One of the problems of living in a part of the world where Winter accounts for about 5 months of no golf and no baseball is how to maintain your swing from season to season. One of the bitter-sweet facts of golf is that just when you’re swinging your best and scoring your lowest the season is rapidly coming to a close. And looking at the calendar, it’s getting close to that time of year again. The baseball season ending tournament is this week-end which signals the end of baseball and the beginning of the end of golf. Aside: as I write this I am writhing in agony over a torn hamstring. Happened last night in a meaningless game against the MudHens (who I hate with a passion – apparently the only one on the team that does for some reason). With our unfortunate loss to the BrewJays due to lack of starters, we were unable to pull off the miracle 2nd place finish that my previous blogs were leading up to. We needed 5 of the last 5 to steal it but only ended up with 4 of 5 with the loss coming from the game I would have least expected. To my defence, I wasn’t there so really there’s nothing I could have done ;).
Yes I digress. Back to the pains of living in Canada. Right now, I believe I have my swing tuned to the best it’s ever been. Consistent off the tees, better than usual in the fairway and in my opinion very good around and on the greens. I have been working hard on the short game and have reaped some rewards. So, at this point in time, my mind knows exactly what to tell my body to do during a swing.Â
To live in a part of the world that allows you to play year round provides the opportunity to keep going out there and playing. Thus preventing the swing from getting rusty. You are able to exercise your swing mechanics and thought process on a regular basis. You won’t easily forget what needs to be done to execute.
Living where I live, this luxury is lost. From November to mid-April I am unable to shoot a round of golf. In fact, it is virtually impossible to swing a club onto a ball, especially now that SportsWorld has shut down the indoor range. So what does that leave me with for 5 months? Some half swings in the basement, working with the grip and isolated aspects of the swing. Maybe some putting practice on the carpet. This is not enough to have the body remember everything it learnt the year before. Let alone the mind remembering all of the many small points it needs to check during pre-swing, backswing, follow-through and finish. And this for drives, irons, chips, putts, etc. Too much to retain from season to season without forgetting something. In the end, each year it becomes a cycle of having to re-learn (hopefully) all of the cues and mannerisms needed to have the swing I need.  So the season usually becomes an exercise of how quickly I can rebuild my game to where it ended off, hopefully in time to have a good season. I.e. it’s a question of: will I bring my game back down by May, June? If not when? Then the pressure starts to ensure I have a decent season. What part of the swing have I forgotten? Why am I losing 20-30 yds on my drive? Where’d that hook come from?
I know these are questions asked by even ‘year-rounders’, but with the forced exile each year they are inevitable early season questions for me that arise simply because of the fact I live here. I’m not complaining, it’s just a part of my game I need to live with.
And so, I have lived with it. I have been able to typically get back into the flow of my game and ‘continue where I left off’ fairly well. And the reason for that is that I review my game when it is at it’s best and record concepts, thought processes and swing mechanics onto paper in a way that makes sense to me and when I read it invokes an image or a feel that I can comprehend and put into practice.
So, without further delay, here is my checklist of thoughts that I read each year, amend and add when necessary that reminds me each season of how I swing. It may seem like jibberish but it is clear as day to me and each point brings to mind an important element to the swing that puts me back on track:
Drive:
-reach out to ball – front foot
-2 phase take-out pre-swing
-grip:Â place ‘in fingers’ – left hand 3 fingers, roll right hand over club
-take away – push away and keep elbow in, left arm straight, wrist hinge at initial takeaway
– left arm straight “HANDS HIGH” as far away as possible. SWING Hard on drive
– Drive the left leg to straightness
– on take-away, weight/strain should be felt in right hamstring and right butt
– slow takeaway
– knees flexed, weight distributed, take-away should put strain on the right knee rotation
– to align, pick a spot a few inches in front of ball that along the target line. Place feet together and split them out carefully.
– new 2005: do not transfer weight to the front to soon. Keep some weight on the back foot until it feels like your about to impact and then
continue the forward motion to the front. I.e. do not abuse this feel and begin to fall off to the back.
Irons/approach
No matter how far you need to dial the shot make sure the weight of your body goes behind the ball. This includes the left shoulder.
Feel as if there is a ‘delay’ at the top of your swing – something to allow that weight to shift to the back
The left arm must be straight at all times – even on the close shots.
follow through at all costs – turning that belt buckle to the target
Chips:
“LOOSE HANDS”
weight to front
break wrists in roughs
“putt” the ball on chip and runs. Make sure the hozzle is off the ground. Chip with the toe.
all motion and power comes from the right hand. The left is merely holding on to the club.
take the club on a path directly behind the club
you are hitting down onto the ball. Get that feeling that the right hand is slamming the club down onto the ball and
hitting it into the ground.
SAND:Â keep the hands “inside” the ball for proper release
Putts:
ball towards front of stance – stance itself is not wide
straight back takeaway
wrists enable head to be flat club almost perfect perpendicular to ground
do not touch ground – club should strike ball halfway – on equator
follow through to the hole
align again with a spot a few inches in front of the ball.
slow, smooth takeaway
like chip – create sensation that you are hitting the ball into the ground
do not touch the ground on putts
release or ‘turn’ the putter towards the target. If you leave it ‘open’ it causes a push
Shot-making in general:
front shoulder should go past chin on takeaway
don’t get too flat
release the hands through on the followthrough regardless of whether it’s a drive, approach or chip!
Don’t open hips early. Stay parallel to ball as long as possible
Baseball swing:
loose hands. grip in fingers. grip ‘left hand on bottom, right on top’
transfer weight back to front. like golf, straightness of leg is key on the front. Like a post
hips should ‘slide’ from back to front. left leg should swivel (and even come off and slide to front leg somewhat).
shoulder tucked in. Don’t open hips early.
Wait for the ball!!
swing – left hand is the intiator and the driving force. It should pull the barrel of the bat backwards towards the catcher and then pushes the bat towards the ball. The right hand should not be motivating much forward motion. It should be pulling the bat handle back towards the catcher before/during contact (like a counterforce: the left is pushing the bat to the ball, the right is pulling the handle back. This will increase the speed of the barrel at contact).
pre swing:
squeeze un-squeeze finger grip. Before/to commence swing lift elbow high so that it can be dropped tight to the body when swinging.
like golf keep left elbow in tight during swing as a ‘pivot’ point.
straighten the right arm and have the hands cocked as long as possible to the ball
swing motion should be down like your cutting the ball. the right arm can be bent pre-swing. during delivery try to turn back away from pitch – ‘cocking’ the body.
start hands high and lead them through the swing inside the ball in the downward motion
follow through the ball
leg step should be straight towards the pitcher