Swing clinic
I attended the full swing clinic at the Golden Bear Golf Center today. I again got lucky and was the only student at the clinic. Normally, if only a single student shows up, the clinic is limited to 1/2 hour, but Alan had me work hard for nearly an hour with both the 6-iron and 3-metal. Basically, I have two issues: a bit of a reverse pivot and not swinging hard enough with a complete turn from back swing to follow-through.
I warmed up with the 7-iron and Alan then had me switch to a 6-iron while he watched me swing. I was not hitting the ball very well during warm up. He had me focus on making complete turns and also swinging harder, while keeping out tension (tension has always been a problem for me). He had me start out with short swings with the 6-iron, sort of a punch shot. After I started to make clean contact, he had me make some longer swings, working on proper inside path and full turn from backswing to follow-through. I wasn’t making good contact on every swing, but when I did, the ball was going lower and longer than before. He also moved the ball forward in my stance.
Next up, he had me hit off the grass with the 3-metal. Again, same focus on making a full turn from backswing to follow-through, no reverse pivot, and keeping my downswing from starting too quickly. He made sure that I finished off each follow-through properly. I only made good contact with about half the shots, but the ones that were hit well were longer than usual for me, and I even hit a draw or two with good distance.
Afterward, I talked briefly with Mark Maness, who is checking out some new video software for capturing and analyzing golf swings. He says that the video will be available outside more often so that time can be saved by not having to go inside for video analysis. The new video equipment also has a higher frame and resolution to make video analysis easier.
I was very happy with my swing clinic today, and look forward to hitting some balls on the range to see if I can get all this programmed into me.