lifting my right foot to the inner side when doing the Step 3 Adding Right Arm drill. Now to me it looks like that I would need to keep my right foot on the ground and lock my hip. I am not sure if my interpretation of what I see and hear is correct.
May 20, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Fred. So, you are wanting to lock the trail hip in the backswing and keep the trail foot from lifting? The trail foot lift in the backswing was to help facilitate weight shift. The trail foot roll in at impact is a must. No, heel lift or push. Also, the trail hip will have to rotate in the full swing to reach a full shoudler turn.
May 21, 2018
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Fred
Thank you Craig for the clarification. I would not dare to divert from your instructions (–: I was wondering why you guys were diverting from the consistant instructions over the years. It just shows how miticulously you need to observe the sometimes subtle movements and trying to understand exactly what is being said. This is further proof to me that every half inch and tiny movement can make a huge difference.
May 21, 2018
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Christopher
I've been trying the 9 to 3 drill with little success. I basically hit a lot of shots off the heel. I'm a bit confused. In the core rotation drill I thought the lead knee was used to bring the lead side back to NJA and get the weight back on the left side. However in this video, Chuck seems to slide to the left with the lead hip and then bring the lead knee back into NJA. Am I thinking of this wrong? Thanks
April 18, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Christopher. When doing the 9 to 3 it may appear that way because the hips won't rotate much going back. But, yes, lead knee external rotation and lead hip adduction. Make sure you aren't losing the tush line causing the heel shots (Chair Drill).
April 18, 2018
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James
What I find doing this drill, especially when adding a bit of wrist cock/hinge is that although I get a nice clean strike (definitely get the ball first) is the ball tends to go a bit left of my aim line. Any idea why this should happen? Also, when doing the first part, more 9 to 3, Chuck talks about the ball going just 10 yards or so it is more 30 to 40 yards and I am not putting much effort into it to achieve that. It is just an easy swing like Chuck's, is he just saying 10 yards to make us feel good!!
March 25, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. I would check your shoulder alignment at impact and that you aren't flipping with the trail hand through for the left shot. The goal isn't power. If you are achieving more yardage through effortless power. No issue. You just aren't trying to max out yardage through brute force. More of a focus on proper mechanics.
March 25, 2018
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James
Hi Craig I think I am getting my shoulders square and enclose an image of a full swing with an 8 iron just before impact and they seem square ok. When coming into the ball I try to feel that my right shoulder is holding back allowing my arms to release though. Perhaps it is something else?
March 25, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. There are a few items I would clean up first. Start with lower half and post up. You don't have enough weight on the lead side and the lead leg hasn't posted up properly. Also, the lag has been lost too soon. Use the Perfecting Lower Body Stability Video and the Taking a Divot Video.
March 25, 2018
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James
There is a reason why I do not post up correctly on the left leg. I had an accident 10 years ago, falling off a 6 foot wall and landing on the left knee. The impact was so severe the knee compressed into the femur and caused the centre of the femur to explode, a really bad fracture. To repair it they put a plate on the outside of the femur running from the knee almost to the hip bone held in with 8 screws plus some bone grafting on the inside of the femur. The knee cap cracked and they locked that with six steel pins. So to push into the ground with my left heel does hurt me a bit and find it difficult to straighten (post) up. At nearly 77 years old I do really enjoy my golf and I put up with the difficulty to do the best I can. I totally agree with what you say though and I am aware of the issues you raised.
March 25, 2018
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James
One other thing Craig is that I splay out my left foot to make it easier to turn through the shot and reduce the pressure exerted on my left knee. Don't worry if you find it too difficult to answer this problem; I have worked at it for the last six years since I came off crutches and I do thoroughly enjoy practice and working on the drills. Both the drills you pointed me to I have worked on frequently, on the practice area and in my study almost every night, I do really find enjoyable and fun.
March 25, 2018
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Marcel
Can you do the 9 to 3 drill also with the driver. Is there any different.
February 13, 2018
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Marcel. You could do it with a driver. The issue would be lack of speed to see a real good result. But, the mechanics should be the same with adjusted setup (Proper Tee Height Video).
February 13, 2018
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David
Sometimes i am hitting shots low and left and then i check to see that my left knee has collapsed and my pelvis is lower target side what can i do to stop this happening?
December 24, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello David. Take a look at Perfecting Lower Body Stability to work on proper shifting and hip motion.
December 24, 2017
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MICHAEL
Is there anywhere I can get a freeze frame position up the line, when releasing the club? If looking into a mirror, releasing up the line, where should the club be relative to the body (pointing at the target?) and how closed should the face angle be? I am struggling to not cup my left wrist, but I cant find a reference anywhere on the site for an 'up the line' image or video
December 13, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Michael. I don't have a freeze frame. But, in the Stop Slicing and Start Releasing the Golf Club Video at 4:35 (timestamp) you will see DTL and UTL View. Also, a few are in the 9 Days to Amazing Ball Striking Series. The club will be pointing more towards the target. The face angle will be determined by aggressiveness of release and shot shape.
December 13, 2017
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Brian
This question has probably been asked before, but can I use plastic balls instead of real balls in my (very small) backyard or would it be better to use real balls and a net?
December 5, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Brian. Plastic balls are perfectly acceptable.
December 5, 2017
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Pat
What should we focus on to get our weight over to the left side? Driving our left heel in the ground? Pulling with our oblique? In other words what should the first move be over to the left?
November 15, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Pat. The lead knee will externally rotate and you will pull the weight with the inner thigh adductors. You may focus on the knee or pushing the lead heel into the ground. Fixing Your Weight Transfer Video and Perfecting Lower Body Stability Video.
November 16, 2017
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Peter
why is this drill in the 'add the golf club' section, instead of add the trailing arm section? obviously I want to go out and hit some balls, but how do I incorporate doing some of these 2 hands on the club swings, in a section where im supposed to be doing thousands of reps of one arm swings with the club?
November 8, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Peter. I can see the confusion. These are part of the RST Drills, not the RST 5 Step. My suggestion would be to continue the 5 Step with adding the trail arm and once the trail is added back revisit this drill above.
November 9, 2017
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Peter
ok great thank you
November 9, 2017
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Jordan
If the arms are too far behind, what does this mean and what should I do about it?
March 17, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jordan. You need to allow time in your transition for the arms to work in front. Are you experiencing this on the full swing or just 9 to 3? Is it more the hips are racing? Kind of the stuck position?
March 17, 2017
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Brandon
Is this a drill a lot of pros practice when their swings are out of sync? Should this be a staple in our warmups and cooldowns at the driving range?
January 26, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Brandon. Yes. A lot of better players use this to sync their swings. Great for warmups or using as a tune up for the real swing.
January 26, 2017
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David
I find this drill useful but still sometimes want to try and steer the ball and come out and over and then the goes low and left. How do i stop the right shoulder getting over active?
January 23, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello David. Lots of practice. You have to train the upper half to be passive. There isn't a quick fix. Feeling like the back stays towards the target longer is your best bet when shifting back into the lead side.
January 23, 2017
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Brad
Is the squat to square just a drill, or a swing thought applicable to this 9 to 3 swing? In the swings I see on most of the videos, this transition looks seamless, while I find my thoughts and movements are separated and stilted - a deliberate and separate move to get weight on lead side at start of downswing, followed by the movement of the box muscles downward. Any thoughts?
January 16, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Brad. The Squat to Square is a position you will reach in the downswing, but it's more of a drill to calm players with hip spinning issues down. You wan't to work towards a seamless transition blending the downswing move together. Work on Step 2 - Core Rotation.
January 17, 2017
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gordon
This 9 to 3 drill is very useful for me as it combines two areas I need to improve, take away and transition. It is also very useful at present since, due to wintry conditions, I have to practice indoors often and 9 to 3 is all I can manage without causing structural damage to the ceiling! I am not sure how I should be initiating the transition in this drill. Is it lead hip or knee which starts things off? Is the initiation the same for a full swing, where the hips have turned more in the backswing phase? Best regards, Gordon.
January 9, 2017
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gordon. Being that you don't have a big wind back the lead knee won't take very long to get stacked over the ankle joint. But, the lead knee will start externally rotating first. Followed by the pull of the weight. Similar to a full swing on a miniature scale.
January 9, 2017
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Bob
Steven keeping my right heel down at what point do I kick in my right knee and finish with toe up
November 3, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Bob. Take a look at the Role of the Right Foot. The trail knee will follow after the release about belt height finishing in the toe up position.
November 3, 2016
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Kent
I am working hard on the 9 to 3 drill with a 7-iron. Are there any reasons why I should not make some swings with the driver as part of my practice session. Kent
October 31, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Kent. You can use a driver. But, usually it will be too hard to gain enough speed for a decent strike due to the shorter swing.
November 1, 2016
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mark
I am practicing this Drill and hitting the ball crisply but my shots almost always go about 10 yards LEFT , I am not sure if the cause is the Clubface , path or too much weight shift ?
October 31, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mark. 85% of initial ball flight is club face. I'm guessing you are squaring it a little too quickly.
October 31, 2016
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sambhu
Does it make sense to combine this with the down cock drill? To ensure release and lag happen?
October 3, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Sambhu. You don't need a massive down cock with the length of this swing. However, if you would like to add some angle take a look at the 9 to 3 Lag Building Drills.
October 3, 2016
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Lance
So in this drill I am doing move 1 (shoulder blade glide pull for rotation) This has been straightforward for me to engrain What has been fuzzy is the exact body movement to press the back heel into the ground Can you speak to this? If I have proper axis tilt it seems that the weight shift is a by product of the shoulder blade glide (somewhat passive) ??
September 27, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lance. For some players weight shift will come naturally, but others have to train. The pull of the trail shoulder will help rotate the hips, but not force weight shift. Take a look at How to Swing from the Ground Up and the Weight Shift Video Part 2. Axis tilt at setup shouldn't shift the weight. You should still be 50/50 distribution. You can either start the swing by shifting a little to trigger and then pull the shoulder. Or, start rotation and settle into the trail glute.
September 28, 2016
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Lance
What is the specific body movement that produces a proper weight shift?
September 23, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lance. Take a look at Fixing Your Weight Transfer and Preventing Hip Pain. Lead Knee External Rotation to stack the knee and ankle joint. Followed by Internal Femur Rotation or Lead Hip Adduction to pull the weight to the lead side.
September 23, 2016
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Lance
Hi Craig Thanks for this. So I tend to find myself rolling to the outside of my lead foot. Is this an indicator of an incorrect weight transfer? I am revisiting my stance width because my shift may be too extreme due to being a little too wide???
September 26, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Lance. Could be a case of too wide a stance or pushing from the trail side during transfer. Make sure you anchor points are set (Anchor to the Ground Video). Also, that you are positing properly (Step 2 - RST 5 Step System).
September 26, 2016
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Richard
Would there be any chance of changing this video (with a voice over), or possibly doing another 9-3 video drill and change the focus to weight shift and most importantly (for me) posting on the left leg. Chuck talks of driving the swing from the ground up in some of his other videos, in this video you can see a fantastic demonstration of driving the swing from the ground up. I feel the weight shift, and most importantly, posting on the left leg is a pivotal move in RST for speed/snap at impact. This video or a new one that focuses on posting to accelerate the club would be a fantastic addition and a great chance to revisit a topic that is difficult to explain even when done well as in the above video. Thanks Richard
September 22, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Richard. I can certainly ask the team for you. In the meantime, take a look at You Hit the Golf Ball with Your Legs Video.
