Welcome to YOUR Swing Support Center, a blog with tips to help you transition to your new straight leading arm back-swing. This blog allows us to share information which we find in articles by golf professionals or success stories submitted by GOLFSTR users. These tips have helped me and I hope they help you too.

Bill Curry, inventor of GOLFSTR

Archives for the ‘Swing Solutions’ Category

What is the #1 GOLF SWING MOTION?

Are you coming over the top? I heard it first on the Golf Channel: up to 80% of golfers are making this mistake so you need to learn the most important golf swing move to avoid coming over the top. In the last event for the FedEx Cup the slow motion swing analysis of Chris Kirk, Rickie Fowler and Billy Horschel showed that they all have the move but they all do it differently.

Don Trahan calls it the BUMP, others call it THE KEY or the SHIFT. As your hands reach the top of your swing, start your downward swing by moving your hips forward.  Tip of the week from Golf-Info-Guide by Thomas Golf   highlights that this shift of the hips will guide your hands down without casting at the top.

It’s that simple. Start the swing from the HIPS and up to the shoulders, then the arms and finally the wrists not from the shoulders down. If you start your swing by rotating your shoulders you will release your wrists too early in your downswing and lose all of your power. You need to be shifting your hips forward as you punch THE BUTT OF YOUR CLUB DOWN. CASTING your club at the top and early chest rotation will just cause a steep swing down at the ball. If you are slicing or pulling your shots then CASTING is causing you to swinging from outside to the inside of the ball (across the target line).

Forget the "cool" RLX brand Ralph Lauren pants. Check the great straight arm swing position. Billy has rhythm.

Forget the “cool” RLX brand Ralph Lauren pants. Check the great straight arm swing position. Billy has rhythm.

LEARN FROM THE PROFESSIONALS: I was amazed to see that 3 of the top players at the Tour Championship by Coca-Cola have radically different swings but they all had the same hip motion to initiate their downswing.

  • Chris Kirk actually pauses his swing at the top as he moves his hips forward to initiate the downswing.
  • Ricky Fowler swings so fast that his hands are still rising as he starts his hip shift.
  • Billy Horschel actually has the best rhythm. He combines his hip motion exactly at the same time as his hands start to punch down with his club. It sure paid off as he picked up $13.5 million over the past 3 weeks.

Last year Billy was almost out of control. Everything that he did was in a rush. He looked so tense. He would setup and smash it. We all need to bottle whatever his coach did to calm him down,  give him RHYTHM and a swing that we should all try to duplicate.

Why not practice with GOLFSTR+ to learn the correct positions before you execute your hip shift and downswing. Chris Kirk proved that you don’t have to have a fluid motion. (1) Get to the top pulling your club shaft 90 degrees from your straight leading arm, (2) shift your hips and weight to your leading foot and (3) swing from the inside.

This game is so simple.

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New and Improved Swing Fixes

We are pleased to announce the improved ways to use GOLFSTR+.      4,000 of our customs including PGA Professionals from around the world love this golf swing training aid. Fortunately they suggested a number of improvements .  And now with added Velcro and better ways to use GOLFSTR+, it’s easier to assemble & more stable on your arm.

GOLFSTR was designed as a reminder to keep your leading arm straight in the backswing.  As a result of your input we added a Black Rubber EXTENDER to give you 3 options to increase pressure on the back of your arm during your swing. Best of all, you can wear GOLFSTR when you play 18 holes as a brain trainer to see results as you play.

 

Click to increase the viewing size

Double Click page 1 of the User Guide  to increase the  size

The product name was changed to GOLFSTR+ to highlight the fact that it is the only GOLF TRAINING AID IN THE WORLD with 6 swing fixes.  CLICK TO CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO WITH ALL THE LATEST DETAILS

We are now adding 4 inch strips of Velcro to both ends of the arm band to simplify the assembly and to make this product ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL. With this change the arm band fits around any 5 inch to 14 inch wrist or arm.  Our User Guide has now been updated to show 2 NEW WAYS to improve lag for more control and power in your golf swing:

 

User Guide #1: TAKEAWAY LAG TRAINER:

  • Click to increase the viewing size

    Double Click page 2 of the User Guide to increase the size

    We have now moved the Wrist Lag Trainer Position to the front of your trailing upper arm for more stability.

