We are still in the breaking down of the downswing by exposing it with the improved backswing. My legs are starting to get more quiet as I am starting the downswing through the heel of my right foot now versus pushing off with the toe of my right foot. I do understand the feeling of coming inside from the top but now my head is a major issue.
For much of the lesson, Patrick stretched me to the top of the backswing, held my head in place and let me use my core to complete the downswing and follow through. I understand the premise that the core is swinging the club around the head and hips but it is very hard to do with so many moving parts.
My head wants to fall back, my right foot wants to push my knee forward to the ball, my arms want to take over and swing. There are a number of issues getting exposed but Patrick said I will be “very happy” with cleaning all of this up come March of 2020. It is crazy to think that I started this adventure in August 2018 and won’t play decent golf until March of 2020.
One thing that Patrick added was to really use my core once I am halfway complete with the backswing. He said the weakest part of my backswing is once I complete the takeaway and the club comes off the ground, I don’t use my left obliques and left side enough to get the club to the top. When I do it correctly, I feel really skinny.
Time and again I come to the fact that I feel skinny when I complete the backswing properly. I don’t know why I always go away from it, but I come back to it. The reason I feel skinny is because I am using my obliques rather than the middle of my body and my arms/chest to get the club to the top.
I am also starting to feel that three quarters of the way up my right elbow and right arm want to take over. This is from years and years of being an arms swinger. I have to cognitively make certain that my right elbow and right arm do not take over then the club feels like it is getting close to shoulder height. If I do it correctly, it feels like it comes under and then goes towards right field.
There is still plenty to work on but the focus for the next week is using my obliques to finish the backswing and feel “skinny” and keeping my head in the right place throughout the downswing.
Old Chatham is closed from August 19th-29th for the Senior Amateur Championship so I may have to survive without a lesson for two weeks. Patrick said we might meet at Knights Play next week if I really need a lesson. We shall see.
UPDATE: Well, it is now October 2020, way past March 2020, and I am still working on many aspects of the golf swing. We are working both the backswing and the downswing now, but as usual, any time I think I am making progress, Patrick breaks something else down and I start to hit the ball poorly. It is a never ending battle with the golf swing. I am definitely better with my feet and legs but this is something we continue to work on when we do downswing days.
