Saturday, October 1, 2011

Use Big Muscles

Over the past few weeks, I've been making major changes in my swing, mainly as the result of a lesson I had with Max Galloway at Mohansic Golf Course, a lesson that started me thinking about what happens, exactly, just before and through and after impact. I've realized that I had never really understood how the complete swing works.

Now, I think I'm starting to get it. I'm starting to feel my core—lower body and torso—turning and pulling my arms through the swing. The interesting thing, for me, is that practicing pitching and chipping and putting showed me how the full swing works. As Paul Wilson of Revolution Golf, advocates, the hands and arms are passive, while the engine of the lower body and torso provide the torque that propels the clubhead.

I've also been viewing Jim McLean's videos on YouTube and in my email subscription to Revolution Golf. His videos have been very powerful. It also helped that Max Galloway, my pro at Mohansic, know Jim and mentioned him to me in conversation.

Slowly, I'm putting the idea of using the big muscles. It's not easy. Especially for someone like me who's a control freak, full of tension and the exact opposite kind of personality suitable for golf.

I've decided that it's better for me to practice with plastic balls in my backyard than to hit hundreds of balls at the driving range on Route 202 in Yorktown. In my backyard, I can practice swinging without hitting any balls or hit plastic balls and not worry about distance or anything else. This kind of practice pays high dividends.

Aside from the full swing, I've also been practicing pitching with the yellow practice balls I've mentioned before, with satisfying results. And the pitching helps me understand the full swing.

To pitch well, I have to feel completely relaxed and allow my torso to bring my left arm through the hitting zone. I use the Mickelson hinge-and-hold method, and if I can relax and feel my upper body bringing the club around, I invariably get a good pitch. That's the kind of feeling I'm trying to establish in the full swing. And, after five years of study, I'm finally learning about creating the fastest part of the swing at the very end, from release through impact and on to follow-through. It's hard, and a lot of swinging without hitting a practice ball gives the best results.

See what my swing looks like now, both full-swing and pitch. You'll see there's more follow-through now in the full-swing, although it still slows down. Still, it's a lot better than before. And the pitch looks pretty good.

I think that in my next post I'll be talking about how I'm learning to use leverage and connection.