Lesson #1 – April 21
Today marked the start of something I’ve really needed to do for a while — I officially began taking golf lessons. After years of playing and picking up habits along the way, both good and bad, I decided it was time to get some real instruction and build a more consistent, repeatable swing. This is a recap of what we covered in the first session.
The Instructor
My instructor is Chris, and right away he created a comfortable, encouraging environment. The feedback was direct and constructive, and by the end of the session I felt like I had a clear picture of what needs work and — more importantly — how to fix it.
Key Focus Areas
1. Hip Rotation vs. Back Rotation
The biggest theme of the lesson was learning to turn my hips on the backswing, not just my back. This is a very common fault — the upper body takes over and the hips get lazy, which throws off the entire kinetic chain. On the downswing, the emphasis was on leading with the left hip and driving it through the ball, rather than swinging with the arms and hoping the body catches up.
2. Head Movement
One clarification that was genuinely helpful: a slight rearward head movement on the backswing is acceptable and natural — the problem is when the hips slide along with it. As long as the hips stay anchored and rotate rather than drift, a little head movement isn’t something to fight. This helped me relax and stop creating unnecessary tension trying to keep everything perfectly still.
3. Hand Position and Eliminating the Flip
A significant part of the session focused on getting my hands into a more forward position at impact and eliminating what’s often called the “flip or casting” — an early release of the wrists that causes the clubface to roll over before contact. The correction is to keep the hands forward through the hitting zone, maintaining shaft lean toward the target rather than letting the wrists collapse and flip the club.
Drills Assigned
Chris gave me three specific drills to work on between now and the next lesson:
Feet Together Swings Stance is narrowed so the feet are together. This removes the ability to rely on lower body width for stability, forcing the golfer to use proper body rotation to maintain balance and generate power. It’s an excellent drill for feeling what a connected, body-driven swing actually feels like.
Pull the Hands Down On the downswing, the focus is on pulling the hands downward rather than throwing the arms outward toward the ball. This keeps the swing in the correct sequence — body first, arms following — and helps prevent the over-the-top move that leads to pulls and slices.
Wrist Hold / Wrist Inflection Drill Take a modest backswing, feel the proper wrist hinge at the top, then drive through and hold the finish position — wrists out in front, hands over the left leg. This drill reinforces keeping the hands leading through impact and trains the feel of a proper release without flipping. Notably, this is very similar to drills being used in other lessons I’ve observed, which suggests it’s a foundational move worth spending real time on.
Results and Observations
By the end of the session, I was hitting some noticeably cleaner shots. Not every one, but enough to feel the difference when the pieces came together. The overall feeling was positive and the instruction was encouraging without glossing over what needs improvement.
I’ll be able to track my progress through the Trackman video, which will be useful for seeing changes develop over time. If i get brave enough I might even post some here. Have to think about that one a little bit.
Action Items Before Next Lesson
- Practice all three drills regularly before the next session
- Bring a notebook to lessons going forward to capture details in real time. I put down our discussions of what to practice before the next round but I worry I missed some.
- Next lesson is scheduled right before a trip to Kansas — stay consistent with practice in the meantime
Bottom Line
Lesson #1 established a clear foundation: rotate the hips, keep the hands forward, and eliminate the slide. These aren’t small tweaks — they’re core mechanics that will affect every shot. I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop over the coming sessions.