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This is a perfect example of how difficult it is to change a swing pattern, especially when the change involves making almost the opposite movements the player is used to. It is commonly said that golfers should use their “natural swing”, and that they will be better off not messing with what they always gravitate towards. Working with “what the player has” as opposed to trying to make changes is a popular sentiment among teaching pros who prefer to offer small tweaks and bits of advice to help the player hit the ball a little better that day or to fix a certain type of shot that has been vexing the student. I’ve never been in that mold: I figure if a golfer comes to me for help they want to improve, and that my job is to give them a realistic view of how their swing works and why they are playing at their current level. In Paul’s case his right arm heads into impact in a very weak pushing position, and it is the entire backswing and transition that is the root cause. This amounts to a swing overhaul, which in this case I fully believe is necessary for Paul to achieve a higher level of ball striking. This is a risky proposition and one I fully apprise the student of, but I am pretty stubborn and while I will certainly try to come up with as many different ways as possible to get him to understand, feel, and execute the different motion the bottom line is what the video shows. Paul’s complaint from the beginning was erratic ball striking, and while an intelligent person can certainly understand what they are looking at it is an entirely different matter to execute a new pattern as it is comprised of a number of individual changes that must be combined into a fluid motion to be effective. I believe we made a breakthrough in this last lesson but we will see as time goes on.
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