To Quickly Review, Since Zach Johnson's Putting and Short Game Guru, Pat O'Brien, is nearby, I'll see if he can turn straw into gold.
Pat and I spend 15 minutes reviewing the putting stroke from our first lesson.
(See
http://www.golfdiscussions.com/yabbse/index.php/topic,19743.0.html)
Pat asks me to soften up my angles (I think that's a nice term for "stiff" and "mechanical."
). Pat is very diplomatic. When one is stiff and not relaxed, the club is a bit more herky-jerky and stop-start -- ie, one's natural athletic ability is lessened. And depending on how much of that you're starting with, you don't want to decrease it.
So Pat asks me to soften up my arms even more, resting the forearms a little against the ribs while maintaining space between grip and body (See the above link. He also asks me to soften the shoulders and back and the lower body -- in other words, "Swing, get a massage from a young Czech masseuse, then see me."
He did have one technical aspect -- my arc was too narrow -- so he had me start the stoke with the hands and asked me to allow the shoulders to respond to the hands -- it worked!
I've been working on this relaxing thing for the past year or so -- it takes a while -- so I know what he means and surrender to it. What this means is that you must trust your stroke (does that sound familiar?) and get into a rhythm.
After a few minutes, Pat likes what he sees and we go to the short game area.
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Pat tells me that all great short game players have a rhythm like they're on the dance floor. They're always moving, relaxing their body until the start of their stroke. He takes my Scratch Wedge (EGG 58) and moves his feet back and forth subtly at address, his arms and demeanor are very relaxed. Pat believes that most people get in their way -- if their minds would back off, the club would return to an ideal position at impact.
I guess we could call Pat "The Golf Whisperer."
Pat asks me not to worry about technique, only to feel the clubhead and let the body respond to it. I can already tell you that my head perks up -- I want mechanical thoughts, not touchy, feely "Golf Whisperer" Thoughts. I can understand mechanics. Pat wants me to feel.
(Background -- I've been working through the Stan Utley Art of the Short Game Book for 6 months. I've had success but I've always believed a book doesn't give you everything -- you need someone to put their arms on you and show you how it works.)
Pat tells me the club head is getting behind me, I'm too narrow, not relaxed, body is too stiff. I nod, "Yes, I know, Whisperer. I need help with how relaxed you need to be to be relaxed."
Pat gives me a smile.
He takes my elbows and forearms -- "You're too tight -- loosen up." He waggles them back and forth -- going limp will help you get there.
Now let's get this straight -- I am fairly relaxed in the short game with my arms -- Pat wants me to really be loose -- rest my forearms against the ribs, feel them loosen up, spread the elbows out, don't stand so straight with a stiff back and stuck-out butt -- "Round your shoulders a little, soften the angles, spread the elbows," advises the Golf Whisperer. "If you're stiff at all, the club has nowhere to go but behind you and then it gets stuck back there with a too narrow arc." Get rid of all tension.
OK -- Pat keeps up the whispering and he sees whether he can gain more success with longer shots because I wasn't entirely comfy with relaxed chips. I should note that I tried to put technique out of my mind during the lesson. I'm asking questions all the time, trying to pick Pat's brain. I usually can put the technique together with what I've learned in my lone sessions after the lesson.
We do the same thing with the longer pitches and chips but in advanced mode now -- Pat looks at my grip. Did you know that your short game swing is less than a second and it takes .3 seconds for a signal from your hands to get to your brain and your body to react? Guess what, you don't have time to change things once it gets started." In other words, Don't Think -- Respond to the Clubhead in a tension-free and unhurried manner.
Gulp.
"What you need to do, is feel the grip in your fingers." So Pat takes my fingers and shows me that everything, the little bit of pressure -- the entire hold of the grip is in the fingers, not the back of the hand, not the thumbs, not the forearms, not the wrists --- it's the fingers. We take a few swings with the thumbs off the grip -- sort of like "thumbs up." (This is my new drill, by the way)
"Now let your arms react to the fingers. Start the club going in the fingers and let everything else respond to it. Soften up those elbows, widen them, relax." The club will do what comes naturally. If you need to hit the ball farther, the swing will take care of itself -- the wrists will cock for a longer swing, don't worry about it." This is the mantra for the next half hour. That, and keep the clubhead even with your body with a wider arc. Pat says the wider arc will occur naturally if you relax. The tightening of muscles will trap the club behind your body.
I watch Pat and the club head responds diligently. I notice that his arc is relaxed although his elbows on the backswing still brush his right side (for righties).
We're in the last 20 minutes now - I've been skanking every third shot because I refuse to relax. Finally, I give in to the "Whisperer" and just respond to the clubhead. I trust my fingers and allow my body and club to respond to them. My backswing and downswing miraculously feel more athletic and relaxed -- unhurried!. I just allow the swing to occur -- unhurried.
Yes, I begin hitting good shots without the skanks. So I dial up the relaxation bit and it all gets better. I just let my fingers do the swinging. That, and I sort of keep the right hand on top of the left in the starting arm rotation so the arc widens.
Sounds odd - the no technique technique -- But it works miracles.
But there was a modification to my grip for the short game -- Pat had me move my left thumb to the right side of the grip without moving my left hand fingers much -- the thumb is in a strong position to stabilize the grip - the right hand is on the grip in a normal position - right thumb on left side of grip - trigger finger below and pointing ahead.
As to technique, I just stick to my full swing principles with a shorter swing. So whatever technique you use, stick to it, with some modification -- Weight more on the left, front foot toed out a tad or slightly open, use of hips -- it's your call.
You can vary trajectory with ball placement - front, middle, back -- your arms staying low or finishing high.
I'm even taking Pat's "Golf Whisperer" Relaxation Principles to my full swing.
I practiced for an hour after Pat left and over the weekend. I took his principles to the bunker and hit some of the best relaxed bunker shots of my life. It is amazing how a lot of relaxing can transform your entire game.
Hey, hand me a cigar and a Pina Colada. Golf and Relaxing.
What a novel concept.
Thanks, Golf Whisperer.
