Golf Swing Progress, Reality

"Wind up from the top, unwind from the bottom." - Old Saying

There’s an old saying in golf: “Wind up from the top, unwind from the bottom.”

Golf is one of those sports that can deceive you in believing you have found nirvana. Now we all know nirvana does not exist, at least not in this life. Definitely not for golf. After encouraging signs since adopting the principles of the swing shown by Danny Maude in his YouTube video, “Stop Being A Short Hitter”, I was optimistic for my next visit to Chamberlain Park.

Back to Reality

When linking with a group of strangers on the 10th hole, I found there is a tendency for me to rush my tee shot. Subconsciously I am aware of the group coming from the 9th, they want to get to the 10th tee without delay, to stop others jumping ahead when there is a que on the 1st hole. It happens regularly despite the sign for all golfers to start from the 1st.

For me I usually go through a 3-point checklist; includes grip, address and takeaway, before having practice swings. On this occasion there was no time for any of that. My drive was askew pulling high to the right hitting trees and short. The hole was a struggle to make a double bogey. What caused me concern was the pitch; timing was off with no snap at contact.

All 18 holes were that way, weak drives and fairway woods, iron shots were very poor with a shank to add to the frustration. Three days ago, I had never been better with a wedge and sand-wedge in hand with incredible pitches and chips getting close to pin high every time. There was no magic today with the wedges, sloppy comes to mind.

It wasn’t all bad, on the longest par 5, I drove straight and long into the wind, fairway wood landing a short wedge distance from the hole. The wedge was good enough for a birdie putt. I finished with a very good par on a windy day.

Blended

Danny Maude uses the phrase ‘blended’, meaning it’s not just hands and arms in the swing, it’s also body, with rotation, with hip movement and sequence. It is all the parts of the swing working together in the right order. I did not have the blended swing on this day I played 18 holes.

The Solution

A visit to the driving range helped me find the blended swing. I need to be conscious of my takeaway. It is best described in the old saying, “Wind up from the top, unwind from the bottom”.

My Takeaway

Shoulder tilt starts my takeaway as a triangle, then I set the angles early to get the club over my shoulder. My torso rotates and trail hip moves back. 

Check out Jason Baile Golf on YouTube;