Lesson #115 – April 2nd, 2020

We are still at Knight’s Play and will likely be there for awhile. Today, Patrick added some very “professional” type moves to my swing. The first thing we discussed was my midsection staying ahead of my arms on the backswing. We want to get lazy and allow the arms to lead and that means you are not going to be able to turn your shoulders at the top. When I do this correctly, it feels like my legs are spreading further apart as I go deeper into my backswing.

Once I get about three quarters of the way into my backswing, Patrick wants me to drive my left shoulder towards my right knee. This is the finishing of the backswing. It feels like my head goes way down when I do this but I know it actually doesn’t.

When doing this, I hit about an inch behind the ball each time. Patrick explained that it will take time for my brain to understand that my swing is much deeper and I have more time to get back to the ball. I want to release my hands in the same amount of time as with my shorter backswing which is why I hit the ground behind the ball. Patrick said this is fine as long as I continue to keep my core ahead of my hands and drive with my left shoulder at the end of the backswing.

I know it is going to take several trips to the range to get my timing down. The only two ranges open close to me are now Randy’s and Triangle Golf. Both are at least 20 minutes away so I have to commit to actually going to the range rather than the two minute drive to UNC Finley. While I feel like we are getting closer, I know I have to remain patient.

UPDATE: Ahhh, the good ole days of shelter in place when I had to drive all the way to Randy’s in Mebane to hit golf balls. I was definitely committed. The UNC Finley range is less than two miles from me and I had to drive 30 minutes to hit balls because it stayed closed the entire spring and summer of 2020. Fortunately, it reopened in the fall of 2020 and I was able to save my sanity from the “southern” men in Mebane.

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