L.A.B. Putter

A new technology in putters hit the market in 2019.  It is from an American company called L.A.B. Golf.  The patented technology of the putter, Lie Angle Balance, is designed to keep the putter face square to the swing path automatically without any manipulation by the golfer.  The technology does work.

Click here to learn more about the L.A.B. putters.

Traditional putters require the golfer to consciously manipulate the putter to keep the putter face parallel to the swing path (putting drills, left hand low grip, claw grip, armlock, broom stick putter).  The golfer is searching for the putter or technique, the “touch,” that rolls the ball the desired distance and direction and into the hole.  This is the “magic” that all golfers are looking for in a technique or putter.  The “magic” is the manipulation of the putter face during the swing to be square to the swing path.  When the “magic” disappears, the search begins for the next putter or technique.  The L.A.B. putter does remove the need to manipulate the putter.  The L.A.B. putter simplifies the putting motion.  Just swing the hands and arms and allow the putter to swing instead of making the putter swing.

The L.A.B. putter is not for everyone.  In order to obtain the benefits of the putter, it requires the golfer to change the putting technique to do less, to let the club swing without the any manipulations that have become ingrained in the golfer’s putting stroke.  This is easy to say but hard to do.

This is why I think the tour pros that use this putter use either a broomstick or armlock shaft length.  With a conventional shaft length, the stroke is too similar to the stroke using a conventional putter, but need to do less.  That may be hard for some golfers to do.  Since the putter requires a different stroke, then going to a broomstick or armlock stroke is different enough to be easier to repeat without to doing the subconscious manipulation

How I use the L.A.B. Putter

I have the Mezz.1 Max Custom putter with the following specifications: Length: 35”, Lie Angle: 63 degrees, Shaft: L.A.B. Golf x TPT, Grip: Press II 1.5 degree textured, Alignment Mark: Dot.

My fitting determined that my lie angle should be 63 degrees.  I did a fitting using the virtual fitting and also did a fitting at the PGA Superstore.  The virtual fitting recommended 63 degrees and the PGA Superstore fitting recommended 62.5.  I went with 63 degrees, the flattest lie angle L.A.B. provides.  All my conventional putters I had to fit to the more upright lie angle.  With the L.A.B. fitting, I got fit to what felt comfortable to me, an amazing concept.

I do not use my hands to manipulate the putter head to swing square to the swing path.  My focus is to have my shoulders swing back and forth and feel the butt end of the putter swing back and forth in my hands.  The L.A.B. putter automatically swings square to the swing path.  I feel the shoulders swing back and forth and I allow the butt of the putter to swing back and forth in my hands.  I feel two separate swing motions: my shoulders and the putter.

The L.A.B. putter is an expensive putter, but it cost as much as my driver with the AutoFlex shaft.  I use my driver 14 times a round while I use my putter more than twice that number of times a round.  I want my scores to improve so it is worth it to me to invest in a club that gives me the best chance to lower my scores with fewer three-putts and more one-putts.

 

 

 

AutoFlex Golf Shaft

A new golf shaft hit the market in 2020.  It is from a Korean company called Dumina.  The characteristics of this shaft is different from other shafts on the market.  It is said to use “Korean Hidden Technology.”   Whatever the technology, it does work.  The AutoFlex shaft is very light (40 grams), very flexible (170 CPM), and very expensive ($800)

The benefits are faster club head and ball speed and tighter shot dispersion.  The difference between the Autoflex and other light weight flexible shafts is that the AutoFlex provides a definite “kick” in the power zone that is not found in other light weight flexible shafts.

Instead of the normal L, A, R, S, X shaft flexes, the AutoFlex is fit by the swing speed.

The AutoFlex is not for everyone.  In order to attain the benefits of the AutoFlex, it requires a smooth transitioned swing without any jerky or violent motion.  Senior golfers that are losing their strength can benefit with more distance if they can adopt a smooth swing.  It might be said that the AutoFlex is an expensive swing trainer!

The Autoflex does require some “tuning” to achieve optimal results.  The most common adjustment is in the swing weight.   The shaft responds better to lighter swing weights.  The swing weight recommended for my shaft, the SF305X, is C5-C9.  For my Titleist TSR1 driver, I replaced the standard 9g weight with a 3g weight.  So, it helps to have a driver that has removable weights.  I have found that using lead tape to add some weight makes a difference in the flex of the shaft.  I could feel a difference in the flex with just a change of an eighth-gram of lead tape.

The feel of the proper flex is the feel of the shaft “kick” just before contact with the ball.  If the swing weight is too light, the feel of the shaft will feel “stiff” and no feeling of the kick.  If the swing weight is too heavy, the feel of the shaft will feel “soft” and the club head will feel like it is lagging and no feeling of the kick.

Using a driver that has an adjustable adapter is also beneficial. the AutoFlex’s flex is sensitive to the changes in adapter settings.  I could feel differences in the various settings.  Each setting had a different ball flight and I could feel that a setting had a stiffer or more flexible feel when I swung the club.  That being said, you MUST have a repeatable swing in order to do try “tuning” the AutoFlex by changing adapter settings or changing weights.

I have the AutoFlex in my driver, fairway wood, hybrid, iron, and wedge.  I have added distance and accuracy in the driver and fairway wood.  The hybrid and iron shafts did not add any advantage other than a lighter club weight, which I like.  The feel of the AutoFlex hybrid and iron shafts feel like my regular flex steel shafts.

I think golfers who are looking for more distance and accuracy, and are willing to use a smooth and rhythmic swing, will like the AutoFlex shaft.

Some golf professionals that use Autoflex are Lee Trevino and Catriona Matthew.

https://autoflex.co.kr/wF01/inc/main.asp

Feel an Efficient Swing

Most golfers have inefficient down swings.  By this, I mean they are wasting energy.  An efficient down swing uses the least amount of energy to create the greatest result.  If you watch the LPGA golfers, you will see women who are barely over five feet tall hit their drives 250 yards.  That is what I mean by efficient.

Energy is built by creating tension like drawing back the string of an archery bow.  It is a fallacy to say that there should be no tension in the golf swing.  What is meant is that there should be no tightness in the golf swing.  If there is tightness in the golf swing, resistance cannot be created. Tension is the feeling of stretch created by resistance.

Back Swing

  • Feel the chin swing to the right and feel the top of the right thigh “bounce” to the left
  • Using maximum energy, feel the back inside of the ball of the right foot “bounce” down and feel the top of the right pectoral stretch up
  • Feel the momentum swing the right shoulder, upper arms, and hands up
  • Feel the point at the top inside of the right leg remain fixed in space while the upper and lower body pivot around the fixed point

The momentum of the coil created by the active back swing swings the arms and hands up quickly.  The coil should be actively quick: not slow or jerky.

How long should the back swing be?  Every golfer has their own optimal back swing length.  The key is to be aware of the amount of stretch that will result in the most distance.  The amount of optimal stretch is much less than what most golfers realize.   My blog post, “Do More by Doing Less,” describes how to find the maximum back swing length.

The “Bounce”

The “bounce” is an important part of an efficient golf swing.  The concept of an efficient “bounce” in the golf swing is unknown in traditional golf instruction.  The “bounce” in the golf swing is done unconsciously in accomplished golfers.  The “bounce” is a very quick and very short action to generate the maximum snap in the opposite direction.  For example, to create the snap up of the back inside of the ball of the right foot in the back swing, feel the back inside of the ball of the right foot start with a subtle stretch down before doing a very quick and very short “bounce” down to generate a forceful snap up.  The “bounce” is not visible, but the effect of the “bounce” is seen.  So, the quick downward “bounce” of the back inside of the ball of the right foot is not visible, but the resulting upward snap is seen.  In an efficient golf swing, the “bounce” is executed by the lower body, upper body, arms, and hands.

Key Components of the Down Swing

The arms snapping down over a supporting lower body is the most efficient method to cause the club to snap toward the target.  The following describes how to effectively snap the arms down.

