I met lynn blake at the OCN golf course restaurant on a friday night talked about golf swings and mentioned that I thought I had a few flaws in my swing, mostly with body movement and my left arm(left handed). I saw lynn in the parking lot on sunday and he asked me how it was going i told him that I was still exp. the same problems. we proceeded to go through some drills in the parking lot not involving any golf equipment. i played yesterday and on the first hole striped one down the middle 287yds the next hole 280yds the longest drive of the day 291yds prior to the half hour in the parking lot my drives were around 240yds. I've had lessons in the past but nothing has ever produced such a dramatic change.
I met lynn blake at the OCN golf course restaurant on a friday night talked about golf swings and mentioned that I thought I had a few flaws in my swing, mostly with body movement and my left arm(left handed). I saw lynn in the parking lot on sunday and he asked me how it was going i told him that I was still exp. the same problems. we proceeded to go through some drills in the parking lot not involving any golf equipment. i played yesterday and on the first hole striped one down the middle 287yds the next hole 280yds the longest drive of the day 291yds prior to the half hour in the parking lot my drives were around 240yds. I've had lessons in the past but nothing has ever produced such a dramatic change.
Thanks for the boost, Barry. Our chance meeting in the parking lot gave us both an opportunity to learn.
For the Forum, here's what happened . . .
I had been teaching all week at Orange County National in Orlando and was loading up the car late Sunday afternoon in preparation for my trip back to Atlanta the next morning. As I walked toward the bag drop for my gear, Barry had finished his round and was walking away from it. As fate would have it, we met in the middle.
We had introduced ourselves the previous Friday evening in the resort's 19th hole and had talked some golf. But talkin' ain't doin', and doin' is what gets it done! So, as we stood there in the parking lot, I asked him to make a couple of 'swings' for me -- neither of us had a club -- and he did.
Then we got down to business!
A major part of our training consisted of Barry and I walking side-by-side and straight ahead (say, south to north) while swinging our arms freely and continuously in front of our advancing bodies and in a "parallel motion" (west to east and back again). We would walk about 30 yards, and then turn around and repeat the drill returning to our starting location. We must have been quite a sight, because more than one group of departing golfers stopped and stared.
We did this over and over until Barry was able to coordinate a free arm swing -- independent of a twisting torso -- with the likewise independent 'walking' of his legs. It's simple once you get it, but it's a little harder to do than you may think. Try it!
The key is to be on your right foot as you swing back and on your left foot as you swing through. At first, Barry would do exactly the opposite, i.e., he was on his left foot as he swung back and on his right foot as he swung through. And he would take big, ponderous giant steps -- not a natural walking step at all! -- as he attempted the coordination. We stopped and started more than a few times (and shared more than one laugh) as he gradually got the hang of it.
For more of our lesson and Barry's transformation, stay tuned for Part II!
Once Barry was able to walk straight ahead while swinging his arms side-to-side in perfect timing, the job was to translate that natural action into a 'golf-like' motion. I asked him to assume a golfer's stance -- no more walking -- and to duplicate the continuous and "parallel" free arm swing with natural leg action (loading and unloading foot and knee action). Alas, now that we were making something more akin to a golf swing, his old habits instantly took over. His upper torso swayed and twisted in the backstroke, pulling his head out of position and his now not-so-free arm swing far inside.
After showing him what was happening (and why), I then defined new 'on plane' alignments and demonstrated how to maintain them. I also explained how this radically different motion related to our coordinated 'walking and arm swinging' drill. After only a few minutes, Barry's action was centered and his "pivot controlled hands" had all but disappeared. His motion now had the unmistakeable look of a first class, "natural" golf swing, i.e., "hands controlled pivot".
By now, the sun was setting, the temperature had dropped and the wind was picking up. Time to go. It had been only a half hour or so, but without a club and without hitting the first ball, we had made real progress. We had focused only on the motion, and when the motion changes, the result changes.
I was tickled to read Barry's post and of the results achieved when he took his new motion to the course. Yessir, 'ol Yoda was mighty pleased . . .
. To the left, to the left, left, right , left...
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