When you get too shallow, do what I do – try the ball forward chop move. My invention is a movement pattern I used successfully in 2001 to undo a severely over-the-top backswing set and a big draw/hook pattern. I had difficulty playing a tree-lined golf course. After a spate of thin and heeled shots yesterday, I had to make a frustration change. After hitting one ball with my FBCM, I started kicking myself for forgetting the simplicity of the change.

First, keep your stance open. The visual you need at the end of the process doesn’t change during the process. You can easily enough direct your ball to land near your target. I played nine holes yesterday on Las Colinas, and struck the ball beautifully, after only a day into the change.

Second, Move your ball position to or ahead of your lead foot along your target line. The bottom of our chop swing is well-forward of “standard”. You may strike your ball thin until your position is forward enough. Conversely, if your ball position is forward enough, you will get an indication of how much more to adapt your change to your ball position.

Third, Keep your shoulders square to the target. FBCM move is about steepening your arm-swing and shaft set. Open shoulders necessitate a shallower arm-swing – negating our FBCM efficacy. Once your impact is optimized your desired shot curvature, or lack thereof, is a more standard combination of ball position and club set at the top.

Here is where I tell you what you can anticipate, if you choose to accept it. Your impact interacts with the ground beautifully in sound and sight. The pleasure you get will sustain your adaptation. You will take your changes to your golf course and see you can actually play effective golf during your process. I enjoy the challenge. After my FBCM practice, I teed it up and was even after seven holes before running into a foursome that spoiled things.

However, on the eighth tee, which is our #1 handicap hole, I mashed a fade uphill and into a breeze that measured 295. I was obviously alerted that I am on the right track. When I square my path (Down the road), the direct force on my ball will be even greater.

Notice in the following video that my backswing length remains, so don’t worry about your ability to create power. Additionally, notice my trailing elbow position and posture at impact. Nothing has been sacrificed to make my FBCM move. Just be ready to apply your force on an oblique angle to your ball, WHICH WILL CURVE. Allow it.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

Ball Position With an Open Stance

Our Stance, Ball Position, and AdaptatIon Form Our Practice

How Our Feet Can Change Our Ball Position

Welcome to my practice session. After two and a half years away, I’ve been back at it for a month. In these spots, I’ll go over my ideas, changes, errors, and successes in creating the game I want to have. Many times, instructors ask you to do a drill to get better knowing they are backed up by an industry and history of word pictures and drills that indemnify them.

The Open Stance Academy knows there is a process, with no shortcuts, that leads to efficiency. My new segment is me putting my money where my mouth is. I subject myself to the better or worse of my process so you have a guide when your process gets frustrating. In other words, I’m in it with you.

Here is the first installment with camera malfunction, and bad shots included. I had a “behind the shot” view for the eighty-yard wedge and a fifty-yard wedge swing grouping that are missing (never recorded, as previously thought). Those camera malfunctions aside, if I could guide you to the reps. up through my bag….

I was surprised to see that my stance was barely open with my long clubs and that my shoulders were open with nearly all. My mistakes WILL. BE. REMEDIED. in my next session. Working with video is absolutely invaluable, as if I needed to say it. However, I do need to get an iPad stand and shade. That sucker gets HOT after three hours in the sun.

Practice along with me.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

Add Intention To Your Practice

Bunker Session Broad Stroke

Welcome To The Open Stance Academy’s New Home – MISSION INN RESORT

The following video covers practice ideas for flop shots around the greens. Make this video the foundation of your practice when you want to flop drop and roll. What I left unsaid in the video is the importance of keeping your hips FROM OPENING in the flop shot techniques.

Practice Regimen – 100 reps. per situation
Shot Goal – Get every ball inside 4 feet
Shot Objective – Strike every ball in the sweet spot
Movement goal – Measure out swing length
Movement objective – Keep hips from opening until after impact

Lee Trevino Recommends a Flatter Swing

How To Manage Your Short Game in Bermuda Grass

Bermuda Grass Short Game Techniques: Part 1 (bitchute.com)

Bunker Session Broad Stroke

Controlling spine angle with arm swing is one example of how ideas, positions, and compensations meet to form a golf swing around the concept of impact. Perfect impact requires a perfect idea around which to form motion. That’s why I founded The Open Stance Academy.

