Mr. Smooth - Previously Published Sporting Clays Article by Dan Schindler
Most misses are caused by swings that are out of control. The number one cause of loss of control is incorrect swing speed, in most cases going too fast.


/Guns and Firearms News Articles/ - FLAT ROCK, NC, July 21, 2008 - My good friend and Paragon teacher, Bob Standish, sent me an email the other day asking me how my day went. Things have been a bit stressful around here so I'd taken a few hours to myself. I thought Bob might appreciate my afternoon enlightenment and possibly you would too.

Bob,
Nice of you to ask.
Late this afternoon, I went to the driving range to explore my theory that slowing my swing down by a substantial margin would give me a better golf shot, knowing how critical it is in our sport. As a Paragon teacher, you understand that testosterone has little value in a shotgun swing and "touch" with a shotgun is arguably the singular most important aspect of good shooting delivering much needed control of the shot during the swing.

Here's how my session went.

After buying a bucket of balls, I didn't have my clubs so the manager looked under his mower in the gardening shed and found a 7 iron, a 3 wood and a driver. The woods were typical driving range clubs, both bent at the hozzle, but,.......what the hey.

I haven't hit a golf ball since 1985. Lifting the bucket off the counter I walked to the driving range with a confident, easy stride and did my he-man stretches and a push up so the young guns could watch, knowing they would be impressed.

The 7 iron was about 30" long. With my lower back on fire and in spasms, the club nearly crippled me after a dozen swings. I think the sounds behind me were oohs and ahhhs of admiration but I'm not sure. Anyway, even the pros take divots. Mine were the size of your Subaru but hey,...distance isn't everything. And, I got to walk out and pick up my ball each time so I got better value from my bucket than those other guys.

With the grace of a touring pro I planted the 7 iron, proud of the new drainage trench at the end of the practice area and waited for the charley horse in both legs to subside.

I picked up the Driver, knowing only sissies use 3 woods, then told myself slow, slow, slow. Be graceful. Think smoooooth. Went into a nice, slowwww wind up and swoooooosh, CUT IT LOOSE! Missed the ball completely and my follow thru had me facing the parking lot. OK, strike one. Old baseball swing habits die hard. Hard to admit it, but it did seem there was a tiny bit of room for improvement here. And, as a preacher of positive thinking, I remembered that after many swings, I still had all of my golf balls.

Regroup.......

***
This Sporting Clays Article was previously published in Sporting Clays Magazine by Dan Schindler in December 2005.

The Paragon School of Sporting is now making available the remainder of this article as well as numerous others, available for download on The Paragon School of Sporting Website:(http://www.paragonschool.com/catalog)

Sporting clays continues to be an elegant sport born of long tradition, fulfilling our wingshooting passion to experience the wing and shot. Feather and clay, inescapably tied, grants us so many learning opportunities to hone our skills, a path of personal growth that affords us a refreshing, unbiased look at ourselves. Time and again, my students have learned how entirely more capable they are than once thought. The American sporting clays shooter can honestly and proudly say, in a very short period, he has indeed advanced to take his rightful place among the best in the world. And, let's not forget, no one is having more fun out here than you and I are.

The events, times, places and persons in my articles are all true. While I changed a name here and there, 100% of the information came from my experiences with you. Each tournament, each lesson, each experience with you generated the material for my work. I am grateful.

We hope you enjoyed the first part of the article and will visit us online to browse the numerous collection that is available. Until then, happy Sporting!

For More Information, Please Contact Us At:
The Paragon School of Sporting
http://www.paragonschool.com
P. O. Box 1276
Flat Rock, NC 28731
Tel: (828) 693-6600
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