September 22, 2016
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David
What is the best video to watch re keeping my head and upper body behind the ball on the downswing? I am trying to keep the head still and when i do, i find it much easier to get through the shot, thanks
August 17, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello David. Rotary Golf Downswing Overview, Step 3 (RST 5 Step System), and any of the release videos versus pushing the upper half through.
August 18, 2016
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Martin
Good drill Feel its relevance But really should be call 10 to 2 difficult to make relevant movements as you did keeping 9 to 3
July 20, 2016
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Glad you liked the drill. This is a really important drill that allows you to control the hitting area and work on your release.
July 25, 2016
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George
When or how should I start to incorporate what I'm practicing in a 9 to 3 swing to full driver swings, since driver issues were the #1 reason I started RST? I typically do my 9 to 3 drills with a short iron, usually an 8 or 9. Should I really focus on mastering the full swing with a short club and then move up to the longer clubs? Or should I use the same process for more than just the 8 iron? Or just try different things and see which works best for me?
July 12, 2016
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey George, you can try different things out for sure but it's most important that you are keeping your movement patterns exactly the same as you would for an 8 iron as you would for a driver. There are just minor setup adjustments when it comes to the driver, but there is no change in the way we move.
July 13, 2016
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Samuel
I'm still focused on this 9-3 drill.....I figure no point attempting more until I lock this down! I was hoping you guys would be able to upload a DTL video of this drill so I can compare my swing with yours in the Self Analysis. Regards.
July 12, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Samuel. I haven't been able to get one on the site yet. You can still use the full swing demonstration being how you will still work through the exact same positions.
July 12, 2016
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Samuel
I'm liking this drill a lot as I can focus right in on all the key movements. I'm just wondering though if your trailing arm is ment to be straight when you reach 9oclock? It gives me a lot more width when it is, but I find I have to really focus as my arm wants to start bending earlier. Regards.
June 29, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Samuel. In the takeaway, the trail arm should remain straight. Don't lock the arm, but straight. Take a look at the Role of the Right Arm.
June 29, 2016
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Thomas
I've been working with RTS for a almost month now and continue to struggle with weight shift and lag.I FEEL like I am shifting correctly and getting leg but unfortunately on video everything is looking the exact same as my before! It is getting very frustrating.Any suggestions?
June 4, 2016
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Steven (Certified RST Instructor)
Thomas- The best thing to do would be to send in a swing review so we can make sure we are practicing the correct movements. When we shift the weight to the lead side we need to externally rotate the lead leg which will pull the hip and knee back over the lead ankle and as you're shifting your weight, feel like you're keeping your back towards the target and avoid pushing from the right side. This will allow you to create the downcock movement helping to create lag. Anytime we start to lose lag we are using trail side push which will throw the clubhead away from center (you) which will cause you to lose lag. Make sure it's a lead side controlled movement to start the downswing.
June 5, 2016
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William
Michael; I was watching your five steps to a great golf swing and in your weight transfer you state that you shift your weight and then post and let the left arm follow. In your 9 to 3 you do not post your left side until after you release the club. Can you clarify this for me. Thank you.
May 30, 2016
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
The left side is posting pretty darn well in this video and for a very short swing that doesn't leave a lot of time to make that movement happen. Always important to be posting up at the release point of the swing.
May 31, 2016
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Michael
As usual my first impression is wow such crisp contact. I understand the weight shift to the right and then to the left. What I can't understand what is propelling the club. I don't think it can be just dropping the club so what does Chuck do? Is it body mass, rotation. This is a part of the puzzle that I just can;t figure out. I would also presume that what ever is done will also apply to the longer swings correct?
May 29, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Michael. It is momentum, weight shift, pull from the lead side and release. Take a look at Step 1, 2 and 3 of the RST 5 Step System. It will clear things up with what is propelling the club.
May 29, 2016
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Gary
I'm having a tough time starting the backswing. I have been so handsy for 40 years I'm really struggling to start the swing with the right shoulder pulling back....any suggestions?
May 23, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. Take a look at the Winter Setup Video. See if using your weight shift and obliques will help you start the club with the bigger muscles.
May 24, 2016
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Mike
I'm doing well with the 9 to 3 but when I try to go to the full swing with the longer clubs such as driver, 3 wood, hybrid, long irons everything falls apart. Do you think Chuck could make a video about transitioning from the 9 to 3 drill to the full swing and with the longer clubs?
May 20, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Michael. I will put it in the suggestion box. Remember though take things in small steps and don't try to go from 9 to 3 into a full swing. Start your practice out there, and then challenge yourself to add just a bit more rotation of width. If you succeed, keep challenging yourself. If it breaks down, then pull yourself down a notch and keep getting reps in. Set some goals for yourself each practice session. Hope that helps.
May 21, 2016
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Jarek
I notice that there isn't a down the line version of this drill in the analysis section. If I try to keep my clubhead above my hands in the takeaway like I was instructed in the swing review, it seems almost impossible to get back to the ball naturally. If this drill was shown DTL would it look a little like the clubhead is below the swing plane?
May 17, 2016
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Jarek, We are working to get a DTL version of the 9 to 3 swing loaded. If we had a perfect angle of this, then you should see the club working up and down the plane line.
May 18, 2016
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Randy
First time out on the range this year yesterday! All I did was this drill. I hit some shots fat. On some I noticed that my weight ended up on the balls of my feet (toward the toes). On others I realized I'd slid my hips way left past NJA (thus dropping my right shoulder). I probably need to back up to some other more basic drills - any suggestions?
May 7, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Randy. Sounds like a weight shift issues to me. Try some of the Weight Shift Drills and Core Rotation Drills in Step 1 - 2 of the RST 5 Step System.
May 9, 2016
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john
I just started doing the 9 to 3 drill and I am now compressing the ball better than ever when doing the drill. My tendency is to then "try" to hit a full shot even better which usually results in inferior contact. Any advice?
May 3, 2016
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey John, take things in small steps and don't try to go from 9 to 3 into a full swing. Start your practice out there, and then challenge yourself to add just a bit more rotation of width. If you succeed, keep challenging yourself. If it breaks down, then pull yourself down a notch and keep getting reps in. Set some goals for yourself each practice session. Hope that helps.
May 3, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello John. Take a look at the Wide Narrow Wide Video or the Perfecting Impact Part 4. A little longer than 9 to 3 and just shy of a full swing to help with progression to fuller shot.
May 3, 2016
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Gaetano
Hi, it's about weight shift. Should there be any type of weight shifting when taking club back? O
April 26, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hi Gaetano. The vast majority of weight shift will take place in the takeaway. You need to make sure it takes place. Take a look at the 5 Minutes to the Perfect Takeaway.
April 26, 2016
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Tom
Question: At the the 9 0'clock position should the clubhead be vertical? I was doing the drill and one of the pros watching suggested "hooding" the face a bit (more bow of the left wrist) for better contact.
April 25, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Thomas. Take a look at the Forearm Rotation for Power Video and the RST Pencil Tee Drill. Club should be vertical or toe up.
April 25, 2016
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Greg
Since my tedancy is to lose the tush line and end up with my weight toward the ball of my foot, is there a single swing thought that will help me to make my first move the squat move at the top of the backswing? I practice in front of a mirror and can do the move just fine, but I get in front of the ball and go right back to spinning or lunging. Does the weight shift to the right ankle on the backswing encourage squat and discourage spinning? Should I focus on just the weight shift and forget about the arms when hitting balls?
April 24, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Greg. Take a look at the Chair Drill to feel the Tush Line loss. Also, the Weight Shift Video Part 1 to master the initial shift into the lead side. Weight shift to the right won't discourage the spin or force more downswing squat. Right now I think you should focus solely on weight shift and forget about the arms until mastered.
April 25, 2016
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Greg
At the waist high point on the downswing, Chuck wants to have the club face slightly closed. I find myself needing to consciously create this slightly shut position when I do practice swings. Is this something created by body motions on the downswing, or is this something to be learned by repetition so it eventually becomes second nature?
April 24, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Greg. The club face will always be rotating. Don't worry too much about trying to force a shut face. If you are releasing properly it will be fine. Take a look at the Left Hand Release Drill. After quality repetitions you body positions and proper release will become second nature and take care of itself.
April 25, 2016
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paul
Craig- Do you recommend the 9 to 3 with the driver as well. Obviously the hardest club to hit.
April 22, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Paul. You might not create enough momentum to hit the driver well. You may certainly try, but the result might not be as flattering as with an iron.
April 23, 2016
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Derek
2 weeks into working through the videos and I love the site! I have been a caster my whole life. My ball striking has really gone down hill, and I have been grinding on the 9 to 3 drill, the downcock drill and the left thumb off the club drill. Ironically, after 2 weeks, my left thumb is getting really sore and I have scene a regression rather than progress. Any thoughts or recommendations are appreciated!
April 20, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Derek. Thanks for the post and compliments of our site. Are you trying to make a big downcock with your 9 to 3? Have you checked the grip? (Golf Grip Tips Video)
April 20, 2016
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Dave
Hi Craig. I was watching the example 9 to 3 video of chuck in the self analysis section and I noticed he does slightly forward press with his lead wrist before starting the takeaway. It's really clear if you draw a line down the wrist as you can see it crossing before moving back on takeaway. Where does rst stand on forward press for starting the swing as I think some sort of reverse trigger has helped me on the past to get the body and hands moving back as one. I have resisted now as I thought that passive hands are critical to ensuring the body does not see the hands as the primary driver over the core. Take a look at the vid and let me know what you think and if you have anything on the site about starting with a trigger. Thanks
April 18, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Dave. Ideally, you want to shy away from using a forward press as a trigger. It can tend to get the hands moving too early and lead to a wristy takeaway. You may use a weight shift or early load into the trail glute as a trigger. Lots of tour players start to shift their weight to help trigger some momentum. How to Swing From the Ground Up Video or just rocking into the trail glute and start loading to free yourself up.
April 18, 2016
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Grady
If I just go to the range and try the 9 to 3, my shots go right and fade. Any general ideas? I know its hard without video.
April 4, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Grady. Yes, it is hard without video and appreciate the understanding. Nevertheless, there are some simple items that may be causing the issue. Trail side push (causing steep) or lack of release. Make sure you aren't pushing with the trail shoulder causing a steep plane into the strike (Over the Top Stick Drill). Also, you have to release the club so the face may properly square up (Left Hand Release Drill Video).
April 5, 2016
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Martyn
Hello. I'm new to Rotary Swing, and still feeling my way around the site (which is great by the way. Best thing I've found in ten years of trying to learn the game). The introductory email recommended I watch the Reshaping Your Swing For Lag video. Its already producing results, but I sometimes still block or pull my shots, usually when I try and swing too hard (that results in the pull I think). Anyway, my question is, should I keep going with the Reshaping for Lag video, or can I combine it with any other videos you can recommend?
March 15, 2016
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Steven (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello, glad to have you aboard RST!! the re-shape your swing for lag is a GREAT video that with some practice can transform your swing and game. Now if you're getting blocks and pulls make sure your release is correct. I would work though the 5 minutes to the perfect release. Once the release is perfect, everything other change in your swing you make will be that much more effective. Or check out the left hand release drill
March 15, 2016
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Martyn
Thanks Steven, I'll give it a try tonight.
