The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Today's lesson was intended for my downswing, but really became about me shifting my weight from the back leg to the front. I struggled with it compared to the previous week. The good news is that when I do everything right I hit the ball pretty good Ð of course that's expected. Curt said he's impressed with my progress considering I went from not having a swing to looking like a real golfer. I told him, I feel better when I'm hitting the ball. When the lesson was complete, I told him that I've been thinking the times before when I played that it was fluke when I made good contact with the little white bugger. Okay, the last part is only accurate until the white bugger finishing. I must confess, as I did to Curt, that I haven't even been able to hit the links for practice. I bow my head in shame. I really want to, but my finances are in a temporary mess. I foresee that improving soon. I hope. I can only imagine how good I could be with practice. Here are Curt's tips for a good downswing: Once you have completed the backswing, the shaft of your golf club should be parallel or slightly short of parallel with the ground. The golf club should be over your shoulder blade area. If the club is any higher, for example over your head or neck, you will probably come into the impact zone too steeply, resulting in a possible slice. On the other hand, if the golf club is positioned lower than your shoulder blades at the top of your backswing, you will probably come into the impact zone too flat, resulting in a possible hook. The transition from the backswing to the downswing should be slow and smooth, not quick and jerky. (I definitely think I was doing it fast.) If you are too quick at the beginning of the downswing, it's highly possible you will throw your timing off, which can have any number of bad results. After a smooth start to the downswing, try to keep your wrists hinged until about waist high. The unhinging of the wrists should occur next, which if done properly, creates a tremendous amount of clubhead speed through the impact zone, which translates into added distance. Another key point to remember in the downswing is the positioning of your head. As you bring the club down, it is critical to keep your head still and not let your upper body past the impact zone until well after contact. Staying behind the ball in the downswing will result in greater accuracy. At the point of impact your hips should be slightly open to make way for your upper body to come through. To summarize, the downswing should start with a slow fluid motion by letting gravity pull your arms down. Keep your wrists hinged until about waist high. Unhinging the wrists any earlier will result in a loss of clubhead speed and also increase the chances of a thin hit. Keep your head very still and in behind the ball and don't let your upper body get too quick. School of Golf with Curt Lawrence will return Sept. 4.
