After going down the One Plane Swing Path, I became completely confused and began losing all of the power in my right arm that Yoda taught me a few years ago. They say curiosity killed the cat, but interest in the OPS got the best of me. Soooo, I booked a few lessons with Ted Fort and he discovered my plane line was bent so far to the left that it wasn't even funny. I am talking super duper left. So bad in fact that Ted had me setting up in a normal stance then turning my torso 180 degrees so I was almost facing backwards and had me hit pitch shots 90* opposite my target. The motion I had fallen into the habit of making before coming to see Ted had become so un-golflike that it wasn't even funny!
My computer was completely screwed up. Before seeing Ted again, the thought of RFP had completely dissappeared. I still don't get the lawnmower analogy everyone talks about with respect to RFP because I start my lawnmower like the right elbow move Jim Hardy talks about in his One Plane Swing teaching. To me, I feel like the bending of my right elbow controls the forearm to the top, and then BOOM, my right arm just explodes into the ball!
I have only taken 2 of my 5 lessons with Ted and needed time to incubate what he was saying because I needed to match the feel with the correct mental imagery. This involved a lot of work going back to the basics. I practiced setting up the Flying Wedges using only my dowels paying specific attention to gripping the club correctly (this can't be overlooked) and getting into the proper setup like Yoda taught me a few years ago. I worked diligently at the dowel drills just trying to get the club back on plane. In addition, I have been doing a lot of impact bag work in the basement and this has paid HUGE dividends.
Since my office isn't too far from the Swamp, I have also been going to the range a few days a week during lunch and hitting 75 ball buckets of nothing more than pitch shots to drill in my impact conditions. I cheated a bit with respect to the basic curriculum by hitting full pitch shots going to a full finish rather than keeping the club head below my hands at followthrough. But the results are unmistakable!
I played the other day and my right forearm has become deadly once again. That beautiful sound at impact is back with that lovely hissing sound from the ball. My ballflight is dead straight with an occasional baby fade thrown in for good measure. My distance is even a little greater than it used to be and I feel like I can hit the ball absolutely as hard as I want to. In fact, I have that confident feel again of the harder I hit the ball, the straighter it goes!
I played with a kid who plays high school golf in Alpharetta and he is blessed with the flexibility of youth. He packs a mean wallop and can carry the ball huge distances with his long swing (big time X factor). With what feels like a half swing and about a 3/4 pivot, I was outdriving him by miles all day long. On one hole, I hit my 16* Adams Idea Pro Hybrid 275 yards off the tee which for me is absolutely incredible...plus I hit it on a straight line exactly where I wanted to.
I saw Ted at the range earlier this week and I told him I think I finally have my right arm back under control and had a huge smile on my face! I can finally hit full shots with my right arm only like Ted does and feel like HITTING can be super powerful and deadly accurate once you understand the simple fundamentals. Thank you for allowing me to spill my guts!
E.
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