March 15, 2016
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Gary
Hello a little confused by the wrist hinge segment of this drill? In the right wrist in the takeaway video it states that the right wrist stays neutral and does not hinge but is elevated by the bend of the right elbow and shoulder elevation. It also displays this in the creating a swing plane video. If we are to remain neutral why are we asked to hinge the wrists in this video and not bend the right elbow instead? please explain
March 6, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. For such a short swing you will need a little speed and leverage to produce the move properly. Coming into impact (from a full swing) there will need to be some hinge or angle retention in the wrist. You are merely trying to re-create the same principles that would be coming into a normal impact. A little hinge will help with speed, angle retention and forward shaft lean.
March 6, 2016
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Gary
Ok but that is not what is explained in the right wrist in the takeaway video? Please explain as this video is the full swing re the right wrist
March 6, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. The right wrist in the takeaway you want to shy away from excessive hinge. The hinge will cause early movement of the club inside and a few other bad outcomes. The wrist do have to set to help create a little speed and lag for the drill. Chuck isn't excessively hinging his right wrist back in this drill. When making a full swing. Once the takeaway is completed and you start adding right arm flexion there will be a little right wrist hinge at the top. (Using the Wrist Efficiently and Effectively Video and the 3 Functions of the Right Arm).
March 6, 2016
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Gary
So do the wrists cock in the back swing or not? There is conflicting info here. If they cock what initiates the cocking of the wrists and at what point in the swing ? Thanks
March 7, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gary. There is wrist cock in the swing. The wrist cock is gradual. Roughly 25% in the takeaway working gradually up. Using the Wrist Effectively and Efficiently and the Part 5 of 7 Using the Wrist for Speed. In the takeaway, you will rotate, elevate and add a little wrist cock (roughly 22-23 minutes into the 5 Minutes to the Perfect Takeaway Video).
March 7, 2016
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DENIS
Denis Two points of clarification please. Firstly I have seen on RSC that the weight of the lead side on the downswing should be centred over the lead ankle and over the lead heel. Which is it please? Secondly is the release of the club a chain reaction, that is automatic? I have seen on RSC that the speed of the release of the club head should be encouraged by the last 3 fingers of the lead hand.
January 10, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Denis. The weight should be stacked over the lead ankle joint. If you are pushing the lead heel into the ground you should achieve the goal. The heel is just a cue because it would be hard for some of our members to think about pushing in their lead ankle. Some players will hold off the club face or not allow for rotation of the wrist through the release. You want to keep the pressure in the last three fingers of the lead hand. You might need to train yourself to rotate the lead wrist (Release Drills and Impact Series Part 1). Then, once the lead hand can freely rotate. It will happen more automatic or through chain reaction.
January 11, 2016
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James
In doing the 9 to 3 Drill, I feel as if shoulders dominate the move BUT that my hands are "alive and active" in setting the club toe up at 9 o'clock and toe up at 3 oclock. I am not just "letting the action happen" I feel like I am making it happen. Is this the correct way to feel the drill and by extension feel the full golf swing?
January 9, 2016
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. You should feel big shoulder turn back with minimal arms swing. Relaxed and the hands should be alive. Yes, more of a body feel with the arms/hands ready to react.
January 9, 2016
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also should I feel like my back moves toward the target to start the weight shift?
December 10, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
The swing needs to start from the ground up. You might feel the shoulders staying a little shut to the target and move a little laterally to help you get stacked. But, the transfer of weight won't be coming from the upper half.
December 11, 2015
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what muscle group to you fire to get the weight back to the left side? This is my biggest problem under pressure. I feel like I get quick and my hands out race my weight shift when the pressure is on. On the range , I have no problem at all and look like a pro
December 10, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
You are looking to pull the weight over with lead hip adduction and plant the weight into the lead glute. Don't rush the transition. Try the stomp in the Winter Golf Program Downswing Video.
December 11, 2015
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Djamil
Hello Craig, I have tried to work on getting closer before starting the downswing, i have felt that to succeed i need to feel at the top of BS it's slowing down before i weight shift and go in the other direction. Is it what it should be? Ty
November 25, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Djamil. You can feel a slight slowing or pause to make sure you initiate a proper weight shift in the opposite direction to help with lag.
November 25, 2015
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Djamil
I asked a lot of questions but i really want to understand and feel the proper weight shift. So when you start transition and put your weight on the left side did left shoulder and head move toward the Target? In my mind weight shift is because we want the bottom of the swing arc to be over the ball. Then we need to move the middle of the chest toward the target. Am i right? If i am, is it possible without moving a little bit left shoulder and head toward the target too?
November 22, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Djamil. The head will have to move a little towards the target. Don't make the move too complicated. Hopefully, my email sorted this issue for you.
November 23, 2015
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John
I tried the 9-3 drill today after watching both Clay and Chuck's videos. Hit about 100 at the range and most had good contact and went straight but a somewhat high percentage seemed to push right or fade right. What part of the movements need adjustment to correct this?
November 14, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Jack. You probably added a little trail side push and didn't release the club enough. Take a look at the Left Hand Release Drill and the Fix Your Release. Make sure the chest/shoulder don't open too much and you use the lead arm/hand to square up the face.
November 15, 2015
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John
Great suggestion Craig, particularly Fix your Release. Most everything went straight playing 18 today and the best compression I have ever felt. I'm getting excited about this.
November 15, 2015
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R. Michael
How does the 9 to 3 drill vary for a Rotary Hitter vs a Rotary Swing?
October 26, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello R. Michael. We are focusing solely on the RST Model now. The 9 to 3 is the new Rotary Swing or old Rotary Hitter Model.
October 27, 2015
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Toby
when shifting the weight back to the left and you have the weight into the left ankle does the left leg begin to straighten at the same time as the left obliques engage? I have had a tendency not to straighten the left leg at impact during the full swing which I am correcting and have found the timing of this move i.e posting up on the leg once the weight has shifted to the left, quite challenging I have also noticed that posting up not only engages the left obliques but pulls the arms practically into impact. Does the 9 to 3 drill require straightening of the left leg? Many thanks. PS. Still don't see a down the line version of this drill and dare I suggest an Up the line version aswell
October 19, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Toby. The lead oblique will start to pull to help open the hips. As the hips open you will begin to straighten the lead leg and pull leverage from the ground. You might notice in the 9 to 3 because there isn't a lot of momentum created as in the full swing you might not fully straighten till after impact. However, when sequenced correctly the obliques will engage once the weight gets to the lead ankle and you will want to post up as in a real swing. Take a look at Perfecting Lower Body Stability.
October 19, 2015
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Mike
I can correctly do the 9-3 drill, but when I got longer, I have a baby flip/cup of the left wrist at impact and my shoulder hikes/gets very high. My question is does the flip cause the shoulder hike or does the shoulder hike cause the flip? How do I fix that? Again, half swings are easy. 2/3 swing are fine. Once I get passed there, I lose it. Thanks
October 16, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mike. Chicken or Egg theory. Typically, as you start to flip the body will react by pulling the shoulders up to counter act the greater possibility of hitting a fat shot due to the change of the bottom of the swing arc. Take a look at the Level Shoulders Drill to help the lead shoulder stay down. And, the 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release to help the flip.
October 16, 2015
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Gaetano
I always start my practices with this drill. But now that I'm practicing the squat move, it doesn't connect. I'm wondering if I'm dojng the 9 to 3 drill correctly. Should I be squating down when starting the downswing?
October 16, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gaetano. It is very easy to over do the squat move in a 9 to 3 because of the length of swing. Focus more on the proper weight shift, than massive squat while performing this drill.
October 16, 2015
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James
Hi Craig I've got it thanks
October 10, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. Okay. Let me know if you have any further problems.
October 10, 2015
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James
Hi Craig I sent my swing in over a week ago now as you suggested and still not received a response ? James
October 9, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. I just checked the board. We are current on all reviews and I don't see your name. Are you sure you uploaded it properly?
October 9, 2015
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James
Hi i played today and pushed my right foot into the ground on the backswing and started the downswing by pulling my left oblique the ball flight was great ! But I should be shifting back to the left and then pulling my left oblique shouldn't I ? James
October 6, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. You need to make sure you shift the weight to the lead side first in the downswing and then pull with the lead oblique. You might have been shifting better than you think.
October 7, 2015
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Sailesh
Is there a video or drill focused on pulling with the left oblique? I get the takeaway and weight shift to the left but can't seem to get the left oblique pull. Right now I seem to push with the right side
September 28, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Sailesh. Take a look at the How to Swing from the Ground Up Video.
September 29, 2015
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Richard
I strained my back a bit so this is a great drill that I can do inside the house. One of my major problems is starting the downswing with my shoulders, thus coming over the top. So I've been working on the transition and weight shift. The best thing about this drill for me is feeling the left (lead) oblique pulling the hands. But I couldn't feel this until I modified the drill to a constant swinging back and forth. When I did this, I was able to release the tension in my hands and that allowed me to let the left oblique pull. It also allowed me to concentrate on each of the practice points. Tension is the killer for me and freely and continuously swinging the club back and forth really helped me understand and feel each of the "checkpoints."
September 24, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Richard. Tension is a killer in the vast majority of golf swings. Just make sure you aren't allowing momentum to do all the work and you can feel the muscles engage properly.
September 24, 2015
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Mitchell
Sorry I didn't get to finish. This important drill deserves a redo. In the video chucks weight looks like it's on the outside of his ankle. Sound isn't very good and the demo swing he finishes too high. It was one of Ben hogans favorite and one of the only swing drills he actually demonstrated. It's the drill that can get you back on track n the middle of the round. . I would love to see this redone so I myself could get better use of it. Hope you don't mind the feedback.
September 12, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mitchell. I will pass the message forward to the team.
September 13, 2015
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Mitchell
Great website. I love the approach to all the fundementals.
September 12, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mitchell. Thanks for the compliments!
September 13, 2015
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charles
Craig Charles here regarding the head cover under the arm pit drill. You say you are non-conformists. What do you mean by that statement? Love your site and have recommended it to many people. cheers
September 3, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Charles. Thanks for the compliments or our site and recommendations. Nevertheless, your question regarding the head cover. You said, "it seems everyone recommends it." I was making a joke that everyone recommends it, but we don't conform to everyone's teaching philosophy.
September 3, 2015
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charles
With 9 to 3 drill Would putting a head cover under my lead arm pit be a good idea? It seems everyone recommends it. Cheers
September 2, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Charles. We don't advocate gloves/towels under the arm pits. We are non-conformists .
September 2, 2015
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Stephen
Hi Craig, when chuck shifts from right to left he pulls his hands and arms to the trail leg by shifting his weight. Is pull assisted by the lats and pull of arms? I'm asking as occasionally I shift to the lead side and it appears that my arms are left behind a little, then I pull with oblique and this pulls arms into impact. Thanks for help. Stephen
September 2, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. It is the same for the 9 to 3 as in the full swing. A little weight, oblique, lat and gravity to reach the proper positioning. If you don't add any lat pull I can see how they might stay behind.
September 2, 2015
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Stephen
Thanks
September 2, 2015
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Nguyen
Hi In my setup, I often put pressure on the inside of my right foot and the outside of my right foot go off the ground a little bit. Only then I can feel the right glute in the takeaway. Is that Ok or I need to ground all my right foot? Regards
August 31, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nguyen. You should work up to a point of having the foot completely on the ground. However, for training purposes and learning how to engage certain muscles that is okay.
