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 Statistically, among golfers who take lessons, about 90 percent turn to a teaching pro for help with their swings. The other 10 percent attend a golf school. I'm in the latter school of thought. I love turning off my cell phone and the world for a day or two to pound golf balls. David Leadbetter, whose student list is a Who's Who of golf, recently opened the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Strawberry Farms Golf Club in Irvine. The timing couldn't have been better, since I've been guessing at cures to correct the flaws in my game, which include a loss of distance off the tee and an inconsistent short game. The academy's one-day, custom-tailored approach sounded like a great way to attack these problems. Here are some highlights of my day with director of instruction Matt Hilton, who must have drawn the short straw and was stuck with me for about eight hours. 9 a.m. As I was stretching my muscles on a chilly day, Hilton laid out the agenda, which included everything from videotaping my swing to hitting bunker shots. 9:25 a.m. "Ready for the fight?" Hilton asked as we jumped into a golf cart for the short ride to the range. 9:30 a.m. Hilton taped my swing from different angles and asked about the areas of my game that give me trouble and the areas that I'm most comfortable with. Leadbetter's instruction focuses on "cause and effect," and Hilton followed that mantra during his time with me. "It might be easy to point out six or seven flaws in a swing, but most of them are caused by one or two mistakes that when corrected seem to fix many of the other flaws," he said. "Correct the cause, and the desired effect is what follows." 10:15 a.m. Time to watch tape. "Doctor, will I live?" I jokingly asked Hilton as the pictures began to unfold. "Probably not," he said, "but we'll work with what we have." 10:40 a.m. Hilton splits the video screen and calls up an image of Ernie Els, whose body shape is similar to mine. Hilton plays both of our swings simultaneously. Els is almost at impact position as I'm just completing my backswing. It was easy to see that I was steering my swing while Els did everything smoothly and rhythmically. "Ninety-five percent of the time an experienced teaching professional sees the swing faults with the naked eye," Hilton said. "However, once a student sees the swing fault, he better understands why he's having problems. With this newfound trust earned by the video proof, it's easier to get a student to do what we think is necessary to fix it." 11 a.m. I was eager to begin fixing my flaws, so back to the range we went. With the help of training aids, Hilton got me to set my hands quicker in the backswing so my transition to the ball could be faster and more powerful. Amazingly, swinging the club like Zorro really helped. I got back and through the ball much quicker, my hands turned over and my finish was high. The more I simply let it happen, the more it happened. When my old swing started to reappear, we went back to a training aid that "clicks" when I swing correctly. 11:55 a.m. I want to keep hitting, but with age comes wisdom and there's still three hours of work left. I compromise and hit balls for another 20 minutes before we break for lunch. 1:45 p.m. It's off to the practice green, where Hilton tapes my putting stroke. Since I'm having trouble with distance control, Hilton tells me to rely on my shoulders more than my hands. It works, and after a few more drills we move to the pitching and chipping area. 2:45 p.m. Hilton takes "before" and "after" photos of my short-game technique. I see immediate improvement after he tells me to adjust my setup and ball placement. 3:30 p.m. Into the bunker we go. I struggle at first with the changes he makes in my stance and body position, but soon balls are flying out of the trap with a shallower divot, and I'm even getting some backspin on the ball. 4 p.m. We return to the video room where Hilton gives me a CD to take home. On it are my old swings, new swings and commentary from Hilton. We covered a lot of ground, and the CD will come in handy if I slip back to my old habits. Practice is the only way to get better, but now I've got some good things to work on. No more guessing at cures. 5:15 p.m. Hilton and I have a beer in the clubhouse and review my day. He made me promise to call if I had questions, because "that's what I'm here for." After finding out that his wife is just weeks away from giving birth to their first child, I sent him home. I nursed the rest of my beer and reflected on the day. Leadbetter's fame got a big boost in the 1980s when he rebuilt the swing of Nick Faldo, who proceeded to win six major titles. My goal is a little less grandiose. I'm simply hoping my new and improved swing gets me past the second round of my club championship. Eric Tracy is also known as The Mulligan Man. He can be reached at eric@themulliganman.com. |
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