It May Take A While 

Kim Anders
Director of Instruction
John Jacobs Golf Schools and Academies Estrella del Mar Golf and Beach Resort
Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, AZ
jkanders4@gmail.com

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Sometimes, my monthly contributions to the Arizona Golfer Magazine come so easily I can barely type fast enough. Other months, I labor for days as to what I should write about. This has been one of those tough months.

Then, this morning I got a call from one of my “kids”, a 50+ kid, who has gone through a tough time with her golf the past year. She used to shoot in the low to mid 80’s, and then slid into a couple of bad habits that caused her to consistently score well over 100!

I won’t go into detail as to what her problem was – I’ll just say she made a move early in her swing that caused everything that followed to be exactly what I didn’t want to see in a golf swing.  

The problem with this move is it is by far the most difficult swing problem to correct. I told her from the beginning this was going to take a while. She can continue to play like she was, to which she replied, “Don’t even say that”, or plan on 6 to 12 months of work to get back to where she used to be, and probably even better.

Fast forward 1 year after a lot of creative drills, sweat, two steps forward one step back, lots of patience and no patience, and of course a lot of tears. After all, she is accustomed to being one of the best players in her area, not one of the best in the fourth or fifth flight!

About 4 weeks ago I got a message from her, she had shot 74 that day, on a tough golf course, with a triple bogey on the first hole!! She was back. She sounded like she used to – positive and loving golf again. She had believed in what we were doing for a long time but it just hadn’t completely come together for her until that day.

This morning “LaDonna” called to let me know she had won her Club Championship yesterday, shooting 76 - 75 - 77. She said she is hitting the ball longer and more consistently than she ever has.  

I’ve done a lot of articles stressing the importance of solid mechanics in the swing. Changes don’t feel good but give them a chance. The importance of having discipline in you game. Set the bar high, but be patient in achieving your goal.  

Get help early. When the wheels start getting a little wobbly, see your PGA Professional. Don’t wait till you’ve run your game off the road and into the ditch.  

Kim Anders is a PGA Professional at Estrella del Mar Golf Community residing in Mazatlan, Sinaloa Mexico. You can reach Kim via email at jkanders4@gmail.com.