August 31, 2015
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Stephen
Hi Craig, I hope these questions are not stupid? In performing this drill, is it right to feel that the arms and hands are completely passive? Chuck does mention that the oblique pulls the hands and arms down into impact. Does this mean that he does not turn his knuckles down or rotates his wrists into impact to create the perfect impact position with logo on glove facing down the target? Does the oblique pull do it all? I feel that when I keep my arms passive I am releasing the club automatically. However when I concentrate in rotation of wrists into impact with oblique pull, I am not always getting good contact with club face and ball. Stephen
August 29, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. They are not dumb questions at all. The arms and hands are somewhat passive. The oblique helps pull the hips open and the arms into impact. That doesn't mean there won't be any gravity/pull affect happen from the lead arm. As we discussed the the Re-Shaping video. You still need to rotate the lead wrist correctly to have a great impact position. Think of it this way. You will pull the oblique. The arms and hands will still be controlled by the lead arm as you allow the club to release. Sounds like you are over complicating it. The 9 to 3 is a shorter swing. Tough to think too much and strike it correctly. You have trained the other issues so well that you probably allow the release to happen without thought.
August 31, 2015
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Stephen
Thanks
August 31, 2015
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Stephen
Stephen Hi Craig, when demonstrating the weight shift and oblique pull. He talks about pulling the arms into impact. Am I looking to feel this when hitting balls as I am not releasing it as well when performing this drill? From the 5 o clock position to the 7 o clock position. It looks like doing an exaggerated putting stroke, then my hands start to rotate into the completed release
August 14, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. After you shift and start to pull from the oblique. You should feel like the lead lat pulls the arm and swings from the shoulder joint as describe in the Fix Your Release Video.
August 14, 2015
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Stephen
In addition to comment below, I can't see my left arm when I have released the club when doing the 9 to 3 drill. However I can see my left arm when I released the club doing the release drill were I maintain my posture. Am I doing something wrong?
August 13, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. I don't think you messed anything up. I didn't see a big problem in your last review while working on the 9 to 3 with the arm disappearing causing a problem.
August 13, 2015
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Stephen
Hi Craig, When performing the 9 to 3 drill, I shift and pull with my oblique and when I perform the release drill, with my maintaining my posture. When comparing the DTL view the release looks different I.e the club is out to the right field pointing when I perform the release drill. However, my club is pointing straight down the target. If I was doing the long arm drill I would prob hit the vertical stick. Does this mean I'm slightly shoulder spinning or is it cus of the shift and pull, which I'm not doing on the release drill. Would you want the club pointing out to right field. This would highlight that your staying in posture? Stephen
August 13, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. You have the tendency while both hands on the club to spin a little with the shoulder. So, the feeling of keeping the trail shoulder back and releasing out to the right won't be bad. Ideally, at 3 O'Clock it will be pointing parallel to your target line.
August 13, 2015
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Stephen
Hi craig, you mentioned in my review about doing the 9 to 3 drill, is this the drills on this video that you would like me to perform? In my review I performed a 9 to 3 when working on my release, however I was maintaining my weight on my left side. Would you like me to perform the full 9 to 3 movement from this video? Stephen
August 10, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Steven. Yes. I apologize for the lack of clarity.
August 10, 2015
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Stephen
Thank you, Stephen
August 11, 2015
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Stéphane
Hi guys! Before to get into 3/4 swing, then full swing, here's my impact alignments with little 10 to 20 yard shots(shorter then 9 to 3 or close). I would like a feedback to be sure everything is fine before to begin 9 to 3, then 3/4 then full swing. Thanks a lot! http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c15/leclairstephane/Impact_zps1iccjtz4.jpg
August 9, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephane. Check your ball position. It looks a little back of lead ear. Everything else looks pretty good.
August 10, 2015
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dennis
Dennis: In the nine to three drill he says he would prefer you hit chip shots to get the movement right, ex plain to me how to do this because the chip shot has very little movement and a shut club face.
July 23, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Dennis. Not an actual chip swing. But, focusing on hitting chip like shots. Not concerned with over powering the golf ball and getting the movements down. For crisp contact and repeatability.
July 23, 2015
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James
Craig I have been looking at the How to Swing From The Ground Up - Golf Swing Transition and it seems contrary to what you are saying here. Here you say the the first thing is to pull the right shoulder back and extending your arms and pushing down on the left heel. However in the How to Swing From The Ground Up - Golf Swing Transition you say we should eliminate the shoulders from this and work from the ground up doing the left heel stomp to prevent the shoulders creating tension. Am I misunderstanding something here? I have to say using the How to Swing From The Ground Up - Golf Swing Transition video has helped me swing more freely. I am still able to apply the 9 to 3 drill OK using the same principle and not focusing on the right shoulder. I am in my 70's and find that the How to Swing From The Ground Up - Golf Swing Transition drill has helped me create more shoulder turn. James
July 10, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello James. Glad to hear that you are finding the Ground Up Drill helpful. It's not a misunderstanding, but more of a lost in translation issue. You still need to pull the shoulder back in the takeaway. The ground up is focusing on load because the vast majority of golfers don't engage their core. The more load you feel in the box helps ease tension in the shoulders. So, when you reach the top your first instinct won't be to throw the club or fire the tension away. If the tension is pre-loaded in the lower half. The lower half will start first allowing the shoulders to stay more passive and the arms swing freely down. The ground up isn't trying to create anything new from what is taught in the takeaway and/or backswing. 5 Min to Master Rotation gets you to start loading and feeling the obliques. Weight Shift Video Part 1 and 2 get you to load the glute. Same principles are applied, just a different way of thinking about it.
July 10, 2015
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Toby
When Chuck talks about wrist hinge in this drill is there a correct way to do this? Is there an example on the web site and do you have a "down the line" version of this drill?. I think it would be very helpfull in order to to see the swing path and correct position for the eventual wrist hinge action.
June 23, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Toby. To my knowledge, we don't have a down the line version. However, you can see a down the line version in the Using the Wrist Efficiently and Effectively Video in the Introduction Advanced Section and the 5 Mins to the Perfect Takeaway (roughly 22-23 mins in) Takeaway Section.
June 23, 2015
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Toby
June 23, 2015
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Toby
Thanks for the response Craig. I will look at those suggestions but may I suggest as this is such a corner stone of RST that you do a few specific videos for this drill so that we can appreciate it from 4 angles. DTL, FO from above and even from behind?
June 23, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Toby. We just relaunched the new site a few months ago. We are in the process of creating new videos and upgraded content. Thanks for the suggestion. We will add it to the "to-do" list.
June 23, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Toby. I replied above.
June 23, 2015
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Toby
Ok Craig, apologies for the position error of my second question.
June 23, 2015
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Paul
I am doing swing reviews. Do you recommend sending in a video of the 9 to 3 drill for evaluation to determine if I am doing it properly or send a full swing after practicing 9 to 3
June 13, 2015
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Steven (Certified RST Instructor)
Paul, if your working on the 9-3 drill, by all means go ahead and send in a video of that, but it may be best to send in a full swing video after you have warmed up so your instructor can truly see what is happening in the 9-3 swing so we can know what we need to work on.
June 13, 2015
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David
Hello, I can do this drill with no issues. I can really compress the ball and transfer weight with no problem. I am smashing it as I can hear by the sound with minimal effort. It's after 9:00 at the top that something goes wrong. I have uploaded videos and and everything looks good with my full swing, but I am missing something. Is there a drill for after 9:00? I have been trying to fix it with no luck. Thanks.
June 12, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello David. The 3 Functions of the Right Arm in the Downswing Advanced Section and the Move 2 Video in the Downswing Section should help give you some clarity. I would suggest uploading a swing to one of our instructors for review. We would be happy to find the culprit or change in swing.
June 12, 2015
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Shawn
Hi, when I am driving the weight into right heel the front end of my foot sometimes comes off the ground slightly. Is this okay?
June 3, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Shawn. For a right handed player if you shift into the trail heel and the toes come up slightly. You shouldn't experience any bad issue.
June 3, 2015
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Anthony
It feels to me like there is two anchors, having watched a lot of drills of in between stuff. If you concentrate on the right heel "anchor" position in backswing, hands in front of course, then shift or squat/ sit into left heel "anchor" and don't loose that stability at swing finish it seems more repeatable of a swing. I'm still learning that but thinking huge aspect is flexibility here. I'm a past marathon runner so tight as bark on a tree. Seems pros are expremely flexible, that's something maybe should include in videos to assist. Thanks
May 31, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Thanks Anthony. Appreciate the heads up for future videos. Weight transfer and anchoring is very important. But, you should be able to shift relatively easy even with limited flexibility.
June 1, 2015
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Alejandro
Hi, this looks like a different situation when compared to the full swing. It seems that with this drill you can only think in sending the ball forward because you don't have enough momentum to think about pulling the club "down" like with the frisbee drill. On the other hand, from the top of the backswing you can really think about pulling the club down and let momentum complete the follow-through. Should you still think about pulling the club downwards rather than forward ?? Thanks in advance
May 14, 2015
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Alejandro, for the 9 to 3 drill, our arms are already to the position where they would be after pulling the arms down so there would be no need to pull them down any further. So we would mainly be focusing on doing a proper takeaway, allowing the right elbow to bend and the wrists to cock as we shift the weight forward and then release the club. R.J.
May 15, 2015
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Ryan
Seeing him do some swings around the 4:00 mark, his knees look very contrary to when using the RotaryConnect. It appears (to me) he swings his right leg out, which would really kick out if he had the RotaryConnect on. Did he just mess up in this drill or is this what the lower body should look like during the 9 to 3 drill?
May 5, 2015
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Ryan, we're looking for a 1 inch weight shift into the right ankle without any knee rotation or knee lateral shifting. The rotary connect will allow to do it properly, same as if you put a baskeball/volleyball between your knees. R.J.
May 5, 2015
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Greg
Hi Rj, Still working on the weight shift. Is the weight shift Chuck demos standing up the same feeling you have during the downswing with the upper torso staying behind the ball? Standing up I can shift from right to left and get the left hip in neutral joint alignment, but I don't feel a big push from my right side to get it there, nor do I feel much pull from my left side. In a golf posture, do you feel the pull from the left glute initially then the lats pulling the hip around and finally the posting up? It used to be when we lifted our left heal off the ground we would start the swing by replanting it. I'm looking for an initiator to the downswing that provides this pull Chuck describes. Any help?
April 21, 2015
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Greg, you definitely don't want to feel a push from the trail side as that will likely cause you to go past neutral joint alignment in the downswing which will lead to hip injuries in the long run. Also, you don't want to lift the left heel off the ground as that is an unnecessary moving part in the golf swing that you would have to concern yourself with timing in the downswing. You should use the loading of your body in the backswing as a trigger. Once you're fully loaded, your muscles will naturally want to unload and our body tends to unload in the order that we load them in so, if you load the lower body first in the backswing, it'll want to unload first in the downswing. Yes, you'll feel the glutes first and then your obliques will turn the hips around, then the lats will pull the arms down and then your left glute will activate to post up the left leg as you push the heel into the ground. R.J.
April 22, 2015
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Stephen
Hi, on 2 mins 33 secs on this video, chuck talks about pulling from the left oblique and this pulls his arms into impact. I find it difficult feeling the pull from my left oblique, If i am trying to pull my left hip open before impact, am I pulling from left oblique to do this? Thank you. Stephen
April 12, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. The lead oblique is what pulls the lead hip open. Try keeping your hips still and start pulling the lead oblique. You should start to feel a tug that wants to open the lead hip. That will give you the feeling of engaging the muscle.
