Seems like yesterday I was 30 years old and swinging over 130 mph.
Now I’m 55 years old and after seeing a video of how flat my swing had gotten and how broken my left arm had become, I went to the range and did one swing thought, KEEP LEFT ARM SOLID.
Bingo, the best irons I’ve hit in years, absolute LAZERS.
GONE are the snap duck hooks I’ve had for too many years now. My old driver is back, granted no where near as long as 25 years ago, but now that my new swing key is SOLID LEFT ARM (for right handed golfers) my main goal is losing some weight and doing some core strengthening and flexibility training.
The goal is to lose 30 lbs and gain back 30 yards on driver.
As soon as your lead arm breaks down, bingo, you must put the broken arm back into the slot at impact. So reaching back for that extra long swing is why senior golfers suffer from a broken lead arm and that kills crisp irons and consistent driving.
One long range session working on my left arm and now by the 3rd round with it, I’m knocking down pins as good as I ever have.
Driver snap hooks are gone.
My driver is shorter than I’m used to, but I’ll take the fairway and no snap hooks with less distance right now. So I need to lose 30 pounds and work on core strength and flexibility and I can see 30 more yards coming back to my driver in the next 90 days or so.
So in my opinion, the three big things for any senior golfer are:
1. SOLID/STRAIGHT lead arm
2. As much shoulder rotation as your old bones can handle
3. Full hip rotation before impact
I got 90 days until this years US Senior Open qualifiers again.
I got 180 days or so until my first entry into the US Senior Amateur Open this year.
I’m walking 4 miles in the morning and most evenings now to lose some weight.
I’ll probably play 72 holes a week for now. Then bump it up in two months to 6 or more rounds a week.
Some short game practicing and putting.
Some bunker practice.
Some short wedge practice.
Occasional driving range.
Don’t over do the playing so my left elbow doesn’t get sore. It may be the weak left arm is why the last few times I played a lot of golf that my left arm would end up hurting so bad.
So I hope no tendonitis in my left elbow this year.
LOL
STRAIGHT LEFT ARM
That’s a major KEY for seniors and when you’re young it should be how you swing. But if you grove a solid left arm as a kid, you can easily get into a broken lead arm as you age and you try to overswing.
Here are two extreme examples of a very solid lead arm on a young PGA Tour Pro I play with and one that is broken completely down on they typical senior amateur golfer I play with.
The Greats
