Online Students: Robert Petersen Part 2

Robert took an online lesson about a year ago, so we can see here how he has progressed and which items have been harder to change. The main thrust of our first go round was to try to eliminate lifting in the backswing and to achieve better arm structure at the top of the swing. Robert tended to start with his weight in his heels and raise up going back, and then as he got to the top of his swing his right arm over bent which in turn caused his left arm to buckle considerably. As a result, his right arm stayed bent and behind him coming down, making an approach to impact with the hands forward and the right wrist still bent hard to do.
 
In the new batch of swings you will see Robert doing a stop and go drill, concentrating nicely on widening the top position with the right arm extensor action we discussed in the first lesson. I encourage him to keep working on compressing into the ground as he goes back, as you can see here that he is still lifting. Robert’s upper body size makes this difficult, but it is still something to concentrate on. I also encourage him to move the club back less away from his body in the takeaway, as his swing pattern tends to have him drop the hands straight down from the top with his legs opening slower than we would want, which ultimately gets his right arm stuck behind him and compromises his attempt to lean the shaft forward at impact. I further suggest that he watch my Tempo video and try to use the metronome in order to speed up his backswing at bit, since his tempo counts out at 4:1 instead of 3:1. Lastly, in his attempt to lower into the ground in his non drill full swing he early calls the lowering and winds up with a lot of body movement downward and to the right before the club ever gets moving. This is a good idea, just done too soon. If he gets the upper trunk started first and then loads down into the right leg toward the heel he will be able to time the rest of his swing much better and his tempo should improve right away.
 
Click here to see Robert’s first lesson.
 

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