  • We call this the Takeaway Lag Trainer” because you need a wide takeaway with BOTH arms straight until your club is horizontal to the ground. This forces your chest to rotate. We learned this from Michael Breed on the Golf FIX show [Golf Channel] when he pointed this out as the reason for Adam Scott’s powerful drives.
  • As your club continues to rise, bend your trailing elbow 90 degrees (to feel the rubber EXTENDER press on your lower arm as you pull your leading wrist to 90 degrees. Holding this lag angle at the start of your downswing gives you more power and distance in your hits.

User Guide #4: LIMITED WRIST LAG TRAINER:
Train with GOLFSTR+ on the back of your trailing wrist to limit your wrist lag in the backswing and to lead with your hands as you impact the ball. This limited lag swing gives you more control and consistent hits. Let the momentum of your club head complete the chip. Just sweep through to finish with a flat leading wrist and pointing your club in the direction of your target. Phil Mickelson calls it “hinge and hold”.

For the full story, check out this updated video which you can also find on our website: www.golfstr.com

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ALS Ice Bucket Challenge from GOLFSTR

As the inventor of the GOLFSTR GOLF TRAINING AID, I hear from many of our 4,000 users.  One of them gave me an ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.  My wife’s mother died from this terrible disease so we are anxious to find a cure as it may affect others in our family and it may affect your family too.

Of course I took the challenge and also donated to the ALS Association.

I am now challenging the 4,000 GOLFSTR+ users to take my Ice Bucket Challenge and get drenched within 24 hours or CLICK HERE to make a donation at the ALS Association  or both.

Best Regards, Bill Curry

Facts About ALS
ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) also called “Lou Gehrig’s Disease” is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects the nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, according to the ALS Association.

Lou Gehrig was a Hall of Fame first baseman for the New York Yankees in the 1920s and 1930s. He was diagnosed with ALS in 1939, and died of the disease in 1941.

With ALS, the motor neurons degenerate until they eventually die. When this happens, the brain loses its ability to control the muscles. Since voluntary muscle action is affected, patients with ALS eventually become totally paralyzed.

“Glass coffin”: That’s ALS in a nutshell,” wrote Ron Schaffer, a 67-year-old ALS patient who communicates through a speech app on an iPad.

According to the ALS Assocation, there are around 5,600 people in the US who are diagnosed with ALS each year.

ALS can happen to two in every 100,000 people. It occurs globally and can affect any ethnicity.

Although the cause of ALS is not completely understood, the recent years have brought a wealth of new scientific understanding regarding the physiology of this disease. While there is not a cure or treatment today there are drugs in clinical trials that hold promise.

Thank you for learning about ALS and considering this challenge as an opportunity to help so many people avoid an agonizing end to their lives.

This notice is brought to you by GOLFSTR WWW.GOLFSTR.COM   Please accept my challenge and pass it on to all of your friends.

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What’s More Important for Longer Drives?

Strength or Flexibility? Unfortunately most of us sit at a computer or commute for too many hours in a day. There is never seems to be enough time to get in the proper exercise before we play a round of golf. After all, golf is exercise so why should you have to get in shape for a friendly round?

Unfortunately golf is an explosive exercise. If you are looking for a way to strain your muscles . . . GOLF is a good way to do it. Strength is important but flexibility and timing are far more important in golf for you long term enjoyment.

STRENGTH: You need a planned exercise program to build up over time. Good golf depends on strength in your arms, core and legs. Core conditioning is most important for a golfer because all movements in your entire body stem from the strength in this area. Tiger is an example of a great golfer who needed a more balanced exercise program.

Rory's drives were over 300 yards before he started strength exercises to lose body fat.  Flexibility and core strength gave him his distance.

Rory’s drives were over 300 yards before he focused on strength exercises to lose body fat. Flexibility and core strength gave him his distance, NOT his newly developed muscles.

