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Downswing sweetness
2010-03-25 -1 today. I like! Not because it was a great score but because I have gotten better since last week and I achieved my goal whcich was to have a good attitude the whole round. Started to hit 8 of the first 9 greens and didn't score better than 2 over on those. Not great. But, as my coach in college would have said. "Either you moan about it and waste some more shots or you get on with it and start playing good". I kept my focus and it paid off. 3 under on the back and I felt calm inside when walking off the course. Haven't felt that feeling in a while.
I found a sweet video of my idol Ben Hogan on youtube.com.
This is the best downswing I've ever seen. The club is thrown straight down to the ball and with tons of loft on the clubhead. This is the downswing I'm looking for. When I watch this, it reminds me of hitting a bunker shot with a 60 degree wedge. The left hand is a little cupped which creates loft on the club and you feel that it's cupped the whole way down to the ball. In the bunker shot you can keep it cupped through the ball and all the way to the finish. This is not possible in the full swing when you create more speed. The cupped left wrist will straighten out very close to impact. Very close is a key factor. If the cupped left wrist gets straight earlier you will loose the loft and the natural release of the club and the shots get manipulated and that is exactly what I do.
I keep it cupped all the way from adress to the top of the backswing. Then I start too aggressive with my body and therefore I'm not able to hold the wrist cupped and I loose all the synchronization in the downswing. My goal is to maintain the left wrist cupped and being able to strike it as pure as Hogan does in this picture. It looks like it's all happening without effort in this video. BAAM! Straight down to the ball. No bullshit re-routing of the club. Nothing. Just BAAM!
Since I can maintain the correct wrist position on a bunkershot, I'll train a lot in the bunker to get used to the correct movement.
"The secret is in the dirt", Hogan said. Maybe my secret is in the sand? What do you guys think?
Time to sleep and get ready for round 2. Happy happy!
alex
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EngeneWhini
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Tjschill
Alex: Like your golf swing action....I think you have Hogan somewhat wrong...there was NO conscious manipulation of the clubhead or shaft on the DOWNSWING...
His "shallowness" as you see it, is a function of his pivot and his external rotation of his right shoulder and supinated right forearm...
Your more pronated at the same point, which means you going to have to roll your left wrist and pull the handle more left...
I'm sure your miss is a pull cut...
Your impact alignments need improvement...higher left wrist at impact (with less rolling of left wrist and less lower hands). Just some thoughts to bounce off Pete....
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ph
I like your version of training in the sand for hogan's advice. I think it can also means the ground, the divot.Great blog , thank you for sharing that with us.
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aNoN
Alex,STATS NEVER LIE!
Can I tell you something. You are not far from last in Putts Per Round. And you are not far from last in scrambling.
You are nearly top 30 in GIR.
Do you really think your working productively on the correct things to win golf tournaments?
Look at Tiger, you have to learn from the best to be the best. Yes, he nearly always leads GIR and your high in that. But he also nearly always leads in Putts per round and Scrambling.
I really dont think your looking at your game honestly and working hard enough on the things you need to be.
I dont care who you are, but you are never going to hit more than 16 and 15 greens a round consistently, so your losing the battle already no matter how cupped your wrist is in the downswing, you still hit 16 and 15 greens alex!!!!. And you did that the first 2 days. But you didnt get up and down once on the second day.
I really believe you need to learn from the best players and that is short game and putting.
I never hear you talking about these two parts of the game, and you wont win many tournaments in your career if you dont improve them.
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PaulM
Nice first round score Alerx, hopefully a lower one coming today!The ball flight in the video is so pure!
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Hedberg
Kom igen nu Alex! Följer dig intensivt på: http://scores.europeantour.com/default.sps?pagegid={8455C601-B598-43F0-AE27-8559DC7985DD}&redirectorid=leaderboard&eventid=2010012&ieventno=2010012&infosid=2Jag är nöjd så länge du slår töntJarmo...:-)
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Gary
Good work on the back 9 yesterday Alex. play well today.reply
Jan
Alex,An even better Hogan video, with som shots from Augusta etc..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1LM7h5hXIY&feature=player_embedded
Play well today
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Scott Sinnott
Great score,good luck today,
Noren Army.
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Danny
Hi Alex, just read your latest post.I think your crazy thinking that technical ! Keeping it cupped on the way down sounds like you will just make it confusing, your an awesome golfer and clearly have got bucket loads of talent. You should just forget the technical rubbish, relax and just swing it! I've watched you in person and on TV and I think your swing is awesome, no need to fiddle with it.
Would like to see you in the Ryder Cup Team this year!
Best of Luck this week.
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Lee
Great to hear you kept a good attitude today and it paid off. Keep that attitude into tomrrow and those scores will keep coming.Good luck on the course tomorrow Alex.