The following video is nothing explanatory in and of itself. I use my own swing, within my own rediscovery process, to give my students an idea of how the process of perfecting impact works. For example, after three weeks, I am hitting 400 balls per session.

I’m working on first things. Before I can make lasting swing changes, my body has to be ready first. I stretch for fifteen minutes before each session. Even when I was at 100 reps in week one, my stretch routine was the same.

I notice my hands are getting much stronger. I know it because now my clubs feel like toothpicks. Hence, I loaded them up with lead tape until I could feel the heads again. Hand strength comes before perfect impact. Of course, when I say perfect impact, I mean every time.

Here is my current move.

If I were correcting in the opposite direction, I’d be swinging my arm more upright to offset with more spine tilt behind the ball/neutral/less inverted at impact. What a great sport we chose! Be gentle.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

Why The Open Stance Controls Your Trailing Elbow

We Believe Golfers Should Have Total Control Of Their Improvement

Show Them Your Sole at Impact

Controlling spine angle with arm swing is pretty simple, in theory. And, of course, all the following are independent of set-up orientation.

I was swiping some bullets the other day trying to fight off the retrograde and initiate a new topic for your reading pleasure, and I thought I’d circumvent the Open Stance and get to more mechanical offsets for steepening and shallowing your impact. The following Open Stance Academy video on Bitchute.com is a moment in a process… nothing profound yet. Before – DTL and after – FO.

Our golf swing is nothing but a series of offsets for optimizing impact and our intention with our golf ball. For example, if move your arms flatter or steeper, we will automatically and athletically compensate with a corresponding action. Sometimes, we get into a Funk where we are using one action subconsciously without the benefit of its offset. That’s when we struggle.

If you are topping your 3-wood, for example, that implies, sight unseen, that your shoulders are open before and during impact. Why are shoulders found in an open position? Invariably, our arm swing is too shallow (Flat). If we are standing tall, we get heel hits and shanks. Arm swings don’t generally get too flat if we have sufficient bend at the waist, because swings are measured by the target plane..

So, the next logical question is, why do arm swings get too shallow or flat? Well, follow the logic. A flat arm swing is a subconscious shallowing mechanism for impact, and we are standing tall. What is left to steepen impact that pre-dates entry into our subconscious? Our answer would have to be something physiological, something unique to us. In case of the swing I’m describing, Plane was determined by where our club shaft points at the top of our swing is most often an unconscious pre-condition.

In my next book (Whenever I force myself to sit down and write it), I’ll discuss human idiosyncratic swing traits per year of birth. Grip, posture, set-up orientation, rhythm, etc. are all on the table. Did you know you move in a very predictable way because of the year of your birth? We all do.

Getting back to the topic… A flat arm swing develops in an attempt to gain “A longer backswing”, which is a conscious, quicksand idea. We think because one accomplished golfer recommended it or has a long backswing that its is a necessary for everyone to get to our goal. NO! Backswing length obsession will ruin every swing it touches.

So, we have a objective ruining our goal. We have an underlying club-set predisposition, from which we are trying to get back to the ball with offsets. Layed-off is the start in the unconscious. Upright posture is subconscious. The ultimate, open-shouldered position (Inversion) is the subconscious fix. However, the poison pill is the conscious, flat arm swing based on a fallacy. Anyway, controlling spine angle with arm swing is not plane dependent. Spine angle is a relative measure.

In conclusion, if your arm swing is more upright, your spine angle behind your ball, at impact, will increase to move your ball back into strikable position (Forward). If your arm swing is flat, your spine angle will be less neutral and more inverted, depending on arm-swing severity, to move your ball back into strikable position (Backward).

