Inside Divot

[french]

I am on day 15 and decided to play with my son the other day. We played 18 and I noticed that my back was not sore like it usually would be and the tendons in my elbows did not hurt either. So those are the nice things. The issue I was having is my divot is way inside the ball. A few times it is so far inside I just clicked the ball off the end of the toe. Sounds like swing path is just too upright . I can also feel the club face closing on me sometimes which gives it a hooking shot. Any thoughts ?

[Les]

French, how consistent is your divot? Is it hitting the same spot? The way the body moves with Tathata the hands should work into the body through the strike. Usually if your swing path is too upright the club will work away from the ball as you stand up the shaft to make room at the bottom of the swing.

If you feel the club face closing down make sure you are surfing to level then moving the front hip properly back and up. Usually a closing clubface is due to stalling through the hitting area and the club passes the hands as you lose acceleration. When you get to the pressure chapter you will learn more about how we increase pressure through the strike which helps keep the body and club accelerating through the strike.

[french]

Thanks Les, Could you try to explain what you mean by: the hands work into the body thru the strike. I am having trouble visualizing that move. Also, I don’t think I have the surf to level action down yet. I probably need to go back to those lessons and try to do them in front of a mirror so I can visualize it correctly.

[Les]

French, we are doing a couple of movements into the strike that have the effect of bringing the hands closer into the body rather than them working out and up. First, in the body movements when we surf to level and then work back and up these move the lower body away from the ball and keep us deep into the hips and glutes. This prevents early extension which is one of the causes of the hands working away. Second, and you will learn this in the pressure chapter, we are pushing the arms and hands down through the strike. This shallows the angle and also brings the hands into the strike.

Centrifugal force (if there is such a thing) wants to pull the club away from us and have our hands work away from us. By working back into the glutes and pushing down with the arms fights that force. Also, flattening of the shaft as we turn the corner also provides a rotational force that also helps the handle work into us as the club head goes from the inside to the outside.

[french]

Les, thanks for the explanation. Makes more sense now. That movement back into the glutes was totally foreign to me. I will need to work on that . Hopefully things will improve once I get thru the pressure lessons.