Men’s Health Magazine published an article about Rory McIlroy’s new exercise program since winning his first major in 2010, “McIlroy was a classic skinny-soft golfer, with obvious natural ability and flexibility—but with a tiny bit of paunch and jiggle.” He has since changed some body fat to muscle, “gained stability” and he still hits over 300 yard drives. My point here is that his flexibility gave him his distance NOT THE EXTRA MUSCLE.

John Daly's driving distance comes from his flexibility.  There must be some core strength in there too.

John Daly’s driving distance comes from his AMAZING flexibility. There must be some core strength in there too.

FLEXIBILITY: Ideally you should warm up all of your muscles before you start your stretch exercises. 5 minutes on a stationary bike or treadmill are recommended. If you don’t have time to warm up, make sure that you don’t stretch to your limit. Here are 3 flexibility exercises that I received from the Revolution Golf Blog and a personal trainer. Always start any program in moderation with a limited number of repetitions and increase over time.

Neck Mobility: Power comes from rotation of your spin and core but if you want to keep your eye on the ball then your shoulders need to rotate while your head stays stationary. EXERCISE: up to 10 turns to the left and then 10 to the right, 10 times nodding of your head up and chin down to your chest and then 10 head tips to the right (ear toward your shoulder), center and left. [Build up the stretch over time.]

Arm and Shoulder Mobility: If you are ever going to swing with a straight leading arm during the backswing and follow through, you need to do this EXERCISE: Lay on your back with your arms at your sides. Slowly slide them up along the floor to form a U shape and then slide them over your head. ONLY move your arm up to the point where they lift off the floor and stretch that position for 30 to 60 seconds. Do this daily to stretch out your chest.

Spine Mobility: Lay on your back with your arms pointing straight out from your side and both knees bent with your feet flat on the floor. Roll your knees to the left while keeping your shoulders and arms outstretched on the floor (or as close as you can) and hold for 10 seconds. Then return to your starting position and roll to the right side. Repeat this 3 to 5 times.

Flexibility is the key for longer distance and better golf. GOLFSTR+ is the right training solutions for 6 swing fixes for a straight arm or flat wrist where you need it for Putting, Chipping, Drives or Fairway Shots. Order your GOLFSTR+ today. Buy it on line at www.golfstr.com.

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Michael Breed’s Straight Arm Takeaway for Distance

Michael Breed, The Golf FIX guru on the Golf Channel preaches straight arms in the backswing (YES, both arms are STRAIGHT)  for a WIDE takeaway to build more torque and power. He talks about “swinging with your chest”.  His focus is on forming a triangle with your straight arms during the takeaway to force your chest to rotate more than your hips. BINGO, this builds up the latent power in your backswing.

Wide Takeaway [Shown by Rory McIlroy (blue shirt)]
The lines across your shoulder and arms form a triangle. Keeping both arms straight during the takeaway until your club is parallel with the ground will force a wide swing arc and chest rotation.

 

Rory McIlroy (on the right) showing a Wide Straight Arm Takeaway.  Jason Day (on the left) is showing his bent trailing arm creating wrist lag.

Rory McIlroy (on the right) showing a Wide Straight Arm Takeaway. Jason Day (on the left) is showing his bent trailing arm creating wrist lag.

Wrist Lag [ Shown by Jason Day (red shirt)]
1/ Complete your backswing by lift your straight leading arm across your chest.
2/ Use the 90 degree bend of your trailing elbow to cock your leading wrist to 90 degrees for the perfect lag position.

 

 

 

 

 

 

GOLFSTR helps you feel when your trailing arm is bent 90 degrees to force a 90 degree lag in your leading wrist.

PREFERRED SETUP: GOLFSTR helps you feel when your trailing arm is bent 90 degrees to force a 90 degree lag in your leading wrist.

Takeaway Lag Trainer:  Using this swing we developed an improved use for GOLFSTR+ as a lag trainer to gain over 30 yards on drives. Bend your trailing elbow 90 degrees and strap GOLFSTR+ on your upper arm and resting on the lower arm.  It helps you feel when your arm is bent to 90 degrees (forcing your leading wrist to bend 90 degrees).

