I had a great lesson with a student of mine the other day. Anthony is improving in leaps and bounds, hitting his drives longer and straighter, and dropping strokes.
Let’s look at the key checkpoints in his new motion. Study these, as in my opinion, they rival any player on tour.
In the slot. The clubshaft is riding just above the right forearm. We’ve done a lot to shallow out Anthony’s swing plane.
When it reaches parallel, the shaft is now pointing at the intended target. The clubhead is back on the outside of the shaft. The original posture is being maintained, while the left arm path is straight down under the shoulder. Hands are close to the right pocket.
At impact, the right elbow is rapidly straightening, but will not reach full extension for another 30 inches. The right foot is in slight plantar flexion and rolled into eversion. Again, the posture is being maintained. His shaft angle at impact used to be significantly higher.
Notice how the arms are following the turn of the chest around to the left. At this point, the handle is pointing at his navel. The clubface remains square to the arc. Hips and chest are turning at a similar rate, alleviating potential stress on the lower spine. After this frame, the head and shoulders will start to straighten up.
Currently, Anthony is averaging around 260 off the tee. I anticipate getting that over 300 when we work on the length and width of his backswing. But 260 is plenty of length for the scores he is hoping to shoot at the moment. I will post an update when we start getting 300 yarders.
The main takeaway here is the quality of his handle path. With the spine angle remaining steady, and the arm path staying close to the thighs, the handle is working in an arc around the body. This allows the clubhead to be easily released for square and accurate hitting.