Today was a very important day in terms of moving forward with my golf swing. Patrick beat the shit out of me. The main focus was the “second part of the backswing”. In the past, I felt as if the hands should go behind the body on the backswing. While the hands should not play a part in the swing, they should look as if they are moving on the target line as you get to the top of your backswing.
In essence, the left arm should look like it is right on the target line all the way to the top of the backswing. At the very top, and only at the top, the left arm should feel like it goes back to 12:30 or 1:00. That is only if you have a very deep turn. For the time being, I have to work on keeping my left arm on the target line as long as I possibly can as I use my left side to push to the top of the backswing.
I also realized I need to brace very hard with my right leg as I continue to push back into the backswing. Patrick took a video of me today, face on, and it looked amazing. I know I have a long way to go, but it is so nice to see such extension of the arms on the backswing and the downswing.
The May 2019 timeline is his focus right now and he has me turning so much I am out of breathe. If it were the middle of the summer and not 50 degrees out, I would have been sweating from head to toe. Even when I was out of breathe and tired, he kept pushing me to get deeper into my backswing. It’s on!
I also got to meet Brad Fritsch who was coming in after me. Brad hit 52/54 greens in the final days of Q School to qualify for the Web.com tour next year. The other two were on the fringe in which he could putt. I guess you could say he is a little better than me but he does have a good instructor.
UPDATE: The feel of the left arm going back on the target line is something I still feel today in April 2020. All amateur golfers pull the club with their arms which makes the club go around them rather than down the line with the rotation of the upper body. That May 2019 timeline has turned into June 2020 as we are still cleaning up areas of the golf swing. It is simply crazy how long it takes to learn how to hit a golf ball like the pros.