Stretch

Feel the right pectoral stretch up some more, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up and feel the stretch up of the hands mature.  The Stretch causes a counter move of the left hip shifting onto the left foot, as the shoulders continue to coil, that Ben Hogan feels is the most important move to start the down swing.  My blog post, “How to use the Fingers,” describes how to feel the stretch in the hands.

Snap

Feel the bottom of the front right hip bone “bounce” up and feel the hands “bounce” up.  This causes the left side to snap up to the left and causes the arms to snap down and up to the finish.

The Stretch followed by the Snap occurs very quickly, less than a tenth of a second, to produce an efficient golf swing.  It is important to feel the arms snap down and up to the finish and not care where the ball is going.  The ball will go somewhere.

Do Vertical Motion but Feel Horizontal Motion

It is more efficient and precise to use vertical motion to create horizontal motion.  This concept is crucial to creating an efficient golf swing.  It is important to do vertical (up and down) motions but feel horizontal motion.  The horizontal motion is created because the arms are attached to the shoulder and the upper body is attached to the spine.  The attachments of the arms and the upper body are pivot points that transform vertical motion to horizontal motion.

During the back swing, feel the back inside of the ball of the right foot “bounce” down and feel and feel the top of the right pectoral stretch up.  Feel the momentum swing the right shoulder, arms, and hands up.

During the Stretch, feel the right pectoral stretch up some more, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up and feel the stretch up of the hands mature.

During the Snap, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone “bounce” up and feel the hands “bounce” up.  This causes the left side to snap up and causes the arms to snap down and up to the finish.  Vertical (up and down) motion provides the best chance for a solid impact of the club to the ball.

Golfers with efficient swings do vertical motions and allow the body to react in order to feel horizontal motion of the arms and the club.  Golfers with inefficient swings do manipulative horizontal and diagonal motions.  Embrace the concept of doing vertical motions and feeling horizontal motion to create an efficient down swing.

When the arms use vertical motion in the down swing, gravity is being exploited because the force of gravity’s direction is down.  The force of gravity is also powerful with an acceleration of 32 ft/sec/sec.  Any attempt to use horizontal motion is very inefficient because horizontal motion does not exploit the force of gravity efficiently.  Young and strong golfers can be inefficient because they are young and strong.  Older golfers cannot overcome inefficient motion and lose distance dramatically because they lose their strength and explosiveness as they age.  Using vertical motion and gravity can extend the years a golfer can continue to play from the back tees.

The Slot

When professional golfers talk about feeling the club dropping down into “the slot” on the down swing, the slot is not at a fixed location at the right of the body.  What they are feeling is the vertical motion of the right upper arm.  The club dropping into the “slot” is automatic when vertical motion is used.  The position of the “slot” is always in front of the upper body.  The slot moves to where the upper body stops at the end of the back swing.

Empty Forearms

The proper use of the fingers as described in my blog post, “How to Use the Fingers,” relaxes the wrists and forearms and eliminates any attempt to hit or help the ball and enables the wrists and forearms to stretch to add power.  The attempt to hit the ball or to help the ball up will cause the forearms to tighten.  The forearms must feel empty or hollow, but not tight, in order to feel the stretch in the forearms.  During the Stretch, feel the top of the right pectoral stretch up and feel the stretch of the hands mature.  This stretches the forearms.  During the Snap, feel the hands “bounce” up and feel the front right hip bone snap down.   This automatically spins the right forearm down with abandon in the way that is described in the following video:

Applying more energy to create the stretch and the “bounce” of the inside of the right elbow will increase the club head speed by increasing the speed of the right elbow.

Leverage the Ground

“Leverage the ground” to add power during the down swing is a popular concept in the analysis of the golf swing.  Using the ground to support vertical motion is much more efficient than using the ground to support horizontal motion.  Feel the lower body “leverage the ground” to support the upper body and arms during the back swing and the down swing.

Back Swing

Use the ground during an active back swing.  When the top of the right thigh “bounces” to the left, feel the back inside of the ball of the right foot “bounce” down, feel the top of the right pectoral stretch up.  Feel the momentum swing the right shoulder, arms, and hands up.

Down Swing

Feel the right pectoral stretch up some more, feel bottom of the right quadriceps stretch up to the left, feel the bottom of the left quadriceps stretch down to the right, feel the top inside of the left latissimus dorsi stretch down, feel the top outside of the left latissimus dorsi stretch up, and feel the stretch up of the hands mature.

This causes the feet to leverage into the ground to stabilize the lower body and causes the weight to shift to the left.

Feel the middle outside of the left latissimus dorsi “bounce” up, and feel the hands “bounce” up.  This causes the feet to “bounce” down, the upper body to unwind, and the arms to snap down and up to the finish.  There is no conscious effort to swivel the hips and the lower body toward the target.  This happens automatically as a reaction to the “bounce” of the middle outside of the left latissimus dorsi and the feet.

These down swing actions can be seen in the video of all professional golfers: the “bounce” of the middle outside of the left latissimus dorsi and the “bounce” of the feet.  My blog post, “Famous Golfers Swing Videos,” shows that even though back swings are individual, the down swings are the same efficient motions.  It is the efficient “bounces” triggering the snaps of the lower body, upper body, head, and arms that results in the powerful down swing motions.

The Right Side of the Head

A subtle, but important, movement of the right side of the head is seen in all of the best golfers.  This movement is done subconsciously and is key to triggering the motion for an efficient, rhythmic, and powerful back swing and down swing.  The movement is seen in the back swing, the Stretch, and the Snap.

  • Back Swing – Feel the back of the right temple stretch up to trigger the start of the back swing.
  • Stretch – As the back swing is completing, feel the right pectoral stretch up some more, feel the bottom of the quadriceps stretch, feel the stretch in the left latissimus dorsi, and feel the back of the right temple stretch to the right.  This loads the lower body, upper body, and the arms.  This puts the head and the body in a balanced and powerful position.
  • Snap – Feel the back of the right temple remain steady and feel the middle outside of the left latissimus dorsi “bounce” up.

The action of the right side of the head in the back swing and the down swing helps to develop a consistent golf swing.  Focus on the action of the right side of the head to maintain the spine angle and support the actions of the lower body, upper body, and the arms.  This subtle action of the right side of the head can be seen in my blog post: “Famous Golfers Swing Videos.”

Here are additional videos that show the motion of the right side of the head and the outside bottom of the left latissimus dorsi:

LPGA Golf Swings

PGA Tour Golf Swings

 

 

 

 

Dr. Kwon and High Percentage Golf Swing

High Percentage Golf Swing principles have a high correlation to the swing concepts developed by Dr. Kwon, a biomechanics professor at Texas Woman’s University.

Dr. Kwon on YouTube

He is focused on getting the golfer to produce a golf swing that is rhythmic, continuous, and efficient.  He does not teach how to hit the ball.  It is all about focusing on the motion.  It is not about hitting the ball.

He has a number of videos showing him “reprogramming” the swing motions of golfers.  The following links are helpful in learning to focus on the motions advocated by Dr. Kwon:

Using the swing rope

Using the club

The rope drill is a very effective drill to learn the mature back swing and to learn how to focus on the club head during the swing.

Here is the vendor for the swing rope

The drills in the videos can be used to develop the feel of the weight shift and the turn that creates the stretch of the body and arms during the back swing and down swing that I describe in my blog, “Feel an Efficient Swing.”  The videos provide the visual result of doing the motions that I describe.

Dr. Kwon’s method is based on rhythm.  This is the main focus of the High Percentage Golf’s method.  My blog post, “How to Feel Rhythm,” describes the importance of rhythm and how to feel a rhythmic swing.

Dr. Kwon wants to use vertical rhythm during the swing.by feeling the “kick” of the right foot and left foot.  My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how the kick in the right foot and the left foot results in the vertical motion.

Dr. Kwon emphasizes a continuous flow during the swing.  My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes the Stretch and Snap sequence of the golf swing.  The Stretch and Snap actions occur in a continuous sequential motion.

