After having a week off, I started to work on keeping the seam with the right leg while coming under with the left lat. I played 15 holes at Hope Valley with Jacob on Monday and actually had two birdies. I was hitting a bit of a fade instead of a draw but I hit it well.
After hitting five balls, Patrick said I have improved a lot but I was “scrunching” down after my take away. Patrick worked on staying “long” after the take away. I do a very good job of twisting my hips into the seam on the right side, but then I go too low and scrunch down with my upper body. Patrick held my chest and upper body “long” while I turned.. When I do this, I have more room to come under with my left lat as I get close to the top of the backswing.
It took me a few practice swings to get a feel but once I did, I was able to get down and through the ball. Patrick doesn’t like the word “tall” but I feel tall throughout the swing; all the way from the take away through impact. I am also able to feel getting much deeper because there is room for my left side to drive under my chin.
I am still a little bit tight with my right lat as it locks up or tenses as I start to get deeper in the backswing. Patrick worked hard to get my right lat to relax and loosen as my left shoulder went under my chin. Eventually, I am going to feel as if my hands are getting closer to my right ear, but it is to be done with the drive of the left lat under the chin.
By the end of the lesson I was hitting the ball pretty well. It is still weird to see the club come into the ball so late. I feel as if I am going to shank it or hit it straight right when the club is truly lagging. I still have the habit of pulling across right at impact because I have hit so many fades in my life. We are continuing to work on depth of the backswing but now I know this is achieved by having a long upper body and torso throughout the backswing.
UPDATE: I am over 200 lessons in. It is now late December 2020 and I am once again working on staying tall after take away. The better my posture with my shoulders back and soft and my chest high (almost peacocking) the better my backswing. When I can get my chest high there is room for my left lat to drive down the target line away from the target. It feels like I am actually driving straight back with my left lat which is something talked about very early on in the process.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have the flexibility nor the understanding to know what he meant. Now that I have the flexibility in my lower right obliques and my shoulders I can drive under and continue driving all the way to the top of the backswing. This also required some understanding of arm flow and improved flexibility in my triceps, especially my right tricep. Ahhh, golf is so easy.
