We are still at Knight’s Play because of Coronavirus. Patrick and I continued down the path of allowing the second part of the backswing to develop with the left lat driving and keeping my hands and arms very slow. Now that I go slower on the second part of the backswing I can feel the club going out to left field and then coming back to right field. I can also feel my right hand being closer to my right ear.
There is still plenty to work on in terms of keeping my angle with my hips. Patrick really wants me to work on keeping my right obliques pulled into my belly button as my left lat drives under. There is also a feel of the left lat driving under which keeps my shoulder angle steep early. As we get deeper into the backswing, it feels like that same right lat is driving up which “flattens” the shoulders. I know this is not what is actually happen, but this is what it feels like. I am really starting to get a much fuller and deeper shoulder turn.
Patrick explained that if I skip a step of the sequence I am not going to hit the ball well. I used to get past the takeaway and then speed up by lifting with my right arm, which then made me pull back with my right elbow. Now that I am driving under with my left lat, I can feel the right elbow tuck which makes my shoulders feel flatter as I approach the top of the swing.
Patrick said we are not working on my legs and hips staying more square…yet. I know this will be a discussion in the near future as I feel comfortable getting a full shoulder turn with my right hand feeling like it is at my right ear. I have a few days to work on my right side pulling into my belly button while getting the turn with the left lat coming under. I have to work hard to stay slow and not lift with my hands and arms right after the takeaway.
UPDATE: It is now February 2021, I am over 225 lessons in and we are still working on completely the backswing. I guess I never realized just how bad my golf swing was. I honestly cannot believe it takes this long to even grasp what the professionals do. There are times I wonder if I have bitten off more than I can chew with Patrick but we plug along and work towards actually playing a round of golf and hitting all the clubs in the bag.
