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 Releasing the club properly was the main lesson focus for Dang Nguyen in February. Like many amateurs, he had an over-the-top swing that required an overuse of his hands to try to square the clubface at impact. This resulted in poorly struck shots that typically sliced to the right. “You can never be good at this game unless you learn how to properly release the club,” said his instructor, Jason Taylor. “Golfers that don’t release the club will never experience what it feels like to make flush contact from 220 yards and knock it on the green. It’s a difficult concept for some players that comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of how to hit the ball. Thankfully, Dang picked it up very quickly.” Swinging the club with the proper release created a different sound and sensation for Nguyen. “It felt so different,” he said. “My shots felt stronger. I could feel, when I did it right, the ball had a snap to it.” Nguyen also was introduced to the concept of the pitch-and-run shot around the green. “I stress to my students to keep their hands in front of the clubhead,” Taylor said. “Players tend to want to make a big swing and decelerate the club into the ball, which causes inconsistent contact. You get the fat shot and the skull across the green. Keeping your hands in front leads to crisper contact. For Nguyen, the concept was like going from a black and white television to a plasma flat screen. “I never thought of hitting anything other than a wedge or sand wedge around the green. It’s the only club I’ve seen other players use on the course,” he said. “The motion is very easy to use. I used to try the sand wedge, but I wasn’t very confident. I was always long or short. Jason had me use a 7-iron with a putter stroke and it felt effortless. I was getting the ball close much more often, and I actually made one.” Month 2 assessment: “Dang is so enthusiastic about the game that learning is coming easy. He is getting much more consistent contact. We are eliminating the extreme shots like the whiff and the straight right from his game,” Taylor said. “We are going to continue to build on the things he has learned thus far and add something important — the proper equipment. Dang’s equipment isn’t working for him. The lofts on his irons are all off and the graphite shafts he’s using are cheap. He now has the fundamentals where we can properly fit him for clubs that will bring dramatic improvement. He’s not going to be a bad golfer.” Nguyen’s goals for Month 3: “I’m just going to keep working on repetition. I go to the range two to three times a week and try to play at least nine holes,” he said. “I’m starting to click. I’m hitting the ball farther with less effort. I’m getting the feeling that I’m doing something right.” First big breakthrough: Nguyen played a nine-hole executive course and shot 41 — more than 10 shots better than his previous best. He also beat two other experienced golfers who were playing with him. n Jason Taylor can be reached at Jurupa Hills Country Club at (951) 685-7214. |
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