April 13, 2015
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Stephen
Hi Craig I know that the downswing will be initiated by pulling the weight over to the left with left hip adduction, does this mean that I am to shift by getting the feeling of externally rotating my leg and will this consequently shift my weight for me? thank you stephen
April 14, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. Yes and no. The lead leg will externally rotate to help you get stacked, so you can plant the weight on a properly lined up leg.
April 14, 2015
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Stephen
hi craig, i dont understand pulling weight over to the left with hip adduction. do u have a drill to do so I can feel this movement? Can you explain hip adduction to the left? or am I better using my left side to shift my weight to the left and turning my hips square at the same time by just feeling? i dont know if I am overtthinking it. hope you can help me understand this weight shift. really appreciate your advice. Stephen
April 14, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Stephen. I think you are over thinking it. Shifting the weight is very natural. Like throwing a ball (or frisbee). Take a look at the Frisbee Drill in the Weight Shift Section. Also, "stomp drill" in the How the Lower Body Works Section.
April 14, 2015
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Stephen
Thank you. Stephen
April 14, 2015
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daniel
Hi, When practising the 9 to 3 drill yesterday with a sand wedge just hitting onto the practice green, I could see the impact on the club face was getting closer to the shaft of the club. I started hitting some sockets, my thought was I must be taking it inside to much or folding the right arm early. I kept the right arm straight and this did not seem to help. I then changed to an 8 iron hitting 9 to 3 drill down the practice fairway and added a little shoulder elevation and wrist hinge and this was a little hit and miss, some would cut and others would go straight or a bit left. Sorry this is not much to go on, I am new member and still learning. I just bought a camera and I am looking forward to loading my swing onto my lap top to analyse it against a correct swing. Thank you, Dan.
April 7, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Dan. The best thing to do would be upload your swing for review once you get your camera setup. One of our instructors would be happy to tell you whats going on. We could just be guessing back and forth what is the issue. However, it sounds like the path is a little inside going back and you are pushing the club through. Make sure the trail arm stays straight going back. Then, on the way down make sure you maintain your Tush Line (Tush Line Video Downswing Advanced Section) and Pull with the Lead Arm (Taking a Divot Video - Downswing Advanced Section).
April 7, 2015
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daniel
Hi Craig, Thank you for the feedback, I will be doing it again this weekend after watching these videos. I am really looking forward to getting more feed back from a swing review when I get it done. Thanks again Dan.
April 8, 2015
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John
When doing shorter swings such as the 9 to 3 drill, should the right arm begin the flexion/folding a little earlier than with a full swing? When doing full swings I try to keep the right arm straight as long as I can. However, with the 9 to 3 drill I feel like I need to start the folding much earlier. Thanks.
April 2, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello John. You don't want to train adding more flexion to early on in the swing a la the "9 to 3" drill. However, if you want to add a touch more wrist set that is perfectly ok.
April 2, 2015
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john
I always find the 9 to 3 drill very helpful. The video with chuck states it is 90 % of the swing. It definitely helps me get rhythm etc back. I know it seems obvious but I would like one of the instructors to spell out exactly how to go from 9 to 3 to the full swing. Thank you . John
March 18, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello John. I wish I had a short cut for you. The problem some students run into is the 9 to 3 feels very rotation/horizontal. Now, the swing feels more elevated/vertical continuing to the top. I have my students work hard on blending the feel of arms and hands going vertical as the body works rotational/horizontal. Use the Shoulder Elevation Video, 4 Square Drill, and Understanding Arm Elevation Video in the Backswing Section. Forget the club in the beginning. Just practice the move of arms and hands go up as you rotate. It will help with the blend.
March 19, 2015
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john
Thank you for the reply, Craig. I find I can get as much distance from the 9 to 3 drill as a full swing with 7 and five irons. Could you comment on this. I notice in the 9 to 3 my hands/arms seem to work automatically following the left shift. In the full swing I am more conscious of "hitting" Should the arms work more as in the 9 to 3 method and work in more naturally and in their own time as it were. Thank you John
March 19, 2015
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Seth
How many degrees open should the hips be at impact and should it be any lesser during the 9-3 drill?
March 17, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Seth. The hips will be open roughly 30-40 Degrees. Same for both swings.
March 18, 2015
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Gordon
I was practicing the 9 to 3 drill today and found myself chunking my shot a lot. Is it basically a problem of not getting over to the left side or are there other possible common causes. As well my ball ended up left of the target too many times as well. Help!
March 11, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Take a look below Gordon for the divot issue. For the left circumstances. Make sure you are coming into the strike from the inside and not driving the trail shoulder out too much getting steep. Use the DTL Impact Alignments Video in the Downswing Section. And, the Ladd Video in the Downswing Section to make sure not over the top.
March 11, 2015
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Gordon
I was working hard on the 9 to 3 drill today and found myself chunking my shot just too many times! Is it basically a problem of not getting the weight shift over to the left side adequately or could there be other likely causes?
March 11, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gordon. More than likely a lack of shift to the lead side and trail side push. Add the Taking a Divot Video in the Downswing Advanced Section to help get shift and shaft lean to hit the ground correctly.
March 11, 2015
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Nguyen
Hi I feel in my entire swing, my hands are relax , only in the close to impact position that the left triceps engaged to pull the club down to impact and may be keep the left hand straight and left elbow DTL. Is it a correct feeling?
March 10, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nguyen. Yes, you will feel some pull from that left lat and a little tricep engagement. The left elbow dtl and the wrist rotating to square.
March 11, 2015
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Nguyen
Dear Craig I saw in the video that in move 3, Chuck first action look like he external rotates the left leg to move the left knee back, then do the shift. I am wondering if these are correct sequence to follow him?
March 11, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nguyen. Good find. Yes, the external rotation of the left leg helps you stack the left knee over the ankle joint. This motion followed by some left hip abduction help you shift and stack properly.
March 11, 2015
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Nguyen
Thank Craig! I see that in this case our left knee, left leg must be very loose (free of tension) at the end-takeaway, as if almost 90% of the weight are in the right heel, in order to external rotate in move 3. Is it correct?
March 11, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Yes, muscles need to remain relaxed, so they may engage at the proper time. Approximately 80% of your weight will shift into the right side.
March 11, 2015
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Nguyen
Thank you, Also can I allow my right knee feel to flex a little further in the take away, to relax my right knee a bit. Otherwise I feel very stiff in right knee and difficult to move back in move 3 (sorry to be the noisiest guy on the forum but your recent helps make great help ever for me)
March 11, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
As long as you are loading the glute and not overly dropping/bending the knee. Maintaining the knee flex is a good thing. No worries. We are here to help!
March 11, 2015
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Nguyen
Hi Craig 1. At 9 o'clock, how open my shoulder should be, as I check and see if I have good shot the shoulder at 9 o'clock is only 10-15 degree open. I am afraid I did not fully release the club. 2. Also does straghten the left leg help to halt the shoulder at impact in addition to the hip?
March 9, 2015
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Nguyen, Chris here. The shoulders can rotate 45 degrees shut or so into the 9:00 position. At impact, the hips should be open a bit and the shoulders should be squared. The club should be passing in front of the stalled body to the 3:00 position and pulling the shoulders open just a bit. The number of the degrees that your shoulders will be open, would be determined by how much momentum you have in the drill swing. The posting of the lead leg does help stall the lower and upper body for sure, during the release. Hope that helps.
March 9, 2015
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Nguyen
Sorry Chris, I made a typo, what I want to ask is how open the shoulder at 3:00. It look like as you said, the shoulder will open a bit. So I assume 10-15 degree shoulder open at 3:00 is OK. Thank you guys a lot!
March 9, 2015
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
No problem at all. As long as your shoulders are square at impact and the arms are working independently of the body, then the shoulders being open 10-15 degrees at 3:00 is ok for sure.
March 10, 2015
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Nigel
My understanding is that in move 1, the club face is square (vertical) at 9:00 but it is slightly closed at 9:00 on the downswing (to make squaring the club face easier). If I do the 9 to 3 drill, does this mean I need to do more rotation into squaring the face at impact?
March 7, 2015
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Nigel, you can work this drill with a toe up to toe up mentality. Just make sure there is no tension in the lead wrist and that you are allowing the club to rotate in the hitting area. If you have struggled with hooks in the past, you want may want to work with the clubface slightly closed at 9:00 so that you can ingrain slower more controlled rotation of the face in the hitting area.
March 9, 2015
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Nguyen
Hi Can we do the Left Elbow DTL at impact together with this drill, without wrist hinge?
March 6, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nguyen. To reach the 9 O' Clock Position. There is a slight amount of wrist hinge/set. You can work on your elbow alignments with this drill.
March 6, 2015
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Nguyen
Thank Craig Can we also straighten the left leg at impact for this drill? I understand that squatting for this drill is not realistic.
March 6, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Yes, you can straighten the left leg. There is a tiny squat in the drill. But, it will feel more like a shift.
March 6, 2015
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Nguyen
Dear Craig, do we need to roll the left forearm during the weight shift or during the rotation by pulling the left oblique in the downswing?
March 7, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nguyen. The club/face is always rotating. However, the majority of the face rotation will take place as you pull with the lead oblique and bring the arms into the ball.
March 7, 2015
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Nguyen
Thank Craig, that makes a lot of sense!
March 8, 2015
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Sean
Hello, I have been working on this drill for the last couple weeks and was wondering if these concepts should be used even when making short chips around the green. I guess I am a little confused whether you still want to have as much weight shift taking place even when chipping or if you should just be swinging your shoulders on short chip shots.
March 2, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Sean. Take a look at our short game section. For chipping, the weight will already be set more pronounced on the lead side. 70% on lead side. Thus, not requiring a big shift back and through.
March 3, 2015
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Travis
Hi There, the ball always going to the right when I am hitting with the 9-3 drill. can you please let me know what may be the cause? Thanks!
February 16, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Travis. You are probably swaying ahead of the ball and/or not releasing the club. Make sure you don't go beyond NJA in the downswing. Check your impact alignment. Impacts Alignment FO Video in the Downswing Section. Also, 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release in the Downswing Section.
February 16, 2015
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Alan
Can I use the Weight Shift Drill combined with the 9 to 3 drill? So I would load the trailing heel on the back swing and lift the lead heel, shift forward and stomp on the lead heel then swing through to 3 o'clock.
February 5, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Alan. That might be a little exaggerated for the 9 to 3 drill. However, if it is the only way for you to feel weight transfer for right now. I would much rather you start getting the feeling for loading the trail side, then the lead side versus not.
February 5, 2015
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Donal
I cant get the feeling for the release at all. I can get the start of the downswing where the club is parallel when the hands are in front of the right leg but the next step is often described on the site as "and release" - is this move a rotation of the forearms or the wrists (i think I have far too much right wrist action at this point) or should I be concentrating on neither of these?! Is there a video that would best clarify this as its the main point of the swing that Im not quite understanding since joining the site. Thanks in advance
January 28, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Here are a few videos to help with your release. Downswing Section - 5 Minutes to the Perfect Release, Left Hand Release Drill, and Lose the Right Hand. Also, Downswing Advanced Section - Vijay Release Drill. The move will be more of the rotation of the lead wrist.
January 28, 2015
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Donal
Thanks Craig for the prompt feedback. I'm working on the left hand release drill and hopeful it will sort things out!
January 29, 2015
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Nguyen
Dear Guys Just a stupid question, how far on average do we expect the ball goes when doing 9to3 without wrist hinge, using 7 iron?. I am asking this question as look like I am using too much force on the downswing to make a 50 yards distance.
