Right-Wing Politics and Swing Correction

As I get older, I find that many of my views become more conservative. Aside from a woman's right to choose and the NRA and probably a number of other issues, I sort of get what the Republicans stand for. They have the assets and they want to keep them and retain their status. That's completely understandable. If I were one of them, I'm sure I would feel the same way. Definitely, I'm leaning to the right. The trouble is, so is my golf swing.

Or has been, lately. I've noticed that I'm pushing the ball right, unless I'm very conscious of bringing the butt of the handle to the ball from the inside. When I look back to last fall, I was doing the same thing, pushing to the right, but I didn't really understand why that was happening. Now I think I do. The reason that I'm pushing right is that I'm coming into the ball with the face open, and something that is supposed to happen that will square up the clubface is not happening. At first, I thought it was the clubhead path. But even when I was sure that I was coming from the inside to the ball, I would still tend to push it right.

In situations like this, I go immediately to the research department. YouTube is generally the first place I look for help, but in this case, I finally went to a DVD I have of A. J. Bonar talking about the driver. He's a long-winded teacher, but a good one, and I've had loquacious teachers before who taught me, in unintended teaching outcomes, to be patient and listen. Finally, A. J. talked about turning the toe of the club around as you come into the impact zone. I had watched his video several times before, but I think I just wasn't ready to understand this crucial point. Now I did. It helped me to picture what my own swing must look like coming through impact: an open face, with the arms dragging the clubhead through the ball at the point where the clubhead should be moving at its greatest speed.

The obvious answer was to remember a few things. One of them was where the release beings. So I did some research online and refreshed my memory about that, reminding myself that the release begins at about hip level or where the left arm is about at a 45 degree angle to the level of the ball. Then I remembered how the left arm has to slow down in order to let the clubhead swing through at maximum velocity, thrown by the right hand, creating forces that result in that classic image of the overlapping forearms after impact. Until now, I've been trying to achieve that position consciously and manipulatively, which, I've learned for myself, doesn't work. That started to help.

Then A. J.'s admonition to control the toe of the club added another dimension of understanding. As I practiced that, I could see that it added more power to my driver swing. Still, I was lacking that really powerful "Bam!" at the ball (as Johnny Miller likes to say), and, on top of that, I was still hitting that mat before the ball way too frequently. Something was still missing. Even a neophyte, like me, could see that. Then I discovered what that missing piece was.

In a recent post, titled "Sean of Arc," I talked about how I was trying to let my swing describe an arc. In that post, which was only a few days ago, I thought I was making progress. Now I know that it was just another example of how "hard-won" or "hardly-won" swing improvements can be.

As I experimented with A. J.'s metaphor of turning a screwdriver counterclockwise after impact, I suddenly felt the missing piece of my swing. That was the part after hitting the ball. I've always felt that this was not right, but I never understood why. Now I think I do. After impact, the clubhead has to continue on its arc, but at this point in the swing, the arc is upward. It is not flat and out towards the target, and the right hand does not control its path. No, it's still the left hand that is in charge. As the left hand turns to toe counterclockwise, it also lifts and allows the clubhead to follow a circular arc.

Once I realized this, I suddenly understood how these good players swing through the ball without hitting the mat or hitting mostly tee. They are swinging on a perfect arc, and they have located the bottom of the arc precisely where the ball is waiting. And their perfect arc is what gives them that beautiful follow-through up and around the left shoulder.

Once I started practicing this at the range, I really had to laugh to myself. This was the answer, I thought, as I hit balls right at my target. Of course, now and then, I'd push one to the right, but that didn't bother me. I knew that what I needed was practice. Finally, I was at the point where I could make a correct driver swing and repeat it without serious error. As A. J. says, controlling the toe is the mark of a good player. But, in my experience, what teachers fail to explain or illustrate is the way the left hand and arm bring the club UP after impact, completing the arc that the backswing and downswing previously established.

Another thought occurred to me as I though about A. J.'s advice about the toe. That movement is probably what Hogan meant when he talked about "slinging" the ball down the fairway. I mentioned this in an early post and thought I understood it then, but I don't think I really did at the time. Now, when I hit the ball, I can actually feel the toe moving and slinging the ball. Once again, like countless other examples, here's a case where I thought I understood an aspect of the swing but really didn't. This part of the learning process, now that I think about it, may be essential. Maybe the first time you work on an element of the swing and you think you have it is just a preliminary stage, one that sets you up for a later, full understanding. I haven't made a full inventory, but it does seem that I have to learn certain parts of the swing twice.

There is no new video, simply because my discoveries are so recent that I haven't had a chance to videotape them. I was going to do some swing practice today, Saturday, May 8th, but, once again, the Mistral is blowing—powerful, gusting winds of probably forty to fifty miles an hour at times. Instead of hitting with the driver, I went to the local public course and did some putting and chipping. The winds were enough to move putts as they rolled and nearly knock me off balance. When I realized that the winds were drying out my eyeballs, I decided it was time to go home and have some red wine and start getting dinner ready.

I'm very excited about my new understanding of the swing, though, and I can't wait until tomorrow to get out on the range and out on the course to try out a much-improved swing. Then, maybe, I'll have some good video to post. While my politics may continue to drift to the right, I'm expecting my shots to move toward the center.