Oops, I am half way home! I have now taken the certification test to become a Certified Class 'A' PGA Member with emphasis on instruction, and I have passed the teaching portion. But, I did not do as well on the core portion of the exam, which focuses on turf grass management, food and beverage, tournament operations, and merchandising. So I must retake only the core portion in May. I will play to my strengths though and keep on teaching!

Now, let's get back to where we left off with the impact position last month. The number one imperative in the golf swing is a mandatory flat left wrist for a right-handed golfer or a flat right wrist for a left-handed golfer at impact. The equivalent to a flat left wrist is a bent right wrist for the right-handed golfer or a bent left wrist for a lefty.

As you are sitting at your computer or smart phone, put your two hands together as if you were holding a club. Now, create these all important wrist alignments and make sure you bend the right wrist back if you are right handed or bend the left wrist back if you are left handed. The wrist conditions at address are completely different from the wrist alignments at impact and must be treated as such.

It must be understood that the wrists should be supple, flexible, and oily. Avoid tension! A key component to achieving the flat lead wrist is understanding clearly the importance of striking the golf ball on a descending blow. "Down makes the ball go up." Therefore, never lift, scoop, or help the ball into the air. The condition of the shaft at impact during an ascending strike is a decelerating alignment and will create lead wrist breakdown as a result.

The hands and wrists together control two separate functions of the golf club. They control the clubface and the clubhead. For the purposes of this newsletter, we are concerned with clubhead control only. The flat left wrist and its equivalent, the bent right wrist, combined with the all important downward blow on the golf ball will promote the forward lean of the shaft at impact. For some of you who have never taken a divot after the ball, this is your solution.

At the Classic Swing Golf School, we know the answer is in the dirt. Soil conservation is not our business, and we are truly a divot taking golf academy. Also, the hands do not just get to the ball before the clubhead, they actually go past the golf ball before the arrival of the clubhead. "Whoosh it late to whoosh it great." Have an awesome spring!

Ted Frick
2005 Carolinas PGA Section Teacher of the Year
Owner / Director of Instruction
Classic Swing Golf School (Located at Legends Resort)
P.O. Box 50955 Myrtle Beach, SC 29579
(843) 903-5560
1-800-827-2656
tfrick@classicswing.com
www.classicswing.com