DJ has a new set of irons in his bag. He has switched shafts from the Project X to true Temper Dynamic Gold Sense Core. The first thing I wanted was to get a good look at how they performed. We started with him running the set, from the wedges to the 3 iron. He hit them well, but he had some deep divots with his PW. When I looked at it closely, when he soled it, the toe was up. So we had Todd (DJ's Caddy) take it to the repair van and have it bent 1 degree flatter. That did the trick and the divots were good and the ball flight was more controlled with the flight pattern he wanted. We also had to knock down the lie 1 degree on the 8 and 5 irons and we added a good sized strip of lead tape on his 3 iron near the heel to get the flight from bleeding right to holding the line, with a soft draw or cut whichever he plays for.
DJ told me that the one shot that has been hurting him is he is hitting power blocks to the right with the driver and long irons, and weak cuts with the mid to short irons. Overall his swing looked good except that his legs looked loose and lazy in the backswing (too much movement). In the transition, the right knee was almost collapsing downward toward impact. I was convinced his lazy knees were the main cause of the rights. If the knees flexed down too much in the transition, it caused his upper torso to compress downward, puling his spine downward and his arms were unable to extend approaching impact. That slowed down the release and thus a late hit from cramped arms was going right.
The first thing I worked on was his setup. I pointed out to DJ that he setup with the PPGS trademark wide knees (ride the skinny horse look) and set the outward pressure, but he was not maintaining the pressure when he started to swing. That caused his core box, from the knees to the hips, to be too soft and loose and then have too much knee motion in the backswing that then led too the too much downward leg drive in the transition. So we worked on setting more outward pressure and maintaining it, from the takeaway to impact, with keeping the right knee more level in the transition to maintain his height and spine angle. In a matter of a few swings he had the firm and level knee action I was looking for. The wide knees, with the outward pressure and maintaining that pressure, are the keys to making the limited turn and the ¾ length backswing. I also needed to eventually get DJ back to ¾ with his driver. This change was important in moving toward shortening his backswing with the driver and 3 wood, which are basically the only clubs he over swings past 3/4.
We then headed out to the course where the real test of the setup and swing changes were put under the heat. He hit it quite well but still had a few block rights Not so bad, but still into the rough. His right arm was too high in the setup which caused it to have to fold drastically in the backswing. This can cause the club to either be pushed outside a little one time or pulled a little inside another time. We have worked on this right elbow position for months, but he just kept loosing focus on the correct position and the elbow kept rising up and out too much at address. He was not paying enough attention to Technical Excellence (TE) in his setup, which is needed to have TE in his swing.
So, when he hit a bad block to the par 3 11th hole and asked what I saw, I decided to attack the right elbow and get it curled downward and in closer to his hip, so it is pre-set folded to rotate and lift to the top of the backswing without even twitching or changing one muscle in the arm. This would also be a big help in getting his driver to ¾ as this firms up the arms, especially the right arm and wrist, which is the main player in making a ¾ backswing. When I told him, he made a weak attempt to change the right elbow position. I held my ground and would not let him swing until he had it EXACTLY where I knew it had to be. When he finally had it right I gave him the go and he hit it pure as could be and exactly what he was looking for.
He kept the wide knees and outward pressure and the right elbow perfect for the rest of the round and hit nothing but good shots. He was the last player on the course and when he walked off the 18th green he felt real good and confident in his swing and looking forward to tomorrow and the tournament.
All in all this was the best practice and work session I have had with DJ this year — for that matter in maybe two years. I really liked what we did and saw DJ's ball striking really go to a higher level like I have not seen in too long a time.
I am just hoping and praying it is still there tomorrow and then forever.
The Surge!