Note:  There are 3 ways to use GOLFSTR+ as a Lag Trainer: PREFERRED SETUP: On the trailing upper arm and point to your lower arm,  Option 2/ On the inside flat of your trailing arm and pointing to your upper arm or Option 3/ On your leading arm and pointing to the back of your thumb.

 

Lag Trainer Assembly OPTION 2: On the flat surface of your trailing arm pointing to your upper arm

Lag Trainer Assembly OPTION 2: On the flat surface of your trailing arm pointing to your upper arm

Always start with a loose grip and relaxed arms.  Your trailing hand is just guiding the hinge of your lagging wrist. Bending the trailing elbow to 90 degrees in the backswing will pull your club down to create the 90 degree wrist lag (while you keep your leading arm straight).

Lag Trainer Option #3: On your leading arm pointing to your thumb.

Lag Trainer Option 3: On your leading arm pointing to your thumb.

At the top of your backswing you can feel the black rubber extender press against your upper arm. At this point, you know that your elbow is bent 90 and your wrist lag is 90 degrees.
To start your forward swing, shift your weight forward while holding the wrist lag and release from the inside to out as you swing through the ball to a balanced finish.

 

Check out this video for the complete story.

Check out the GOLFSTR+ website for all 6 of the swing fixes at  www.golfstr.com

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Are you Mishitting Critical Shots?

Do you mishit shots when you really WANT to hit the perfect shot?  Henrik Stenson shanked a shot in the final round of the PGA Championship (and placed 3rd). The pros all shank shots but you rarely see these shots replayed on TV. Knowing what causes this unexpected mishit will help you minimize your shanks. We also found a simple practice swing that will help you recover your perfect swing.

First you need to understand that your mind and your intensity to hit the perfect shot can cause you to freeze up. Yes, you are actually missing part of your swing when you mishit the ball. Your practice swing may be perfect but that pause before you commit to hitting the ball tends to clutter your mind with too many bad thoughts. Memories of past mishits tend to freeze up your muscles (especially the big one between your ears).

You are actually missing part of your perfect swing. When your mind and body tighten up (in preparation to hit the ball) you may be rushing your backswing, minimizing shoulder rotation, forgetting to shift your weight to your forward foot or falling back before you reach a full balanced finish.

YES: You just messed up your shot. [Mispronouncing “mishitting” is more like it but I’m not going there.]

I see this happen in my swing and also when I watch every golfer mishit their ball. The practice swing is perfect. Why does a little white ball in front of you cause a disaster?

Winning pros like Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship, practice relentlessly to build confidence in every swing.

Winning pros like Rory McIlroy at the PGA Championship, practice relentlessly to build confidence in every swing.

SOLUTION: When you know that you have an important shot and you are waiting for others to hit, just relax your body by completing a few Spit Grip Swings with a slow speed swing. I picked this up from the Jim McLean Golf School. It gives you the correct backswing rotation, the correct feel for wrist lag and the correct release through the ball to a balanced finish position.

For the Spit Grip Practice Swing, just place your leading hand on your club as you normally would grip it. Then place your lower hand with a separation of about 2 inches lower on the grip. Now complete your back swing with a straight arm & full 90 degree wrist lag and swing rolling your wrist through the hitting area to a balanced finish. You can feel a full shoulder and chest rotation as you make this mid-air practice swing.

Use this practice swing to break out of your failure mode. Of course you need to do this practice with a straight leading arm just the way you practice with your GOLFSTR+. If you don’t have one, please check it out on www.golfstr.com and don’t leave home without it.

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Golf 101: Longer Drives!

Do you ever wonder how a 5 foot 5 inch tall, Lydia Ko at the age of 17 can hit a longer drive than your best effort? It sure is not strength or height or arm length.  With her small frame, she has earned over a Million $$$ this year with an average driving distance of 250 yards and 78% of her drives land in the fairway.  What’s holding you back.

I received a wonderful summary from Golf-Info-Guide.com (by Thomas Golf) providing a simple way to generate more club head speed and distance. Practice the following in slow motion to get the feel for the release of POWER at the bottom of your swing as you connect with the ball.

Create the POWER . . . Store the POWER . . . Release the POWER

Rory's game is on fire winning The Open and WGC Bridgestone with amazing lag and power.

