{"id":921,"date":"2014-03-31T11:08:49","date_gmt":"2014-03-31T18:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/?p=921"},"modified":"2014-03-31T11:08:49","modified_gmt":"2014-03-31T18:08:49","slug":"extending-game-with-compact-swing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/golf\/instruction\/921\/extending-game-with-compact-swing","title":{"rendered":"Extending game with compact swing"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"My<\/a>

My swing is never going to be pretty, but trust me. It looks and feels better.<\/p><\/div>\n

If you told many older golfers they need to be able to touch their toes and balance on one leg to improve their golf swing, I\u2019m not sure how many of them would want to go though all of that rigmarole.<\/p>\n

I not only have no problem with the fitness side. I\u2019m a fan.<\/p>\n

When I can go down the stairs in the morning without holding on, get in and out of cars and couches like the old days\u2014do any number of physical maneuvers without creaking\u2014it\u2019s almost as if improved golf is a bonus.<\/p>\n

I never thought I\u2019d be saying these things. Because I am still able to do pretty much everything I want to do physically. I can ski. I can carry my golf bag\u2014even 36 holes if it\u2019s a special day. I like to grind on a treadmill, grunt on a Bowflex.<\/p>\n

I can just do more of this stuff when I can move better. And I am moving better.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s one sign of progress in my spring-training program at Catalyst Golf Performance.<\/p>\n

The other is that my golf swing continues to come around.<\/p>\n

The latest step in that process is a much more compact swing.<\/p>\n

“It looks like a short backswing is the way to go,\u2019\u2019 I told Liz after a workout one day.\u00a0 “That thought makes me feel like an old man. But it really looks like that\u2019s the best move for me.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

“What\u2019s wrong with that?\u2019\u2019 she said. “Remember when you complained last summer about those old men who outdrove you?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Don't<\/a>

Here’s the `before.’ Hard to do, hard to look at. Not great results, either.<\/p><\/div>\n

So true. If I can improve my fitness down the road to allow for a bigger swing, great. Meanwhile, I\u2019m liking this short backswing on several fronts.<\/p>\n

For starters, it\u2019s easier to produce, and certainly should be easier to repeat.<\/p>\n

I still need to lock it in; the temptation to wrap that club around my neck is pretty ingrained. But when I see my arms breaking down, and see that I can generate just as much distance with what a much shorter swing, I am very encouraged.<\/p>\n

\"This<\/a>

This is where a swing is built.<\/p><\/div>\n

At 27, my young golf pro, Joe Sheren, is wise beyond his years. He has great instincts when it comes to diagnosing and explaining, and he\u2019s not only very flexible about changing up things as we go; he tends to look for new points of emphasis.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s challenging, no question. But when I think of my concerns about remaking a 62-year-old\u2019s swing, it\u2019s not as overwhelming as I feared it would be.<\/p>\n

Basically, we\u2019ve broken it down into components. Bring the club back low with my arms extended. A little wrist cock, mainly with the right hand. Ideally, turn the shoulders and hips while all of that is happening.<\/p>\n

Those three elements are still a mouthful to coordinate. But with a short backswing, it\u2019s an attainable objective.<\/p>\n

When I do those things right, finishing with a strong strike at the ball is also not only attainable; it feels great.<\/p>\n

Grooving of all this is still a big assignment. But it\u2019s satisfying to know what to do; I really finished last season feeling clueless.<\/p>\n

Another key element is to keep up the fitness drills, especially the flexibility and balance stuff. That\u2019s no problem; When I go down the stairs in the morning, I can feel the flexibility benefits. The balance drills are simply a good challenge; difficult to master but not really strenuous.<\/p>\n

\"As<\/a>

As promised. . . the toe touch<\/p><\/div>\n

Trainer Tommy Asuma has intensified the workouts I do. They are mainly focused at building strength for a more powerful turn. At home, I find I\u2019m spending most of my time doing the flexibility stuff, which are more like stretches than a workout, because I don\u2019t have the proper equipment at home. I also work in some treadmill at home.<\/p>\n

At this point, although I\u2019m consistently hitting more solid shots, the distance gains aren\u2019t dramatic. But Joe has said, and I agree, that the next step should be to master the new swing components.<\/p>\n

I need to keep the clubhhead closed, the arms extended, to make my best hip\/shoulder turn.<\/p>\n

When I can do all of that consistently well, I\u2019ll have a really good foundation for some tweaks that will produce distance.<\/p>\n

Better golf and better fitness? Sounds like a win-win plan to me.<\/p>\n

____________<\/p>\n

NOTE: This is the eighth in a series on trying to improve a golf swing that\u2019s become problematic\u2014and developing more flexibility, balance and general fitness along the way. The whole series can be found at \u00a0http:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/golf\/instruction<\/p>\n

To start at the chronological beginning, start near the bottom, on “The Quest for a Better Swing” post.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you told many older golfers they need to be able to touch their toes and balance on one leg… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,5,18],"tags":[710,977326],"class_list":["post-921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-golf","category-instruction","category-lifestyle","tag-golf-instruction","tag-catalystgolf"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2014\/03\/Long-backswing-monitor.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=921"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":936,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/921\/revisions\/936"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/herbgould\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}