Dr. Kwon promotes an active back swing, achieving a mature back swing, and then letting it go.  My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how the top inside of the right latissimus dorsi stretches up to create an active backswing.  Feeling the Strech at the beginning of the down swing is used to create a mature back swing.  The “flick” down of the top inside of the left latissimus dorsi triggers the letting it go in the down swing.  The vertical action of the lower body and the upper body triggers the unwinding of the shoulders.

Dr. Kwon wants the left shoulder to remain closed during the start of the down swing to prevent the left shoulder from opening too soon.  He also says to keep the head behind the ball.  My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how feeling the Stretch keeps the left shoulder closed and keeps the head behind the ball.

Dr. Kwon wants the golfer to relax the arms to feel the stretch in the arms.  My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how to feel empty forearms and my blog post, “How to Use the Fingers,” describes how to use the little fingers to prevent the tightening of the forearms.

Dr. Kwon wants the right forearm to rotate the hand in the down swing.  My blog post, “How to Use the Fingers,” describes how the right index finger and the vertical energy of the body  in the down swing automatically causes the forearms to rotate.  There is no need to try to actively rotate the forearms.

Dr. Kwon wants to have the body control the arms instead of using the hands and arms to control the body.  My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how the lower body supports the upper body which controls the arms.

One point not mentioned regarding the focus on the swing motion is the need to let go of the natural tendency to “hit the ball.”  The mind can only focus on one thing at a time and focusing on letting the back swing mature and being ready to “let it go” makes focusing on the ball impossible.  There is an awareness of the ball but there is no focus on the ball.  When the mind focuses on the swing motion, the ball virtually disappears!  It takes a big leap of faith to focus on the swing and ignore the ball.  Kids can focus on the swing motion so it is easier for kids to learn golf.  My blog, “It is a Challenge for Adults to Learn the Golf Swing,” describes why golf is so difficult for adults.

One way to look at the game of golf is to consider golf as a game of making rhythmic swings.  The ball is just an immediate feedback device to indicate that there was enough patience to let the back swing mature or not enough patience.  The golf swing is binary: there was patience or no patience; yes or no.

I believe the swing drills that Dr. Kwon has developed should be mastered by all golfers in order to focus on creating a rhythmic, efficient, and consistent swing motion, instead of focusing on trying to hit the ball.  Learning to focus on the swing motion instead of the ball is extremely difficult.  If there is ever an attempt to develop a standardized golf teaching method to teach how to focus on the swing, these golf drills would be the foundation.

 

 

Subtle and Hidden Actions in the Golf Swing

There are actions that the best golfers do that are invisible to the observer and instinctive to the best golfers.  Most golfers try to do the obvious motions that they see when watching the best players swing.  What is seen by the naked eye is the result of these subtle actions.  The best golfers learn their swing as children where all they do is “swing” but cannot describe the details of the motion.  The motions have become a habit or the motions are instinctive.  To these golfers, what they feel or what they see on video is usually a reaction to what they do instinctively.

Unfortunately, trying to do the obvious motions creates inconsistent and inefficient results.  Most golf instruction is focused on doing the resulting motion instead of the actual, but subtle, motion.  The average golfer must learn and commit to focus to do the subtle and hidden actions in order improve the chance for a consistent golf swing.  That is easy to say but extremely hard to do because the subtle actions are not “natural” or logical.   “Action vs Reaction”

My blog, Effortless Golf Blog, attempts to describe these subtle actions.  The best golfers “just do” what is natural for them and can’t explain what they do.  I believe golfers, like me, who are not natural golfers can still incorporate these subtle actions to improve their golf game.

The following describes the subtle motions that will create a consistent golf swing.

Setup

Tilt the spine to the right about 15 degrees to enable the right hand to be lower than the left hand.

Look at the ball over the bottom of the lower eye lid to raise the chin away from the body.  https://www.youtube.com/embed/cjpoBJn8FWw

Full Swing

Do not try to hit the ball.  Instead, commit to do the subtle motions.

The point at the top inside of the right thigh remaining fixed in space during the back swing creates a pivot point for the back swing.

The vertical motion of the right pectoral creates the coil of the upper body.

The “flick” up of the bottom of the front right hip bone keeps the head behind the ball, starts the weight shift to the left, and causes the lower body to “leverage the ground.”

Leveraging the ground using the lower body to create vertical motion adds the power in the down swing.

The “slot” is not a fixed area to the right of the body.  The “slot” is created by the upward vertical energy from the right latissimus dorsi and the downward energy from the right upper arm.  The two parallel vertical energies define the “slot” that the right elbow falls into. “Feel an Efficient Swing”

Using the Fingers

The little fingers have a great influence in the golf shot.  Gripping too tight with the little fingers creates a tight swing.  Feeling the stretch of the little fingers engages the hands correctly and minimizes erratic hand movement.  The action of the little fingers can influence the curve of the ball. “How to Use the Fingers”

Rhythm

Rhythm is the most important element of an efficient golf swing.  The slight pause at the top of the swing creates rhythm.  Patience to feel the pause is a must for creating the pause and subsequent rhythm. Automatic pause is created by the stretch of the hands and the outside of the ball of the left foot. “How to Feel Rhythm”

Chipping

The chipping motion uses vertical motion to create horizontal motion.   Using the hands during the swing controls the amount of spin and trajectory.    “Chipping”

Putting

Putting is about confidence.  Discovering the combination of the putter, setup, routine, and putting action that creates absolute confidence is the most elusive and subtle part of golf.    “Putting”

Eccentric Motion

Eccentric motion is an efficient way to create power.  Eccentric motion is the stretch felt during the swing and sets up the snap in the motion to efficiently release the power.   “Chain Action Using Eccentric Motion”

Basic Bunker Shot

The subtle and untold issue about the bunker shot is that the bunker motion is very different from the full swing motion.  The action of the upper body, the arms, and the hands are different in the bunker technique.  The right arm and the hands do a lot of action to snap the club into the sand.  During the down swing, the left hand stops at the left side and stops the forward motion of the handle to let the right hand accelerate the club head past the handle.  This motion is totally different from the full swing but the difference is never mentioned.    “Basic Bunker Shot”

How to Curve the Ball

There are multiple ways to make the ball curve.  The subtle way is to have the action of the fingers cause the club head to be open or closed at contact.  The subtle action of the palm pad of the right index finger causes the body, hands, and arms to hold the weight back or release the lower body.  “How to Curve the Ball”

The Points of the Body on Which to Focus

After 40 years on my golf journey and many blog articles, I have settled on what I believe is required to successfully learn how to achieve a consistent golf swing based on my High Percentage Golf method.  The key is to not focus on the ball but, instead, focus on doing a few efficient movements and feeling the automatic reactions to the movements.

My blog post, “The Mental Game,” describes why golf is really a mental game that requires mental strength in order to develop a consistent swing.  My blog post, “It is a Challenge for Adults to Learn the Golf Swing,” describes the mental challenge that adults face when trying to learn the golf swing.

My blog post, “Action vs Reaction,” describes that the movements that are taught in traditional golf instruction are really reactions to the movements of one or two points of the body.

The movements of a few points of the body will result in a consistent and efficient “High Percentage Golf Swing.”  If these points become the focus of the swing instead of focusing on the ball, everything else in the golf swing, back swing and down swing, will become automatic.  The golfer does not need to attempt to focus on anything else to achieve a consistent and efficient golf swing.  This is hard to believe, but true.  It is so totally illogical that very few golfers will even attempt to go down this path.  That is why golf is so hard.

Golf is a mental game so if the average golfer has the mental strength to focus on moving these points of the body, and not the ball, the results will be mind-blowing.  This is easy to say, but extremely hard to do.

Visualize the points as specific pin points on various parts of the body that must be engaged.  The movement of these points feel relaxed, loose, smooth, and stretching.  The movements are not tight, jerky, or violent.

Focusing on what is in front of the body, the ball, and trying to hit the ball is a very inconsistent and inefficient way to swing.  By focusing on the points of the body, the focus shifts to the body.  Again, this is easy to say, but extremely hard to do.