Rory’s game is on fire winning The Open and WGC Bridgestone with amazing lag and power.

Create the POWER: Train with GOLFSTR+ to learn your straight arm backswing. At the same time you need to cock your wrists to hold your club at a 90 degree bend from your straight arm. This is called LAG.

Store the POWER: You need to hold the LAG in your 90 degree wrist bend until your arms swing down to horizontal (to the point where your thumbs are pointing up to the sky). If you release your wrists at the start of your down swing, you will just waste the POWER.

Release the POWER: Let your wrists whip the club head through impact with the ball. All of the power comes when your hands are moving 2 feet (at 25 miles/hour) and your club head is moving about 8 feet (at 100 miles/hour). The more you can relax your wrist muscles the faster you can snap the club through the ball.

Understand this POWER in slow motion and then practice the whipping action at full speed. Get this right and you can add 50 yards to your drives.

I love to reference Golf-Info-Guide.com (by Thomas Golf) because they included a reference to GOLFSTR+ as a golf training aid to help you learn The Right Way to Keep the Left Arm Straight

In addition to GOLF-Info-Guide.comgolf celebrities and golf professionals have called us to praise GOLFSTR+ as a wonderful golf training aid. We hope to share these endorsements with you someday soon. In the meantime please check out our user endorsements by clicking GOLFSTR TESTIMONIAL PAGE.

Recent Testimonial:  One of our golfing Friends from Florida sent us this note which she received from Diane (her friend):  “I had a really bad day of golf on Thursday so when Bruce and I golfed yesterday I wore the GOLFSTR training aid that you gave me and Boy! Did it ever work! After my game, I showed my friend and she plans to order one too.”

Please tell your friends about GOLFSTR+

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PLAY GREAT GOLF: You Need Confidence & Technique!

No other part of your golf swing is more important than your confident mind.  Be confident that you have: done the shot before, practiced the shot, know the distance, know the impact of wind & humidity on your ball flight.

If you have any doubt, change to another club. Club-up and hit it with less power and a more controlled swing. Just get the doubt out and focus on the shot. Tiger calls it “Getting in the zone”. At a Hoylake interview before The Open Championship he used the words calm, “really feel at peace” and confident. They all described the state of mind where he wanted to be.

If you have confidence in your swing you can focus on the key components of your swing: straight leading arm, chest rotation, swinging rhythmically from inside your target line to outside and finish in balance. [Michael Breed on The Golf FIX/ Golf Channel said that 85% of golfers slice the ball. Use these points to solve this problem.]

Height and Strength are Excuses!
The average height of the 13 sub-par players after 3 rounds of the 2014 Women’s British Open was 5 feet 5 inches. [Stacey Lewis is 5’ 5”, Inbee Park is 5’ 6”, Mo Martin is 5’3 “] They played the Royal Birkshire at 6,458 yards, par 72. Brian Harmon won the John Deere Classic weighing in at 155 pound and 5’7”. Never blame lack of height and strength on your high scores. Brute force is NOT the answer. To hit it farther, “swing more rhythmically” (Global Golf Post, July 12, 2014). Swing with a smooth rhythm with an accelerating wrist release through the ball to a balanced finish. Controlling the flight and staying in the fairway helped Mo Martin win the British Open even though she was typically 60 yards behind the longest hitters. Distance and direction control are the keys to your success.

Hit through the ball with your driver and let the loft cause your SPIN RATE.

Hit through the ball with your driver and let the loft cause your SPIN RATE.

Understand SPIN RATE for more distance:
Spin Rate is spinning the ball in the opposite direction from Top Spin so you should NOT be trying to hit up-on-the-ball to cause over spin as it will cause the ball to dive down into the ground. Spin rate has a major influence on the height and distance of a shot especially in windy conditions. More loft on your club head generally increases spin rate. All things being equal, more club speed will also increase spin rate. For distance with your driver you want to hit level through the ball and let the loft of your club generate your SPIN RATE.

