OMG, OMG, OMG...Encyclopedia Texarkana!!!

LeftDaddy · January 7, 2019

I've posted about my swing fault on here a few times and never really gotten much interest in helping me :-) . Long story short, I have a bad case of too inside-out. At worst, it leads to god-awful shanks. But even more problematic, I just don't flush many iron shots except on those days when for whatever reason I'm able to stay above the plane.

My primary issue is that I both get too shallow in the backswing, and I drop my arms from the top into and then below "the slot". I see a coach a few times a year, and although he has helped me a lot in specific time periods, I haven't found his advice to always stick. He tells me what I need to do, but we just haven't found a thought or tip or whatever that resonates with me over any lengthy period of time.

I've google searched tips etc for this fault probably literally hundreds of times over the past few years. About 90% doesn't make sense to me, and the 10% that does is only really a "tip" and not necessarily a long-lasting cure for my problem.

One tool that helped me a lot is the little clear piece of plastic that has the 4 "posts" in it that helps you groove a good swing path and plane. When I first started with that, I was hitting the post that is on the inside and behind me a lot, and I also had a hard time avoiding hitting the board even when I avoided the post. Now I can swing and avoid the post with a lot of regularity, but still impact the board behind the ball rather than the ball first sometimes.

I did another google search about 3 weeks ago due to just serious frustration with my inability to cure this issue, and I came across an old post on here from 2014 that referenced this Encyclopedia Texarkana (slicefixer). I read all 48 pages of his Encyclopedia, and it was so useful because it did a lot of comparisons between over-the-top and inside-out. 99% of golf instruction focuses on over-the-top. But slicefixers stuff gave me some steepening "theory" that resonated with me. So I took it to the range, and through some trial and error started compressing the ball again. And then over some more trial-and-error, REALLY started compressing the ball. I've had some good runs in my life with good contact, but I have never felt compression like this before. It is an amazing feeling when it works, and oh my god I was killing the ball. I'm still only truly compressing it about 1 in every 5 swings, but 2 of the others are better than what I was doing.

The big "a ha" for me was two things...I was rotating my shoulders more "back" than around (or more precisely wasn't as connected with my arms and chest as I should be), and second, I was trying to flatten the right wrist (lefty) and resist my natural cupping move. I've been told for years to keep that wrist flat and not cup it, but slicefixer's advice was that people who get too shallow need a cupped wrist, and just in general a cupping of the wrist in the backswing allows the other wrist to hinge better. These two changes now allow me to get behind and right of the ball, which then allows me to fully release my forearms / wrists down into the ball. I had never been able to really release because I was always already in a closed position and too far left of the ball and that created major pull hooks, which I was trying to avoid at all costs.

I recommend you go search for Encyclopedia Texarkana if you like to devour swing theory etc as much as I. It is extremely beneficial. I haven't looked to see if slicefixer is still active here or whatever, but I may...and if I find him would love to thank him and then do some swing talk with him. That's all...sorry for the lengthy post. I feel like if I'm able to fully groove this new move, it will add a lot of consistency and a ton of yardage to my arsenal. I've already seen it play out in the handful of holes I've played since working on this. I'm now outdriving one of my friends who usually got me by about 5-10 yards. I'm now getting him by a few :-)

UnderPar18 · January 7, 2019

I’m surprised you didn’t buy the book yet

farmer · January 7, 2019

I loved reading Slicefixer's posts. I wish he would start again.

LeftDaddy · January 7, 2019

There’s a book? Title?

UnderPar18 · January 7, 2019

There’s a book? Title?

My bad man, it was all in good fun. Every year for a while we would hear a book was in the works. It never got released. Was just having some fun for those who recall.