Golf Smart Academy Forum — New Member Here

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New Member Here ¶

By: Christian G on Jan. 25, 2026, 4:11 p.m.

Tyler, I'm a new-ish golfer - been playing since April of 2025. 25 hcp. I recently read and enjoyed your book so I decided I'd join the site. The 9-3 and trail hand open drills resonated with me.

Here are 3 videos (3 swings, DTL and FO are both in each clip). One is my current 'natural' pattern. Seems to me that I lose posture in the backswing (lack of side bend?), and I get steep in transition and spin my shoulders as a power source. I tend to stall/flip with a leftward swing direction at times.

The other 2 swings are a 9 to 3 and a trail hand open swing.

My main goals with this post are to confirm my diagnosis and to prioritize drills/areas of the swing to begin addressing. I know this will be a process and will take time - I'm mostly looking for a road map.

Thanks,
CG

P.S. The AI feature is pretty sweet

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Re: New Member Here ¶

By: Tyler F on Jan. 28, 2026, 12:49 p.m.

Hi Christian,

Glad you’re enjoying the AI feature, we’re happy with how it’s evolving.

I’m not seeing a big loss of posture, but it looks like the backswing is under rotated and the arms lift to finish the backswing, then you transition with the arms a little steep and dominant. The trail hand open seems to help you make a fuller turn with shallower arms and a better release. Definitely a keeper drill for you.

The main thing that the 9 to 3 reveals is that your believed impact position doesn’t have a lot of pelvis or spine rotation. That will be something to keep in your mind and might be something to work on while working on the open trail hand.

Happy Golfing,
Tyler

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Re: New Member Here ¶

By: Christian G on Jan. 29, 2026, 5:49 a.m.

Many thanks for the feedback, Tyler. I'll definitely stick with trail hand open, and I suppose I could do 9-3s with trail hand open as well?

Browsing the videos, pelvic punch and side straddle look like good impact drills for my 9-3s.

All the best,
CG

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Re: New Member Here ¶

By: Tyler F on Feb. 2, 2026, 2:02 p.m.

Hi CG,

Yes, you can do open trail hand in a 9-3 version as well, while working on the impact position.

I also think the pelvic punch and side saddle are good compliments. Also take a look at presetting spine rotation.

Happy Golfing,

Tyler

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Re: New Member Here ¶

By: Christian G on Feb. 3, 2026, 4:02 p.m.

Thanks Tyler,

I've found some success, I think, with an Impact Fix pre-set 9-3. Handle is more forward at impact and I think I'm a bit more open. I'm sure it could be a lot better - curious to hear what needs the most work.

Contact is getting more solid with these - I think my body is starting to get a better idea of where we're trying to go. Regular 9-3s are not as consistently solid as the pre-set impact fix versions.

I've posted two videos, one with pre-set impact fix 9-3s, and one with regular 9-3s. FO and DTL are both in each clip.

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Re: New Member Here ¶

By: Tyler F on Feb. 5, 2026, 7:18 a.m.

Hi Christian,

Glad you feel like you're on to something. That's a fun place to be.

If I were looking at the next complimentary piece, I would try to get the handle more forward at shaft parallel (p6). You can see that your arms are behind your body compared to the pro. This is a result of the body rotation timing. If you turn your hips and lower ribs sooner, then the arm gets pulled in front.
My favorite starter drill for this step is delivery and go (which can then be combined with a pump drill to make full swings). https://www.golfsmartacademy.com/golf-instruction/combo-delivery-and-go-delivery-pump/
Here's a video I describe this situation. https://www.golfsmartacademy.com/golf-instruction/shaft-parallel-lag-checkpoint/

Happy Golfing,
Tyler