Three months into my improvement plan and I passed a major test on Friday. Again, the simple goal has been to better my satisfaction through improved ball striking.
Between a family vacation at Disney followed by a brutal week at work, it had been three weeks since I touched a club, and Friday I headed out to Northwest in Silver Spring with legitimate concerns. Boy did I surprise myself. Going stone cold (straight from the parking lot to the tee) I managed to hit 12 greens on this long tough course and continued to see performance gains with my swing that appear to be permanent.
After five full rounds, it is crystal clear that maintaining my spine angle throughout the backswing and downswing is so important to ball striking consistency. Again, a HUGE thank you to Brant Kasbohm at Fixyourgame.com for calling this out on my video lesson last fall. Being able to execute without warming up, and without playing for three weeks is an excellent validation on my approach.
The beauty of this plan is that I haven’t been working on my swing at all; just conditioning. The core exercises designed to strengthen my back and shoulders, and build flexibility in my hips and ankles are working great. The obvious payoff has been in driving distance. It’s been pretty dry in the DC area but for all five rounds, I’ve been pounding drives on familiar courses into places I’ve never been able to hit. I’m no longer blocking my short irons to the right, and have picked up 1/2 to a full club length of distance with my irons.
It’s great when a plan comes together and the best part has been the confidence I’m gaining. To know when you go to the course that you’ve got a great chance for a good ball striking day is extremely encouraging. Can’t wait for the weekend!
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