GOLFTEC
Before the summer and golf season started on Long Island, I frequented GOLFTEC to get my game in shape. Frankly, I went in not knowing what was causing the problems I was having on the field hitting the ball. It was a guessing game.
For years, I stopped taking lessons. I always knew I needed them, but I was afraid that an instructor would break my swing down into something else entirely and leave me with a million thoughts about swinging and leave me even worse off. Even if it was ultimately what was best for my golf swing, the thought of a change could be scary.
But nothing was scarier than standing on the ball with an iron in your hands and having no idea where it would go. My ball hit was a disaster. Fat, thin, flush, thick, sheet, you name it.
I teamed up with instructor Dan Benzenberg and it didn’t take long for me to identify my flaws after my swing evaluation. What I appreciated most about Dan’s approach is that he didn’t just take me down. We identified three main problems and got to work eliminating one bad habit at a time. This approach allowed me to zero in on one swing thought and how each area we addressed benefited my goals for hitting the ball.
1. Stop swinging
The first and most alarming problem in my swing was the amount of swing in my body. I never realized how bad these moves were or that I was moving to this degree. My hips, shoulders, and head would move up a foot on my backswing. The biggest challenge I faced in my golf swing was getting all those moving parts back to where they needed to be at impact.
Sometimes it was where it needed to be and other times it wasn’t. That was one of the main reasons my ball shots were so inconsistent. I needed to work on keeping my head still and my hips rotating instead of swaying on my backswing. Please note that this is something I have done for almost 20 years. Change did not come quickly or easily. Dan and I spent session after session focusing on my head, hips, and spin until the bad habits started to melt away.
Improved impact position.
GolfTEC
2. Impact position
My initial impact position would be described as a cartwheel. Instead of hitting down and through the ball, my hands were already spinning before impact. He was skimming the ground on every swing at best. This was causing him to lose distance and suffer from inconsistent ball strikes.
A plan was put in place to hit hundreds and hundreds of shots to get used to the feeling of having my hands further forward at impact and hitting the ball. Dan often had me exaggerate these movements and swings to really emphasize the point.
To this day, I start range sessions with exaggerated punches to remind myself of the feeling of having my impact position where it belongs.
You can get a 20% discount on your own lesson at GOLFTEC right here or below.
All of our market picks are independently selected and curated by the editorial team. If you purchase a linked product, GOLF.COM may earn a fee. The price may vary.
AUGUST SALE: UP TO 20% OFF!
Fill out this form to book a swing evaluation or club adjustment! A local GOLFTEC coach will contact you to discuss your game and your goals.
Reserve now
3. Ball and body alignment
Just as I never knew how much my body swayed or that I “flipped” on impact, I never realized how out of alignment my alignment was. For starters, I needed to reevaluate where I put the ball in my stance with each club in my bag. My wedges weren’t far enough back, and my long irons weren’t far enough forward.
On top of that, my hand position at the address may have helped my bad habit of turning. My hands were too far back and I prepared to flip early on.
Last but not least, my shoulders were locked. This made me aim left on every hit. I needed to pull my right shoulder back at address to help improve my swing path.
None of these were easy changes for me to make. I still fight with them today. But now I know what my swing flaws are and how to address them. My consistency hitting the ball has improved tremendously, as has my golf swing IQ.
My only regret is that I waited so long to start the lessons.
Source: golf.com