It takes commitment to train the mind to focus on moving the points of the body and feel the reactions without doing additional motions.  If the mind truly focuses on these points during the swing, the mind cannot focus on hitting the ball.  The task of the golf swing is to redirect the mind from hitting the ball to making an efficient and consistent motion.  The ball’s role is to be a feedback mechanism to indicate how efficient the golf swing was executed.

Embracing and trusting the goal to focus on moving the points takes time.  Starting with small swings of four feet in length and gradually progress to longer swings is an effective way to start to trust the focus on moving the points of the body.  My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how to feel the right pectoral and the front right hip bone.  My blog post, “How to use the Fingers,” describes how to engage the inside of the tip of the little fingers.

The Right Pectoral and the Front Right Hip Bone

The stretch up of the right pectoral causes the upper body to react by rotating over the supporting lower body to build energy.  The upper body, arms, and hands react to the vertical motion of the right pectoral.

The reason vertical movement of the right pectoral causes the upper body to automatically coil is because of the tilt in the spine.  When the spine is vertical, moving the right pectoral up and down causes the upper spine to tilt back and forth like a tree swaying in the wind.  But, moving the right pectoral when the spine is tilted causes the upper body to rotate around a stationary spine.  When the upper body coils, the club moves away from the target.  When the bottom of the front right hip bone “flicks” up, the upper body uncoils and the club moves toward the target.

Moving the right pectoral is an efficient way to move the club away from the target.  Moving the right pectoral during the back swing creates momentum in the upper body and eliminates the need to actively move the arms and hands in order to move the club.  The hands just hang onto the club.

The Inside of the Tip of the Little Fingers

The stretch up of the point on the inside of the tip of the little fingers is engaged throughout the swing.  The engagement is a feeling of vertical action.  This causes the hands to stretch up and the wrists to cock.  The reason to focus on vertical action of the little fingers is to eliminate the “hit” or “help” action of the hands that is natural whenever the golf ball is present.  That is why the practice swings of most golfers are free and rhythmic but most golfers will use a jerky and violent motion when the golf ball is present.

Use the vertical action of the little fingers to override the “hit” or “help” tendency.  During the swing, focus on the stretch of the little fingers.  This helps keep the club moving away from the body during the down swing.  Which is how Jack Nicklaus described the feeling of the motion of the club during the down swing.

The stretch of the little fingers is the best way to have the club head make solid contact with the ball because the stretch of the little fingers causes the club head to “shallow out” at the bottom of the swing.

My blog post, “Famous Golfers Swing Videos,” shows the swings of famous golfers.  They stretch the little fingers.  They use the momentum of the right pectoral to swing the club up in the back swing and use the action of the front right hip bone to swing the club toward the target in the down swing.  This movement of the points of the body may not be readily apparent, but by watching the videos and focusing on the specific points of the body, the movement can be “felt” or “sensed.”

Chipping

Chipping is an important skill in the short game.  It is just as precise as putting in that it requires precise distance and direction control.  In addition, chipping adds the requirement to control trajectory and spin.  Engaging the fingers can be used to influence trajectory and spin.

Club Selection

I prefer to choose one club for chipping.  Just like choosing a putter, the goal is to find a club that you have complete confidence in being able to deliver the desired shot.  This means the club must be able to produce the desired distance, direction, trajectory, and spin.  The reason to choose only one chipping club is the fact that the chip shot needs to be just a precise as a putt.  So, developing the feel for chipping requires a lot of practice.  To use more than one club for chipping requires more practice time to develop the feel for chipping using multiple clubs.  Professional golfers have the practice time to devote to chipping using multiple clubs.  The average golfer does not.

I prefer to use a 56-degree wedge as my chipping club.  The wedge provides the flexibility to create shots with a variety of trajectories and spin.  I also prefer to treat my chip shots as mini pitch shots: more air time than ground time.  The wedge allows the flexibility to control spin and trajectory.  Lower lofted clubs like the nine, eight, or seven iron are less flexible and are treated more like a putter.  I find it more difficult to get consistent and precise distance control if I just get the ball on the green and let the ball roll to the hole.

Method

The key to using the wedge to chip is to use the bounce of the wedge.  The bounce is the lower, rear portion of the club head.  The bounce is lower than the leading edge and is used to hit the ground behind the ball in the descending path of the chip shot.  Using the leading edge in a descending blow causes the club head to dig into the ground.  The bounce will not dig into the ground, but it will compress the ground behind the ball and allow the leading edge to go under the ball without digging into the ground.  Opening the club face at least ten degrees will allow the bounce to hit the ground before the leading edge.

I focus on where I want the ball to land on the green and then roll to the hole.  Depending on the trajectory and the amount of spin the landing; closer to the hole with more trajectory and spin and farther from the hole with less trajectory and spin.

The motion that I use is mainly in the hands.  I use the hands to provide control of the distance, trajectory, and spin.  The grip is mainly in the fingers and the grip pressure is very light in order to feel the swing motion of the club head.  The rhythm of the stroke is the same as the full swing and putting rhythm.  The motion is initiated by the hands, but I allow the arms and body to react to the swing of the club.  I try to keep the right elbow stretching down.    

Controlling Trajectory

For a low trajectory chip that runs out the most, use the arms instead of the hands.  Position the ball opposite the big toe of the right foot, stand closer to the ball so that the heel of the club is raised off the ground, and open the face of the club a little.  Feel the right upper arm stretch up.  The amount of the stretch felt in the right upper arm determines the distance of the shot.  Feel the right upper arm “flick” up to release the club toward the target.

For a medium trajectory chip, position the ball one-half inch in front of the center of the stance.  Stand a little away from the ball, position the feet slightly closed, and open the face of the club at least 15 degrees.  Feel the top of the palm pad of the right index finger stretch up and feel the inside of the palm pad of the right index finger stretch down.  The amount of stretch felt in the right hand determines the length of the shot.  When the appropriate amount of stretch is felt, feel a “flick” up of the top of the palm pad to release the club toward the target.

For a higher trajectory shot, position the ball a little more forward, stand the normal distance from the ball, and open the body a little bit.  Use the same back swing as the medium trajectory chip but during the down swing, feel the palm pad of the left index finger pulling to the left and feel the “flick” up of the top of the palm pad of the right index finger to release the club toward the target.

Another method for a higher trajectory shot is to feel the stretch used in the medium trajectory shot, but add the stretch up of the inside of the right wrist and the feel the inside of the right wrist “flick” up.

Spin

Spin is created with an open club face and club head speed.  Position the ball off the left toe, stand the normal distance from the ball, and open the stance.  During the down swing, feel the left upper arm pull strongly back to the left and feel the fingers of the left hand pull quickly to the left.  This causes the club head to quickly cut across the back of the ball with an open club face to generate the spin.  The quicker the snap on the down swing, the more spin is generated.  Using a ball with a soft cover can also help to create spin.  Having a new wedge with sharp grooves is the best way to create the maximum amount of spin.  That is why tour pros change wedges every two weeks!!!  They get their wedges for free from the golf club companies.  The average golfer is not that fortunate.  As the grooves lose their sharpness, less spin is generated.  Do not expect to get the spin the tour pros get unless you change your wedge frequently.  It is easier to add trajectory to minimize the amount of roll in the chip shot.

Just as in putting, experiment to discover a technique that will result on a method that gives the player the best chance to chip the ball close to the hole.

Chipping from Greenside Long Rough

One technique to experiment with is the chip from the long rough around the green.  This technique involves using only the left wrist to move the club.  This means keeping the arms and upper body fixed with no movement.  Set up with the ball forward in the stance, inside the forward foot.  Open the club face and position the hands so that the shaft is vertical, not tilted to the left.

Feel the palm pad of the left index finger stretch up to make the left wrist cock up and let the right wrist cock up.  Feel the right index finger keep the shaft moving vertically.  The amount of wrist cock will determine the distance of the chip shot.  When the desired amount of wrist cock is achieved, feel the palm pad of the left index finger snap down to snap the club head down.  Because the wrists are the only moving parts of the body, this action brings the club back down behind the ball to pop it up out of the rough.  This technique demonstrates how much power there is in the left wrist.  Experiment with varying amount of wrist cock to control the distance of the shot.

