DaveF Mar 28, 2017
Thanks Ross, I’m getting there however slowly. I learn something new every day though!
Right on, I was watching Rahm and Kjeldsen in the WGC and it seemed like they were competing for “shortest backswing” lol. More than proves your point (if they make a few adjustments they can have the perfect “Ross Swing”…[smile]
So regarding the poor state of golf instruction, I have to share a couple things I’ve been meaning to mention to you for a long time.
#1- I took some lessons at Poppy Ridge here in California years ago, and one time the Pro stopped me for a moment and said “turn your elbows in all the way and give that a try”. The odd thing was after I did it she dismissed the idea immediately, like it was something she invented on the spot.
#2 I’ve been meaning to ask you about another tidbit my teaching pro of 2 years shared with me one day on the range that I thought you would enjoy, that was confusing to me at the time, but makes some sense to me now, but not in a good way.
I was hitting the ball pretty good, but certainly wasn’t winning any distance competitions. His comment was “you can swing faster, but you aren’t going to hit it any further, the ball will just go higher”. I don’t think he was speaking from a technical standpoint, but rather from his teaching experience. Thinking about it now, I think what that meant was when the average golfer tries to get more speed, they use more hands and flip the club head at a faster speed and add loft and so mostly just DO hit it higher?
#3 OK, one more. A popular golf shows always end with “…and go see your PGA professional for more on how to improve YOUR swing!” (I think people know who I’m referring to). So I asked my PGA professional at my home course a question I didn’t think needed asking, but I was VERY surprised at the answer. Maybe you can fill in the blanks. I said something to the effect of “So to get your PGA credential, you probably spend a lot of class time analyzing the golf swing, studying physiology, looking at the best swings on tour, using Trackman, etc etc.?” I was, and am still somewhat stunned that they do NONE of that. It requires passing an on course test in competition, but has NOTHING to do with knowing anybody’s golf swing but their OWN?? Really?
Our guy is a classic “jock” type, and tells everyone the same thing (I know, because I ask) “swing hard through to the finish!” Not terrible advice, but you know what I mean.