January 27, 2015
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Aaron (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey, Not far at all. This is a drill for movements not distance at all. Do not worry at all about distance, but as a reference I would say 30-50 yards depending on if you are TRULY doing a 9-3 and not going further. If it looks like you are using too much force I would bet you are.
January 27, 2015
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Nguyen
Hey Aaroon, you are right. I used too much force and often get 50+ yards with inconsistency. Thank you very much!
January 28, 2015
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John
Hi, I'm a new member, so far I like what I see, when I start the downswing I feel like I need to be doing something with my arms at the same time as I'm shifting my weight, I can't just do nothing with my upper body while I shift my weight, my swing doesn't feel smooth, should I pull with my hands while shifting my weight or do nothing at all with my arms while I transfer my weight? Thanks,
January 22, 2015
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello John. The downswing is a blend of gravity and pull form the lead side. Take a look at the LADD Video in the Downswing Section and the RE - Shaping Your Swing for Lag in the Introduction Section. Shift the weight, then add a little pull and don't get in the way of gravity.
January 23, 2015
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Corey
This makes sense to me to start with this drill before working on a full swing. I have a hard time keeping my right arm straight and getting the club to be parallel and pointing down the line. When he demonstrates the drill slowly, he appears to keep both arms straight. but around the 3:55 when he actually strikes the ball it looks like he actually bends his right arm a little at nine? Could my issues with this be due to a lack of shoulder & hip rotation?
January 22, 2015
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james (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Corey, Check out the role of the right arm in the takeaway video. If our right arm is bending too early we could be pushing our arms a little too much or getting to wristy in the takeaway. The lack of shoulder rotation would make sense as to why your right arm bends if you are pushing your arms across the centre point of the chest and you want to reduce the hip rotation in the takeaway
January 23, 2015
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Jim
I need a little clarification: I can take the club back to 9 thereby loading the right glute/side and my head stays relatively still (negligible discernible movement). When I then shift my weight to the left heel, approx. 3", does my head move that much, too? Moving it 3" would seem contrary to a "stable head" idea but not moving it messes up the axis tilt. Of course, as I now know with RST there are many "accepted principles" about the golf swing which are wrong. So, when practicing this drill do I let my head move forward, too, or should I try to keep it in the same place throughout the drill? Since this move has vexed me for 20+ years I may be missing the point entirely. I would appreciate some feedback so I don't groove a bad move. Thanks.
January 18, 2015
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Steven (Certified RST Instructor)
Jim, the head is going to move it little bit in the backswing and the downswing, we just try to minimize the the movement with a pulling motion. For the axis tilt when we are just post impact, we want the spine to be tilted so it is pointing just outside the lead knee. Ensuring us the we are still "stacked" on the left side while having the head remain behind the ball. We try to keep the head still but because we are rotating and moving laterally there is going to be some head movement.
January 19, 2015
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George
Thanks RJ, I also think the videos related to it will be a major help.
January 17, 2015
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Definitely. Every video on the site can help in a certain way. It just depends on what part of your game that you're working on. R.J.
January 18, 2015
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George
Hi, Once set properly on the backswing including weight onto the right heel is it ok to help with the weight transfer by pulling with my left shoulder ? (Rotary as in the backswing) or is it better to actually to use the hip. ?
January 17, 2015
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
George, If you use the shoulder, you'll end up spinning out of the shot and getting the arms stuck behind you. Not to mention that it'll force you to lose lag. Check out this video to help you better understand the relation of the upper and lower bodies in the downswing. http://www.rotaryswing.com/videos/tour-pros/sang-moon-bae-hips-for-lag With hard work, there are no limits. If you ever have questions, feel free to ask us on the forum here, R.J.
January 17, 2015
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Nguyen
I have 2 questions: - Do I need to keep my left and right biceps attached (or pressed) again my chests, or just focus on turning my shoulder? I have the tendency to press my right bicep to my right chest and it doesn't seem to work well - During downswing, can I integrate with "throw the right arm" move or just let both hands and arms passive?
January 16, 2015
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Nguyen, The further away from your right upper bicep gets from your right upper pec in the backswing, the more you're relying on timing and the less elevation that your hands will get in the backswing. Trying to time getting your arms back in front of your body going into impact will affect consistency and elevation is free club head speed that doesn't require a lot of effort. you can use the throw the right arm drill, as a natural throwing motion will help sequence the downswing, but keep in mind that you're staying true to the motion of throwing a ball and not just spinning from the top. The Sang Moon Bae hips for lag video does a great job of explaining the role of the arms in conjunction with the movements of the lower body to complete the perfect downswing, if you would like to check that video out. R.J.
January 16, 2015
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Nguyen
Thank R.J. Does it mean that I have to keep a little pressure between my right upper bicep and right upper pec. I am afraid doing so will stiff my right arm and right shoulder and worsen the swing as muscle in the shoulder/arm will be used? How could I keep the pec/bicep attachment without any muscle involved? Thank you very much for your help!
January 19, 2015
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Nguyen Yes, you want to keep them connected. If you are uncertain as to how to feel how much pressure is enough and what is too much, please search for the proper muscle activation video with the search function. You can do it! R.J.
January 19, 2015
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gordon
The weight shift, in particular on the downswing, is certainly one of my "areas for improvement". Several Rotary Swing videos are proving very helpful in this respect, including the "9 to 3 drill", which I am practicing diligently. However, just to make sure I am not misunderstanding somerhing basic I would apppreciate some clarification. On the course some approach shots also can be played with a 9 to 3 swing. Should the weight shift (hips 1 inch back then 3 inches forward) be used for such shots as well, or is it mainly for power and therefore not suitable for the controlled precision required when approaching the green? In fact this same question also applies to the next video building block, - is "sitting into the left side" reserved for non-approach shots? Thanks for your help, regards, Gordon.
December 28, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gordon. When using the 9 to 3 swing on the course the weight transfer is vital for proper motion of the swing. Now, when you start arriving close to the green not as much. Take a look at Perfect Pitch Shot Technique in the Short Game Section to see how the weight can stay more balanced on the lead leg.
December 30, 2014
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gordon
oops, sorry Craig, I hit the wrong icon below, - I am all thumbs when it comes to editing my typing. I wanted to ask if what I had been told, - that the pitch is a mini version of the swing and therefore good for practice, is not correct since it does not contain the hip shift and squat features ( with which I am currently struggling!)?
December 30, 2014
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gordon
Thanks for the clarificatipn Craig. I am slowly and systematically working my way through your videos, with guidance from the swing reviews. They are a real treasure trove of useful info. One additional question following your reply. I had been told that the pitch shot is a mini version of the golf swing and therefore
December 30, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Gordon. I think your question got cut off a little bit. The pitch will be like a mini swing, but some setup adjustments. Stance not as wide, less axis tilt, weight more forward, and letting the hands generate a little more vertical wrist set.
December 30, 2014
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Nguyen
Hi Chuck. When going back to 9 o'clock, can I stop at the end takeaway and then push the left heel on the ground to weight shift, or I need to make it a smooth transition by moving left before finishing at 9 o'clock (therefore no stop and end takeaway). I have tried the stop and push left many times without success, as I still feel the hand hit the ball and it does not seem to be an effortless swing
December 23, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Nguyen. You can make it a continuous motion or break the pieces into segments. Take a look at the RST Tempo Drill in the Introduction Section. It might help you with more of a blended move.
December 23, 2014
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edward
Chris, Could you explain the "keeping the hips back" part of your comment in response to the amount of squat used in this drill. Obviously the hips shift left as you start down and if you are referring to hip rotation then as other instructors have commented here and elsewhere and as Chuck demonstrates in this video the hips should be 30-45% open at impact. Please clarify. Thanks, Ed
November 30, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Edward -- Sorry for any confusion. Rotation of the hips does not mean that that are moving forward or closer to the ball during the golf swing or even in a 9 to 3 drill. Take a look at the tush line video in the advanced downswing section to show you how to keep the hips back throughout the transition and into impact. When the hips come forward, it can result in the spine angle changing quite a bit in the hitting area. We are looking for the hips to be open at impact 30-40 degrees, but they should not have moved forward to shift or to clear. Hope that helps
November 30, 2014
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edward
Chris, Yes, that makes perfect sense, no movement of the hips forward on the axis perpendicular to the target line, as opposed their movement 1 inch back (away from the target) and a 3 inch shift forward (toward the target) at the start of move three, as explained elsewhere on the sight. And yes I have studied tush line video, it's still a work in progress as I try to apply it to my own swing. Since the 9 to 3 drill is really just move one (shift 1 inch away from the target) and then the second part of move three (since there is no move two) essentially we are omitting or perhaps "cheating" - excuse the expression - a bit on the squat, which normally takes place during the first part of move three. But since we want to emulate the correct position and weight distribution at impact, we still need to make up those 3 inches at the start of the transition at 9 o'clock, despite skipping the squat. As well as keeping the tush line which allows the hips to be 30-40 degrees open at impact as you explained. Thanks, Ed
November 30, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Ed -- Sounds like you understand it perfectly and a subte squat move is a good move to have the full downswing sequence as it allows you to shift the hips to the lead side and keep the hips back while doing so and it allows you to pull more power out of the ground. Just be cautious not to overdo the squat as we see that as a common mistake from a lot of the students on the site. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
December 1, 2014
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Graham
This looks like a great drill and I have started to practice it going though 50 balls every 2 days . I am a bit concerned about the extra torsional forces on the lumbar spine that may result from the restricted hip turn. For the young fit and flexible golfer this may not be an issue but as I am 59 and have intermittent flare ups of lower back pain since I was 40 , that has been diagnosed as due to degenerative disc changes , are you really sure this drill will not lead to an increase in lower back pain. Thanks in advance
November 28, 2014
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Graham, What you'll want to do is pull your abs in towards towards your spine which will help prevent the pain in the lower back. Also, the stronger that you make your core muscles, the better your back will feel in the golf swing. R.J.
November 29, 2014
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Carlos
Hi what iron do you recomend to practice this drill? What iron are you using in the video and why is the ball so close to the right foot almost as a chip shot? Isnt that like "cheating" for the impact? Imagine I was going to use a 5 iron, we want the ball further or on the middle/ near rear foot ? Should't this used as a ful shot stance and ball position? Is it worth to change clubs for this drill and practice with fairway woods too ? Thanks
November 18, 2014
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Carlos, The camera angle isn't straight on, it's a normal ball position not towards the back foot. You can use any club that want other than a putter, because that wouldn't be productive. The iron that Chuck normally uses for his videos is a 7 iron. Your stance and ball position need to be standard. R.J
November 18, 2014
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Carlos
wonderful thanks
November 18, 2014
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
You're welcome.
November 18, 2014
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John
so at the 3 o'clock position, both arms are straight, correct? my left arm wants to break down a bit at that point and keeping it straight feels odd - but does breaking that left arm prevent a full turn, or rather allow a less that full turn? thanks
November 17, 2014
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Steven (Certified RST Instructor)
John, there can be a very small amount of left arm bend at that point, ideally if you have rotated correctly both arms shoulder be straight. Now if it is hurting to keep the left arm straight then ease off it a bit and allow for a slight bend. When we let the left arm break down is when we start pushing from the left side of the body which is not going to get us to a full 90* of shoudler rotation. the safest way to get to 90* of rotation WHILE remaining centered in the swing is to pull from the right. So ideally we would want to pull not push. Hope the sums things up for you. Steven
November 18, 2014
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John
very good Stephen. Thanks!
