Refresher with Lawrie Montague

Recently revisited the 'Golf Confidence' site via YouTube that was created by Oz golf instructor Lawrie Montague. I believe this is an instructor who is well worth some attention; his analysis of the golf swing (in a range of videos) is pretty spot on.

Lawrie covers the usual aspects of set up and body rotation, and does this well. However, he does even better when he explains the importance of not hitting AT the ball, but rather swinging from a solid braced position down and THROUGH the ball to a full finish.

Dropping the hands below the swing plane is the crucial first part of the downswing move that he emphasises - and he is a hands and arms advocate - maintaining that the body will react to this move. He does not advocate a lot of conscious lower body rotation or movement, other than noting that the knees do kick forward and end up together.

One of his major points (and he is excellent in explaining this) is that the angle between the club and the arm (the triangle created by the wrist cock) must be maintained for as long as possible in the downswing - and not thrown away by casting the clubhead. This is the creation of lag that promotes good distance and helps with solid contact and accuracy.

But I want to return in this refresher to the full finish concept. Many golfers tend to hit at the ball and fail to fully finish their swings (and I refer to full shots). This is also an occasional problem for even the best golfers. The key point is that a full finish of the swing is not just for decoration, it is the indicator of how successfully the golfer has swing the club. In my own game, I know there is a completely different feeling when I have swung fully to a finish and when I have not - and I know which one will have produced the better shot.

Anyhow, have a full swing and keep the magic triangle.

Update on the triangle method

I recently watched a video taken at a Jimmy Ballard masterclass in which he explains in detail his 'connection' theory and a number of related ideas.

Ballard did not go through his seven common denominators of the good golf swing - because he was essentially laying the groundwork for more detailed work with what was, I believe, a group of golf teachers / professionals.

It was fascinating, but also potentially dangerous for me in that too much information can lead me into confusion, second guessing, doubts, fears and misunderstandings.

Therefore, while I will keep his description of connection in mind, for now I need to concentrate on my mantra 'retain the triangle', one of Jimmy's denominators. This thought is helping me with my swing plane, allowing me for the first time to swing the club consistently from the inside and stop me casting (that is: releasing the wrists early and swinging from the outside).

Having said this, I have realised that although I should only have one thought (and one feeling) in relation to the downswing, I must follow through to a full finish (on full shots). This is a matter of trying to introduce a second thought (or feeling) for the latter part of the swing, which could be problematic.

I think I will be able to incorporate the two thoughts or feelings by locating one at the critical transition to the downswing and treating the other as an afterthought - something to observe at the completion of the swing (eg. have I completed the follow through?). Perhaps in this way I will not crowd or complicate my swing with too many swing thoughts? It's worth a try.

Anyway, I am playing better, hitting straighter and further, and I'm back to a 13 hcp. It might be the weather and the course, but I must give Jimmy Ballard some credit.