Day 14: Driving Miss Daisy

I was really excited to get back after watching the video from yesterday.

I started using that bag drill from Mr. Watson from a few posts ago to promote the inside out golf swing before I hit balls. Its a great drill to feel the right hip extension/tension which tells you that you are at the top of your swing. It's an incredible feeling - at that point (the point in which your right hip is fully torqued, your back is fully facing the target, your chin is hitting your left shoulder, your arms are as far as they will go back which makes the club parallel to the ground - and then you just pull the whip around through the ball. Again, its an amazing feeling. I have heard pros talk about 'coiling' and 'uncoiling' with their driver - but I am feeling it with every swing, driver or iron. And it is good to start off with the bag drill to get that feeling. I will do this drill before every round to get that feeling.

I got a bucket and warmed up with my 8-iron. After I was good and loose, I pulled out the Driver.

Based off of yesterday, today I wanted a balanced finish - this shows that you had good mechanics through the swing. I also was not going to let my left cheek pass my marker about 4 inches behind the ball. I was not going to 'cast' my hands and I was not going to jump at the ball.

When I focused on these things coupled with a balanced finish, I was surprised at how less I needed to move my body to get a good result. Trying not to lean into or 'go after' the ball is a hard habit to break. Nonetheless, I was hitting the ball pretty darn good with my Driver. Once I got into a swing rhythm, I started to hit more balls straight, some balls left and very rarely hit one with a slice. Sometimes I would fall into too much of a mindless routine and break down and 'go after' a ball and every time I did that the slice would rear it's ugly head.

I was also surprised to see that the less hard I swung coupled with good body mechanics produced the best results. It would be a nice balanced finish as while watching the ball on its straight flight down the range. If the back flag is actually 239, I am flying my ball to about that spot and then with a roll I would be no less than 250 if not more with a big, long roll. I will take that all day. If I could hit that shot every time I pulled out my driver, I would be a happy, happy man. I know that once I get my mechanics grooved in, then I can add power. I am still far from that point. However, I was very fired up about the way I hit the driver. I have said that only but 1 or 2 times in my life. I am actually excited to pick that club up the next time and look forward to hitting it. I think I am feeling confident enough to say that with 66 days remaining, I will get better and better with my Driver to the point that it will help me on the golf course and not hurt me. It will give me a feeling of pleasure, rather than utter disgust. And that alone, might be worth this entire exercise.

After my bucket, I saw I had 12 minutes until the hour, so I grabbed two balls from my bag and my putter. I took a few 3 to 5 footers and was rolling them pretty well - nice and firm. I moved it out to 6, 8 and 10 feet and was making more than my fair share with the same solid stroke.

I then thought about how important it was to hit every putt firmly. If I am going to miss, I would like to miss past the hole, not short of the hole - even if it means going 2 feet past - 'At least it had a chance' - I know we have all said it before, but I now know the importance of that saying. The better I get at reading the break and hitting my line with a solid stroke, them more balls that are going to go in. Rocket Science. I know it sounds silly, but sometimes I think you have to have these realizations in order to take advantage of them and get better.

Correctly reading the break and correctly hitting along the line with a solid stroke will result in more made putts.

I finished on an ultimate high note that made me smile. I kicked the 2 balls out to about 20 or 25 feet and made both of the putts - firmly into the back of the cup. I felt like that was the perfect time to call it a day. Happy about my Driver and happy about draining those putts. A great day of practice.

I am making progress - I can feel it and see it.