Phil Pfeiffer: Follow-up to Online Lesson

“Here are the follow-up vids from the recent lesson. In these videos I’m trying to do what you specified as I understood it. My thought is to get the backswing “deeper” by having the left arm work more across my chest and by flaring out the right arm earlier the way you said. I can definitely feel a difference. It feels much more like I am in position to deliver a strike from the inside and with a lower approach. The shot pattern has definitely shifted in the direction of a more consistent draw so that’s good, although the driver is getting a little “hooky” on occasion. I notice I seem to be losing some lower-body depth (coming off the butt line) with the driver now so maybe that’s a part of it?
 
 In looking at the videos I think I’m closer to what you want but I can see a couple of possible side effects.
 
 1. The clubface is now REALLY closed going back in the iron DTL view. I know it’s always too closed but now it’s like SUPER closed (he he).
 2. The “cutaway” with the hips seems to have returned in the face-on views. Seems like there’s something about trying to deepen the arms in the backswing that makes me want to do that.
 
 I’ll be curious to find out if you agree with that assessment, and of course whatever else you might have to say. Thanks a bunch for allowing us to do these follow-ups. They are most helpful.”

In the video you will see that Phil has improved his approach by getting deeper in the backswing. His having the face shut in the takeaway is not an issue as he has a ton of forearm rotation between P2 and P3, and there are plenty of examples of great players with one-piece takeaways that leave the face looking at the ball until about P1.5, and the majority of these players get the shaft on plane and the face neutral by P3 or just after with the type of left forearm pronation and right forearm supination that Phil demonstrates. As for his hips “twisting” I see him staying in the face on hip box, so I tell him not to worry about that. What he still needs to address is the movement of the right hip, knee, and leg in transition.

(click here to see the original lesson)

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