Day 48: Swing like a Champion

I went to the range with the Ben Hogan video and this video from Golf Digest with Stina Sternberg below which I think is a great drill to do every time you hit at the range:


Take your address, grab you left wrist, take the club away with your arms in front of you - once you do that, I think you are almost 90% of the way to hitting a great golf shot. This motion sets the club and your left hand and arm on the correct plane. It also keeps your right elbow in and forces your right hip back. At the top of the swing, everything is perfect. Your right knee is pointing towards the ground, your right hip is fully torqued, your back is to the target - all the things you have heard time and time again. All you have to do from there is start turning your hips to the front and your shoulders, arms, hands and club start darting towards the ball. The one thing I think about before hitting the ball is to strike down on the ball and then ka-boom! A beautiful shot. I hit great shot after great shot today - from the driver down to the 60-degree wedge. This is the swing I need to groove in. I need to do the practice in the video before I hit balls and before I play around.

The round at Penmar yesterday got me down. I started to wonder if I was making any progress at all. The old swings and chips started to rear their ugly head and I didn't know how to get out of that bad place. But after I hit balls today, I saw that their has been progress. I just need to find the right swing when it breaks down and get back on track.

I heard a great quote from Tiger in his press conference today before tomorrow's opening round at Whistling Straights: He said, 'We've all been through periods where, I've been through periods where I've hit it bad. And, yeah, is your confidence not where it needs to be? Of course not. I've been there. We all have been there. But the whole idea is to keep making progress each and every day.'

I need to rely on my confidence and continue to learn and practice. If I could have this swing every day, I would be a pretty darn good golfer. This is the swing I need to find tomorrow and the next day and the next day.