Swing clinic
At noon today, I went to the full swing clinic at the Golden Bear Golf Center. Alan, my usual instructor, was teaching it today and I was fortunate to be the only student.
We discussed my difficulties of late, and then he watched me hit a few balls. He saw immediately what my issue is: too quick on the downswing. This seems to be a perpetual problem for me. He had me get out the 4-iron, which I can almost never hit well, and he had me pause at the top and then swing down. Once I slowed down my downswing tempo, I started striking the ball cleanly again, and even getting the ball high in the air with the 4-iron. He adjusted my stance slightly, putting the ball a little more forward and giving me a little more shoulder tilt. Once these adjustments were made, I was striking the ball cleanly.
Next up, I got out the driver and did the same drill. I still tended to hit fades or slices, but that’s just a matter of getting my tempo back in order.
Last up were some short wedge shots with the same drill. I had little difficulty getting clean contact on the ball with the wedges.
So, I feel better about my swing again. Tomorrow, I’ll work on tempo and timing, and see if I can get my swing grooved again.