Many people are skeptical about taking golf lessons. Either they have had a bad experience in the past, or they simply don’t believe in their own ability to make the necessary changes and fear going backward. Well, having watched a recent lesson that PGA Professional Matt Fryer gave to 7-handicap Graham Baddeley, I am even more convinced than ever that seeking out a high-quality coach is absolutely the best way to improve your game.
Watch: Matt Fryer finds this 7 handicap golfer 30 yards off the tee!
Graham came to his lesson on the back of a recent custom-fitting session in which he was fitted into a new Fujikura Ventus TR Black 6-X driver shaft. Despite the shaft significantly tightening his dispersion and optimizing his launch and spin, Graham still felt there were a couple of technical flaws within his swing that were resulting in an uncharacteristic and annoying left-to-right ball flight which he wanted to address. Cue Matt Fryer!
Before even hitting any shots, Matt took some considerable time to chat with Graham to get a deeper understanding of his overall game. They discussed things such as playing history, desired shot shape, what type of golf courses he normally played, and even if he had any injuries or physical restrictions. At the end of this chat, Matt was very clear on what Graham was looking to achieve from the session and began to observe some initial ball flights.
Using the Foresight Sports GC Quad launch monitor, Matt began to observe exactly what Graham had described, with his driver flights curving excessively off to the right. Further analysis of the data showed a somewhat descending blow with a path traveling approximately 5-6 degrees out-to-in. Knowing that the shaft was optimized for Graham, Matt was sure it was a technical issue causing this delivery and began to observe Graham’s setup more intently.
Matt deemed that Graham was set up with his shoulders too level to the ground, and pointing off to the left of the target, with a spine angle that was tilted towards the target. All of these pre-swing principles were pointing towards the ‘down and left’ delivery that Matt had observed on the launch monitor. After a brief explanation, Matt then demonstrated some more functional positions to his student and finally maneuvered Graham into a better setup. Although it appeared to feel a little alien to Graham, he took his first swing from his upgraded setup position and produced a laser straight bullet that carried more than 20 yards further than his previous efforts causing Matt to step away and ‘drop the mic’!
Several further swings produced comparable results, with the fade entirely eradicated from his game. A further look at the launch monitor confirmed what Matt suspected and the delivery path had changed by 4-5 degrees on average which completely altered the ball flight.
What struck me observing this was the incredible simplicity this huge result was achieved with. There was not a single ‘swing’ change; it was just a tweak to the setup that did all the in-swing work for the player. As far as Graham was concerned, he was putting the exact same swing on the ball but producing very different results.
Neutralising the delivery, coupled with a well-fit driver shaft that optimized all of Graham’s ball flight numbers has turned what was very much a weakness in his game into a real strength.
Watching this 45-minute session absolutely reaffirmed the benefit of high-quality custom fitting and coaching in my mind. If you are serious about improving your game, I believe it is absolutely essential to do both.
