Originally Posted by Daryl
What was so wrong with his swing that it took 2 full hours on the lesson tee? 
Clarence is in his mid-to-late thirties with a stocky, athletic build. He estimated his handicap at about 16, but said he had been better when he was younger.
Clarence had an outside-in stroke with tons of Steering. As a result, his iron shots were thin, weak and right. His drives started right --
way right
-- then curved
further right. One of the reasons his scores were so high is because he would hit several tee shots completely out of play each round. Despite his athleticism and obvious strength, his drives were so mis-hit that they carried less than 200 yards.
His Address alignments needed a lot of work, so we began there. Everything was set for his outside-in path across the line. (We align according to our
Motion, not to the Target!) His shoulders were set well left, and his right arm was 'high' (well above left). It was also straight (not bent at the elbow). From this mis-aligned Address, it was virtually impossible for him to achieve the correct Impact alignments.
There were some Grip issues. His right hand was Turned, and he needed additional left hand grip pressure throughout the Stroke.
He had no concept of the Plane Line or how to Trace it (in both directions). We worked on his Extensor Action for more width and structure. I showed him how to use his now correctly set right arm to achieve all this.
His foot and leg action needed serious attention: they were almost immobile on the Backstroke. I call this condition "cement legs". As a result, his right hip was not functioning properly, and there was no way the Hands and Club could take their required route. We did MacDonald Drills to train his Pivot and coordinate its Components.
Through the ball, Clarence was Steering like crazy. There was no Arms-Club Overtaking action through the ball and no Finish Swivel. All this resulted in a choked-off, 'chicken wing' Finish.
We built Clarence's new Stroke from the ground up, correcting each 'wobbly point' along the way. One by one, I gave him the correct conceptions and alignments and showed him how to integrate them into his swing. There was a lot for him to understand and coordinate: New Address alignments, Grip, improved Pivot Component action, a stronger Drag Loading action in Start Down, a free-wheeling Overtaking through Impact (of the Body by the Arms and the Arms by the Club), and an "Arrow through the Ears" Finish. But, once the pieces were in place and coordinated into a Three Station (Address, Top, Finish) Total Motion, the results were immediate and miraculous.
It's what I do.
When Clarence left, his iron shots were crisp and well-struck with a decisive, downward blow. His divots were now straight down the Target Line (instead of well left as they had been before). His drives were carrying at least 50-75 yards further. For the last half hour of his lesson, virtually all his shots were either dead straight or had a slight draw. As I said . . . miraculous. Except it wasn't
miracles, it was
mechanics.
In about 90 minutes, Clarence had gone from "can't" to "can". He was a great student who worked diligently and did everything I asked him to do. It was fun to watch and fun to be a part of.
I do love what I do.
Yes indeed.