Here is a link to a Lee Trevino video showing how to play various chipping situations:

Lee Trevino Chipping Situations

Here is a link to a Tiger Woods chipping lesson:

Tiger Woods chipping lesson

Here is a link to a video of Tiger Woods during a short game practice session:

Tiger Woods short game practice

Swing the Club Like Swinging on a Swing

My High Percentage Golf method focuses on the motion of the swing.  The golf swing is about using the arms and hands to swing the club away from the target and then swing the club in a circular and continuous motion up to the finish.  An analogy for the golf swing is to watch a person swinging on a swing to see how to efficiently build and release energy using a swinging motion.  The following video shows people swinging on a swing.

When the upper body reaches the end of the back swing, the upper body stretches band and the hands stretch up.  The motion of the upper body and the hands allows the person on the swing’s seat to swing down and up to the finish.

Notice the patience at the end of the back swing to allow the tension in the upper body and the hands build more energy that is released to swing the person to the highest finish.  There is no thought of stopping the body at the bottom of the swing.  The focus is on the finish.

Mapping the Golf Swing to a Person on a Swing

Since golf is not played by sitting on a swing, the way energy is built up and released using the swing analogy needs to be mapped to the golfer’s body.

  • The upper body = the upper body
  • The point on the right index finger = the hands
  • The palm pad of the right index finger = swing seat

How Swinging on a Swing Correlates to the Golf Swing Motion

The analogy will focus on what to feel in the golf swing and how it relates to swinging on a swing.  The feelings described in my golf blogs, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” “How to Use the Fingers,” and “How to Feel Rhythm” documents what to feel to create an efficient golf swing.

The upper body (the upper body) coils up and point at the outside of the crease of the base of the right index finger (the hands) stretches up to finish the back swing.  During the down swing, the upper body continues to coil as the pint at the outside of the crease at the base of the right index finger “flicks” up to release the energy to swing the palm pad of the right index finger (swing seat) down and up to the finish. Unfortunately, most golfers slow the swing by trying to use the hands and arms to hit or help the ball at the bottom of the swing.

Have patience to wait to feel the action of the upper body and the hands to cause the club to swing down and up to the finish.  This is counter-intuitive because it has nothing to do with hitting the golf ball, but the swinging on the swing video clearly shows this action is essential to creating an efficient swing motion.

Advocates of focusing on swinging the club to the finish:

  • Dr. Kwon: “let the back swing mature and then let it go”Dr.
  • Manuel de la Torre and Moe Norman: “swing the entire club to the end of the swing in one uninterrupted motion”
  • Count Yogi: “continuously going upward”
  • Others are Ernest Jones and Jim Flick

 

 

 

 

 

 

What You Must Know About the Golf Swing

Having written over fifty blog articles describing what must be done in order to play a consistent round of golf, I am writing this article as my “golf swing manifesto” trying to summarize the most important aspects of my blog about learning how to make a consistent golf swing.

My golf journey has shown me that there are a lot of fundamental things that are ignored when golfers are trying to learn to develop a consistent golf swing.  This makes developing a consistent swing much more difficult than it should be.

Most golf instruction is given by instructors who have golf swings that are very accomplished.   Most have learned their swings when they were young.  Learning the golf swing is much easier as a child versus learning the golf swing as an adult.  My blog article, “It is a Challenge for Adults to Learn the Golf Swing,” describes those challenges.  When the child learns the golf swing, their path to learning is different than when adults try to learn the golf swing.  Young golfers “just swing” until they discover, by feel, what works and they can repeat the motion that works.  Adults have lost the ability feel the swing and to repeat what works.  When adults hit a good golf shot they say “I don’t know what I did.”  This is why golf touring professionals, who learned the golf swing as a child and who decide to go through a swing change, can become “lost” if the swing change does not work.  They learned to “just swing” and now, as adults, they do not know how to go back to the old swing they learned as a child.

A lot of what is taught about the golf swing is derived from visual observations.  It has been shown that the eyes are the least reliable in determining what is happening in the golf swing.  This is one reason there are so many different golf “tips” to try to teach the golf swing.  One person’s interpretation of what is seen is different from another person’s interpretation.

Having said that, I have created my High Percentage Golf method over the years based on what I have seen in others’ golf swing and what I have felt in learning my golf swing.  I have settled on the following, rarely taught, fundamentals about the golf swing.  If I had learned the following fundamentals when I first started almost 40 years ago, I believe I would have significantly shortened my learning curve.

Golf is a Mental Game

People say golf is a really hard game.  That is true because golf is a mental game.  It is about developing a consistent mental focus to execute the same golf swing.  It takes a lot of mental strength to only focus on the motion and to not focus on trying to hit the golf ball.  My blog articles, “The Mental Game” and “One Plus One Equals Three,” describe how to develop a focused mind and how to adopt the correct attitude in order to achieve a consistent golf swing.

Do Not Try to Hit the Ball

Most golf instruction is focused on hitting the ball.  The golf tips and drills emphasize what to do with the arms and hands at impact.  Actually, when arms and hands arrive at the ball, the arms and hands are moving so fast that very few golfers, have the skill to do anything consistently.  The focus should be on what the arms and hands do while they are on the right side of the body during the back swing and the down swing.

If the objective of golf is to develop a consistent golf swing and not about hitting the ball, my blog article, “The Most Important Focus in the Golf Swing,” describes what to focus on during the golf swing.  It is about five or six things to focus on.  Committing to focus on five or six things during the golf swing is a good way to block out thoughts about hitting the ball.

Do vs Feel

As stated above, what most golfers think they should do is wrong.  Golfers watch videos and read golf instructions that describe what to do in the golf swing.  The reality is that there is no need to do what traditional golf instruction teaches because most of the recommended actions are actually reactions.  The majority of instruction tries to teach the reaction instead of teaching the motion that causes the reaction.  My blog article, “Action vs Reaction,” describes the action that causes the reaction.  Do the action instead of trying to do the reaction.

Rhythm

The most important feature of a consistent golf swing is the rhythm of the swing.  The rhythm of the swing is unique to each golfer, but it must be the same for every golf shot.  My blog article, “How to Feel Rhythm,” describes how to create a rhythmic swing.

Patience

The key component of creating a repeatable rhythmic swing is the patience used during the transition between the back swing and the down swing.  I describe in my blog article, “Patience in the Golf Swing,” that the right amount of patience is the key to a good shot.  If the down swing is started even a millisecond too soon, the result will be a bad shot.  When the touring pros say that their swing was too quick, it means they were impatient.  Patience makes the golf swing a binary action.  A bad shot means not enough patience.  A good shot means the right amount of patience.

Vertical Motion Creates Horizontal Motion

The most efficient way to move the club away from the target on the back swing and move the club toward the target on the down swing is to use vertical motion.  Most golfers try to use horizontal motion, especially on the down swing, which is a very inefficient and a very inconsistent motion.  This is described in my blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing.”

Most golfers think they need to move the club toward the ball instead of feeling the club move toward the ball.

Tension vs Tightness

Some golf instruction says that tension is bad in the golf swing.  What is really meant is that tightness is bad in the golf swing.  Tension is feeling the stretching of loose muscles.  Tightness is the stiffening of the muscles.  Feel the tension caused by stretching the muscles to build and release energy.  Stiff muscles are like cement and cannot build and release energy.  My blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes what stretches to feel in the back swing and especially during the down swing.

Eccentric Motion is an Efficient Motion

Eccentric motion is the muscle resisting a primary motion to create a stretch in the muscle.  Eccentric motion is used to efficiently produce power in the golf swing.  This is why having loose muscles is better than having tight muscles.  My golf blog article, “Chain Action Using Eccentric Motion,” describes how to use eccentric motion effectively, in the body, arms, and fingers in the golf swing.

