[Yoda]

I met lynn blake at the OCN golf course restaurant on a friday night talked about golf swings and mentioned that I thought I had a few flaws in my swing, mostly with body movement and my left arm(left handed). I saw lynn in the parking lot on sunday and he asked me how it was going i told him that I was still exp. the same problems. we proceeded to go through some drills in the parking lot not involving any golf equipment. i played yesterday and on the first hole striped one down the middle 287yds the next hole 280yds the longest drive of the day 291yds prior to the half hour in the parking lot my drives were around 240yds. I've had lessons in the past but nothing has ever produced such a dramatic change.

Thanks for the boost, Barry. Our chance meeting in the parking lot gave us both an opportunity to learn.

For the Forum, here's what happened . . .

I had been teaching all week at Orange County National in Orlando and was loading up the car late Sunday afternoon in preparation for my trip back to Atlanta the next morning. As I walked toward the bag drop for my gear, Barry had finished his round and was walking away from it. As fate would have it, we met in the middle.

We had introduced ourselves the previous Friday evening in the resort's 19th hole and had talked some golf. But talkin' ain't doin', and doin' is what gets it done! So, as we stood there in the parking lot, I asked him to make a couple of 'swings' for me -- neither of us had a club -- and he did.



Then we got down to business!



A major part of our training consisted of Barry and I walking side-by-side and straight ahead (say, south to north) while swinging our arms freely and continuously in front of our advancing bodies and in a "parallel motion" (west to east and back again). We would walk about 30 yards, and then turn around and repeat the drill returning to our starting location. We must have been quite a sight, because more than one group of departing golfers stopped and stared.

We did this over and over until Barry was able to coordinate a free arm swing -- independent of a twisting torso -- with the likewise independent 'walking' of his legs. It's simple once you get it, but it's a little harder to do than you may think. Try it!

The key is to be on your right foot as you swing back and on your left foot as you swing through. At first, Barry would do exactly the opposite, i.e., he was on his left foot as he swung back and on his right foot as he swung through. And he would take big, ponderous giant steps -- not a natural walking step at all! -- as he attempted the coordination. We stopped and started more than a few times (and shared more than one laugh) as he gradually got the hang of it.

For more of our lesson and Barry's transformation, stay tuned for Part II!