The lesson

[IrishGolfer]

So I finally decided to bite the bullet and went for a lesson. Nothing overly wrong with the swing, (or so I thought!!) I just wanted a few tuning tips. I normally prescribe to the DIY philosophy of practice but I guess it helps for someone to give feedback.

The pro (get this, his name was Phil Collins, LOL) first watched me hit a few 6 irons. I hit about 5 or 6 fairly well. He then got me to look in a mirror at my set up. Whoah! Here's what I saw after he pointed out the the ugly stuff:

• I was very crouched over the ball with my hands very close to my body and my knees very flexed. So he got me to stand up more erect and push my hands a lot further out to create more space. Bending from the hips with only a slight flex in the knees and held held high.
• Second, he noticed that my shoulders were pointed off to the left, so he got me to straighten those up, which is actually quite hard to do without someone standing behind you.
• Lastly he got me to complete my finish (a la Ernie Els) and really get through the ball with a nice high balanced finish. This was the biggest insight. As he said that at times I only partially finish leading to a block or a hook. By exaggerating the follow through I was able to really get through the ball, leading to a more powerful hit.

Outside that I was good to go. He said my rhythm and tempo were good. He watched me "crush" a few 3 woods and then said we should move off to the practice green for a few chipping lessons. There, he taught me a new shot, a running 7 iron hit off the toe of the club. The toe gig means that the shot is hit with top spin and the swing is like a putting stroke with a firm left wrist and swung with the shoulders. Kinda cool shot. Carry the ball 30% and watch it run out the rest. Takes a bit of getting used to, but I managed to hole one from about 30 yards. Made him feel good, I'll bet. Made me feel good too!!

Will I go back? Yes, definitely, but I think I will leave it a few weeks and try and get some practice in first.

Was it worth the money? In a word, yes!

Should ST'ers get a lesson. Absolutely.

Did I go out and play the round of my life afterwards? Did I fxck! (But hey, that's golf!!)

[Loop]

I can feel it coming in the air tonight.... Oh Lord!
I've been waiting for this moment... all my life... Oh Lord!
Can I get a lesson for free tonight... Oh Lord! Oh Lord!

As a Michael Mann fan. I need to watch the Miami Vice movie...

[cypressperch]

The shoulders open thing is one that I had a hard time with. The best thing that I have found for me to do with this, I have written about before on this forum. You imagine someone well down the target line that looks back at you as you are addressing the ball. You hide your right arm from his view with your left arm. If he can see only your left arm then this means your arms are parallel to the target line which means your shoulders are as well. If he could see your right arm to the left of your left arm (as he sees you), your arms and shoulders must be open. If he were to be able to see your right arm to the right of your left arm (as he sees you), your arms and shoulders must be closed or aimed to the right of your target. I so often had my shoulders opened that I included the thought "hide my right arm (behind the left)" in my pre-shot routine, not too far from the point of pulling the trigger to start the swing.

The posture changes towards something more upright are also things I went through. This was pretty easy to get use to because when you get it right, you are truly more comfortable than when in some of the other positions we can get ourselves in. Almost every golfer starts out with their hands too close to the body so that there is inadequate distance between the hands and their body, or they have far too much space because they are reaching out too far from the body with the hands. If you address the ball and stay in that position and remove your right hand from the grip, you should just be able to swing your right hand between your left arm and your body with the right hand open to the target. If the right hand has lots of space to pass through, you are too far from the ball. If your hand cannot get through the gap, you are too close to the ball. The best thing about getting this right for me was that it made me swing my shoulders on a more level plan. It also helped with balance which actually was the most important thing since balance helped with everything.

The chip shot that has the ball rolling sort of like a putt is going to eventually knock some strokes off your score. You can put just about any club in your hands with that stroke, and you will get to the point that a given shot will be best done with a given club. With that stroke, a 56# wedge shot will be about 50% carry and 50% roll. I like using my 19* Rescue hybrid with that stroke when the ball is close to the green but the grass is a bit too thick to use the putter. It is like having just enough loft added to a putter to get the job done. Getting the ball rolling as soon as possible gives one better odds of success on just about every shot around the green, and this shot does just that.

When I happen to hit a bad shot, I don't mind cause I don't remember.

Sincerely, Cypressperch

[warbirdlover]

Best money spent on golf.

[WMitch6]

There, he taught me a new shot, a running 7 iron hit off the toe of the club. The toe gig means that the shot is hit with top spin and the swing is like a putting stroke with a firm left wrist and swung with the shoulders. Kinda cool shot. Carry the ball 30% and watch it run out the rest. Takes a bit of getting used to, but I managed to hole one from about 30 yards.

Running a 7 iron is a high percentage shot that's been around a long time. Unfortunately, it's gotten a bit lost in the current wedge frenzy.

[Rynamite]

Originally Posted by cypressperch

The posture changes towards something more upright are also things I went through. This was pretty easy to get use to because when you get it right, you are truly more comfortable than when in some of the other positions we can get ourselves in. Almost every golfer starts out with their hands too close to the body so that there is inadequate distance between the hands and their body, or they have far too much space because they are reaching out too far from the body with the hands. If you address the ball and stay in that position and remove your right hand from the grip, you should just be able to swing your right hand between your left arm and your body with the right hand open to the target. If the right hand has lots of space to pass through, you are too far from the ball. If your hand cannot get through the gap, you are too close to the ball. The best thing about getting this right for me was that it made me swing my shoulders on a more level plan. It also helped with balance which actually was the most important thing since balance helped with everything.

Great advice. I always have trouble with how far my hands should be from my body. I'll have to try the swinging right hand trick tonight. Thanks!