Today was a very interesting lesson as it has rained for the last several days and poured today other than during the time of my lesson. Over the last week, I have been working on keeping the “pocket” or “seam” on the inside of my right leg. By doing this and keeping leverage with my shoulder angle being as steep as possible, I can increase my turn without giving up my right hip.
After hitting a few balls, Patrick videoed me with his iPad and showed me how much better my swing has gotten in the last few weeks. Now we just need to work on getting it deeper in the backswing but he said everything looks very good right now; even impact. I fall out of impact because I have not built the “pocket” or “seam” on my left side but that is a work in progress and will take some time.
So, we continued to feel as if we “rock the boat” from the inside of my left hip to the inside of my right hip without moving my hands or arms. Then, I allow my left side to start the movement of the club but I need to be cognizant to keep my shoulder plane steep or leveraged. I do this by keeping the seam on the right hip and using my left side to drive the backswing. Patrick wants me to really drive with the upper part of the lat as the club gets off the ground. When doing this, he then guided my hands to feel as if my left hand is “bowing” although I know it is just keeping the angle.
I have to be aware to not try to allow the left hand to bow too early. It does not happen until the club is off the ground and my upper lat drives under and creates even more leverage with the shoulder angle. When I do this properly, it feels as if I am laying the club off at the top as my right elbow feels like it is way underneath and inside my right hand. This angle allows me to simply drop the club in the slot on the downswing.
Patrick started to focus more on the seam of the left hip on the downswing and this is extremely difficult for me. I want to pull with the left side when it should be holding off and being driven into with the right side.
We also cleaned up the practice chipping motion. To clean it up, we made sure the right hip does not move when going back. This is why Patrick has always said you do not need to go very far back. If your right hip is stable and doesn’t break down, you can’t go back very far. Patrick also moved my right foot much closer to my body behind my left foot. This makes me feel longer in the torso. It was hard at first, but it definitely improved contact.
At the end of the lesson, I had my five balls to hit and I hit the first three so good I stopped there. I know there is still plenty to work on, but I have improved dramatically in the last three weeks. Now the goal will be to focus on creating more flexibility in my hips with my stretching exercises and getting the “seam” or “pocket” at impact. What a journey it has been.
UPDATE: I am now over 200 lessons in as of late December 2020 and I am still working to keep my right hip from giving out and falling back. The deeper the shoulder turn, the harder it is to keep the right knee stable and the right hip resisting. I am getting so deep in my backswing now that I can really feel it in my lower right obliques. My lower right side feels very hollow these days.
As always, go to Patrick Kelley for Raleigh Golf Lessons.
