Eureka!

Something happened at the range today. It was my 4th lesson, and the guy (the 3rd instructor i've had a lesson from) seemed to switch the light on. It's difficult to describe what happened, but here's the basics.

I am still working on my swing, but instead of swinging the club as I normally do, I started moving today and it felt totally different. Sort of the whole body turning, like the club was just an extension and an irrelevant part of the body turning round. A strange way of telling it, but this sort of thing happened to me once before-I was a teenager who just took up smoking, and was sort of pretend puffing away for a few weeks, and suddenly, one day, sucking on a cig, I inhaled and whooosh... a lung full of smoke. without realising it, that was my first proper inhalation.

The thing that possibly cracked it, was he game me a cane to hold while I was over the ball in my stance, addressing the ball. He took my club away, and gave me the cane to hold, one hand at each end, so the cane was paralell. I turned and the swing felt as I knew it should, even it was though it was something I have never done before.

I have had a few rounds and I estimate my handicap to be 28+, but the pro said I could easily get to 15 within one season if I can keep practicing and get that swing into a regular pattern, which I will do, as I go to the range every 2-3 days and hit a maximum of 50 balls at a slow pace, changing the club each time and going for different targets. I use an old scorecard and pretend to do a virtial round, picking out different spots as targets.

Roll on 15!

Basil,

So many good disciplines there. The amount of balls, the idea of a score card and a virtual round with different clubs is spot on. Most people just hammer the balls with the same club mostly, and expect results on the course. You are definitely on the road to improvement. As for the smoking? well!!!!

Youve got out of the hands and arms swinging the club and felt what it was like to use your body correctly and just hold on. Dragging that big ol clubhead down from the top with a nice leg drive and then rotating the upper body hard around

Now youve felt that effortless power you should really try and resist the temptaion to go back to using the hands again when things get off. I used to do that endlessly and it killed my game for 2 years

You are on the right track. I am working hard on that myself.

I've recently discovered this myself. I describe it more like loading my arms to the top of my swing, then turning around my spine as fast as I can.

I find, however, that having a proper grip really facilitates the ease with which the arms can get loaded.

explain again (more details) how the cane worked to cause this this breakthrough

Ask cmays, he has all the answers.

so what you learned was more of a one-plane swing? Am I correct in thinking this? How is your set-up? I tried 1P for a while, but couldn't figure out the right downswing move, it's kind of scary to just let the body turn as I was afraid of going OTT more than often.

I probably should get back to it.