How to Use the Fingers

One area of the golf swing that I believe has the greatest affect on the golf shot is how the fingers are used during the golf swing, especially the little fingers.  My blog article, “How to Use the Fingers,” describes how to use the fingers to reduce tightness in the arms and what they should do in the back swing and down swing.  My blog article, “How to Curve the Ball,” describes how the little fingers can be used to hit a fade or draw.  My blog article, “Chain Action Using Eccentric Motion,” describes how the little fingers create eccentric motion to create lag in the down swing.

Swing Thoughts

Golf instruction encourages golfers to adopt a swing thought during the golf swing that produces a successful golf shot.  The swing thought should be a feel-based thought instead of a swing mechanic thought.  But why only one swing thought?   Do golf instructors believe we can only handle one swing thought?  Jack Nicklaus said “most golfers can think of one, maybe two, things during the golf swing.  I can think of five or six and do them.

Is Jack Nicklaus saying that to imply that only Jack Nicklaus can have that many swing thoughts or is Jack Nicklaus telling us how to be a better golfer?

I believe Jack Nicklaus is telling us how to be better golfers.  It does not mean five or six thoughts at once but five or six swing thoughts in sequence.  Some may say that is too many thoughts, but in fact, there are at least six thoughts that are used when you back your car out of the garage.  My blog article, “The Most Important Focus in the Golf Swing,” describes more than one swing thought that are used to develop a consistent golf swing.

Bunker Technique

I have tried to develop a consistent bunker swing for a long time and I finally realized that the bunker swing is not like a regular full swing.  Once I realized I needed a different swing, my bunker shots became more consistent.  I realized that the bunker swing is what most golfers do when they hit a fat shot; they only use their arms and hands!  My blog article, “Basic Bunker Shot,” describes how to use the arms and hands in the bunker shot.

Basic Bunker Shot

The majority of the bunker technique that is described in books, tv, or the internet use concepts that is foreign to most golfers.  The various phrases are “hit a dollar bill out of the bunker,” slide the club under the ball,” “knocking the sand from under the ball,” etc.  These analogies are the what accomplished bunker players “feel” when they execute a good bunker shot.  But this does not tell the average golfer how to create those feelings.  This blog article describes how to create those feelings using the hands.

The basic bunker shot is all about using the correct technique.  It must be noted that the basic bunker technique has nothing in common with the efficient full swing technique because the objective is to splash the sand and not about ball contact.  The full swing’s objective is to swing the club down from the top of the back swing and up to the finish using the chain sequence of the lower body, upper body, arms and hands.  The bunker technique’s objective is to focus on swinging the club to splash the sand using the hands and allowing the body to react to the hand action. The swing is hands oriented in the same way a “fat” shot occurs in the full swing when using only the hands and arms to swing the club.

The bunker swing is very steep and forceful in order to use the speed of the club head to “splash” the sand.    The focus is to splash sand out of the bunker by controlling the speed of the club head.  The ball is just another grain of sand.  The sand comes out first, followed by the ball.

Grip

Position the left hand in a normal grip.  Open the club face by rotating the left forearm clockwise so the first two knuckles of the left hand are visible.  The right hand is a little weaker so that the right thumb is just to the left of the top of the grip.  Splashing the sand requires using the bounce of the club. This grip allows the club to maintain the angle of the bounce into the sand and to automatically swing the club on an outside-in swing path.  The grip pressure should be light enough to feel a stretch in the arms and hands in order to allow the wrists and fingers to move the club head freely in the back swing and the down swing.

Setup

Aim the body a little left of the target and position the ball one-inch left of center.  Take a wider stance, dig the feet into sand, and lower the body to align the hands just above the knees.  Keep the weight on the left foot with the belt buckle in front of the ball and the sternum behind the ball.  Lower the hands to counter the open club face.  Aim the leading edge of the club perpendicular to the target line and hover the club above the sand one-quarter inch behind the ball.  Align the hands even with the front edge of the tip of the shaft to tilt the shaft a tiny bit toward the target.

Back Swing

To initiate the back swing, feel the top inside of the right latissimus dorsi stretch up, feel the outside of the palm pad of the right index finger stretch down as the top of the palm pad resists up, and feel the top of the palm pad of the left index finger resist down to the left.  Maintain this stretch between the hands throughout the swing.  The pressure of the hands is light to allow the grip to move in the hands and to feel the stretch in the arms and hands.  This makes the club swing up steeply.

Down Swing

The focus in the down swing is to be very aggressive in order to create club head speed to snap the club head past the hands in the down swing.  As the hands reach the appropriate back swing length, feel the top of the palm pad of the left index finger pull down to the left and hold, feel the top of the palm pad of the right index finger lightly stretch up, and feel the outside of the palm pad of the right index finger “flick” down.  This motion snaps the club head down into the sand and up to the finish with the palm of the right hand facing up.  The “holding” left hand causes the club head to snap past the hands and finish with a vertical club shaft in front of the left upper arm.  The length of the back swing determines the speed of the club head into the sand.

Light the Match

Gary Player describes the motion of the swing as “Light the Match.”  The video below is Gary Player showing the “Light the Match” motion.  Notice the stretch up of the right hand as if getting ready to strike the match and then the snap down of the hands to “light the match.”  The body reacts to the action of the right hand.

This demonstrates how the bunker technique is very different from the full swing motion.  This arm and hand action in the bunker shot is different than the action in the full swing.

Learn how varying the ball position, how much the face of the club is opened, and the amount of stretch up of the right wrist affects the distance and trajectory of the shot. The swing does not necessarily need to be rhythmic; after all, sand is being splashed.

The basic bunker shot requires practice in order to learn the unique bunker technique.  This technique gets the ball out of the bunker, but there are a variety of other techniques that need to be learned in order to become an accomplished bunker player.  There are many books and YouTube videos that discuss the various techniques of the bunker game.  Learn the basic bunker shot and move on from there.

This video of Lee Trevino discussing the various situations is very helpful:

One Plus One Equals Three

The mind is always trying to be logical.  As adults, we have been trained to think logically.   Golf is an illogical game.  Good golfers embrace the illogical nature of golf.  My golf blog, “The Mental Game,” describes the illogical concepts of golf.  The most illogical concept in golf is that you are not trying to hit the ball.  Learning the golf swing is like learning how to dance.  Like dancing, golf is a series of motions that must be done in a rhythmic and precise manner.   Once the steps are learned, it is the ball that indicates whether or not the motion was performed in a rhythmic and precise manner.  If the ball does not travel straight and long, it means the motion or “steps” were not done in a rhythmic and precise manner.  Either the rhythm was too quick or one of the steps was not executed precisely.  That sounds illogical!

If I proposed the illogical concept that 1 + 1 = 3, most golfers will not accept this concept.  That is not logical.  But in order to play consistent golf, the mind must be able accept the illogical concept that 1 + 1 does equal 3.  That means that the mind must accept that the motion is the focus, not the ball.  This means that the golf swing will never be “natural” because what is natural is trying to hit the ball or help the ball into the air.  So, the main practice in golf is to train the mind to always focus on the motion that is happening on the right side of the body, not the golf ball that is in front of the body.  Easy to say, but hard to do.  1 + 1 = 3.

If you watch the swings of the greatest ball strikers, golfers like Ben Hogan, Lee Trevino, Moe Norman, and Count Yogi, you will see them doing the SAME pre-shot routine and swing, exactly the same, every time!  A swing cannot be executed the same way every time unless the focus is on doing the same thing during the swing every time and the focus is NOT on hitting the ball!  They have accepted the illogical concept that they must focus on doing the same thing EVERY TIME.  Each of them may focus on their own peculiar things during the swing, but they make sure they do them.  The result of this illogical thinking is a very consistent golf swing.

My blog posts, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” “How to Use the Fingers.” “How to Feel Rhythm,” and “Patience In the Golf Swing” describes concepts that sound very illogical but must be done in order to develop a consistent golf swing.

