Golf Swing Progress Slowed

“You can always become better.” Tiger Woods

In this new year I have played 18 holes at Chamberlain Park Golf Course and had one session at the driving range. Both visits were a disappointment. No matter what I tried on the course I couldn’t get the swing to work as Danny Maude showed in his video, ‘My Students Hit Driver Straight & Long Forever Because of This (Using Science)’. 16.01min. At the range, practice was patchy, some encouraging moments mixed in with dross. 

The Drill

Return to basics is what Maude advises when your swing is off. The drill is as basic as you can get, it is worth reprinting it here.

Stand tall with your feet together, grip the club correctly, work your hands and arms together. Fold your trail arm, your elbow will be pointing groundward, and it will feel close against your body, fully cup your trail wrist, the club will be at an angle over your trail shoulder. Blending body rotation naturally will get the club in the angled position over your shoulder. Go through the same motions to put the club over your lead shoulder. It is surprising how far you can drive the ball with minimal body rotation. Swing the club backwards and forwards, you will hear the swish as the speed of the club seems so effortless. Watch Danny Maude’s video to see how the drill happens.

Blending

I considered, what was it that I was missing with this swing, that I advocate seniors with less flexibility should adopt. Some fundamentals apply to all golf swings, including this one. Good grip, address, rotation by coiling your shoulders, hips, and shifting weight in your feet, wind up from the top, wind down from the bottom and other fundamentals. Blending hands, arms, torso, hips and weight shift in the correct sequence is fundamental to this ‘senior’ swing.

Practicing to get the Swish

I watched again Maude’s video to remind me of how this swing is meant to look and act like. I focussed on rotation and blending when practicing the drill. I tend to leave the face open at impact when I do not rotate correctly. It leads to all sorts of horrible shots, including shanks when chipping. It took time before the swing felt right and I could hear something like a swish. I found something in the downswing that seems to work for me. With the trail elbow pointing toward the ground at the top of the swing, the underside of the forearm will be pointing outwards. You are now in position to drop the forearm straight down so you can attack the ball from an inside line with speed. Rotation of your hips will square the face.

Persistence

I will persist with trying to get this swing to a stage where I will be able to repeat it successfully. I have enough good memories of the days when this swing has worked better than I could have hoped for. At times I have driven the ball further than I ever had, possibly 20 or 30 meters more. On another occasion, not long after I found this swing for seniors, my chipping and pitching was the best it had ever been. The sound of contact was crisp, the ball flight was accurate, landing at a distance when I could putt for birdie or par. The short game was a real struggle over the years, I now have the tools and memories to better deal with this part of golf.

Keep persisting everyone.