4-01-09:
Worked w/ the NBS a bit this morning.
There's always the fear that I've somehow lost the swing I've discovered during the last session. And it seems my first several swings are not that good.
I've found that it helps to get into a baseball frame of mind; to stand erect and take a few baseball swings to refamilarize myself with the right motion.
After going through this startup proceedure I'm soon in the groove and able to concentrate on the back of the ball/coin with the thought of driving it the target.
I'm also trying to keep my arms relaxed and experimenting with snapping my wrists. It probably takes about 20 swings to get grooved in, but after that I think I'd be hitting about 2/3 shots the way I want to.
I think I'm making steady progess keeping my eye on the ball as well. I'm going to need to figure out a routine to get into the groove on the course before hitting my first drive.
One of these days I'll have to take a few swings with the six iron.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
No Backswing Golf Revisited
3-27-09:
I've decided to give the no-backswing golf swing a serious try.
One of the nice things about this winter session has been that I've got plenty of time to experiment.
I've learned a lot about my swing just by virtue of the number of swings I've made.
There's a certain mindless pleasure in just swinging my driver.
Anyway, at my last range session during a stretch when things weren't going particularly well, I started using a no-backswing swing as a method of simplifying things.
Here's some video of me trying the no-backswing-swing:
http//www.youtube.com/my_videos_timedtext?video_id=vFzD_SycsMU
All of a sudden there were a hundred thoughts going through my head as to what I should be doing, and I had completely lost my concentration.
My backswing felt extremely awkward: "have I taken the club back far enough?", "it doesn't feel right", etc.
I started using the no-backswing w/out really thinking about it, and I did start hitting the ball better, mainly because it cleared all the backswing thoughts out of my mind.
Once I started hitting better I did go back to a normal backswing, but the fact that the no-backswing helped stuck in my mind.
I looked for the website I had originally visited to refresh my memory as to the "correct" technique, and I used it exclusively during my swings this morning.
After some experimentation, I found it particularly helpful to twist my torso back in preparation for my downswing instead of "pumping" my arms.
I read somewhere to think of the No Back Swing (NBS) like a baseball swing. You're like the batter at the plate, the bat in the ready position. As the pitcher releases you twist back just a bit before swinging.
To get another perspective on the NBS I decided to stand upright, hold my driver like a bat and take a few swings. The first thing I noticed was that my swing naturally started from my thighs and hips - exactly what I had been working on. Except with this swing I didn't need to work on it, it just happened.
I tried to keep that basesball feeling as when I addressed the ball in the normal manner. Once I got into the "set" position I started my swing by twisting away from the target. This worked really well. By starting the swing with a twist, the natural impulse is to straighten back - starting with the lower body.
After two sessions where I was trying to start my swing with my legs and come in behind the ball it was happening naturally, effortlessly, by using the NBS technique!
Now I could concentrate all my efforts on focusing on the back of the ball.
I feel like this is a big step in the right direction.
Here's the link to the site I used as a guide to my swing:
http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction/article/0,28136,1652866,00.html
I've decided to give the no-backswing golf swing a serious try.
One of the nice things about this winter session has been that I've got plenty of time to experiment.
I've learned a lot about my swing just by virtue of the number of swings I've made.
There's a certain mindless pleasure in just swinging my driver.
Anyway, at my last range session during a stretch when things weren't going particularly well, I started using a no-backswing swing as a method of simplifying things.
Here's some video of me trying the no-backswing-swing:
http//www.youtube.com/my_videos_timedtext?video_id=vFzD_SycsMU
All of a sudden there were a hundred thoughts going through my head as to what I should be doing, and I had completely lost my concentration.
My backswing felt extremely awkward: "have I taken the club back far enough?", "it doesn't feel right", etc.
I started using the no-backswing w/out really thinking about it, and I did start hitting the ball better, mainly because it cleared all the backswing thoughts out of my mind.
Once I started hitting better I did go back to a normal backswing, but the fact that the no-backswing helped stuck in my mind.
I looked for the website I had originally visited to refresh my memory as to the "correct" technique, and I used it exclusively during my swings this morning.
After some experimentation, I found it particularly helpful to twist my torso back in preparation for my downswing instead of "pumping" my arms.
I read somewhere to think of the No Back Swing (NBS) like a baseball swing. You're like the batter at the plate, the bat in the ready position. As the pitcher releases you twist back just a bit before swinging.
To get another perspective on the NBS I decided to stand upright, hold my driver like a bat and take a few swings. The first thing I noticed was that my swing naturally started from my thighs and hips - exactly what I had been working on. Except with this swing I didn't need to work on it, it just happened.
