The Imporatance Of A Swing Coach

When I started this blog over a year ago, I had every intention of being that everyman 15 handicapper who reached single digit status over the next couple of years, and detailed that journey for all to see. I figured that, between the new techniques and equipment reviews, that the groundwork was layed to help myself, and many other golfers get better. Unfortunately, the heart attack last July put a major hitch in the quest for more distance off the tee box via a more powerful swing. Still, there was hope, as the acquisition of several amazing woods from the now defunct Advanced Golf Technology Company, as well as a set of rather long and extremely forgiving Wilson Staff Di9's in the irons department gave me back a lot of that distance, and maintaining the newly acquired finesse was still a strong possibility. Between these two factors, I had hopes of at least sawing off 5 of those 15 strokes.

Sadly- I suffered a severe reaction to Crestor, and the resultant muscle melt-down sent my spine cratering. This last little factor took away any hopes I had as to maintaining the finesse part of my game, as the ability just to stand upright, much less swing a golf club, had become a real struggle. Even a 60% swing was beyond my capabilities for a while. That was kind of the capper that made this last golf season a maintenance job rather than a summer offensive. Unfortunately, it was spent as much in physical therapy as it was on the course. Basically--maintaining a 15 handicap was the best I could muster. Still--in the now historically famous slogan of the long gone Brooklyn Dodgers---"There's always next year." Here's a good game plan that helped me maintain my handicap against all odds, and lay the groundwork for next season.

Fit That Flat Stick

It's cheap to do. Most flat-stick fittings are well under $20, and it's putting that kept my score down despite the loss of distance. I may talk about the woods and irons, but it's the putter that has saved my game. Though far from perfect--I average 28-32 putts per round, and for a 15 capper--that's considered to be very good. In the meantime, the quest to maintain, and even improve my distance did indeed gain me some yardage off the tee box, but doing so w/out professional help after stepping out of physical therapy and directly onto the tee box, caused more problems than good. Sure I picked up a few yards, but I also picked up a few swing flaws that have cost me dearly, and could have easily been diagnosed by a professional. Thank goodness for a fitted flat-stick. Seriously, it helped stop a serious slide in my game that could have easily become a full-fledged collapse.

Mongo Like Swing Coach

My swing off the tee box had truly lost any semblance of finesse. In fact, many had said I should try out for a Geico commercial, as it looked like a caveman taking a swing at his dinner with his war club before it got the chance to run away. It quickly became obvious that I should have followed Jack Nicklaus' advice. He may be old school, but he still owns more major titles than you know who, and even to the very end, his swing always looked like--"His Swing." The Golden Bear always said that at the beginning of any re-tooling--be it after a long Winter's layoff, or whatever--"Go see your instructor, and start from scratch. What you already know will be quickly discovered and set aside, while any bad habits will stick out like sore thumbs. Best to take care of them before the new season begins."

Stupid me. I thought I was too good for that very advice even though I had read and re-read it several times, and even dispensed it to numerous golfers who have turned to me for advice. I finally bowed to that lesson as the results at the end of this season have come crashing down around my ears. The answers, thanks to professional intervention, are coming very easily too. I had developed a bad habit of aiming left in order to fight a weakened right hamstring in my right leg. As a converted lefty, it made pulling the ball left as if it were a draw very easy. The sad part is that it was technically incorrect, and like all compensations, the timing needed for repetition was vague. Pretty soon the compensation turned into an over-compensation, and you may as well have nick named me "Captain Hook."---Ahhhr Matey--I'm makin' them thar golf balls walk the plank stage left." It was getting ugly. Pretty soon, even my wedge shots are going wide left, and because I wasn't looking at myself on film, or in a mirror, I had no idea why I was so far left of target.

Next thing you know, I'm weakening my grip and opening up my club-face in an effort to get the ball to stop hooking. Sadly' it was actually going pretty much where I aimed it, and now even with a closed stance--I was serving up more slices than Tony's Pizza Parlour. How screwed up can you get? Well--I'll spare you the details. I hooked up with a swing coach who has helped the best, and he's basically doing it as a favor to me, and others who specifically requested his assistance for me.

At the first lesson he fixed my alignment, gave me an easy exercise to remember how to do this on my own, and reassured me that my grip is A-O-K. Next thing you know--I was soon hitting all my irons and wedges straight as a string with just a touch of draw spin. Still--my woods seemed to be dropping the ball with more than just a touch of cut-spin to them---until lesson 2.

Lesson 2 he showed me that the length of the woods is still having me come slightly outside the plane, as my turn still isn't optimal yet. He gives me one more little exercise to help me optimize my turn, and next thing you know--there she goes! The woods are straight as a string with just a touch of baby draw. This is really starting to scare me, as it's proving just a little too easy to fix my swing. Then again, it was awfully easy to screw it up too. I will keep a really good eye on this over the next year, and as things begin to work, I promise to keep you all posted.I will do my best to make sure that these shots become second nature before posting instructions-etc. Rest assured, that if you come back to this site, and it posts instructions--they will be darned good ones that have been proven to work----empirically> Thanks for dropping by.