Today was a “blend Friday” at PKU as Patrick wants to blend the backswing with the downswing. Something he introduced that really made a big difference was keep my left hip low and stable rather than chasing back as I turn my shoulders. As he showed me, anyone can keep turning if they allow their left hip to follow. Instead of the left hip going up on the backswing it should actually feel like it is going down because it is remaining stable. When I do this correctly, it really feels like I am coming under and around with my shoulders.
If I can keep my left hip stable and low while also driving into the inside of my right hip and resisting with it, my shoulder turn feels smaller but it is actually much bigger. I hit some fantastic shots when I did this. I can really feel the importance of the lower body now that I can actually turn my upper body.
There are still many flexibility issues but I can now feel my core and lats turning around my lower body that is stabilizing while my elbows feel as if they are pinching together as I get deeper in the backswing.
Something else that is really making a difference is to allow my left left to straighten and pull back from the target line ever so slightly at the setup. This gives me length and allows me to really turn my upper body through impact. I used to really squat with the left leg during this drill which was necessary to feel the muscles on the inside of the leg bracing but now we have graduated to straightening that leg a little bit and letting it fall back more.
While I don’t know if this is helping my ball striking, I believe it is because I am coming under and hitting the ball much better. It now feels as if the club face stays on the target line a much, much longer time. From the backswing even through impact. It is a cool thing to see the ball come from under your right shoulder and the club face stay on the target line.
