More lab work...

3-16-09:
This post is out of order - I wish there was a way to reorder the posts I've made.

Took a few swings this morning. I'm becoming more and more convinced that I need to
a) start my swing with my hips & come in behind the ball -and-
b) keep my eyes on the contact point.

I'm still having some difficulty keeping eye contact with my contact point, but I'm improving. I am going to start keeping records of each session: 20 swings. Eye contact. Swing path. This way I can see if I'm actually making any progress.

Also worth mentioning: I think that trying to keep my left arm straight is the main factor in my slice.
The muscular effort required to keep the left arm straight causes me to lock my arm into it's final position at the top of my backswing so that I end up keeping my left arm and wrists stiff during my down swing.

For now I'm not going to be concerned with the way my swing looks, but just try for some rhythm, and concentrate on getting my hips out of the way and coming in behind the ball w/ my eyes focused on the contact point.