My swing has improved drastically in the last few weeks. If I can get that final turn at the top with my lower back, it triggers my lower back and lower right obliques to start the downswing rather than my right shoulder or my arms. While it feels amazing, I know the old habit of jerking with my shoulders is going to pop up now and then.
Patrick started my lesson with five stretches with the backswing. He continues to put me in a position in which I feel as if my arms are away from my body and more down the target line behind me rather than actually being behind me and going around my body. I know that it is going to take a lot of time to allow that to feel normal, but he is touching on that more and more.
He then worked on the downswing but added a new layer. Now, as I get close to impact, he does not allow my left shoulder to move forward and to the target. He uses my right side to drive through the ball while my left shoulder stays on the target line and in the same place as long as possible. I am starting to feel more and more of my right lat pushing through impact rather than just my lower right side.
I also notice that I have the bad habit of “lifting” with my hands every now and then. If I can allow my right side to drive my arms to the top of the backswing I can keep them lower for longer. It then feels more like a circle rather than a straight line going back. I know we are still perfecting the backswing, but I would imagine the feel of a circle is more what it is like. Going under and around rather than just straight back.
After hitting some balls I am pulling it a touch left and hitting a bit of a fade. The right barrel risers are harder to come by now. I know this is all part of the process and the right barrel risers will be even further when we come out the other side, literally.
Overall, I feel much more confident standing over the ball and using leverage to get to the top of the backswing. No matter what happens with the ball flight or my contact, I need to stay committed to the leverage of keeping my shoulders at a steep angle at the top of the backswing. If I can feel that pull in my lower back because my shoulders have leverage, I tend to hit the ball quite well. If I can keep that leverage with the tension in my lower back throughout the entire swing, I hit the ball crisp and far. It is a fantastic feeling.
At the end of the lesson, Brad King, the CEO of Stitch, talked to me about Internet marketing and what I could do for the Putting Perfecter and Stitch. He is a genuinely nice guy and it is a potential business connection but we will see what happens.
UPDATE: We are now 161 lessons in as of September 2020 and I am still working on many of the same things. I have a problem pulling with my right side in many areas. I pull up and out with my right hip. I then pull with my right elbow and right arm which gets me out of sequence. I pull with my right lat and right side which makes me feel fat. Patrick mentioned in one of my early lessons that I was a right side dominant golfer. Now I know exactly what he means and it is so very difficult to take that out of my swing. Ahhh, the joys of golf.
This content is supported by Pensacola Orthodontist Dr. Clay Sims.
