Turn, Turn Turn!

Maybe you remember The Byrds song "Turn! Turn! Turn!" If you don't, check it out.

I'm thinking seriously about the song right now because of what my pro, Brian Lamberti (at Golfworx in Baldwin Place, NY) was advocating in my last lesson with him.

Brian qualified for the sectional qualifier for the US Open at Canoe Brook CC in Summit, NJ, and finished the 36 holes yesterday, turning in 78-68-146, not quite good enough to make it to Congressional.

But in my last lesson with Brian, I watched him do his hitting routing, and he told me that all he was doing with every club was turning. He continued to say, "All I'm doing is turning." Certainly, every swing looked the same. If he wanted to hit the ball farther, he would make more of a turn through the follow-through. That was the only difference I could detect. And he could do whatever he wanted to with the ball flight: fade, draw, high, low. I think he accomplished those different shots with his address, but don't quote me on this. He was just awesome, and I didn't want to distract him with novice questions.

At the time, I tried to do what he told me during the lesson, but, naturally, my old habits made that impossible. However, over the last two weeks, I've been working on that turning as my main practice goal. Brian Flanagan, my pro at Fairview Golf Center in Elmsford, NY, was telling me the same thing. I'm a hard case, and it takes a second opinion to convince me.

I've been hitting 200 or 300 balls a day at Yorktown Baseball and Golf in Yorktown Heights, NY, and it wasn't until late this afternoon, after a frustrating time with the driver, that I finally started to feel what the full hip turn feels like. Before that, my other clubs felt good. I feel like a pro with my wedges, and the other clubs felt good when I swung on plane.

But suddenly, I tried something different. It may have been the videos I've been watching of Brittany Lincicom, with her quick hips, that made me try something a little different. So I started focussing on the hip turn and not thinking about my hands or the release or anything else. And, suddenly, I was cracking the ball straight out there!

Dubious, I grabbed my 3-metal and tried the same swing. "Crack!" right down the middle.

Back to the driver. "Crack!"

The driver still isn't hitting the fence at the 250-yard mark, which means I'm missing something, but what I'm doing is a lot better than what I was doing before.

In the next practice, I want to practice this turn with the irons and see how my accuracy and distance change. With all the work I've done, I feel as though I can make flexible changes without too much trouble.

As The Byrds sing, it's "A time to build up, a time to break down." Tomorrow, I'll work on the new concept of turn and try to forget about the old swing habits.