July 10, 2018 range time

After several days of relaxation from a tournament I went to the range to try and find my swing again.

I am still adjusting to what feels like opening up the club on the back swing. I have taken pictures looked at it with alignment sticks and video. Yes it looks square on all of these items but this old hard head of mind still thinks i cant get it back square coming down.

When i do get the club in the right position going back it is a better more square hit and yes goes farther and more importantly higher.

When you go through the semantics of the swing, like i have over the years, scrutinized it to the maximum, you become immune to what is actually right. I have looked at my swing many times on video and i am still working on the same things i did years ago when i was younger. However with age i have become less flexible and this has actually helped my swing made it a bit more tight and not so loose. What i have discovered also from my surgeries is that my core is lacking strength that I once had. I will need to get in the gym and work on that starting now. It will be the only way i can sustain a good swing throughout the round and be as strong at the start as the finish.

The range session yesterday was interesting in many ways. One we were on mats and i prefer not to hit on mats however i wanted to truly work on a move and the mats actually helped me do that with a perfect lie every time. So i started with short wedges like a always do however i used an alignment stick this time to get the feeling of keeping the face square to the target line going back. What i discovered was i wasn’t keep it square. I was actually keeping it slightly closed. When i produced the club square to the line the ball immediately went higher and had more spin. Even though the ball was higher in trajectory i was able to control the distance better as well as the spin when during flight and landing. It was a good day with the wedges.

When i moved to my 9, i also discovered i had been taking the club back slightly closed. Even though I have been working on this during practices sessions now for several weeks i was doing much better but still slightly closed. When i started going back square the first several shots went right. The reason is when you take it back closed if you don’t reroute the club you cant release the club fully on the down swing and that is what i had grown accustom to when the club was closed going back.

After getting it square again with a few wedges, i went back to my 9 and discovered i had not been releasing the club for some time. I felt i could turn my body fully and the club would release and my knuckles were turning under as they should. I felt the ball would go left but it didn’t it stayed straight with no tendency to move left. This is a amazing feeling when you do it right. The ball comes off the club face and is straight like a rocket. I have always hit the ball reasonably straight my entire career but this straight is different. It is released with power not protection.

I have always told my students that if you can’t do it under pressure it wont work for you.

As I continued to work through the ball and release it toward the target i discovered that i was getting slightly lazy and bending over to much which caused me to slide going through and hook the ball. I used my drill of the club down my spine at address and I straightened up to the correct posture and it allowed me the space for my arms to rotate through the ball and i stopped howling the ball.

The mechanisms of the golf swing are not complicated, however the human body is very complex and each person is different and moves different and has different strengths and flexibilities. That is why no one swing will work for everyone. The basics can even be adjusted to your swing and movement to work for your swing.

I have had Amy students say i just cant do that. Well if they cant or in their mind cant then work around the move and discover an alternative that will work. There are basically tow types of players. The is the most simplistic view of the game and there are many variations to each one but this is what i have discovered over the many years of playing and teaching.

The basic difference is this. There are players that release the club through impact with their body,arms,and hands to a full release right over left (if your a right handed player) to the end of the swing. The second way is to keep the club square through out the swing and use just your body to rotate the club. This is known as a block blocking the ball my many people. There are many examples of both on tour. Most of the tour players down want to loose the ball to the left especially with their swing speeds reaching 130 miles per hour. A blue darter would not be the shot to hit in this circumstance. That is a shot that starts left and is never found. So the stronger players tend to block the ball. Tiger released when he first came out on tour worked to blocking during his second and third swing changes and now with his back issues is back to releasing the club again. If you look at his swing it looks more fluid now with the arm release.

What the bottom line is, discover how your back swing goes and then a PGA professional can give you the better options for the down swing. When going to a lesson talk to them what you feel you can and cant do in your swing when they ask you to make a certain move. Be open to change but also have a good idea what your mind and body can do as well. This is vital to achieving a good goal and lowering your scores. There are many ways to get to the same result so don’t be afraid to say i don’t think i can do that is there another way.

I will always advise you to seek a PGA professional for advice and help. They will know more about the swing than even a good player at your club. The reason most good players just know there swing and not what truly happens during the swing.

Lastly, you need to hit 3 times more short game shots than full shots. If you dont belivee me the next time you play count up how many times it takes you to get to the 50 yards from the green and them how many shots it takes from 50 yards and in to get the ball in the hole. The normal ratio is 2 or 3 to 1 ratio.

I will give you an example

I played in a tournament this past week. 4 rounds

I hit 62 greens in regulation for 72 holes

So in a single round on a par 72 course there is normally 4 par 3’s, 4 par 5, and 10 par 4’s,

Par 3’s one shot in regulation equals 4 shots

Par 5’s three shots in regulation equals 12 shots

Par 4′ s two shots in regulation equals 20 shots

So a total of 36 shots and on a par 72 that would be 36 putts to equal 72

So i played in the tournament hit 16 greens in regulation missed 2

Total 38 shots

Had a total of 38 putts and shot 76

So if i took my own advice i would practice putting at least as much as i practice with a full swing and since i also hit 9 shots 100 yards or less into the greens for my second then the total for short shots equaled 48 and my long shots equaled 28. A 2-1 ratio basically so i should practice 100 yards and in shot 2 times more than full swings.

So I guess i will do that and work on my short game more and see where if takes me.

Enjoy your next round i hope what i have said helps in some way. If you should ever want to ask a question feel free to do so either about the swing, clubs, balls, course,or course management i would welcome the questions.