I tried to keep that basesball feeling as when I addressed the ball in the normal manner. Once I got into the "set" position I started my swing by twisting away from the target. This worked really well. By starting the swing with a twist, the natural impulse is to straighten back - starting with the lower body.
After two sessions where I was trying to start my swing with my legs and come in behind the ball it was happening naturally, effortlessly, by using the NBS technique!
Now I could concentrate all my efforts on focusing on the back of the ball.
I feel like this is a big step in the right direction.
Here's the link to the site I used as a guide to my swing:
http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction/article/0,28136,1652866,00.html
More work in the lab...
3-25-09:
Still working on eye on ball, starting swing w/ hips.
I'm getting better at keeping my eye on the ball.
If I'm thinking of driving through the edge of the coin I end up "driving" the coin at least once in a while.
I'm not sure why I can't do this every time.
I'm having a harder time with the start of my swing.
I still have an overwhelming tendency to start each swing by swinging my arms.
Thinking of throwing the club helps.
I need to compare the TS with the Hogan start.
Maybe they are the same.
Also, I need to relax my arms.
A big problem is tensing my arms when I start my swing, and then swinging hard with my arms.
I've learned in tennis that to serve hard you need to relax your muscles.
The same must be true in golf.
The muscles in my arms must be relaxed as I swing - and don't try to swing fast.
This may be what I've done in the past at the range when my first shots are good - I swing w/out thinking or trying, which means that I don't tense my arms at the start of the downswing.
Something else to work on.
I'd like to get to the point where I'm just swinging rhythmically while focusing on the back of the ball.
Still working on eye on ball, starting swing w/ hips.
I'm getting better at keeping my eye on the ball.
If I'm thinking of driving through the edge of the coin I end up "driving" the coin at least once in a while.
I'm not sure why I can't do this every time.
I'm having a harder time with the start of my swing.
I still have an overwhelming tendency to start each swing by swinging my arms.
Thinking of throwing the club helps.
I need to compare the TS with the Hogan start.
Maybe they are the same.
Also, I need to relax my arms.
A big problem is tensing my arms when I start my swing, and then swinging hard with my arms.
I've learned in tennis that to serve hard you need to relax your muscles.
The same must be true in golf.
The muscles in my arms must be relaxed as I swing - and don't try to swing fast.
This may be what I've done in the past at the range when my first shots are good - I swing w/out thinking or trying, which means that I don't tense my arms at the start of the downswing.
Something else to work on.
I'd like to get to the point where I'm just swinging rhythmically while focusing on the back of the ball.
Some Reflections
3-23-09:
I felt like my last trip to the range was a milestone but ended my last entry w/out being able to clearly explain why.
After ruminating about it over the weekend I'm left with the thought that instead of trying to improve my swing in general, I've discovered two things to work on.
Enough progress has been made that I can now narrow my focus.
I've gone from trying to find my golf swing to trying to improve just two aspects of my swing.
And "improve" is probably not the correct word.
I don't need to improve keeping my eye on the ball, I just need to do it.
And I don't need to improve starting my golf swing with my legs, again, I just need to do it.
When I do both of the above I hit the ball straight, when I don't I slice.
Neither of these things would seem to be that difficult, but I do have a problem doing them both consistently.
I think that one of the reasons for this is that I swing too hard. So I'm going to add slowing down my swing to my list of things to work on.
BTW, I saw a program on the golf channel over the weekend that had Hank Haney trying to improve Charles Barkley's swing.
At the end of the episode, Barkley's swing had improved - but, it seemed to me that he had adopted a "no backswing" backswing.
Not a classic NBS, but he just brought the club straight up, not back or around. And he was able to hit an effective shot from this position by making a "normal" downswing.
I felt like my last trip to the range was a milestone but ended my last entry w/out being able to clearly explain why.
After ruminating about it over the weekend I'm left with the thought that instead of trying to improve my swing in general, I've discovered two things to work on.
Enough progress has been made that I can now narrow my focus.
I've gone from trying to find my golf swing to trying to improve just two aspects of my swing.
And "improve" is probably not the correct word.
I don't need to improve keeping my eye on the ball, I just need to do it.
And I don't need to improve starting my golf swing with my legs, again, I just need to do it.
When I do both of the above I hit the ball straight, when I don't I slice.
Neither of these things would seem to be that difficult, but I do have a problem doing them both consistently.
I think that one of the reasons for this is that I swing too hard. So I'm going to add slowing down my swing to my list of things to work on.
BTW, I saw a program on the golf channel over the weekend that had Hank Haney trying to improve Charles Barkley's swing.
At the end of the episode, Barkley's swing had improved - but, it seemed to me that he had adopted a "no backswing" backswing.
Not a classic NBS, but he just brought the club straight up, not back or around. And he was able to hit an effective shot from this position by making a "normal" downswing.
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