Online Students: Derek Cribb

: Hi Wayne,

My golf has been going really well. Since I started with online lessons with you I have taken my handicap from 3 to +2. My ball striking is really consistent now and my driver is a lot straighter. I had a run for two months at the end of 2014 where I played 10 rounds all under par. First time I have ever done that. All thanks to you.
Thought I would send in my swing and get your thoughts on trying to improve it. I sometimes get a pull left with the irons and driver but mostly I am hitting the ball well. I tend to get a little tense and negative when it comes to a tight driving hole and that’s where the pull starts to happen. I have been trying to get my pre-shot routine a little better to help relax me but I still feel tense at times. I have changed up my practice routine when I am on the range, for every 10 balls I hit 7 balls only focused on targets/routine and 3 balls focusing on something technical in my swing, this process seems to be helping me build trust and confidence in my swing and it seems to be generating good results on the course. But I would like your thoughts on this process for practice and also how could I better improve my pre-shot routine to help me feel relaxed and focused on the task when the pressure is on.

Thanks again Wayne for your help and advice really appreciate it.

As you can see, Derek is doing quite well, and in this video I try to keep him moving in the right direction. There are four items for Derek to consider here; I want him to continue to try to soften his arms at address and keep the right arm bend with width in the backswing. I think his left wrist is too cupped at the top, so he could concentrate on taking some of that bend out and getting it less cupped at the top. In the forward swing it seems that, at least in this face on iron shot, that he is flippier through impact than he used to be, and it may be that by trying to widen the release area with the driver it has worked into his irons. Some punch shot work should remedy that, as Derek has historically had great forward lean and sustain.

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