Golf Lesson 1: Back to the setup

Back to lessons and back to the beginning, the setup.

My first lesson with Andy was still a little bit of a getting to know you thing and getting to know my swing thing. We concentrated heavily on how I setup to the ball. One habit I had gotten into over the last few months is bending over more instead of being more upright. Kind of falling back into being in an “athletic stance,” which is fine for most sports, but it’s not helpful in golf.

We also went over-closing my front shoulder, which wasn’t the first time that has been brought up in a lesson. I have been mindful over the last year to adjust my shoulder on setup, and apparently, I tend to just open it back up before I swing, making said adjustment pointless. To correct this, I have been trying to have the feeling that my shoulder is VERY closed, even though physically it isn’t.

I want to point out something I learned by taking 4-5 months off from lessons. You fall back into bad habits. While I have changed a lot of things in my swing and continue to reinforce some of the lessons, without some sort of check-in, things obviously have regressed in certain aspects of my swing. For people more in tune with their swing, maybe they can watch a video and make corrections. For me, I think I need that check-in every month or two to make sure I am not regressing.

Finally, we addressed my head and the angle I have it at. When I address the ball, I tilt my head to the left. Why? No idea. I can tell you, though, that adjusting my head to the right more and trying to be in a neutral position makes the golf ball look slightly different. I don’t know if I was picking it up with one or a more dominant eye, but this took adjusting.

WITH THAT, MY GOLF SWING IS PERFECT!!!!

It’s not, but I have a routine now. Some people have “wallet, keys, phone” I have “foot out, shoulder closed, head to the shoulder.”

What do you think about when setting up to the ball?