My layed-off, upright-posture student had heel strikes and topped 3 woods because he instinctively inverted to control his ball position and shot direction. He did so because his arm swing was flat due to a distance goal. I asked him to swing his leading arm upright, and he immediately pounded two dead straight and long. #OSAHappiness

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

Why The Open Stance Controls Your Trailing Elbow

It Is Not The Fade That Creates Control

A “Flat” Golf Swing Is A Relative Term

The following video was a one-take symposium on how to manage your short game in Bermuda Grass. All my videos are one take, in fact. That original Open Stance Explanation was one take. Too bad I don’t have the one-minute spot for the video. It was a perfect sixty second promotion in one take – no shot clock.

In the wake of that spot, the Open Stance has silently taken over the golf world. In the short game video to follow, my goal is to provide the general options for clubbing and approaching these shots. I suppose the philosophy to which I subscribe is completely Ballesteros/Mickelson. Maybe it’s my age, or maybe it’s the expression of freedom found in changing my technique at-will and on-call per situation.

Perhaps you are a guy who likes a wedge library in his garage bag. There have been some very good players who opted for this approach. They are unafflicted with the variability inherent in short game creativity. Thus, they buy a wedge for any possible playing condition. It’s valid. I think of it as sad. But that’s my opinion. I’m no more right than wrong.

But let’s focus on the positive…. Every golfer has a palette of colors and mixtures based on their particular short game philosophy. Seve had more than Phil. Phil has more than anyone else. I say that because Seve used a greater variety of clubs around the green. He tailored his club choice for the shot required. Phil, who is immensely genius also, shoehorns every shot into fewer club choices. If there was a contest with a 56-degree sand wedge, I’d have to take Seve.

As someone who has been and intends to be again – sticky around the greens, I use a variety of clubs and develop multiple shots with each. For instance, I hit flop shots with my eight iron – not because I’ll ever use it in actual play, but because it makes me focus on set-up. Anything that encourages attention to set-up is productive because intention is ever-present in set-up deliberations.

When I say Digging Into Bermuda: Short Game Death, It’s pejorative, sure. However, it encompasses a common philosophical necessity per the turf and ground condition. Get to the result any way you like. But the broad-stroke message for everyone is a shallow angle of attack.

Have Fun. Enjoy the Sun.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

Short Game Technique is Everything

The Key To Great Wedge Play Is Eye-solation

The Physics of A Flat Downswing

Here is the bunker session broad stroke I promised Jay. Remember keeping the club face pointed (perpendicular) to your intended start line is implied in every orientation. Never mind the thumbnail cover.

Obviously, this doesn’t cover every situation because bunker play is an art. There are thousands of colors to blend to get the desired hue. We can choose from dozens of strokes to apply the “paint”. Every golfer wanting mastery of bunker play has to learn to mix and apply their palate of skill to any given canvas.

On this day, I practiced bunker shots for two hours, chipped and pitched for an hour, and hit a small bucket. I was doing terribly until I remembered to tilt behind the ball slightly. Then, everything fell into place, and my skill began to return.

In my next session, I’ll build on the set-ups that correspond to each different shot, and I’ll refine my swinging and ground interaction… and so on. If you approach bunker play as painting a canvas, it may help slow down your mind and process. Be in the mode of creating, not succeeding. Success is binary. Creating has no definitions and therefore, no corners. I might suggest adopting a Jazz mentality. Let yourself spiral around a set-up orientation/shot requirement combination and pay attention to patterns.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

The One Common Swing Link In Every Fade

Timing Has Nothing To Do With Feel

Clubs Too Upright Are Your Swing’s Dynamite

You may wonder how to show them your sole at impact. Here’s how I do it.

My devices for converting my idea into motion may be different than your own. When I say I’m trying to lunge ahead to reverse pivot, it’s because I’ve cultivated what some would call extreme leg drive and spine tilt away from the target over these past years. And, I want to undo that dynamic.

My golf swing will, as a result, become flatter with arm swing and steeper with spine angle along the target line, which offset in the new regime. As I mention, my devices not only don’t hurt my impact, they help it. This video is two days in to a two month hiatus on the back of two years of two complete rounds per year. In other words … two years of almost no play. Below is my blurry recollection of similar intent from two years hence.

