23 March 2023|Golfing with gratitude
I've been waiting to get outside for a lesson for a while. Poor weather and a dose of Covid prevented previous attempts, but we finally managed to do it today. The reason for moving outside is that I wanted Sandy to check over my aim and setup and I also wanted him to check over my bunker technique. Out on the course with no practice aids is a very different proposition than the swing studio!
What did we find?
My technique/routine has been to stand behind the ball, use the shaft of the club to look at my far-away target and then pick an intermediate target a short distance in front of the ball. I then use that intermediate target to line up with. It's similar to how I used to line up my putts when using a line on the ball, before going back to the Lajosi (more of that another time). I've always been quite happy with this method but Sandy threw me when he said I was aiming right and demonstrated it with video evidence.
There were a couple of other things he noticed too, which he thinks are really just down to me adapting to playing with a stronger grip and some bad habits of links golf. The ball has been creeping back in my stance and I've had too much weight on the lead leg at address, inhibiting my rotation and reducing power.
What did we do?
First: I've dropped the intermediate aiming spot and focus now more on the far distance aiming point. This seems to be allowing me to step into the ball in a more natural way and my alignment immediately improved. It's extremely hard to stop looking at a point just in front of the ball and this is going to take time to get comfortable.
Second: A better address routine to help get the ball in a better position, further forward in my stance. This is where the stronger grip has had an impact as the clubhead has looked a bit squarer than usual and it has thrown out my feet and ball position. The ball being further forward should force me to rotate better in order to deliver the club head to the ball correctly.
Third: Get a bit more weight onto my right leg at address and at the start of the backswing.
The combination of the second and third items saw me rotate much better through the swing resulting in better contact and a more balanced finish. It was immediate and I was quite taken aback by the improved ball flight and distance with a swing that felt needed less effort to achieve. We picked a number of different targets in order that I had to keep going through a pre-shot routine and as well as improved ball striking we also saw improved aim. Something to keep working on at the range and practice area.
What about the bunker shots?
While I've generally comfortable in the bunker I wanted to have my technique checked over. I was making the same mistakes. The ball is too far back and too much weight is on the lead leg. It works ok for a driving shot without much spin, but it's not going to work for all bunker shots. I was taking far too much sand with the ball too. I was reminded of watching a bunker masterclass with Luke Donald, years ago, where I was amazed at how little sand he took in the bunker. He hit them all so well, even calling in advance what the ball was going to do!
We worked on three different shots. The long driving shot, the short, high, spinny shot and the one in between them. Strong grip, weak grip and intermediate grip. We drew a line in the sand and an arc to represent the club head path. This really helped with ball positioning within the stance and again is something to take away and practice at the academy.
Conclusion
This was the last of my block of winter lessons. We have worked on a lot in the studio and it was good to get back to the practice area to have the final overview. I think that I have seen a real improvement in the quality of my ball striking from these lessons as I have gotten more comfortable with the grip change. Work will continue on my alignment and ball position, as I could see the benefits reflected further in an improved strike.
In the coming weeks, I intend to talk further with Sandy about more lessons/assessments throughout the year. I can definitely see the benefit of having regular checks as it's much easier for him to spot issues than it is for me.
So that's it. The bag review is complete and the lessons leave me with things to work on. Bring on the new season!
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