wobble board for golf

I've had one of these wobble boards lying around for awhile and have recently started playing with it a few minutes a day while watching TV at home.

I'm curious if using it regularly could create balance benefits that transfer over to golf.

clubhead lag

i put the golf clubs down for several months to concentrate on other things, but the bug bit me again and i've been playing a lot of late. real proficiency always seems so close, but lately the game seems to be getting simpler. or, at least, i am setting more things up pre-shot so my shot itself can be hit with more control and confidence, not thoughts like "oh shit, i hope i don't chunk this chip".

i've tinkered too much as always, but the concept of clubhead lag has hit me the last couple weeks and it has improved my ballstriking immensely.

i shot a 77 at wilson last week and then a 2-under 31 at penmar today. and i get a shot at rustic canyon tomorrow.

i think the no-backswing actually shows some promise for putting. i draw the club back, feel the face position with my arms, take a last look at the hole, and just let gravity pretty much drop the club into the ball. i'll work on it and post more if it continues to work well.

now this is a fun way to play golf

"his greatest success occurred when he developed total belief in his technique so that he could play without worrying about bad shots"

-david leadbetter on ben hogan

72 today at woodley lakes

it all came together today at woodley lakes golf course in encino, ca. i hit thirteen greens and made two birdies to cancel out two bogeys. i was especially proud of my third shot on the par 5 18th. i had stubbed my second and had 205 to the pin and i had to draw it around a tree branch about 25 yards ahead of me. it's a shot i have never practiced, but i nailed it. to 7 feet and almost birdied it for a 71. but par 72 was enough for me on this day.

only time will tell if i can put more rounds like this together, but i feel like i am systematically eliminating the parts of my swing that cause my most common errors. if all goes right, those errors should continue to diminish.

the last week or so i have shifted my grip to a stronger position, and now i feel like conscious hand action is being taken out of the swing a bit. it's more an arm rotation that squares up the clubface. and it feels like the most natural swing yet. i'll keep playing with it.

the no-backswing is a simpler golf swing than what we've all been taught. i believe it wholeheartedly.

tough time at day one of the club championship

i am realizing there are times when i have to temper my tinkering. i have the tendency to somehow decide to change my whole golf swing (still no backswing, of course), THE DAY BEFORE the club championship. this has happened more than once, and happened this time too. i was playing with my short wedges and found something that worked, so i tried to take it and apply it to my full swing. i have a bad habit in that way, finding something that works in one part of the game, and then apply it to everything from driving to putting. and invariably, i go too far with it in this way. it took me ten holes before i went back to what i knew and shot a decent 42 on the back. but i shot a 93 for the day. which means, yes, a 51 on the front.

i did make a promise to myself. one that i think will help me a lot. i will not attempt any major changes in my golf swing for a period of 6 months. any time and energy spent will be spent on the short game and with grooving the swing i have.

eliminating the tendency to cast the club at the top.

Range day today (1 bucket)
Goal: stop a tendency to cast at the top.

Idea for correction:

to start the downswing with more of a dropping of the hands instead of a pulling with them. basically, i want the butt end of the club to point more downward (towards the ball) than outward (to the right of the target line) during the initiation of the downswing.

Results:

this swing feels jim furyk-esque but was very effective at the range. i was bombing my driver farther and more consistently than i ever have. dropping the butt of the club instead of pulling it across virtually guarantees that you come from the inside, and lessens the tendency to leave the clubface open. the tweak that made the difference was to open my stance substantially. this allows me to come straight thru the ball (instead of too far from the inside). it also corrects a tendency to come down too steep to hit the golf ball consistently.

With a little more practice to help with muscle memory and clubface control, i think i will have a swing that will hold up better on the course and under competitive pressure.

how and why no backswing?

i've been playing golf for 5 years, self taught, and a range rat. i enjoy the analysis and understanding of what makes the golf swing go. i am a decent athlete but by no means a gifted golfer. i loved to read anything golf-related, and i remember picking up a Golf magazine a couple years back and reading their no backswing article.

http://www.golf.com/golf/instruction/article/0,28136,1652866,00.html

it hit me just like so many instructional articles hit so many golfers. it seemed like "the answer". so i started playing with it. and this one was different. it felt like it fit. it felt like the swing that linked my body and my mind. it just made sense. and it worked. i didn't lose any distance and i felt like i had simplified my swing to the point i could control and make small corrections as needed. i could feel my position and clubface angle at the top, make a quick mental/physical check to see if i was ready to hit the ball, pump, and explode.

i worked my way down to a 6.7 handicap and won the president's flight match play championship at my golf club (rancho park in los angeles). and the great thing is that i feel like there is so much room for improvement. i don't feel like i am anywhere near my potential as a ball striker. and i guess this blog is a documenting of my attempt to reach that potential. and i am going to do it without a backswing.