N.C. Senior @ North Ridge

It's been awhile since I have written but I was playing in an event in Raleigh and have played lots of golf these past days. And I have hit lots of balls and practiced my short game as well. I was 15 over for 3 rounds and Paul Simson beat me by 30 which is humbling. My short game was really weak and I drove the ball amazingly well.

Yesterday at BR on the range I really felt my swing in a profound way.

By putting up upper arms on my chest and turned back slowly with my shoulders and hips I was able to stay over it and make my front swing with the left leg straightening left hip turning left. I was able to flight the ball lower and contact the ball first. and there was a comfort at being over the ball and not out of position on my back swing. What I also noticed was the loss of my spin angle on the downswing did not happen as frequently.

The keys here are

1. club and left arm one line with hands ahead....measuring how far to stand from the ball is key here and mimicking the impact position. I am prone to get my hands behind the ball and this set-up is different in that my left wrist is not low and cupped

2. left shoulder down and shoulders left and slightly open...again my tendency is to get my shoulders closed as I waggle and prepare to play the shot

3. hip turn get the club on plane and help me make a slower/tighter back swing

4. bend from the waist standing far enough from the ball

when I finished my practice I played ten of the best 50 yard shots of my life....arms on chest and slowly turning back with my hands doing nothing and the front swing simply being a straightening of my left leg and having my weight stay on/over my shoe.

Pronation / Supination

I have been practicing using my swing thoughts/feelings from April 24&25 with a slight adjustment. It is helpful on short shots to pronate my left arm off the ball. this allows the club to start first which helps me stay over the ball, and it also keeps the club face from closing on my backswing. when the club does close then I have to re-route and down-cock to square the blade making it quite hard to match up/ body with my hands and arms. My front swing is still a straightening o the left leg onto a solid left shoe.

With the shorter shots it helps to also rotate ( supinate ) my forearms/ club face back to the ball as my hips turn out of the way. By pronation and supination I am able to stay still/ quiet over the ball and maintain my balance and spine angle.