Dr. John is patient to a fault, even with a guy apparently resistant to the prescriptions he offers, the remedies with which the patient could surely lose 30 pounds, double his income, win friends and influence people at home and around the globe.
I, the patient, can stay comfortable, keep on swinging the golf club the same old way, with the same bad results … but why would I even consult the doctor if that was OK? No, I need to get comfortable with feeling uncomfortable, John Cassidy says. And while I’m practicing, working through the uncomfortable, don’t, he said, even worry about where the ball goes.
That, Dr. John, will be the hardest part of all.
Cassidy laid some oysters on me, generously, in a couple recent lessons (he gives me the oysters; I have to shuck for the pearls).
After he significantly strengthened my left-hand grip and adjusted my right-hand grip to be more in my fingers:
“There are multiple benefits to having a good grip. It’s going to allow that club to square up naturally. A strong left-hand grip will keep the right hand from taking over too much and cast it.”
“A strong left-hand grip will allow you to hold that angle (of my right wrist at the top). You don’t want to lose that angle before you get to the golf ball — it’s really crucial for consistency.”
After he reminded me not to grip the grip too tightly:
“You want the hands to be relaxed to let the club do what it needs to do. If you’ve got a good grip it takes away the need to hold it too tight.”
“You want the club face to be open (at the top) — it should match the left arm angle.”
After he got me to flatten my left wrist at the top:
“Once you’ve got a good neutral grip, keep the hands on the grip, but let them stay passive.”
After I hit some weak piece of shit, for many reasons, just two of which are I didn’t complete my turn to the top and I flipped my hands through the ball:
“Because you didn’t rotate through it, your hands took over at the bottom. The clubhead is going to ‘collect’ the golf ball.”
“Let your hands beat the clubhead to the ball.”
That last, Dr. John, is going to be 30 years worth of difficult. I’ve got some oysters, some really good drills … excuse me while I go get uncomfortable.
John Cassidy teaches golfers at The Home Course in DuPont, Wash. Contact him at john.cassidy@thehomecourse.com or (360) 791-5053.
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