Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Hittin balls

I finally got a chance to hit the range last week.  Finally.

It was ugly. 

I started off by hitting about 25 7-Irons at a flag that was about 160 yards out.  For me, thats just about the right distance in the cold 30 degree weather.  Also, there was about a steady 7-10 mph wind whipping hard from left to right.

I missed my target by about 75 yards to the right on the first swing.  It was a weak push-slice; my typical miss.  After a long lay off it was to be expected I guess, but it was still painful.  I knew what happened becuase its happened before- my body turns before my arms start back toward the target, I break my wrists and elbow, and I "spin out" of my shot.  Fortunately I have fixed this miss before. 

Twenty-four swings later and I was still broken.  I was emarrassed to say the least.

So I grabbed my pitching wedge and tried to hit a few knock downs to a flag 100 yards out.  Taking less club and taking half swings usually helps me to get my body and arms to sync up.  Still fanned them out to the right.

I tried everything.  Back to the target.  Head down.  Swing in a barrel.  Make my left leg a post. 

Nothing worked.  I could still feel my arms hanging up in the air as my body turned, my ball flight sucked, and it was not going in the right direction. 

So I took a break.  Walked over to the putting green, and rolled some balls with the flat stick.
Mike Griggs Driving Range in Citrus Heights Golf Putting GreenI actually putt well.  Good speed, and good lines.  I kept the pendulum motion consistent and kept my arms moving at a steady pace.  And that set off a light bulb in my head-- it occured that the pendulum notion would be a good swing thought as I tried to keep my irons and woods from veering off course.

So back to the mats I went.  This time to focus on maintaining the triange between my shoulders and the top of the golf club. 

It worked like a charm. 

My ball flight came way down, distance went way up.  Most importantly though the ball started and ended on virtually the same line.  It was a miracle.

I hit about 100 more balls before deciding it was too cold and calling it quits. 

Unfortunately there wont be much of an occasion to put my newly renovated swing thoughts to the test on a course.  At least my confidence is back up and I know I havent totally lost my shit...

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