A Golden Lesson from Chandler

Written on 3-4-21.

        Happy birthday to my big sister, Bev!  We did get a chance to talk on my way home from Newcomb.  I also sent a text right away this morning (very early for me at around 6:30 AM) to send her a birthday greeting.  It was early, because I was getting ready to go to work.  My sister is 57 now.  Whoa!

I got two gifts today in the golf world.  My new GGA (Graves Golf Academy) grips arrived, and they were around $75.00 due to my Gold Membership, so I am counting that as the birthday gift from Mom and Dad.  Thanks, parents!  

The other gift is a video lesson from the Chandler himself, the head guy at Graves Golf and the leader of the Gold Membership Program.  I have tried to emulate his swing often, so I am curious about his feedback.  Here is a summary of his advice for me…

First, he complimented me on the work I have done with holding onto the lag in my downswing.  It has improved to a point just before impact.  Almost there.  I release a bit early, but he said, “All in all, a much better job.”

For the next part of the lesson, he is using Moe for comparison.  He says the address position is looking pretty solid, but he would like me to relax my trail arm and not make it so tense.  He says to “soften it up.”

The next tip is that I should never have space between my legs when I get to the top of my swing (Moe never does).  The space should get smaller.  My lead knee should go in, and it actually goes out, or at least it was doing that yesterday when I took the video.  That forces my head to go forward a little bit and my spine to drop a smidge.

In the next video, he compares my swing to Todd’s.  Wow!  I have Big Moe and Li’l Moe as my examples.  Cool!

In this video, he is showing...

the space between my legs at the top not getting smaller, the early release (ever so slight), and the wrong hip rotation that causes more of a slide.  Sound familiar?  Dreaded slide!  

He recommends I tilt a little more at address, too, and I have two videos to watch and learn how to do all of those things better.  The first is called Video Coaching: Fault and Fix-Address Sequence and the second is Common Fault-Lower Body Drill.

The first video is telling me to do these things when I go into the address position, and it is giving me the sequence before I get ready to take a shot.  1. Establish “the rod” before address.  I have been doing that to get the club face square to the back of my lead hand.  Hover the club face above the ground a few inches and extend the lead arm and club to a spot behind the ball.  If I do it this part right, it should also give me the proper distance from the ball.  Finish the forward bend by placing the club on the ground, bending from the hips, and sticking my bottom out.  2.  Take the stance width and step into address the ball (lead foot first).   3. Now, side bend first and then bring in the trail hand from underneath (due to the side bend).  4. Check that the club face is directly under your nose.  You can always walk in from the beginning with the club beneath your nose.

The next drill that comes from the second video is the one I need to do the most, I feel.  I have got to get my lower body motions correct.  Trent is telling me to use the impact bag, but not for impact.  Instead, take a 6-iron stance and put the bag so that it is touching the inside of my trail leg.  I can see that it goes up to a spot just under his knee.  Take a backswing and feel the same pressure on the bag.  No more and no less.  It should feel exactly the same.  Do that over and over again.

Next, transition into the downswing, but compress the impact bag with my trail leg now.  It’s his favorite drill, because it gives his lower body feedback, a place where that is difficult to feel.  

He did that video outside, and a storm was brewing.  I could see light snow and sleet coming in to start getting him wet.  These coaches are so dedicated.

There.  Those are the next two drills I need to incorporate into my other drills, and I need to do the other drills with those new, correct movements.  I need to do them all to stay sharp.  I really want to learn this swing inside and out, and I had some success on the course yesterday when I played nine holes just before dusk.  I earned two pars and three bogeys, so I scored seven points with the little game I had established in my head.  Two points for pars and one point for bogeys.  That, unfortunately, means I had four blow-up holes, but my success overshadowed those.

I just texted Don to see if he could play on Monday, and I asked if he would re-grip my clubs, too.  We will see what he says.  I am going to bed now.  It’s been a loooooong day.

Until next time…