Chain Action Using Eccentric Motion

The information in my blogs,“Feel and Efficient Swing,and “How to Use the Fingers,” can be used to create what Ben Hogan describes as the chain action in the down swing.  This article describes in detail what needs to be done to achieve an effective chain action in the down swing.

The best golfers generate power efficiently with a “chain action” in the swing.  The chain action is a sequence of motions executed during the down swing.  The average golfer does not swing efficiently but the natural strength and occasional proper timing allows the inefficient and unconnected swing to occasionally produce a shot of acceptable distance and accuracy.  But natural strength and occasional proper timing does not produce consistent swings and shots.  Also, as golfers get older, this natural strength, that is mainly in the arms and shoulders, diminishes as does the ability to time the body to match the arm swing.   Thus, the distance and accuracy of the golf shot diminishes.  If the average golfer desires to create and maintain the distance and accuracy of the golf shot, generating power efficiently in the down swing is required.

Efficient power generation starts by feeling a tension caused by resistance.  Motion in the primary direction that is resisted by a motion in the opposite direction creates resistance.  The motion that is doing the resisting is eccentric motion.  This requires that the muscles and ligaments feel at ease, loose, relaxed, or empty, but not tight.  At the completion of the stretch, use a “flick” to cause the efficient release of energy.  The “flick” is the quick and short forceful “bounce” in the direction of the resistance to cause the release the built-up tension in the in the opposite direction of the “flick”.  For the accomplished golfer, the resistance and the “flick” is a supporting motion that is a subtle or unconscious feeling used to build and release energy efficiently.

The average golfer attempts to consciously move the body, the right arm, and the hands in a very mechanical and manipulating manner without feeling any tension.  Feeling tension means feeling an active stretch, as opposed to feeling tight which means feeling paralyzed.  The best golfers feel the tension build and release in what Ben Hogan describes as the “chain action” of the body, arms, and hands.  The release of energy in the lower and upper body triggers the chain reaction release of energy in the arms, followed by the release of energy in the hands.  Using eccentric motion to build and release tension is an efficient way to execute the chain action.

The following precisely describes how to use eccentric motion in the chain action.

Body

As described in my blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” the stretch up of the top of the right pectoral, the stretch down of the ball of the left and right foot, and the stretch up of the bottom of the front right hip bone is an efficient way to build energy in the upper and lower body.  The “flick” up of the bottom of the front right hip bone and the “flick” up of the hands are used to release the energy in the lower and upper body.

Arms

As described in my blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” the upper body coil creates momentum to swing the arms up.  As the hands stretch up, the back of the right upper arm stretches up.  This is an efficient way to build energy in the arms.  The “flick” up of the bottom of the front right hip bone results in the snap down of the right upper arm to release the energy built up in the arms.

Hands

As described in my blog post, “How to Use the Fingers,” the stretch up of the inside of the tip of the little fingers creates energy in the hands.  This is an efficient way to build energy in the hands and fingers.  The “flick” up of the back of the right upper arm triggers the “flick” up of the hands to release the energy.

The chain action sequence in the down swing, body, arms, and hands, is triggered by the “flick” up of the bottom of the right elbow.  The sequence occurs in a millisecond, almost simultaneously, although it feels “leisurely.”

The focus on the chain action automatically creates the patience required at the top of the back swing to produce the proper rhythm.

Using eccentric motion requires less energy to produce more power. The speed of the eccentric motion is the most efficient way to release the gathered energy.  As we age, eccentric power diminishes less compared to concentric or isometric power.  It is therefore more important for senior golfers to use eccentric motion in their golf swings.

The efficient chain action feels like doing less when compared to doing inefficient motions.  To develop a consistent and powerful golf swing, it is essential to accept the feeling of doing less by using efficient eccentric motion and chain action.

How to Curve the Ball

Most golf shots curve because it is very hard to consistently hit a straight shot.  Ben Hogan said, “You only hit a straight ball by accident.”  The advice that is traditionally given to make the ball curve mainly has to do with the setup: ball position and body alignment.  Advice may also include how the hands are used to manipulate the club: hold onto the club, rotate the wrists, or release the club.

All of the advice that is given is used to get the hands, arms, or body to perform specific motions and thus get the golf club to behave in a specific way.  The club’s face angle, open or closed, is used to control the curve of the ball.  The following describes how to to control the club’s face angle.

Fade

Set up to the left of the target.  As the hands are maturing in the back swing, feel the point at the middle of the palm pad of the right index finger stretch to the right.  During the Snap, feel the point at the middle of the palm pad “flick” to the right.  This causes the club head to remain open during the down swing to produce a fade.

Draw

Set up to the right of the target.  As the hands are maturing in the back swing, feel the point at the middle of the palm pad of the right index finger stretch to the left.  During the Snap, feel the point at the middle of the palm pad “flick” to the left.  This causes the club head to close during the down swing to produce a draw.

Straight Shot

Ben Hogan once said, “Jesus Christ can’t hit a golf ball straight.  It’s virtually impossible—at best it’s an accident.  Besides, you give yourself much more margin for error by maneuvering your shots one way or the other.  Much more control.”  Enough said.  Spend your time to develop a fade and a draw.

The best chance to hit a straight shot is during the Stretch, feel the inside of the tip of the little fingers stretch up.  During the Snap, feel the inside of the tip of the little fingers “flick” up.  This does not guarantee a straight shot.  The ball can either curve or go straight depending on the subconscious engagement of the hands, the fingers, or the legs.    

There are many ways to make the ball curve.  The method of using the palm pad of the right index finger is a simple way to cause the arms and the body to automatically react during the down swing to produce a fade or a draw.

Experiment with making swings to hit a draw, fade, or straight shot.  The intent is to discover which shot shape can be done consistently to put the ball in the fairway.

This also shows how a very slight change in the hands or fingers can affect the shot shape.  When the golfer is anxious or worries about hitting a golf shot, it is very common to create random movements of the hands during the golf shot.  This is one reason why golf is such a difficult game.

Lee Trevino’s Method

Here is a video of Lee Trevino explaining his method to curve the ball:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Patience in the Golf Swing

The difference between a rhythmic and efficient golf swing versus a quick and inefficient golf swing is patience.  Good players are patient enough to wait for the energy to gather completely before executing the down swing.  Most amateurs are impatient and do not wait long enough for the energy to completely gather.  When a golfer has a bad shot, even a professional golfer, it is caused by a rhythm that is too quick because impatience prevents the complete gathering of energy and the golfer must compensate by using the hands and arms in an inefficient and disconnected manner.

It is amazing how a rhythm that is too quick by even a millisecond will result in a bad shot.  It is also amazing how a patient rhythm will produce a good shot.  Almost all bad golf shots are caused by a rhythm that is too quick.

My blog article, “How to Feel Rhythm,” describes how rhythm is the most important part of the golf swing.  A proper length of pause creates an efficient rhythm.  Patience allows for an automatic pause of the proper length.

Have patience to feel the following to create the automatic pause:

  • As the arms are swinging up, feel the right pectoral stretch up some more, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up, feel the outside of the front right hip bone stretch down, and feel the stretch up of the hands mature

The stretch in the hands and the front right hip bone provides the following benefits:

  • Creates additional loading of the lower body
  • Keeps the head behind the ball
  • Makes it feel like the arms swing under your body instead of around your body
  • Best of all is the creation of additional power and the result is more distance

This may seem like it would take too long and it does feel like it will take about one-half second to accomplish.  But in fact, the patience to feel the stretch of the upper body takes one millisecond!  If this action is cut short by one millisecond, a bad shot will occur because it does not allow the time to do all that is needed.  If it takes one millisecond too long, the shot will not be optimal, but the shot will be playable.

Have patience to feel the complete gather of energy at the end of the back swing and the release of energy with abandon.  That one last millisecond of patience creates the last 20 percent of the power in the back swing.