November 18, 2014
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david
on the previous post I meant internal hip rotation.
November 17, 2014
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
David, Okay, thanks for clearing that up. R.J.
November 17, 2014
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david
Hyperextension of the L knee appears to be a problem with this drill and knee joint considerations i.e. meniscal. Suggestions and what I might be doing wrong. Also what about hip rotational restriction on L. (External) Thanks
November 17, 2014
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
David, You don't want to push back on the knee joint. There's certainly a difference in trying to straighten your leg and pushing back on the knee. If you focus on pushing your heel into the ground, your leg will straighten more naturally as opposed to thinking about straightening the angle between the lower and upper leg, which could result in hyper extension. As far as rotating the hips in the backswing of the 9-3 drill, we don't do it because the hips don't rotate back until after the takeaway. This drill is only focusing on what happens at the bottom of the swing, therefore, rotation of the hips to the trailing side of the body is not necessary. We're only doing move 1 and move 3, moves 2 and 4 are omitted for this drill. R.J.
November 17, 2014
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gary
hey james i know this will sound a bit daft i am meant to work to straighten the left leg? gary
November 13, 2014
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james (Certified RST Instructor)
loading up the glutes and then pulling from the obliques will work to straightening up the left leg but yes at impact you will work towards a straight leg - check out the video Chris has done in the downswing section on straightening the left leg at impact
November 13, 2014
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gary
thanks james i had to pl;ay a game took some of what im learning onto the course tee off much better struggled with some fairway irons ( my weak point) chunked a few i think weight transfer? maybeliking it so far hey james if after my first 3 months i may try the one to one 88$ how does that work? gary
November 17, 2014
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Nick
I like this drill. I don't have trouble with the takeaway. My question is when do you shift in your swing? And on to the left side, do you squot. In the video it doesn't look like your squoting.
October 28, 2014
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Nick, This drill is mostly about taking the club back wide, feeling how to build up lag, shift the weight and release the club. There isn't enough time to put a squat into this movement. You would shift the weight back to the left in your swing just before you finish your backswing and then as you finish your backswing you squat to square, then the downswing starts. R.J.
October 28, 2014
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Art
I did this drill for 90 minutes a night, for 5 consecutive nights, in my backyard. I am supposed to play in a charity tournament tomorrow, so I went to the range tonight. I hit three large buckets, and literally every swing but 2 resulted in a ball that was 45 degrees to the right, and about 6 inches off the ground (this is not hyperbole). I also had to remove about a pound of dirt from the club after every swing (this is hyperbole). I had the same result when I tried to chip the ball a few yards. I simply cannot hit a golf ball anymore, and I would truly appreciate advice (from anyone) on how to return my swing to what it was prior to viewing this video. Thank you in advance.
October 28, 2014
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R.J. (Certified RST Instructor)
Art, It's fairly obvious that your club face is wide open at impact. Make sure the logo of your golf club is pointing at the ground as your hands come into impact and it will square up your club face. Also, you might want to check your grip to see if you have it setup as a very weak grip. As for chunking, make sure your left leg is straightened at impact and that you keep your head still this should give you more consistent vertical strikes. Also, make sure you're not tilting your spine too far back at impact because that could cause an otherwise terrific golf swing to produce fat or thin shots depending on how much you lean back. Recommended videos -------------------------------- Left Hand Golf Club Release Impact alignments face-on Impact alignments down the line Trace the plane line Squaring the club face How to cure the shanks in 3 steps Level shoulders at impact The Golf Grip - How To R.J.
October 28, 2014
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Arnie
After working through all the videos and mastering the positions and drills, what is the transition to actually hitting balls? The only ball-striking drill I think I see is the 9 to 3 drill. Would I just keep lengthening my swing as I get better, working up from 9 to 3 to a full swing?
September 14, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Arnel. The 9 to 3 will be a good place to start. Once you can master that swing with a ball in front of you. Work into a fuller swinging motion. You are on the right track.
September 15, 2014
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Heath
This video fixed my problem with taking the club away low and sucking it inside in about 20 minutes. I've been struggling with this problem for years. I'd get instruction and it would look fixed in practice, then I'd be straight back to it in full swings on the course. Phew, it's a relief to be rid of this problem, and my contact improved immediately.
September 11, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Heath. Great! Love the good news. Keep up the good work. Appreciate the feedback.
September 12, 2014
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DENIS
Imagine my butt at address is resting against a brick wall about waist high. I was taught once that if, during the weight transfer on the downswing, my hips and butt moved down that brick wall to my front leg I am more likely to hit straight shots. In this drill, and particularly in the full swing, should I feel my butt is sliding down that brick wall during the weight transfer from the rear heel to the front heel. As I slide to the front foot I often try to delay releasing my hips until I am on the front leg (in an attempt to avoid the hips spinning out ahead of time).
August 31, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
You should feel it slightly sliding down, but not a massive drop. A little down and weight on the lead leg.
September 1, 2014
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Steven
I am working on trying to have more forward shaft lean at impact and notice in my face-on videos that the farther back I go on my backswing, the less forward shaft lean I have at impact. Ideally, should we have about the same amount of forward shaft-lean at impact regardless of how long the backswing is? Or is it normal, even for good players, to lose a bit of forward shaft-lean at impact as the backswing gets longer? When I take a practice swing of any length (even full length), I am able to lag the club and achieve good forward-shaft lean in the impact position. But with a real swing, there is a noticable difference in the amount of forward shaft-lean that I have at impact, even when doing the 9-to-3 drill, no matter how hard I try to make my real swing feel like my practice swing. I do, however, get just about the same amount of forward shaft-lean on a baby 7:30 to 4:30 real swing, as I get on a baby 7:30 to 4:30 practice swing. So, would a good exercise for me be to start with 7:30 to 4:30 swings, and slowly work my way up the clock, moving to successively longer swings only after I am able to consistently achieve good forward shaft-lean at the length of swing I am currently working on?
August 20, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Steven. Yes, to the first question. Ideally it would be close to the same. If you are losing it the longer the stroke. You are probably giving up on the lead side pull and adding trail side push too soon. The shorted swing doesn't allow you time to and as much trail side into the strike. Slowly moving up will help you. Practice a lot with the lead arm. Feel the trail side very passive. The Re-Shaping Your Swing for Lag Video in the Introduction Section should help more with the full swing move.
August 20, 2014
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Steven
Thank you for the quick response, Craig. Your diagnosis makes sense regarding me giving up the lead side pull and adding trail side push too soon.
August 20, 2014
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Jim
i can do this drill fine but when I try to hit a full shot I hit it very thin. No divot. and no compressions at all. As long as I don't try to a 7 iron more than 125 yards I hit it ok.
August 12, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Jim. It could be a few different things. Without seeing your move it sounds like you give up on the lag too soon and release. Take a look at the Taking a Divot Video in the Advanced Downswing Section. Make sure you are getting stacked, forward shaft lean and retaining the angle long enough to get the nice descending strike. Please upload your swing to our online review system. We would be happy to take a look.
August 13, 2014
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Charlie
Hi! I am very excited and hopeful from the instruction and practice I have done so far. I’ve looked at a lot of online instruction and you guys are a hundred times more thorough in your delivery. Played 18 on Tuesday without having practiced new stuff. Horrible front nine (54); better back nine (44) – started to hit shots better especially driver. Based on what I’ve learned so far, here’s what is new to my swing that I have to ingrain: 1) Full shoulder turn; I can do it but my habit is not to (due to previous faulty instruction). Feels very awkward; timing gets off. 2) Left arm dominant; never realize how right arm dominant I am now. 3) Weight shift, I get lazy with this. 4) Posture: no wonder I am inconsistent – I probably never set up the same way from one shot to another. a. I’ve always been on my toes rather than heels b. I am crouched over; feels different to keep head up. c. Starting to understand “in the box” and how powerful that feels in setup. 5) Going heel to heel in the swing. As you can see there is a lot to work on. Went to practice range yesterday and did the 9to3 drill. Started to hit accurate boring draws effortlessly! Made me realize what swinging on plane means. I’ve been good with “in to out” but not “out to in” on the follow through. Hence, my game was filled with pushes and then compensating “over the tops” and vice versa. It’s been an accident hitting it straight. Based on the above, what do you think my top instruction/practice priority should be? I play 18 once a week and can usually only hit a bucket or two a week. (Are driving range mats ok to practice on? I hope so because that’s my only option.) Thanks. Charlie Pawlina.
August 9, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Charlie. Have you uploaded a swing for review? One of our instructors would be glad to set you up with a plan. Without seeing your swing, it would be hard to diagnose exactly your need. Looking at your notes. Focus on Setup and Weight Shift. It takes time to do it properly without thinking too much. You would be surprised how many of the best players in the world go to the range to practice setup. Get the posture correct and shift the weight. Learning those moves are vital to get the club on plane. Especially, on the downswing.
August 9, 2014
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Mark
Shifting the weight to the left...should there be a strong sensation of driving the left heel into the ground? Could that/should that be the true start of the weight shift or sitting into the left side?
August 6, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Mark. Yes, that would be a good trigger. Take a look at the How the Lower Body Works Video in the Downswing Section. The "stomp" drill will help get the left hell/glute to fire properly.
August 6, 2014
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Matthew
Why no mention of the importance of "loading" the shaft and "maintaining" the loaded shaft on the downswing. Also how to best "load" the shaft.
August 6, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Matt. Loading the shaft is very important. We have tons of videos on lag and loading the shaft with proper pull from the lead side in the Advanced Downswing Section. You will find a lot of useful information to help you on your journey.
August 6, 2014
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charles
I have a question about the version of this drill where you add wrist cock. I get that the release motion of the forward wrist should happen in a steady motion from 9 to 3. But what about the uncocking of the wrist? It seems that you should fully uncocking by impact for max snap and club head speed. If correct this seems the basic challenge of the swing - getting the correct timing of uncocking by impact while forward hand release takes longer?
August 6, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Charles. The release is a very natural occurrence. But, getting the timing of the release synched up with body is crucial and takes some training.
August 6, 2014
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charles
Thanks, but do you think the wrist un-cock happens earlier than the left hand rollover release action? Do I want to think about actively/intentionally releasing the wrist cock right at impact or do I try and smoothly have both the wrist un-cock and left hand rollover happen at a constant pace from 9 to 3? Does this make any sense? Am I going down the wrong track? I ask as I seem to often rollover the left hand too early and I get too much draw spin but not sure if I still want to achieve full wrist un-cock at impact for maximum speed at impact.
August 6, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
You want to achieve it smoothy. The club will be rotating a uncocking into the release. Take a look at the 5 Minutes to a Perfect Release in the Downswing Section. Some good drills and imagery to help. Don't try to consciously think about the wrist uncocking too much, unless you have a tendency to hold on. The better the release, the straighter the shot. The flip causes the left shot.
August 6, 2014
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Howard
Hi Craig. When you say "add wrist cock" do you let the weight of the club do that, or do you do that by controlling it with your hands?
July 23, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hello Howard. You want to add wrist cock, but not by feeling you get a max set or opposite being to flimsy. Use a little bit of the weight of the club and let the wrist set naturally. Like flipping a coin over your shoulder. You wouldn't cock really hard and fast. Neither flimsy to time the flip.
July 23, 2014
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Mark
I had a very successful time hitting good shots with the 9 to 3 drill and getting to my left side at the proper time. What is the optimum way to convert this drill swing to the proper full swing. Chuck indicated that it is 90% of the proper full swing.
