practicing yesterday

I was excited to go to the course yesterday to practice my short game but had disastrous results in my first 15 minutes attempting short ones off the mats. I was unable to find the new found ability to use my small pivot to give these short shots the energy needed to fly the distance. Instead I was scooping and using my hands which caused me to come up and out of my posture and resulted in my body stopping at the ball. Even though I was aware of my mistake I could not right the ship and actually got worse and worse.

I left the mats and went to the small green with grass and tried to recover my relaxed motion from Sunday. It took 30 minutes but finally I was back. Here are a few things I learned in the process.

1. the slide forward rather than pivot around causes all sorts of issues and I almost need to feel like I have a reverse weight shift on the front swing to NOT move too much laterally.

2. I must practice to learn not to sway back and move the handle of the club too far and too quickly.

3. the tom watson grip helps me match-up and not use my hands to "hit" the ball.

Chipping

I finally read something which makes sense to me and when I tried it at the course there was a natural aspect to the application of the technique. I read parts of Stan Utley's book about the short game and his explanation of chipping seems compelling. The part of the technique which is appealing is that it is very much like the long swing AND the power of the shot comes from the pivot or body rotation rather than the hands or arms.

In the freezing cold yesterday a.m. I went to the practice green and chipped for 30 minutes before the frost delay lifted for us to tee off...... and here are the take aways;

1. I was so tense and contorted trying all my attempts to get back on track that I had zero rhythm or athleticism.

2. trying to stay still was further alienating me from my flow and rhythm

3. with just a little time practicing I was able to play many decent shots during my round yesterday

I observed Bob Stanger and Larry both excellent chippers and they use this technique to a degree.....the part which I could see was the pivot around the left legs and hip and the lack of scooping or hit cause by using the hands on the front-swing.

Utley asks me to stand on my left leg with my spine leaning left at address.....my arms hang down and there is very little tension in my hands and arms....the back swing is created my a slight pivot with my left knee going towards the ball and the right going back ever so slightly. He asks that the right elbow fold which I do not "get" yet but it is only possible if there's a lack of tension. The front-swing happens by pivoting back and turning yourself towards the target. If you are relaxed there is "lag" and the left wrist bows and the right wrist remains creased. The loft of the club creates the trajectory