Tags:practice, champion, tournament, NBS, no backswing swing
I decided that today was the perfect day to hit a few buckets of balls, or as they call it at my club, "The Vijay." The Vijay is nearly large enough for me to sit in when empty, and on several occasions, I have simply found a quarter Vijay left over from a golfer that decided that it was too many balls for him (it's approximately 300 balls). I wanted to hit that many balls because I was testing out a new swing that I read about in GOLF Magazine, called the No Backswing Swing (NBS). The NBS is supposed to eliminate 70% of swing errors by eliminating all of the errors caused by an improper takeaway.

Calling it a no backswing swing is sort of a falacy, as there is a backswing, it is simply divided into two parts. Step 1 is to address the ball as normal, and then in step 2, bring the club back until your left arm is parallel to the ground, and your club shaft is aiming down the target line (which is how your backswing would normally look at that point in your takeaway).  Now, I don't have my magazine with me right now, so correct me if I'm mistaken in the name. Step 3 is called the Pump, and it is like a mini-backswing from the step 2 position. In step 3, make sure that you bring your shoulder a full 90 degrees, and then start your downswing. The NBS is supposed to help eliminate pulls and help you hit it straighter. And I'm pleasantly surprised with the results that I had.

It took a lot of balls for me to get it, but after probably 3/4 of a regular size bucket of balls, I was hitting straighter, longer and more consistently. I'm not perfect, but I've always had a terrible slice off the tee, and have resorted to using a 3 Wood instead of a driver for quite some time. But after hitting lots and lots of balls with my driver using the NBS, I feel a lot more confident. The biggest thing for me was that I discovered that I had been cocking my wrists too early all this time, and the NBS is going to help me correct that problem.

One thing that I failed to mention about the NBS set-up is to make sure that your weight shifts and stays over your spine. This adds a lot of power. If you haven't been keeping your spine centered with your weight shift, this is going to take some getting used to, and you may have a sore lower back for a while (but who wouldn't after hitting 300 balls with a driver). But I am hitting further and straighter; but most importantly, with more confidence. Next Saturday, the whole company is going to see that I have come to keep my title, not pass it on!