Feeling good

Breeze drifting by you know how I feel
My ball soars through the sky you know how I feel
Landing pin high you know how I feel
Its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life for me
yeah its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life for me ooooooh
AND I'M FEELING GOOD!

Wow. I'm over my kit issues and went down to the club today for my first lesson with my new teaching pro. I have to pay tribute to the foundations laid by my old pro as overall I've got a pretty solid base to build from. He watched me hit a few shots and asked me what I was scoring. I told him. He was surprised as he thought I should be scoring high 80's low 90's. Then he saw me hit a few more shots...

Three things to work on for now.

First, try to maintain the bend in my right leg on back swing. Currently, I am straightening it which is affecting my balance and weight transfer.

Second, work on a drill which gets me to turn my wrists over and hit a shot with draw. This way I can develop a consistent shot shape and play to that. At the moment I have no idea if its going left or right, I aim down the middle of the fairway and give myself no room to get away with a bad shot. This way I'll aim down the right side of the fairway/green and have the whole area to play with.

Third, slow down. I swing much too fast. As with my last pro, he pointed out I hit it a pretty long way anyway, distance isn't something I need to worry about. No pro golfer would swing as fast as I was with a 7 iron, they would just use a 6 iron instead.

What really helped was having a lesson on the practice hole and getting a very clear idea of where my balls where ending up rather than on the bland range. I stayed on after my lesson and hit my own balls, this time with an 8 iron and it was then that I shocked myself. Doing the practice drill with my feet together I was hitting my 8 iron almost as far as I was murdering my 7 iron when my pro was observing. I built that up into a full swing, with my swing thought being about my right leg and stuck my first shot to four feet from the pin. Consequently, I am a very, very happy bunny. It's early days yet and I have to put the practice in but I am starting to better understand the biomechanics of my swing and what feels right. And so with joy coursing through my veins I'll sign off with the immensely talented Nina Simone...