Its been quite a while since I last posted on this thread but it has not been due to any lack of lightbulb moments….instead I have taken to posting solely on the module forums. It occurred to me that it would not be a bad idea to write a short piece on some seminal learning points and blind alleys to help my fellow students while at the same time documenting my ‘feels’ for future reference. Some of what you will read may make some immediate sense, some may not, it doesn’t really matter but if some of you find even part of it useful then it will have been worth the effort. It may be that some of what I have written will become clearer as one progresses in the modules.
I am now in module 5 having started in Lag’s first cohort of students in March 2009. I am not one of those students that began shooting stellar scores right from the get-go but I will return to this aspect later. When I joined the class, my game was really in tatters and I was struggling to break 90 playing off a handicap of 9. Realistically, my true handicap was nearer 20. My handicap rose to 10 by the end of the summer as I worked my way through modules 1 to 3. To be fair, I impatiently tried too hard to consciously incorporate the modules in my playing game with the effect that I was plagued with swing thoughts rather than letting it just wash in. I would strongly advise students to just play when they play, forget about the modules and enjoy the game…with the view that your scores may get worse before they get better, as mine did. How do you know they are going to get better though? What if Lag’s drills are just some smoke and mirrors stuff that we have all tried zillions of times before?
Well, one swallow does not make a summer but I want to relate my scoring and playing experience over the last few months as much as a kind of self reflective exercise as well as possibly something that you may find useful. Come late November/ December…something started to click, I had worked assiduously on module 4, refining my ‘secret map’ from p3 to pv5. I started to play with a bit more freedom, less concerned about individual module segments and more about just the overall feel of shots…the concept of opposing forces was and remains a powerful concept to grasp in Lag’s method. I was starting to find that even B- strikes were landing on the fairway or the green…in short, my misses got a lot better. Also the number of destructive shots drastically reduced…one reads all these books about managing your game, plotting your way around the course etc…truth is, if you have an arsenal of destructive shots, no amount of clever management can really save you. I made a big jump in my game by largely eradicating disastrous shots and really making my misses playable. I also found that I tried a bit harder and concentrated harder because I was starting to actually play and score…I had something worth grafting for.
In December, I had 5 or 6 scores in the mid 70s but these were non qualifying…although I was able to proudly provide our family with the Xmas turkey I had won with 32 points over 14 holes, having missed out the previous week with 34 points! I had several scores of under par for 9 holes which was a very new experience for me. There then followed a long two month break which is unusual in Britain because we tend to play through the winter but we had unusual snow and ice so most courses were closed for 6 weeks, then some hols added up to a two month break. I was a bit unsure about what to expect on my return, I had started a new module and not had much of a chance to hit balls even on the range…although I did sneak on to a frozen practice ground on Xmas day to hit 20 balls before hypothermia and common sense put an end to that!
I have had a ridiculously crazy start to the new Year with three low 70s scores on my home course and a nice back 9 with Styles at a links course. This afternoon, I finished 3 under par for the last 8 holes missing from 4 ft on 16 and 3 putting from 20 ft on 14. Suffice it to say that I genuinely believe that my game is changing fast which is very gratifying considering that I was so disgusted with my game that I had seriously considered giving it up in February last year. Its not really the scores that are noteworthy here…its that I am hitting quality golf shots and that when I have the inevitable mishits, they are largely playable.
Now, enough about scores, I really just wanted to provide some context of the progression of my game as I have worked through the modules….from struggling to break 90 to breaking 75 and shooting under par through 9 holes becoming something that was not extraordinary. Lets move on to the major learning points. I am conscious that there will be mention of later modules for those that are starting or midway but that’s OK…you will all get there in time, this is not a race and if you try to run before you can walk, you trip over. The better you can do the modules, the better you will play and the quicker you will improve, I am always finding some way to improve my module work for the earlier modules, there is no shame in this either, even Lag has to revise these drills!
In no particular order, because they often come that way… Understanding the importance of retaining connection in the golf swing was really the thing that kickstarted my ball striking, Lag had been on at me about the importance of pressurising into the left armpit even way back in module 1…this is a key lesson to understand that the arms do not fly around independently, they follow the direction of the torso/pivot.
The shallow, open, coming from way inside, 430 line attack…and then cutting it left, module 3 stuff…creating opposing forces that puts feel in your hands, that’s mega, even for little chips. I would strongly recommend that you really try to read everything Lag has written on the forum about opposing forces and try to sense it as you go through the modules.
Knowing the secret map…module 4, this is where I started to really forget about modules when I was playing because I understood and trusted the path of the club.
The lay off at p3, we learn this in module 5, some players like Robbo are stellar at this already, indeed many of the better players are probably stellar at some or most of the modules, I had the fortune to be no good or not innately talented at any of them so they were all huge learning experiences for me! The lay off adds finesse and more power…its difficult to describe but the new hand attitudes really add polish to everything that we learnt in the preceding modules…come to think of it, all the modules do that. Back to the lay off…its crazy how deep, laid off, wide open and downward dropping the shaft feels. That’s been a mega feeling to learn…I still have a long way to go to own it but the difference in compression it produces is huge.
Well, overall, these ‘feels’ give you feeling that the swing is a lot more loopy than it used to be…almost like a figure of 8…gone are my preconceptions of fixed positions in the golf swing, I think now mainly of trying to get off plane, Pre and post impact but when one checks the film, it looks on plane…crazy stuff!
The last ‘feel’ I am going to leave you with is the idea of using the bounce of the golf club, something that Twomasters got me thinking about way back…the ABS program gets you delivering the club way open, way inside, laid off, very flat…it feels to me like the back of the club faces downwards from transition. Now get this, it ‘feels’ to me like I create the divot with the back of the club and that I kind of spank or percuss the ground with the back of the club at the same time as striking the ball. The back of the club ‘feels’ as though it is still facing the ground even at p4, right palm facing upwards, its like a skimming sensation……my divots are no longer deep gouges but little skiffs of grass with a liitle dirt…not quite bacon strips yet but I am working on it. Having a frozen right arm, or frozen right elbow is key for this and you guys should search for Lag’s inverted cone imagery to know where to get started on developing that motion.
In summary, for me now, the clubface feels flat, laid off and wide open all the way from transition to p4… I know that sounds crazy but there it is…that’s what I feel, a pivot led swing, very rotational, very flat
Connection, opposing forces, a swing governed by the pivot/ torso rather than the arms are the key concepts that come to mind, I have bashed this all out in 20 mins just after returning from playing with no editing or reflection so it may be that I have left out some other major lightbulbs. I will add them as they pop up.