The average spin rate for a PGA Tour player is 2687 rpm and the average for an amateur golfer is 3275 rpm. Why not experiment? Hit up on the ball, through the ball and down on the ball to see the immediate impact for distance with your Driver.

Buy a GOLFSTR+ to improve every swing in your game today. It helps you develop the right swing to build confidence and consistency. Buy one on line, CLICK: GOLFSTR.

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Save your Back (Part 2) Tom Watson’s Trick!

Last week we showed you that Tiger is taking steps to limit his rotation in his backswing to save his back. So I bet you are wondering how you and Tiger are going to get reasonable distance out of every drive with less backswing rotation (the way Steve Stricker does). Some of you have purchased a GOLFSTR+ to train for a straight arm in the backswing. Of course Tiger has a great straight arm swing (so he may not have purchased his GOLFSTR yet). You may not hit as far as Tiger but your distance and consistency will improve.

How Does Tiger Get Distance in His Drives?
Tiger has a wide straight arm backswing with a 90++ degree wrist lag. Sean Foley has him limiting his backswing to save his back but his arm and wrist strength still give his great distance in his drives. His wrist release at the bottom of his swing is where all of his power comes from.

Tom lifts his leading heel to help him get more rotation and power just like a baseball swing.

Tom Watson lifts his leading heel to help him get more rotation and power just like a baseball player lifts his heel for more power.

2014 US Ryder Cup Captain Tom Watson Has a Trick!

He admits that his back is not as loose as it once was. He was also finding that his limited rotation was limiting his distance until he found this trick. To get more rotation he lifts the heel of his leading foot in the backswing. This gives him the extra back swing rotation and more power when he shifts forward with more power through his swing. [Moe Norman and Ben Hogan both had a slight heel lift on the leading foot in their backswing.]

One of the 6 uses of GOLFSTR+ is to remind you to keep your leading arm straight while you practice and while you play 18 holes. When you feel the curved plastic end lifting off the back of your arm you should limit your backswing at that point. You may also want to let your leading heel lift slightly to give you a little more rotation in the backswing. I often say that this is not baseball but baseball players all lift their leading foot and step into the ball. Why not try a modified version of this for more power in YOUR golf swing.

One last tip is that you should learn to stretch you leading arm using the exercise in this video. It really is one of the best video’s that I have seen on the straight leading arm swing from Thomas Golf and their Golf-Info-Guide.com : The Right Way to keep your Left Arm Straight

Check out GOLFSTR+ and use these Swing Tips to get more distance out of your drives.

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Tiger is Saving his Back: You Should TOO!

We should all learn from Tiger’s post-surgery swing if we want to help our backs survive golf for the long term. Limiting your backswing with a straight leading arm is so important for Tiger’s consistent hits. Of course his game was a little rusty at the Quicken Loan National Tournament where he missed the cut by 4 strokes. The good thing that was noticed is his swing change to make sure that he is in this game for the long haul.  With a new girl on his arm and a newly fortified backbone, he is again ready to challenge Jack Nicklaus for the most majors won.

Matthew Rudy gave us some insights about Tiger’s swing in a Golf Digest article. “ Woods’ swing has changed noticeably from its pre-surgery form. How much of it is a part of larger rebuild with teacher Sean Foley vs. early caution is still an open question.”

Overall he is depending less on the torque of his spine and more on his lag and wrist release for power through the ball.

1/ Similar to Justin Rose and Michelle Wie, Tiger is limiting his backswing. He no longer swings his club back to horizontal and depends on more wrist lag and wrist release though impact.
2/ “He has a stronger grip.” So his leading hand is rotated back on his grip so the V line from his left hand is pointing more to the outside of his right shoulder.
3/ His takeaway is wider but his release and power still comes from dropping his leading shoulder in his downswing and swinging from the inside. All of the pros do this and you should too.

Next week the swing tip is from the 2014 Ryder Cup Captain, Tom Watson with his aging back solution to get more rotation in your swing for longer drives without destroying your back. Training with GOLFSTR+ to keep your leading arm straight is only half of the equation for consistent longer hits. Aging golfers need all the help you can get to keep those scores down. Check out all the Swing Fixes by training with GOLFSTR+. CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE 6 SWING FIXES.

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