I just got back into golf after 9 months without even so much as looking at a golf club. For some strange reason the golf gods have enticed me to come back and give it another shot. My biggest problem in golf is that i'm tall and I never had clubs that fit me correctly. I finally got some clubs that fit but I now have another huge problem. I wear glasses and in order to see the ball i have to keep my heads down which doesn't allow me to get a good shoulder turn. The one good thing is that i'm farsighted so I can somewhat see without my glasses but my depth perception throws me way off. I've looked into contacts but my perscription is too high and I can't afford surgery. I guess i'm going to have to just deal with it and hopefully I can find something that works.
Now onto the main reason I started this topic. Ive noticed alot of different methodology when it comes to teaching the golf swing. One Plane Swing, Two Plane Swing, Stack and Tilt, and Rotary. I was hoping someone here could give some advice on to which method would be better suited for the tall golfer? I've read a little about each one but still unclear on which to tryout. I'm actually leaning on trying Stack and Tilt.
As far as the glasses go, this issue is very common in the shooting sports and there are solutions out there. I would visit a optometrist that specializes in sports glasses and explain the problem. I would expect them to be able to offer some eye correction with no rim bottoms and the correct correction at the bottoms for the distance of your eyes to the ball at address.
Personally, every time I get into the details off all those different swings I get goofed up over analyzing it so I've decided to stay away from it. Someone else here should be able to offer some suggestions.
I wear glasses too and yes, it's a problem when you try to take a full back swing, especially with a fairway wood or an iron. My solution is DON'T. or, as the pro's tell me, wear contacts. I dont' wear contacts. It's important to keep you eye on the ball on your backswing so learn to go back very slow and easy and RELAXED. Your follow through will be powerful enough., or, go buy contacts.
Regarding the glasses: I have no personal experience with them, but I have noticed that the pros that used to wear them (VJ, Tom Kite) wore fairly large models, that went down quite a bit towards their cheek, quite possibly to combat the problem you are fighting. + It probably doesn't help that you are tall, in this respect. Perhaps you can find a 'low' model of glasses, or 'adjust' a pair you already own specifically for golf.
I am pretty tall as well,so i always get my clubs custom fitted,well worth it would solve your problem as well. As for your glasses invest in some sport ones.
you didn't say how tall you are...I am 6'4" and my irons are 1/2 inch longer than standard; I played with an acquaintance who is the same height and he uses standard length clubs. so to chime in with merlin, get fitted. who knows maybe that will help with the vision issue too.
I wear glasses and in order to see the ball i have to keep my heads down which doesn't allow me to get a good shoulder turn.
Are you sure you are doing this right, then? Because I wear glasses, very small lensed glasses, and I can still keep my head up. You have to move your eyes down, not your whole head. I actually think glasses are a good thing for this, because I have trained myself to look at the ball through the bottom of the frames. You can keep your chin up and still see the ball this way.
Also, I would be careful about trying stack & tilt. There is very, very little information on it today, just two Golf Digest articles. If you want to go for that method, I'd find an instructor that is certified by those top S&T teachers.
Finally, your total height isn't really what is important, it is your wrist to floor measurement. Tom Wishon in his book talks about fitting an NBA center for a set of clubs. This is a man who was "just a few inches short of 7 feet tall" and he needed half-inch undersized clubs. That is, shorter than average length. Why? Because the man has very long arms. You may be tall, but if your arms are long, standard clubs may be ok. If your arms are shorter, then you may need longer clubs. Either way, a professional clubfitter can measure you pretty quick. Just measuring your wrist-to-floor is a "static fitting" which would get you in the neighborhood, to be completely accurate you'd need a dynamic fitting -- how the club behaves in your swing. But, "in the neighborhood" is probably a good starting point. If in doubt, you can always have your clubs made 1/2" longer and then grip down that half-inch if you don't need the total length.
I am 6' 3". I wear trifocals except for golf. For golf, I have bifocal glasses that have just a very small reading part (only 11 mm from the bottom).
As for what swing method would be best for a tall player, I would say a very conventional swing. I have tried a lot of instruction over 20 something years, and what works best for me is "The Golf Swing and It's Master Key Explained" by Noel Thomas. I score mostly in the 70s now and sometimes the 60s.
Also, it is extremely important that your clubs fit you. I need a 5 degree upright lie angle with standard length, so I decided to use 3 degrees upright lie angles and get the other 2 degrees by making my clubs 1 inch extra length. I like the heavier swingweight that results from the extra length.