Today he made three telling observations, gave one piece of advice and made a significant difference to my ball striking. It was a windy day and my first few shots spun away to the right followed by one that had a nice draw on it. Truth be told the last one was by accident rather than design. I listen carefully to all advice I am given and choose what to accept, what to try and what wouldn't work for me or sounds a bit pointless. Reg was spot on today.
The advice was with a strong headwind I need to hit a draw and swing easily not murder the ball by swinging faster. The observations were priceless:
- Left shoulder about an inch open rather than being square
- Club face fraction of an inch open rather than in its natural position
- Swing plane cutting across the ball
Result slice, sometimes vicious, sometimes fade but always there. The thing is:
- I thought my shoulders were square
- I thought that was how the club face should be at address
- I didn't have the right thought in my head to hit draw swing
Reg made an analogy with football. If I was attempting to take a corner against that wind what would I do, where would I want to kick the ball, what arc would my leg make, what body shape would allow me to swing my leg in that way. I took that on board, adjusted my set up slightly and proceeded to hit three of the best shots I've ever struck with my gap wedge.
Happy with his work Reg went home, leaving me blushing with compliments on how nice my swing was and how if I keep progressing and striking the ball like that I'll be taking money off him in future 'friendly' matches. I collected my balls and hit them again. One, thin, two slices, three fat and 24 beautiful draw shots. I was made up. Meanwhile, the heath had become a popular golfing hotspot as two other chaps pulled up to practice their short game. We got chatting while we were ball collecting and there was more praise for my swing.
I'm not getting carried away. This was one lunchtime session hitting balls the same distance with one club. I'd got into a groove and was doing well. But the fact that people like my swing, and take the time to tell me that, and the massive difference those tiny changes have made has filled me full of confidence. Those subtle differences, those miniscule adjustments that make such a big difference in golf reminded me of the Al Pacino "Inches" speech from Any Given Sunday. I'm willing to practice as much as I need to for those extra inches, this Sunday will be n interesting barometer for how far I have progressed.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rFx6OFooCs
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