Today Patrick reminded me that a great golf swing simply takes time. There is no reason to get discouraged by learning certain things do not work. It is better to figure that out now, rather than a year or two down the road once I have developed habits with a very good swing.
Patrick explained that instead of starting the downswing with the pull or engaging of the right lat, it should be more of the right obliques or right glute. I use “pull” as this is what I feel but it is really engaging and some may think of it as pulling.
We focused on getting much deeper into the backswing today. While I thought I had the backswing figured out, I was really only about two thirds of the way back. Every single time he “pushes” me I get deeper and deeper. Today, I realized that the idea of starting at the left glute and left hip and slowly pushing up through the obliques and through the lat as the way to get the full twist of the backswing. Instead of thinking about going straight back, I need to start thinking about twisting. As I near the top of the backswing I can feel it in my lower right side.
This is the trigger to use the right side in the same manner as the left side on the downswing. We work from the ground up on the backswing and we are going to work from the ground up on the downswing.
What I have learned is it is extremely difficult for me to figure out what to do when I get to the top of the backswing now. I have never had so much room and so much time. It used to be the case that I had no other option than to pull straight across with my arms and shoulders.
Now, I can use my right side to engage which in turn will get the club back on plane. This is going to take quite some time as I still want to get to the top and pull down with my hands and arms. This is not going to be successful at all. That said, I know the importance of being patient and realizing it is going to take quite a bit of time for my brain to figure out that I need to relax at the top of my backswing and allow the right side of my core to take over.
When done correctly, I really feel the power of the golf swing, it is just so foreign. From the top, I engage with my right glute, hip and obliques instead of using the shoulders, arms or hands. As the club drops I continue to feel the right side engage up through my obliques and into my lats. Just like with the backswing, we are working from the ground up. The tough part is to allow the arms to remain soft and let the left elbow fall towards my belly button and basically roll over as the club is coming down to impact.
UPDATE: It is so eye opening to read these early lessons. I am now 116 lessons in in April 2020 and we are still working on depth of the backswing and not using the legs. Just recently, I realized how much tension my right side has when getting to the top of the backswing. This was the main reason that for well over a year I could not get the club “around” my body. It would drive straight back because I used my right hip and right side to get the club to the top. The deeper I get into the backswing the more I have to focus on keeping my right side soft and relaxed.
