Posted by Dexter Francois
| Posted in
Mike Southern,
Swing Mechanics
| Posted on Friday, May 27, 2011
I think The Doctor had a breakthrough today at The Foothills Golf Club. We were joined by "Bryce" whom you have met before, and "Zimmer", another pediatric doctor and co-worker of The Doctor and "Bryce". I posted a few videos of The Doctors swing and Mike Southern was kind enough to offer up some suggestions and drills for him and I to work on.
I have been working with Mike since August of 2010, and he has helped me improve my swing tremendously. Recently, The Doctor has been struggling with consistency in his golf game and I could tell it was staring to get to him.
When I first started working with Mike, he would always tell me, "that I'm close." He assured me that if I made a few changes and tried to understand the mechanics of the swing without getting too technical, I would begin to see the results I desired. I told The Doctor the same thing, and sure enough, Mike was able to help him.
After analyzing our swings, Mike gave us and the rest of his readers this drill and this drill to combat the flaws in our swings. Both The Doctor and I have similar problems in that we waist energy by twisting our forearms during the backswing(The Doctor actually rotates his forearms). The Doctor's "twist" causes him to "chicken wing" on the follow through. My "twist" gets my club too flat on the backswing, which leaves me fighting against what my body wants to do naturally. Make sure you read these two posts, because you will get a good understanding of how to correct a common problem in the takeaway that a lot amateurs face.
The Doctor took Mike's advice to range yesterday, and showed up at the course today a different player. He was a lot more consistent with his ball striking and as Mike predicted, he was able to pick up a few extra yards as well. All that was needed was a simple tweak in his takeaway and it made all the difference.
I was joking with The Doctor during the round that I'm left with mixed emotions now. The Doctor used to kill me by thirty or more strokes. I have just gotten to the point to where I am keeping pace and even beating him from time to time. Now Mike steps in, and The Doctor is back. I've created or better yet, resurrected a monster.
I'll say it again, make sure you read the two posts that I highlighted above. I watch The Golf Fix and School of Golf every week, and I am noticing that a lot of the struggles we as amateurs have stem from a poor takeaway. These drills will eliminate the problem and make the game more enjoyable to play. Have a great round and always hit your target.
"Zimmer"
"Bryce"
The Doctor
| |||
| Posted: 5/27/2011 Share on Facebook | |||
| The Foothills Golf Club (Foothills) | Tees: Intermediate, Slope: 122, Rating: 70.2 | ||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
Posts
I'm glad I could help Doc even if it put you behind him again, Dex. As I recall, I did say Doc's version of the problem was a bit easier to cure.
But don't worry, you won't be eating his dust for long. ;-)
Actually...I beat him on this day by 4 strokes. He had one blowup hole which he posted an 8 on. Right now, we are probably as even as could be. If he had just parred that hole we would have tied.
I like the fact that the skill level gap between us is shrinking. It makes for better golf. Plus, in a way, we are pushing each other to get better. That is a good thing
I couldn't agree more Dex. Golf with you has become very intriguing. I know my practice has gotten better after watching your progress.
Mike, Dex isn't eating my dust at all. He is sooooooooo consistent. You have put me in position to keep up with his advancement tho. Also, i see the potential for Big things.
Glad I could help, Doc. I hope you've learned what Dex has -- that this game really isn't that hard once you know what to do, and that you're always "close" to playing well, because it doesn't take major changes to have a major effect on your game.
Good golf really is within anyone's grasp. It's just a matter of keeping it simple.