First Swings of 2010

I took a ride to the driving range on River Road yesterday so I could finally get in a few swings. While I have definitely hit the ball worse, it was frustrating to feel so out of rhythm. It's the first time I've touched a club in months, so I didn't expect perfection, but still...

I have always had an unorthodox swing. Sometimes I get things to come together and work while other times it's like watching a monkey hump a football. Most times I feel I can pin point one motion or mistake and at least make an adjustment. Yesterday, however, I noticed I wasn't releasing my left side, my balance was poor, my back swing was hitched (as usual), my alignment was off, the angle of descent was either too deep or too shallow, my transition was too fast, my grip felt uncomfortable and my posture was inconsistent. That is way too much to feel when trying to simply swing a golf club.

Here is what I plan to do this year to improve my game (besides eventually getting new clubs). I have always felt watching oneself is the best lesson. Feeling your way through the problem or having someone else tell you what they see is very difficult way to dissect the issue. Being able to correlate what I feel with an actual image is priceless (that's why golf academies charge so much). I now have a laptop with a web cam, so my goal is to set this on a chair behind me a record my entire practice session. Sounds simple enough. This way I can get instant feedback and see if changes I am making are actually occurring, and if so, working.

The good news is I know what to look for. I have been around golf long enough, and know my swing well enough, to make an educated diagnosis. Many have told me they wouldn't change a thing about my swing, but the usually only tell me that when I play well. I am looking for more consistency, and hopefully, lower scores. I want a swing I can rely on even if I don't quite have the feel. Hopefully this approach will work, or at least it will be fun trying.