Dropping into the SLot

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Date: 14 Nov 2006 08:32:25
From: ken
Subject: Dropping into the SLot

I have been playing for about 1 year and have taken some lessons.
I was at the range w/ my 7I and was hitting 2 out of 3 down the middle
150-170 yards. This is very good for me.
A friend comes over and tells me I am not dropping into the slot by pushing
down and forward with my back shoulder.
I understand the motion and try it for around 30 balls. It was a nightmare.
I was hitting fat, if not actually behind the ball.
My question is thus:
Do I really have to practice and master the "slot" motion even if I am able
to hit the ball without learning this.
Somewhere in my swing I must compensate because I was hitting the 7I really
well before my friend stopped by and tried to refine my swing

Thanks, Ken

Date: 14 Nov 2006 17:41:04
From: Rob Davis
Subject: Re: Dropping into the SLot

IMHO, your "friend" doesn't know what he's talking about (either that or
he's not describing it very well ... finding the right words is part of
the problem in golf instruction).

My understanding of the "slot" is simply a proper transition to the
forward swing. The most common way I've heard this described is that it
begins with a weight shift to the front leg (lower body, usually a
slight bump with the left hip) and, at the same time, the right arm
drops back to your side. The hands drop down a little bit to start the
downswing, but I don't believe you want to really change the tilt of
your shoulders (and your spine angle). The "pushing down and forward
with [the] back shoulder" sounds more like what happens to me when I do
it dead wrong ... I exaggerate the move to the inside and end up hitting
a huge push to the right 8^(.

But of course, my advice is not necessarily worth any more than his ...
you're usually better off with a pro who can actually see you swing.

Rob

ken wrote:
> I have been playing for about 1 year and have taken some lessons.
> I was at the range w/ my 7I and was hitting 2 out of 3 down the middle
> 150-170 yards. This is very good for me.
> A friend comes over and tells me I am not dropping into the slot by pushing
> down and forward with my back shoulder.
> I understand the motion and try it for around 30 balls. It was a nightmare.
> I was hitting fat, if not actually behind the ball.
> My question is thus:
> Do I really have to practice and master the "slot" motion even if I am able
> to hit the ball without learning this.
> Somewhere in my swing I must compensate because I was hitting the 7I really
> well before my friend stopped by and tried to refine my swing
>
> Thanks, Ken
>

Date: 14 Nov 2006 09:20:20
From: Ersatz
Subject: Re: Dropping into the SLot

Date: 14 Nov 2006 08:14:07
From: Birdie Bill
Subject: Re: Dropping into the SLot

On Nov 14, 7:32 am, "ken" <kschw9...@comcast.net > wrote:
> I have been playing for about 1 year and have taken some lessons.
> I was at the range w/ my 7I and was hitting 2 out of 3 down the middle
> 150-170 yards. This is very good for me.
> A friend comes over and tells me I am not dropping into the slot by pushing
> down and forward with my back shoulder.
> I understand the motion and try it for around 30 balls. It was a nightmare.
> I was hitting fat, if not actually behind the ball.
> My question is thus:
> Do I really have to practice and master the "slot" motion even if I am able
> to hit the ball without learning this.
> Somewhere in my swing I must compensate because I was hitting the 7I really
> well before my friend stopped by and tried to refine my swing

Never take lessons from a hack. Who knows, he could be 100% right,
but he obviously doesn't know how to teach. Go take another lesson,
or better yet sign up for a series of lessons with a real pro. Then,
when
your friend stops by, you can say, "Sorry, you may be right, but my
pro has me working on this other thing right now".

Date: 14 Nov 2006 13:13:39
From:
Subject: Re: Dropping into the SLot

ken wrote:
> I have been playing for about 1 year and have taken some lessons.
> I was at the range w/ my 7I and was hitting 2 out of 3 down the middle
> 150-170 yards. This is very good for me.
> A friend comes over and tells me I am not dropping into the slot by pushing
> down and forward with my back shoulder.
> I understand the motion and try it for around 30 balls. It was a nightmare.
> I was hitting fat, if not actually behind the ball.
> My question is thus:
> Do I really have to practice and master the "slot" motion even if I am able
> to hit the ball without learning this.
> Somewhere in my swing I must compensate because I was hitting the 7I really
> well before my friend stopped by and tried to refine my swing
>
> Thanks, Ken

McClean has a nice attempt at The Slot at his site with lots of
pictorials.

http://www.golfdigest.com/instruction/index.ssf?/instruction/gd200609mcleanslotswing

Date: 14 Nov 2006 16:06:53
From: Martin Levac
Subject: Re: Dropping into the SLot

"ken" <kschw9883@comcast.net > wrote in message
news:B9SdnUGOWuPwWMTYnZ2dnUVZ_uCdnZ2d@comcast.com...
>I have been playing for about 1 year and have taken some lessons.
> I was at the range w/ my 7I and was hitting 2 out of 3 down the middle
> 150-170 yards. This is very good for me.
> A friend comes over and tells me I am not dropping into the slot by
> pushing down and forward with my back shoulder.
> I understand the motion and try it for around 30 balls. It was a
> nightmare.
> I was hitting fat, if not actually behind the ball.
> My question is thus:
> Do I really have to practice and master the "slot" motion even if I am
> able to hit the ball without learning this.
> Somewhere in my swing I must compensate because I was hitting the 7I
> really well before my friend stopped by and tried to refine my swing
>
> Thanks, Ken
>

Whatever it takes to send the ball to the target using a club.

The slot is a position at the top of the swing in plane (or in line with
that plane) with whatever arc you're going to put the club in on the
downswing. Incidentally, if you strike the ball properly, you've already
found the slot. Since you've already found it, no need to search for it
further.

I've had people tell me stuff. I tried it, kept what worked, scrapped what
didn't. I learned that I learn better on my own. Now I reply "no thank you",
I advise you do the same.

A mechanism for failure:

Focus on some aspect of the golf swing that isn't "strike the ball to send
it to a target". Strike the ball, watch where it ends up. Repeat.

A mechanism for success:

Focus on striking the ball properly to send it to a target. Strike the ball,
watch where it ends up. Repeat.

I don't mean to say that learning any technique is wrong. I mean to say that
technique is learned, practiced then forgotten so that focus can then be
shifted to striking the ball to send it to a target. But then, if you
already send the ball to your target without having learned the technique
(in this case, the slot) formally, what's the use of thinking about that?
What's the use especially if it prevents you from sending the ball to your
target?

If you already send the ball to your target, do you need to understand why?
If you already know how to send the ball to your target, do you need to
practice individual aspects of the swing? If you already know how to send
the ball to your target, do you need to know how to grip the club with your
hands?

My point is that the purpose of golf is to send a ball to a target using a
club, once you know how to do that, you don't need to learn anything else.
The contrary would be to not send the ball to your target. Which do you want
to do?

Martin Levac