We are still at Knight’s Play because of Coronavirus. We are starting to see very positive results with the ball flight, trajectory and contact. Today, Patrick and I discussed the importance of the arms being soft. The grip is firm but the arms are soft. The more soft my arms are, the less likely I am to “pull” with the right arm and right elbow.
The backswing is very good with the left side starting, the left shoulder driving and the right elbow folding. Patrick is very pleased with my backswing. Today, we started to discuss the downswing. The downswing starts with the lower right obliques. It should feel like the right glute is going towards the target behind the left foot. I need to go very slow from there by using my right obliques. Once the club starts to drop, the right lat drives under and through towards the left ankle. You really have to drive down and under while keeping the left quad strong. With the left quad being strong, the right leg will fall, not drive, fall behind the left knee. The right foot will be passive and soft.
After driving under and through with the right lat, Patrick wants me to frim up the grip and hinge the wrist. It will feel like the club is coming back to my body when I do that. From there, I drive up with my right quad firm. The driving is completed with the right lat.
This was the first lesson in which I hit the ball extremely well. Patrick was very happy with my backswing and the lag at impact. When I am swinging well, the swing feels very short and weak but the impact is fantastic.
One of the most important things I have to do is to not think when hitting the ball. When hitting the ball, I am to think of the first six inches and then let everything else happen. If I do this, I hit it great.
We also added being more bent over at the waist and keeping the arms soft in the chipping practice exercise. Patrick would like me to hinge the wrist after impact when doing the chipping drill. When I can keep my arms out of it and get my left lat into this exercise, I make wonderful contact.
The practice drill of standing on my right leg with my left leg up and using my left obliques to turn back continues to improve. Patrick added that I should try to keep my belt buckle pointed towards my toes while doing it. I also need to not stay on my right toe the entire time. I need to allow the turn to get into my heel and the entire right foot.
We are making progress quite rapidly at this point. While I would love to go play, I know now is the time to be patient and stick to Patrick’s plan.
UPDATE: I am now over 215 lessons in as of late January 2021. I was learning about the downswing back in April 2020 but nothing like I understand now. There are so many more layers to it including the left leg, keeping the right shoulder open to create lag and having the arms completely soft through and after impact. Good luck with all that!
