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Originally Posted by YodasLuke
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I'll let Yoda give you the 411 on this new student.
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Gerard, a 7-handicap, today left San Diego to pay me a visit in The Swamp. He has a fine Swinging Pattern with a very smooth, even Tempo. Lots to like. But, he had also reached a plateau from which there seemed to be no further progress, and he came looking for answers.
I met him in the parking lot, and after shaking hands, we spent the next half hour getting no further than ten feet from the trunk of my car. Hinge Machine, dowels, Impact Bag, Golf Clubs, Flail models...all were littering the ground around us. More than one passing motorist did a double-take, but I am pleased to report that
The Golfing Machine came alive for Gerard this sunny afternoon down South.
His basic procedure through the Ball was to lean back and throw the Club past a bending Left Wrist. His Left Shoulder would move well back from its Address Location (essentially over his Left Foot) to approximately the middle of his Stance. Consequently, he was no longer in a position to drive down and through the Ball and was forced to 'sweep' everything. When he's 'on,' he can play. But when he's 'off,' the Ball can go anywhere. His Short Shot Pattern was identical, and he found it impossible to get that sharply accelerating, downward blow that is the hallmark of a truly fine Ball Striker.
By the end of our second hour together, all that had changed. The Ball was now located slightly further back in the Stance. His Head no longer Swayed back or Bobbed down. The excessive Downstroke Axis Tilt was gone. The Hands, instead of being in the middle of his Body at Impact, were now under his Left Shoulder and visually over his Left Foot (well in front of the Ball). The Clubshaft, instead of leaning backard through Impact was now leaning Forward. And at Low Point (opposite the Left Shoulder), it was In Line with the Left Forearm (instead of making a "Y" with the two Forearms).
The photo on the right was of an
Acquired Motion Pitch (Right Forearm level to the ground on the Backstroke), hence the more narrow Stance. However, Gerard demonstrated the same action in his
Total Motion (with a short Iron) as well. The Ball loved these new alignments and told us all about it:
CRACK!!