Been out of action the last few weeks. Both hands, and right elbow throbbing with deep ache from months on the rock pile. Just not used to that. And, no spring chicken anymore either.
Had to stop Advil and equivalent nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories cuz they're bad for you. So, no alternative but to chill out, switch to herbals like boswellia and cumin, toss in some glucosamine for hope, and be patient.
I've a nagging strained joint at the base of the left thumb, which i've figured out a way to shore up using rock tape (KT). This variable stretch tape is genius.
Slowly, the aches have started to subside and can sleep without pain, and grip a club again. The rest has also been a good time to analyze some videos, surf the Tube and reflect on what to work on next. Here's the current list once the sessions resume:
1. Don't tighten grip on club when downswing starts. Old baseball reflex. And I'm bleeding out some energy here. Learn to hold off on that and just rotate the body.
2. Get better coordinated on the left side of my body. I'm right footed, and not well coordinated with left leg, which I need to precisely activate to post up and clear the left hip. The slide is another deep baseball habit (and another power leak) that needs to be eliminated up for good. Drill hitting off left leg only. Pick up balls out of cup using left leg instead of right.
3. Get un-lazy and rotate body through the second half of swing. Focus on not letting arms collapse after hit is good metric across the range from short pitches to drives. Develop and hold high finish.
4. Rotational strength training. Also start spending more time with the driver, including going wider on back swinging, and pushing to extend through the ball.
Good short list for resuming the grind on the range. Thanks to the tape, get to kick off the restart with a bit of filming with the golf ball and a drone. More on that soon...
(via Jiro on iPhone)