Patrick continued to work on my shoulder turn. It is amazing how every time I think I am turning Patrick adds a new element to make me turn even more. There was a torrential downpour for about 20 minutes of my lesson, but after the rain stopped Patrick put me in positions that were definitely unfamiliar.
We are still working on making sure the left side is creating the backswing. I am slowly getting to the point where my upper left lat can take over. This only happens when I push back at the 30 degree angle learned in the last lesson. If I can do this and engage that large part of my left lat, basically my armpit, I can feel the swing get deeper.
When moving the club towards the top of the backswing I should feel like the club is pointing way out towards right field, almost 2:00. I know that it is still pointing at about 11:00 but I should feel the club come up and go to the right of the target line. I would imagine that when you do this, there is absolutely no way you can come over the top on the downswing solely because your momentum is going to force you to bring the club back down the way you brought it up which is inside the ball and target line.
Another element Patrick added was to start thinking about keeping my right elbow lower as the backswing evolves. I have a very bad habit of letting my right elbow go all over the place, especially up. When practicing with the elbow down, it keeps the back shoulder down and flattens the backswing tremendously. That said, it is still extremely difficult to get the club to the top when doing this.
I know we are still months away from completing the backswing but it is getting much closer. I know more about the backswing than I ever thought I would. It is fun to understand the proper way to get the club to the top, which is using the left side and taking the arms, shoulders and hands completely out of it.
I haven’t been able to hit balls very much because there has been tons of rain in the area, but I have practiced engaging the left lat and working the club towards 2:00 or right field. Interestingly, the more I feel likely I am pushing my left lat to 11:00 on the way back, the more if feels like the club is going towards right field and 2:00. This is what Patrick has always talked about with keeping the shoulders broad. Pushing the lat towards your chest will naturally make the shoulders as broad as they can be.
UPDATE: It is now April 2020 and I am 119 lessons in. After 119 lessons, I am getting more comfortable with my backswing. It took until about lesson 115 to truly understand how the left side creates and completes the backswing. It is amazing just how long this takes. After 119 lessons, I also understand what lag is and seeing your hands well in front of the ball at impact. For all amateurs, it looks like the ball will shoot straight right, almost off the toe. Instead, it goes about five yards right and then slowly draws back. It is a beautiful thing to watch.
