After a fun whitewater rafting trip to the Gauley River it was time to get back to the grind. Patrick was doing some practice work with Brad King filming him when I got there. He airdropped me a few of his older videos to post on his YouTube Channel. The YouTube Channel has slowed down a little bit but I think that is because we have not posted content in five days. I have plenty of content for a while now.
Today was a backswing day and Patrick focused on getting my left lat softer by jabbing it on the way back. Basically, as I get beyond the take away my left lat shoulder drive so hard it causes my chest to push out and my back should broaden. This is hard for me as I tend to lift with my hands and arms after takeaway and not use my left lat enough. When I do it correctly, I don’t have to use my hands at all.
Speaking of which, we addressed what is a square club face today. It seems so very open at impact because I am used to hooding the club and closing the clubface with my hands. When the clubface is square I can really feel the right elbow inside much more. If I can get this correct at setup it allows me to use my body to turn rather than my hands. I am now starting to feel the stopping at impact that Patrick has talked about for months. Even on chipping, if I keep the fact square, which to me seems open, I have to drive all the way through with my right side and not use my hands or arms.
After my lesson I decided to play 9 holes. The entire 9 I was missing with a push of about 10 yards right. This is progress as it tells me I am not getting through impact but my clubface is square. The few times I did get through impact, it felt great to hit the ball with body rotation rather than trying to throw my hands and arms at it with a hooded clubface.
It always seems like one step forward and one step back but I am encouraged that I can hit the ball decently with what I think is a completely open club face. I am sure Patrick will address getting through the ball later this week.
