We continue to work on the “sucking in” of the stomach and especially the right side. Patrick said, “suck in your stomach” now get fat. When I get fat, my shoulders roll forward and I lose my posture. When I suck in my stomach, my shoulders roll back and I stand taller. I still have trouble staying “sucked in” halfway back on the backswing. I want to get fat as this is what I have done for the last several months and years.

Patrick always taps my lower right side and my lower right lat when I get to the top. If I can suck in this side, the shaft feels very vertical at the top of the swing; almost as if it is actually too vertical. I know it is not too vertical as it simply feels that way because I am bent over at the hips.

I hit some really good shots but know that I have to continue to work on getting that left lat under and driving to get to the top of the backswing. It can be hard to do this while also sucking in with the right side. If I can continue to stay sucked in, I can get down and through the ball much better on my downswing as well. My downswing struggles because I get fat and my stomach gets in the way when there needs to be room and space.

I know we are still months away from the finished product but every lesson it seems to be that we are getting closer and closer to the right barrel action Patrick is looking for.

If I can keep my right elbow soft and inactive, my left elbow soft and pointed toward the ground, drive with my left side and suck in with my right side, I have a pretty good backswing. Now let’s get through the weekend without obsessing.

UPDATE: It is now March 2021, I am over 250 lessons in and I am still not hitting the ball well. I have to wonder if I have taken on more than I can handle or is worth it. Sometimes I just want to say screw it and play golf with the guys; which I haven’t done in well over two years. How can I be two and a half years in and still not be able to hit my long irons or driver? Ahhhhh, it’s always darkest before the dawn. Hopefully. Who knows.