It had been a few days since a lesson with Patrick due to winter weather and a work meeting. I completed his homework of working on not letting my left hip and right hip collapse at the beginning of the backswing. Today, Patrick used this homework to improve my turn. Without a club in my hands, Patrick worked on softening my right side as my left side turned my upper body. The more my left side does the work, the more soft my right side gets. As I get to the top of the backswing my right side upper thoracic wants to take over but it is still much better.
When Patrick put a club in my hand he actually allowed my arms to lift the club slightly as the finishing touch of the backswing. The arms should do absolutely nothing until the upper thoracic has turned. Once that has turned the left elbow should be soft and the right arm is tucked. From there, the chest keeps turning and the hands feel like they are going towards the sky with the chest moving them.
I hit some really good shots and Patrick said my backswing is much more full. Now I understand the need for patience and completing the turn. I took my game to the course and hit some very, very good shots. I am still playing from about 125 in but had a great time. I had three birdies and almost had a hole in one on the 2nd hole. There is still a lot of work to be done but as I keep my right side soft in the backswing, I get better and better. My homework for tonight is to make sure my right side upper thoracic gets soft as the left side finishes the backswing. The more relaxed and soft this can be, the flatter my swing will be at the top which will create power.
