I can’t believe I have missed telling you all about this one very important golf instructional move.
I have skirted all around it for years now, but a real life experience has shown me that even the most often talked about golf swing move can be made to sound very complicated.
I want to un-complicate the ” magic move.” If you want to hit the golf ball with authority and maintain great angles through impact you have to do this one move correctly.
So here it is, it’s the SLOT.
It is the one place that the golf club absolutely must go in order to get a good path and angle of attack on the golf ball. It is what Harvey Penick talked about in his ” Little Red Book “
It’s what Ben Hogan wouldn’t talk about because of the wonderment of his great golf swing. And the pent up secrecy of his magic move. Kinda funny now.
It’s the SLOT.
First, let’s make sure we are 100% in agreement that there is never just one move in a golf swing that solves all the problems. There are a few moves that must be done in order to even think about improvement. This is one of those moves, please do not think that it will cure all. It won’t.
But, it will go a long ways to making sure you make one of the most important moves in the swing. If you can get the club in ” the slot” on your down swing you have an excellent chance of making great contact at impact. And the results will be truly amazing.
So here goes, pay attention. Explaining this is not going to easy. Making the move will be easier.
I was playing a round the other day and found that I just was not hitting the ball with that crisp solid feeling. The ball was not reacting well and I was off target some and it just didn’t feel right. I played like dog crap all day. I couldn’t wait to get to the range.
It took two days before I got to the range to deal with the swing. I often find that if some time goes by I will have not much to do to fix what is broke.
Not the case this time. Same thing. It just did not feel right. And the ball was still not reacting well at all.
I always go back to basics first. Grip, set-up, alignment, angles and so on.
Check, check, check !
Nothing! Now I’m worried. Poor contact lousy balance. Was that a shank? Ooooooh man !
Feelings ? Frustrated, worried, shocked and amazed, mad, confused, getting madder, more frustrated, I tell myself to get over it and get down to business, and I do, but not without RTP still being very angry inside.
Since I feel that my backswing is always the same, I tend to look at the down move first.
I like to take it to the top and then slowly work the club into the various positions that I feel are very important to my ( and your ) golf swing. All the way to impact and then to finish.
SLOW ! And I do not hit a ball. I use it as a reminder as to where the club is supposed to go and where my body parts are supposed to be in concert with the club.
Suddenly, I notice that I could actually see the ” SLOT.”
WOW!
Maybe I need to both see it and feel it.
So I began to work on making sure that the club got into the slot. I used small swings, short backswing, into the slot and hit. I dropped my right elbow straight into the front of my turned right hip bone. Not behind it, rather in front of it, I actually tried to brush my elbow into that bone on the front of my right hip.
This works……….. and it fixed my condition for the moment.