I’ve had some exciting breakthroughs in the 10 sessions swinging this season, but I don’t think I’m at the end of the line yet when it comes to leverage.

Basically, I’ve been reducing my left-side impulses, bit by gradual bit, to where I have crossed from swinging left-armed to more right-dominant, but I’m still seeing too much left side influence in both the back pivot and down swing.

Of course, you have to use the leading side to generate the leverage required for an optimal swing, but the question is how to use the leading side with the trailing arm.

The key, in my mind, having done more work in the couple of days since that last session, is in the back pivot to the top – you’ve heard me say that you can’t make a good move from a bad setup, and the same applies further down the track – you can’t make a good down swing from a bad top position.

Ever since Wednesday’s session, something has been nibbling away at me looking at my down swing and impact – of course, I was pleased with how the changes worked out, but there was still something missing.

I knew it at the range as well, because as I’ve mentioned with athletic motions, they’re the easiest to perform – I even at one point said to myself, “Come on, it can’t be that difficult,” and proceeded to tee up a ball, get over it and smash it.

Of course, it was a perfect drive, result-wise:

But there was still something missing in either the way I was setting up over the ball, or with the back pivot, because the down swing was not making me happy.

Bear in mind, I’ve driven balls well over 325 yards and watching the swings on video made me cringe – it’s not about the result for me, because I was never doing this for more distance or more speed – it’s always been about technique.

I slept on it Wednesday night and then, while doing the dismantling and reassembling of the pivot, both back and down, I figured out why, and of course it had to do with my visual of the optimal down swing.

Once I had my desired impact position, I knew the setup position, then I pretended I was just going to swing and smash, and there it was.

You see, there is an element to the optimal swing that requires an athletic mindset, so the model only works properly when you stop trying to consciously move through the positions and just move.

That is, you know your top position and you just get there, instead of focusing on one or more parts of the body.

So, a few days of drilling that back swing pivot with the swing aid (a back swing pivot drill only works well when you add the down swing, so it’s drilling the back swing but making full swings), and then back to the lab.

I know what it’s supposed to look like.

Patience is a virtue, because I’m never stopping until I unlock this swing action.

You’ll know why, when I have done it.

It’s a beautiful thing.

More to come.