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Hi Wayne,
“Per our lesson from last year, I’m trying to shorten the backswing to prevent my hands from lifting at the top of the swing and the club crossing the line. I think my sequencing is still off.
Also, as you will notice in the downswing, my release is early causing inconsistent impact.
I included a couple extra videos of a SW from 90 yards and a 30 yard pitch in case you would like to see my swing from different distances and maybe find some common themes from the short shots to the long ones.”
Thomas is still struggling with controlling the pace of his backswing as he reaches the top and changes direction. He gathers too much momentum in his turn, and with no fixed place for the swing to end and start forward he overturns to the point that his right arm and shoulder pull his upper body to the left before he can “catch” the backswing with his lower body and sequence correctly. As he leans his upper over his lower with his arms behind him and stretched back his go to release action is a throwing motion that happens early in the downswing, such that the club is in line with the left arm well before impact, guaranteeing a flip release and inconsistent contact. It is even evident in Thomas’ shorter swings that he does not have the feel for initiating the forward swing just before completing the backswing and letting the weight of the club bend his wrists back and the club to lean on his right index finger. This is not an easy thing to teach, especially for someone who has developed a decent game with a faulty release and who strives for higher level ball striking. Thomas needs to do whatever it takes to gain control of his transition, and I find that slowing the full swing down and doing stop and go drills from various points in the swing is the best way to retrain this. One of the main factors in the difficulty in achieving this is the feeling that there is not enough power generated by a swing that doesn’t feel like it’s “turning enough”. The truth is that most great ball strikers do not use their right upper arm and shoulder area to amplify their backswing coil. Their right side is kept in a “ready” position, which does not involve pull back of the right scapula. A prime example of this is Matthew Wolff. If you try to copy his backswing you will find that your right shoulder blade will be protracted well forward, ready for the extreme side arm throwing action that gives him tremendous power, I’m not suggesting that Thomas emulate Wolff, but the concept is key to his improvement.
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