July 21, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Mark. Learn Move 2. How you would complete the swing from 9 o'clock. Start to make larger swings blending the 9 to 3 with a complete backswing. Practicing at pace (different speeds). Figure out where you lose one or two keys. Build from there.
July 21, 2014
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John
I am able to do this drill quite well through my 6 iron (my longest iron). I have problems doing the drill with my 5,4 and 3 hybrid. Should I be doing this drill with those longer clubs? Are there any adjustments I need to make? Thank you.
July 17, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey John. The longer the club. The harder it will be to do the drill. I don't think you need to go above a 6 iron. The swing and principles will remain the same for all the clubs in the bag. Training with just the lower irons. Won't inhibit your progress.
July 17, 2014
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John
Thank you for your response Craig.
July 18, 2014
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Barry
I over rotate my hips causing an over swing and across the line at the top. As suggested, I went back to move 1. Please clarify keeping the hips anchored in the 9-3 drill. Do I need to feel I have to consciously lock my hips, load the right glute while rotating my torso in moves 1&2? Swing feels short w/ almost too much rotational tension between my upper and lower body that acceleration in the downswing maybe affected. Is this what I should be feeling? Thanks and great site!
July 8, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
In the 9 to 3 the hips going back will be a minimal movement. You will want the feet feeling anchored. Weight loading into the glute and not sliding to the outside of the foot. The torso will pull the hips open a little before you start you transition. Make sure you get the weight shift correct. Take a look at the Understanding Weight Shift Video Part 1 and 2. From the takeaway to the top. The torso will pull the hips open around 45 degrees. There might be a feeling of restriction because you are very used to over rotating. It will subside with practice. Take a look at the Maintaining Knee Anchor Video in the Backswing Section. Keep the knee flexion to help attain the correct position and feeling.
July 8, 2014
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John
Great drill. Just started to practice it. I have a tendency to hit pulls and hooks. This drill seems to show me one possible reason. When I did the 9-3 the first few times, the ball tended to go left, as usual. When I put more emphasisis on hip rotation with the downswing ( by feeling pull from left oblique, more of a stomp of left heel, and finishing with hips under torso), the ball went straight. Does that make sense? Of course this drill also has me paying much more attention to takeaway, and getting in/ closer to correct position on takeaway for the first time is probably helping a lot too.
July 2, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Yes, that makes since. The hips do play a role in getting to a correct impact position. They will approximately be open 30 to 40 degrees from target.
July 2, 2014
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John
Is this a good dril to use with the impact bag. What drills would you recommend for impact bag?/ Thanks, John
July 1, 2014
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Steven (Certified RST Instructor)
John, This drill would be really good to use with an impact bag. Using an impact bag is a great way to get into the proper positions at impact because it stops you from rotating through to the finish. At impact we want our shoulders to be square to the target line and the hips 45* open to the target. Most golfers tend to spin out with the hips and shoulders due to pushing of the right side assuming their RH and the impact bag is a great way to get into those positions using the pulling motion from the left side of the body. As for the drills pretty much any drill that could involve hitting a golf ball an impact bag can be replaced for the ball. Good Luck!
July 1, 2014
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david
Why do I at times hit the ball thin on this drill. Thank you
June 29, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey David. Either your upper body is hanging back a little, or using a little too much right side. Make sure to shift the weight properly and get a descending blow with shaft lean. Take a look at the Taking a Divot Video in the Downswing Advanced Section. It will help aid in the weight transfer, lag, and forward shaft lean to get your consistent strike.
June 29, 2014
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Mike
I tried working on the 9-3 drill as my instructor suggested. However, no matter what I tried, I could not stop my backswing parallel to the ground at 9. My right arm always would bend. What would cause my right arm to bend no matter where I stopped my backswing?
June 29, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
The right arm is bending because of ingrained habits or pushing to much from the left. My suggestion is try the 2 inch hand dill in the Role of the Right Arm Takeaway Video in the Takeaway Advanced Section. Try to maintain the 2 inch gap and keep your finger tip length relatively the same. You should be able to control the right arm better.
June 29, 2014
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Freddy
Noticed at the 4:40 mark, that 75% swing looks very quiet, comfortable and repeatable. Any reason a new student couldn't make that 75% a pattern to get started ? With my occasional lumbar issues, this might be a good swing to have grooved and actually play with. Really, a cleanly struck 75% swing with lag would probably represent a vast improvement for me.
June 24, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Fred, a lot of our members play with the 9 to 3. If 75% is the max you can keep everything in sync and body quiet. No reason you can't play with it to get started.
June 24, 2014
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Freddy
Thanks. That is good to hear, Craig. The (9 to 3 and then to 75%) looks do-able for me. Will keep you updated on how it's coming along.
June 24, 2014
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Gareth
Been working on the 9 to 3 drill and found that if I keep the wrist loose I get a feeling of playing tug-o-war with the club after I shift to my left; the harder I pull the further the ball goes. I assume this is the correct feeling? Also, after about 15 min. or so of the same drill (usually take about 2-3 practice swing before hitting a ball) I feel really sore on both side of my lower back just above the hip bone. Is this normal? Am I bending over & swinging on one side of the body too much?
June 20, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
You will start to feel more usage out of the oblique area. But, shouldn't be in the lower back. Make sure you don't have too much secondary axis tilt. Yes, the momentum change and lag will feel like a tug of war.
June 20, 2014
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Gareth
Can you clarify what is secondary axis tilt?
June 25, 2014
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Seth
when you add the wrist hinge to this drill, is it passive or are you actively thinking about hinging your wrists? I tend to get my hands in all these crazy positions when i actively have to think about it and really loose control of the club going back then in the downswing.
June 17, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
The wrist hinge is more passive. Don't try to actively create a massive amount of wrist set.
June 17, 2014
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michael
i feel like I am moving (swaying) when I try to get my weight into the right glute. Any help on how I can get the weight into the right glute without swaying. I am fighting setting up with the proper weight distribution .
June 11, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Michael, it's only 1 inch shift. Very small movement. Try standing straight up and down. Lean slightly into your right heel, right glute as if you were going to stand on one leg. Feel the weight and engagement of he glute over the right leg. That's all the motion required for the shift. You might be over doing it.
June 11, 2014
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Bert
Thanks for the video. Could you advise me if you initiate the downswing with your oblique muscles or with your arms.
June 4, 2014
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Bert
Thanks for the clarification. I am still wondering if the downswing is (after the shifting of weight) achieved with an activation oblique muscles or a pulling of arms. Sorry for the confusion.
June 5, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
The downswing will be initiated by pulling the weight over to the left with left hip adduction and planting the weight firmly into the left ankle activating the left glute.
June 5, 2014
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John
My problem seems to be my shoulders on the downswing..should we be concentrating on keeping the right shoulder back like explained in "throw the ball with the right arm video". Thank you
May 18, 2014
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Craig (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey John. Yes, the right shoulder needs to remain back. You don't want to actively start rotating with the right shoulder during the transition and start of the downswing.
May 18, 2014
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Greg
Would you say there is a squat to this drill? Is it the squat that keeps the left shoulder down on the downswing and the shoulders more level at impact?
May 12, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Greg, there shouldn't be much squat in this drill. Just proper shifting to the left and keeping the hips back. The left side of the body doing most of the work will keep the left shoulder down.
May 12, 2014
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Donald
Do you have any recommendations for what club to use with this drill? I used a 9 iron and a 6 iron with good results. Is it reasonable to use a driver for this drill?
April 30, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
You can use any club really however, dont expect great results with the driver as you may be delofting it more than usual.
April 30, 2014
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rich
Hello, First time asking a question. I have submitted two videos in my 4 weeks as a member, faithfully practiced my drills, set up, rotation etc. I did about 90 minutes of the 9-3 drill today and hit the ball ok, not great. But then when I hit 3/4 shots I shank everything. I have shanked everything for the last two weeks. I cannot even play right now. I am truly despondent and was wondering if some people get way way worse before they get better. I love the simplicity of the rotary swing but if things dont get better soon, I wont have any clue what to do. I live too far away from an RST instructor. I am a golf basket case now.
April 28, 2014
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David
I just wanted to add that last year was the first year I started shanking the ball and it turned out that I had too much tension in my arms without even knowing it. I could see how with this drill, one might tighten the arms. to go halfway back and halfway forward. A pga instructor came over to me and said just let the arms hang and that's when I realized the arms were too tight. The shanks left me. Many things can cause the shanks but check out the tension in your arms...that's what did it for me.
April 30, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
We will get you through the mental barrier and get your mechanics in a good place to continue on with golf. Make sure that you are working on 5 minutes to a perfect release also make sure that you are not over powering the move with the right side of the body or allowing the right hip, right knee or right shoulder to move closer to the golf ball than it was at address. Hope that helps.
April 28, 2014
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john
I have used the 9 to 3 drill and the left hand release drill and it has improved my ball striking immensely. However when I try to add in the full shoulder turn I seem to have difficulty striking the ball as effortlessly. Can you give any advise on this ?
April 26, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey John, have you submitted your swing for a review recently. We may need to take a look and see what is going on to help you out here.
April 26, 2014
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bill
still not able to watch videos at all,any help would be great.
April 22, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Bill, very sorry to hear that you are having troubles. If you go to the top right of your screen and go to the help tab there is some tips to help you out and if you have further issues there is a quick form you can fill out so that we can personally help whatever problems you are currently having.
April 22, 2014
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Greg
As I swing the club back and forth from the 9-3 positions, it wants to pull me toward the balls of my feet. I'm not pushing from the right side and my right heal is staying down through contact. I'm getting the left hip into NJA and then straightening the left leg. I feel the only way to maintain the weight over the ankles is to feel my tush sitting into the ankles throughout the 9-3 swing. Is this correct?
April 22, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
You want the hips to stay back while working through the hitting area. If you are having the tush sit into the ankles then more than likely you are allowing the hips to come forward and causing some early extension in the spine.
April 22, 2014
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neelesh
would be nice if you could slow-motion that in some parts so we can get a better idea of how your legs move vis-a-vis your hands. In fact, a number of your videos could benefit from some slow motion parts in them
April 21, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Neelesh, you can always go to the swing viewer under self analysis tab at the top of the screen and load up any of the model swings in there and watch them in slow motion or control them at any speed. Hope that helps as there are even some 9 to 3 swings in there.
April 21, 2014
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Michael
I find that during the takeaway the club shaft is forward of the toe line when it is parallel to the target line (9 o'clock) and after impact the club shaft is behind the toe line when it is parallel to the target line (3 o'clock) as opposed to being forward of the toe line as it was at 9 o'clock. Are these the correct positions for the club shaft when doing the 9-3 drill?
April 14, 2014
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René (Certified RST Instructor)
Hey Michael, I am not sure if I understand your question. When your toe line is set up parallel to the target line and your shaft is parallel to the ground and target line at 9 and 3 o'clock, it should be parallel at your toe line. Do you mean the shaft parallel to the ground instead of parallel to the target line? Anyway the club shaft should be over or parallel to the toe line when the club is parallel to the ground at 9 and 3 o'clock. Be sure that your shoulders are set up parallel to the target line when you start and at impact. Good luck!
April 14, 2014
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Tom
When I try pulling my hands down by activating the left oblique, it feels like my left hip is "spinning" open is this how it works?
April 6, 2014
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Chris (Certified RST Instructor)
If you have the left glute activated and it is a conscious pull from the left side (no push from right), the hips will open a bit and should be about 30-40 degrees open at impact and post impact
April 8, 2014

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