Been a while since my last post. First battled the flu bug and went on holidays during the Easter break. Played my first two rounds of the year while on vacation. My expectations for score were quite low I simply did not expect to score well. I have not swung a club probably since September maybe October. I knew my ball striking, timing, feel, short game, and long game (ok basically every aspect) would not be anywhere near my potential.

During my warm up for my first round I started with mainly pitches and half swing with longer clubs (8 and 6 iron). My goal here was to get a feel for hitting the sweet spot. I did not care about distances or direction. I wanted to get the feel of making solid contact. My second goal after getting a feel of solid contact was making sure my aim and alignment were in tune. So I picked a target and aligned my body to the target line. Still I was not too concerned with distance or direction I simply wanted to get into the habit of picking a target, aiming at the target, and then aligning my body parallel to the target line.

What hurt me the most during the first round was my swings timing and the feel for partial shots was no where near what it should have been. My goal on the course was to play conservative and aim for the fat parts of the fairways and greens. I had more success hitting greens that fairways. I did discover a ball flight flaw during the first round, a big old block to the right for at least 50% of my shots.

For my second round of the year my goals were to pick a target and aim and align to the target and swing to a balanced finish on each swing. Swing to a balanced finish allowed me to swing within myself. My timing felt better in the second round and as a result the block only appear a few times and my score showed a significant improve from round 1 to round 2.

For many of us in temperate zones in the northern hemisphere the golf season is beginning or about to begin. To start each season remember to build up your swings foundation. Begin with the basics and gradually build up your golf swing’s foundation again. For example start with the grip then move to ball position, then aim and alignment, then club face angle, position at the top of the back swing, swing plane. Just start with the basics before concentrating on improving more complex movements.

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