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I'd booked for an hour, though the assistant pro was about 15min late, which I didn't think was great but I'm a teacher myself, and I know how schedules can get knocked around...
So he started off asking me about my golfing 'CV' - a potted history so far. I exlained I started in April on 27, have dropped to 21, but my aim is always bogey golf and I usually make it. I explained I play every day, and I put a lot of emphasis on the short game, and I'm beginning to put a lot of emphasis on the mental game.
He asked me what my tendency was when shots went wrong - left or right. I replied neither - I'm pretty straight - it was more (if anything) an issue with occasionally topping things.
He then asked me to hit a few shots with a 6 or 7 I. I took the 6, and he watched for a while, and then got the video camera. After filming me from behind and from the side, he then took me to the small suite with the computer where he showed me what he though, and immediately, I could spot stuff as well...
Issues...
*WILDLY strong right hand grip
*Hands way ahead of the club face at address, and then, to add insult to injury, I start the back swing with a big forward press too
*Ball position too far forward
*VERY open shoulders at address, and feet pointing left too
*Weight coming so much on to right side in back swing that my left heel comes so far off the floor that only my big toe is touching, causing my left knee to collapse in towards my right
*My hands go so far away from the ball and my body, that there is no coil between my shoulders and my hips, and this lack of tension is causing erratic ball striking and lack of distance
He also - in fairness - started off by saying things were looking pretty good; that he dreads when people say they've been learning for 6 months self-taught because they can end up with all kinds of crazy stuff. In particular he liked my posture, thinking I had a nice straight back that I maintained pretty well, looked balanced and athletic, and had a good rhythm and tempo.
I asked whether the lack of followthrough was a problem and he said it very much was, showing me a side-by side of me and The Big Easy (only our mothers can tell us apart), and what was enormously clear was how my lack of hip turn through the shot cramped everything up so much, there was nowhere for me to followthrough TO.
I asked whether my 3/4 backswing was a problem, and again he showed me Tiger's full iron swing, and showed me I reached the same club position, just not the same (putting it mildly) shoulder turn. That was very useful and clear, and very cool.
Outside, we worked on the grip and stance thing first. The change in my right hand feels bizarre, and I'm also wringing the hell out of the club, and need to relax my grip a little more. Then we worked on closing the stance a little more, and ball position. He encouraged me to drop my right shoulder away a little (like, leaning back) to help me close my stance a little.
Finally, we went back to the bay on the range for the tee (up until now, I'd been hitting off turf), and worked on keeping my weight more centred, preventing my left heel lifting, keeping my shoulders coiled more, and then finally working on 'getting my hips through it'.
He was pleased, I think, with the amount we were able to converse about stuff, in that I'd been doing my homework.
He finally left me with the rest of the bucket, and though I didn't have time to finish them, I found that, as ugly and ungainly as the swing changes felt, I couldn't go wrong. I was getting ten yards more distance, but critically, every one was straight (for my money, that was the griup change), and I felt that I could bang it as hard as I liked (as long as I rotated from my hips first), and it was still fine.
Now - of course - that may have been the old positive mental side taking over, and it may have been I was hitting good shots because I felt good and confident following the lesson. The proof of that will be in the practice over the next 2 weeks, I suppose.
For myself, I enjoyed it immensely, got a huge amount out of it (in particular the grip thing, where I found out I was gripping the club with completely the wrong part of my right fingers!) and will be returning in a fortnight for more. Good stuff!
So he started off asking me about my golfing 'CV' - a potted history so far. I exlained I started in April on 27, have dropped to 21, but my aim is always bogey golf and I usually make it. I explained I play every day, and I put a lot of emphasis on the short game, and I'm beginning to put a lot of emphasis on the mental game.
He asked me what my tendency was when shots went wrong - left or right. I replied neither - I'm pretty straight - it was more (if anything) an issue with occasionally topping things.
He then asked me to hit a few shots with a 6 or 7 I. I took the 6, and he watched for a while, and then got the video camera. After filming me from behind and from the side, he then took me to the small suite with the computer where he showed me what he though, and immediately, I could spot stuff as well...
Issues...
*WILDLY strong right hand grip
*Hands way ahead of the club face at address, and then, to add insult to injury, I start the back swing with a big forward press too
*Ball position too far forward
*VERY open shoulders at address, and feet pointing left too
*Weight coming so much on to right side in back swing that my left heel comes so far off the floor that only my big toe is touching, causing my left knee to collapse in towards my right
*My hands go so far away from the ball and my body, that there is no coil between my shoulders and my hips, and this lack of tension is causing erratic ball striking and lack of distance
He also - in fairness - started off by saying things were looking pretty good; that he dreads when people say they've been learning for 6 months self-taught because they can end up with all kinds of crazy stuff. In particular he liked my posture, thinking I had a nice straight back that I maintained pretty well, looked balanced and athletic, and had a good rhythm and tempo.
I asked whether the lack of followthrough was a problem and he said it very much was, showing me a side-by side of me and The Big Easy (only our mothers can tell us apart), and what was enormously clear was how my lack of hip turn through the shot cramped everything up so much, there was nowhere for me to followthrough TO.
I asked whether my 3/4 backswing was a problem, and again he showed me Tiger's full iron swing, and showed me I reached the same club position, just not the same (putting it mildly) shoulder turn. That was very useful and clear, and very cool.
Outside, we worked on the grip and stance thing first. The change in my right hand feels bizarre, and I'm also wringing the hell out of the club, and need to relax my grip a little more. Then we worked on closing the stance a little more, and ball position. He encouraged me to drop my right shoulder away a little (like, leaning back) to help me close my stance a little.
Finally, we went back to the bay on the range for the tee (up until now, I'd been hitting off turf), and worked on keeping my weight more centred, preventing my left heel lifting, keeping my shoulders coiled more, and then finally working on 'getting my hips through it'.
He was pleased, I think, with the amount we were able to converse about stuff, in that I'd been doing my homework.
He finally left me with the rest of the bucket, and though I didn't have time to finish them, I found that, as ugly and ungainly as the swing changes felt, I couldn't go wrong. I was getting ten yards more distance, but critically, every one was straight (for my money, that was the griup change), and I felt that I could bang it as hard as I liked (as long as I rotated from my hips first), and it was still fine.
Now - of course - that may have been the old positive mental side taking over, and it may have been I was hitting good shots because I felt good and confident following the lesson. The proof of that will be in the practice over the next 2 weeks, I suppose.
For myself, I enjoyed it immensely, got a huge amount out of it (in particular the grip thing, where I found out I was gripping the club with completely the wrong part of my right fingers!) and will be returning in a fortnight for more. Good stuff!
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