As we saw in the previous article: August, 2006; 'Toughest shot in golf'
Matt (I) took a series of lessons from Tim McElhinny (golf pro and proprietor at Painted Hills Golf Course).
After there first lesson Tim immediately realized that I
was a 'feel' golfer and what was needed in my game was to develop a series of 'mechanics' to help create 'consistency' in my game! As we progressed week after week to different parts of my golf game it seemed like everything needed to be rebuilt. Sure I could hit a golf ball,
and I could shoot a score of 78 on a good day, but to get to the next level I had to rebuild!
Recapping from the August lesson I was a feel golfer, and we must understand that term. So, let us first off let us define 'feel'. A feel golfer relies on instincts to control the golf shot.
For example to make a 50 yard chip shot the amount of swing is dependent upon the amount of muscles used to make the shot. Tim immediately realized that I varied each shot depending upon the results from previous shots. As a starting point
Tim introduced what we will call the shot clock.
This is used to demonstrate the theory...the distance of the backswing MUST equal the distance of the follow through!
For example if you swing the club back to 9:00 then the follow through MUST go to 3:00 and stop! Now we relate the clock to the full swing rather than just the chip shot. Before we could continue Coach Tim noticed that I had what is called a strong grip.
The follwing two photos are a before and after shot of how Coach Tim adjusted my grip.
Amazingly, just by adjusting my starting grip straightens up my body
I was amazed
that when I used The Grip Trainer".
Coach Tim demonstrated how my body straightened up with the new grip is part of the 'goal'; Simplify the swing! Make the swing more mechanical. The before shot is a 'feel' shot. I was leaning to one side and my swing would vary deending on how hard I would swing. Coach Tim constantly repeats these basic ideas.
Your stance must be square. Your grip must be straight. You shoulders must be square so that the body and swing are all in line and moving at the same speed. To illustrate this point we see the following 3 photos; they represent the backswing to the top.
At this point we are ready to show the changes that coach Tim made with my swing.
The following photo shows that I have a baseball type move that Tim said we would change.
The collapsing move or dropdown move is the 'flaw' in my swing. Coach Tim hopes that by eliminating this move, a more circular swing pattern will result. In other words a more simple and mechanical swing which can be repeated over and over will result! The following photo show this 'new' motion.
Wow!
Finally if we see the original swing motion at the top of this lesson we can see the choppiness of the swing and the moving of the head and body during the swing causing the ball to go all over the place. Now the after video, seen below, is so much smoother and mechanical looking with very little body movement.
This is so cool!
