swing changes

Yesterday I got some quality practice time in at a local golf academy. I spent time chipping, Pitching and putting on a real green as well as the obligatory range balls.

I struck the ball really well during practice, but the caveat is that it was all off Matts. You can never really tell if you’re getting a true clean contact or if the matt is masking a slightly chunky contact.

One thing that I did make progress on was my back swing. Choosing a bay in front of a mirror I was able to check my wrist position and leg flex at the top of my backswing. This enabled me to really concentrate on retaining flex in my right (back) leg.

Towards half way through my range session I think I finally cracked it, I got the feeling of almost squatting into my back leg. When I do that it keeps the hips much more stable, I feel slightly coiled up and it’s easy to push off the back leg and get through the ball in the down swing. It feels a much more powerful yet controllable swing.

It was kind of like one of those eureka moments on the range and after that I nailed everything I swung at, driver in particular was noticeably much more powerful than normal.

After leaving the academy I found myself at the golf club around an hour later and I popped out for a swift 5 holes to see the new swing in action.

Firstly I was a bit tired and had stiffened up driving for an hour, but the first iron was crisp and long if a little off target. On the next I hit my driver and was very pleased with the result, long and with a fine flight if a bit off target again. The second driver shot was a similar strike but straight down the middle. Then some inconsistency started in my irons. I remember a thin, a fat and an immense three iron off the tee, a complete duff and a very long 8 iron that flew the green, a real mixed bag. I decided that it was counterproductive to play when I was tired and freezing cold so I called it a day at that point.

Over all I’m very happy, keeping the leg flex was one of the main things my last lesson was about and when I get it right it does make such a difference. I’m going to put a lot more practice into this over the next month. I could just do with finding some grassed area to practice on so I can tell where my divots start rather than clunking away on matts.

2011

So with the new year my interest in golf is being rekindled, I'm not sure what it is, but I seam to lose interest as the nights draw in during the autumn and it starts again as I notice the light staying longer in the January late afternoons.

I've been to the range a couple of times since the new year started and a few times before Xmas. Then today played 12 holes and spent an hour on the practice ground getting a feel again for pitching and putting.

So far I can say that my irons are coming back to form but my wood play is woeful. Still, it's early days and I'm looking forward to the season.

Over the winter I went back over the notes I have from lessons and after some range experimentation came to a decision. This year with my irons I'm going to play for a fade.

For the past few years I have put a lot of effort into developing a draw shot and with some success, however in playing so hard for a draw I have ingrained a fault into my swing. To get to the inside I make a kind of lean back with my torso, it produces a draw but, it also makes fat shots far more common.

My last lesson was partially about trying to fix that fault in order to reduce fat shots and get the golf ball first before hitting the turf. I can do this quite well however it does produce a fade rather than a draw. The more I have hit and seen the fade the more I'm beginning to get used to it. Wrongly or rightly I always used to equate a draw with good players and a cut with high handicappers. It's why I tried so hard to play a draw myself. As time goes by I'm beginning to realise that a fade is probably the more controllable shot.

Here's to a golf filled 2011, and Lot's of birdies!!!