May 19th Range time

After playing several round this year after my surgery i have discovered i am not as strong as i was before the surgery. I have now after much deliberation found that i have made compensations in my golf swing to attain what i would consider the search for the extra yard.

I have after much thought and what i cal mirror time discovered that i was moving off the ball in an attempt to create width in my swing for more distance. What it accomplished however was hitting the ball not square on the club face which has been a trade mark of mine for my entire career playing golf. My swing speed has never been the best but i have made up for the lack of speed with the consistency of a center hit 95% of the time. I discovered this by working in front of a mirror and found that my head was moving about 2 inches backwards during my back swing which of course was not allowing me to turn properly through the ball going forward and get my weight on my left side at impact to deliver the the best strike at the ball. My divots were getting deep which i have never done in the past so i knew something was not right in my swing. So i worked in front of a mirror for about 20 minutes just looking at the line i placed on it and making a slow smooth swing to allow my arms to move in front of my chest and around my body. The motion seemed to work and it felt much better. I had been hitting the ball on the toe of the club and a weak right shot with no impact power. It has not been fun struggling through this but because my timing i guess worked out where i hit enough shots well that i didn’t have cause for panic but a small alarm. However when i really needed to hit a good golf shot i couldn’t do it with this swing.

I went to the range just focusing on staying in the barrel as i was told early in my career or swing in a phone booth. Most of the young players wouldn’t have a clue what that is. So i worked hitting wedges around and not moving my head or spine which is actually more important. I hit the ball better but still when i want to bear down and really hit one harder it broke down and didnt work. I knew however it was a part of the puzzle i was after for a better strike and more consistent hot on the ball. So i walked away from the range session with mixed emotions wondering if in fact i had accomplished what i was out to do or if i had just spent time exercising. As i write this i will tell you i have kept a journal most of my career about range sessions and lesson i have learned that i would normally remember. Little things like keep your hands inside your toe line at address. Make sure your right elbow is pointed at your right hip and left elbow is pointed at your left hip. Make sure your arms fall directly from your shoulders, feel your chest like a butter fly trying to take off wide and not collapsed just to name a few.

I came back sat down and thought ok what will i try and achieve tomorrow that will help me hit the ball in the club face squarely