Therefore, my goal here is to reestablish perfect impact first, which means intentional set up married to intentional motion. I’ll have to accumulate a lot of reps from here. By the way, I practice my short game twice as much as full swing. I’ll post a bunker video tomorrow.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

Steepen Impact/Flatten Swing With an Open Stance

The Physics of A Flat Downswing

Why Tour Players’ Heads Move “Down” Through Impact

What a great way to kick off 2022! An Open Stance devotee from way back decided to write in about his experience and gratitude for discovering the Open Stance and our forum here. Please take a minute to read what he wrote here….

“I am an early follower of the open stance philosophy. One of your first to comment on it on you tube. Many others now have begun teaching it under a different name there and you see it being used by many successful PGA tour players. I believe though that your quiet introduction of it and your continued efforts to educate the masses of the benefits of its use deserves kudos. You may not have invented it but you certainly have fanned the flames to make it spread like wildfire. Hope for your continued success. Thank you sir.”
Mike Barnett

Kind words are even better when they are authentic. I’ve never met Mike, but I’m sure we would have plenty of stories to share about our evolution within a shared philosophy. His acknowledgement speaks for many of you, I’m sure.

2022 may be the year that The Open Stance breaks out of its slumber and in the golfing mainstream. But, even if it doesn’t, more and more elite to novice golfers will discover why it works for them, too. What started as pages of notes turned into a literal game-changer.

I’m glad you all knew first. What a great way to kick off 2022.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

Testimonials

Lee Trevino Recommends a Flatter Swing

Rory Does It Tooooooooooo!

The Open Just Won The Open

Welcome to The Open Stance Academy’s new home – Mission Inn Resort! Thank you to Michael Bowery and Roy Schindler for their warm welcome. They are two class individuals and breaking new ground at Florida’s Greatest Golf Destination.

I met the Founder’s daughter, Donna, on my first visit. I felt touched by her wistful account of her father’s dream. Her desire to make Mission Inn Resort the preeminent golf destination is laudable. She and her whole team understand passion, determination, and dedication to cultivating potential. Additionally, after talking to Michael and Donna, I became an instant convert and immediate champion of their goals, plans, and successes for and at Mission Inn.

My introduction to the Mission Inn management team was in late August last year. It’s a story about going outside our comfort zone, in a way. You remember this article This Is Why Gurbaaz Mann Is The World’s Best Club-Fitter? It led to acknowledgement of kindred spirits, which led to partnering here.

Well, I received a text from my friend, Gurbaaz Mann. We agreed to look for an opportunity to throw our expertise into a common goal. Baaz took the suggestion of one of his tour players, he contacted the MI team I later met. Consequently, Gurbaaz and MI teammates became mutually impressed (I told you he was impressive) with one another. Furthermore, Baaz said the Mission Inn operation was “like a family”. I was sold on meeting them.

I revisited Mission Inn in November to soak up the atmosphere. Well-wishes and warm gestures of friendship were and are around every corner. I thought, “2022 is going to be a great year”. Apparently, Mission Inn has that effect on lots of people. Therefore, I extended a fond farewell to all my great Virginia members.

The hotel is gorgeous. The detached formal and informal dining clubhouse overlooks El Campeon and its lakes below. Nightlife is complete with restaurants on site (and well-stocked Cantina). I’ve been teasing my Instagram followers long enough. Come play at the most laudable, legendary, and limitless golf destination in America. Mission Inn Resort is tucked into dramatic hills just 20 minutes North of “The most magical place on Earth” (Wink, Wink).

I’ll post programs and lesson rates by next weekend. Stay and play school and golf packages are on the way. See you soon.

John Wright – Founder
The Open Stance Academy

An Interview With Gurbaaz Mann, The World’s Greatest Club-Fitter

1,500 hours In 2020, and The Verdict Is In

The Secret in The Open Stance