In the following video, notice how Jack Nicklaus displays patience to feel the end of the back swing, the complete gather of energy, and the release of energy with abandon.  Everyone watching this video will only notice how Jack is swinging so hard and fast.  Instead, look at the video and sense how Jack has the patience to wait for the back swing to mature before releasing the energy as fast as he can in the down swing:

In the short game (putting and chipping), use the same patience to feel the end of the back swing, the complete gather of energy, and the release of energy with abandon to create the same rhythm.

Action vs Reaction

Newton’s third law of motion is: for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.  How this applies to the golf swing is because much of what is seen in the golf swing is a REACTION.  Most golfers focus on erroneously trying to DO the reaction because they do not know the action that causes the reaction.  This results in a sequence of very complex and inefficient motions.  The key to the consistent golf swing is to allow the lower body, upper body, shoulders, and arms to react to the actions of the following four parts of the body:

  1. The top of the right calf
  2. The right upper arm
  3. The back inside corner of the ball of the right foot
  4. The little fingers

My blog articles, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” and “How to Use the Fingers,” describe how specific reactions are the result of actions of these parts of the body.

Here is a list of reactions and the action that caused the reaction:

Back Swing – The back swing coil is created by allowing the right upper arm and the hands to react to the vertical action of the top of the right calf and the back inside of the back of the right foot.  Allow the upper body to coil over a supporting lower body.

Down Swing – The down swing is the one area where golfers try to do too much because they believe that what is seen with their eyes is something they must do.  They do not know what causes what their eyes see.  The following describes the reactions and the motions that cause the reactions:

  • Left Arm Pull – The pull of the left arm in the down swing is a reaction to the hands stretching away from the body
  • Weight Shift – The weight shift is started at the end of the back swing as the reaction to the stretch to the right of the top of the right calf, the stretch of the hands away from the body, and the continued stretch down of the back inside of the ball of the right foot.  The weight shift is completed as the reaction to the snap up of the back inside corner of the ball of the right foot.
  • Hips – The hips turn toward the target is a reaction to the bounce up of the back inside corner of the ball of the right foot
  • Upper Body -The upper body uncoils automatically as a reaction to the bounce up of the back inside corner of the ball of the right foot
  • Right Heel – The right heel swivel is a reaction of the upper body turning toward the target
  • Right Elbow -The drop of the right elbow on the down swing is the reaction to the quick stretch up of the back of the right upper arm and the inside of the tips of the little fingers
  • Lag – The lag of the club head is the reaction to the snap down of the right upper arm and the vertical engagement of the inside of the tips of the right and left little fingers
  • Club Head Direction – The club moving towards the target is a reaction to snap down of the back of the right upper arm

Commit and trust that focusing on doing the correct action and feeling the reaction will help in developing an efficient and repeatable motion.  This action must be executed using a precise rhythm as described in my blog article, “How to Feel Rhythm.”

The Most Important Focus in the Golf Swing

Most golfers are inconsistent because of incorrect focus.  By this I mean that most golfers focus on trying to hit the ball instead of focusing on executing a precise swing motion.

To be consistent, the focus must be on executing the same precise swing motion.  The best chance to execute a precise motion is to focus on rhythm, the little fingers, vertical motion and the amount of force.  Current golf instruction emphasis is on executing positions and motions that are the result of a precise swing motion.  The focus on rhythm, the little fingers, and vertical motion will automatically create the shift of the left hip to the left, the right elbow dropping down, the lag, and ball/turf contact.

RHYTHM

Rhythm is created by a proper length pause at the top of the back swing.  The Pause is the most critical focus of the golf swing.  As the arms are swinging up, feel the right pectoral stretch up some more, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up, feel the outside of the front right hip bone stretch down, and feel the stretch up of the hands mature.  This stretch completes the gathering of energy at the top of the back swing and automatically creates a proper length Pause.  When a golfer, even a professional golfer, has a bad shot it is because the pause was too short and resulted in a rhythm that was too quick. This is described in my blog article, “How to Feel Rhythm.”

THE FINGERS

An important feeling in the golf swing is to feel the inside of the tip of the little fingers stretch up.  This vertical engagement is used to minimize any attempt to use a hitting or lifting action of the hands in the down swing sequence.  Feeling vertical energy also improves the chances of contacting the ball with the “sweet spot” of the club.  This is described in my blog article, “How to Use the Fingers.”

VERTICAL MOTION

The golfer must embrace the fact that vertical motion causes horizontal motion in the golf swing.  There should be no attempt to move the arms in a horizontal direction.  Execute vertical motion but feel the resulting horizontal motion.  Vertical motion in the down swing is efficient because vertical motion is very precise and uses gravity.  Horizontal motion is inefficient because it is very imprecise and goes against gravity.  Vertical motion of the upper and lower body permits the golfer to swing the arms down with abandon and not caring where the ball is going.  This is described in my blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing.”

Some golf instruction talks about dropping the club into “the slot” during the down swing.  The “slot” is not a fixed area to the right of the body that the golfer has to aim into which to drop the club.  The slot position changes depending on the length of the back swing and is automatically created using vertical energy.  The back of the slot is created by the upward vertical energy of the right oblique and the front of the slot is created by the downward vertical energy of the right upper arm.  Using vertical energy, the club automatically drops into the slot.

AMOUNT OF FORCE

The focus on rhythm, the inside of the tip of the little fingers, and vertical motion requires very sharp focus.  The final focus of precision is the amount of force to build up and release during the back swing and down swing.  The amount of force used in the full swing should be the same amount of force.  Whether the amount is 40, 50, 60,70, or 80 percent, it should be the same.  Using the precise amount of force is obvious in the short game.  It is equally important in the full swing or pitch shots.

Swinging at 100 percent of force is never a good choice.  Accomplished golfers always use the same amount of force on the full swing and choose the correct club to have the ball go the precise distance. The biggest challenge occurs when using the driver. It takes tremendous focus to use a precise amount of force when using a driver.

These four areas of focus are the only things that all golfers should focus on.  Use this focus in the full swing, pitching, chipping, and putting.  If you are really focusing, the golf ball will disappear from sight because the mind can only focus on one thing at a time and if the focus is on the motion, the golf ball disappears from the mind’s focus.  Trust that this provides the best chance for a successful golf swing.  Golf is not about hitting the ball.

Is focusing on feeling rhythm, the fingers, vertical motion, and the amount of force too much for the average golfer?  Golf instruction has always maintained that the golfer should only have one or two swing thoughts.  The theory is that any more than one or two swing thoughts is too confusing for the average golfer.  Jack Nicklaus said that “most golfers can think of one, maybe two, things during the golf swing.  I can think of five or six and do them.

The swing thoughts are sequential and not all at the same time.  Jack Nicklaus cannot be focusing on the golf ball if he is focusing on doing five or six things that he knows will give him the best chance for a good shot.  Jack is also blocking out distracting thoughts by consciously focusing his mind on his swing thoughts.  You can say he is not leaving his swing to the chance of being distracted.  I believe the average golfer is mentally strong enough to have more than one or two swing thoughts.  It could be that one or two swing thoughts may not be enough to eliminate the mental distractions that normally fill the golfer’s mind:  hit the ball, help the ball, don’t hit it in the water, etc.  So, don’t leave anything to chance, focus on rhythm, the little fingers, vertical motion, and the amount of force.

 

 

Requirements for a Consistent Golf Swing

Every golfer is searching to develop a consistent golf swing that can make the golf ball go straight and far time after time.  What must be done in order to develop a consistent golf swing?

The most important point is to recognize and embrace that fact that the objective of golf is not to hit the golf ball.  This is the main secret of developing a consistent golf swing.  In order to do this it is important to realize that golf is a mental game.  It takes a strong mental frame of mind to focus on the swing and not focus on trying to hit the golf ball.  It is easy to say but very hard to do.

My High Percentage Golf Learning System is composed of three concepts:

  1. Rhythm – Feel the pause. Feeling the pause is how to develop rhythm as I described in my blog, “How to Feel Rhythm.”   If the pause is not felt there is no rhythm.  No rhythm means an inconsistent swing.
  2. The little fingers – Feel the stretch in the left and right little fingers.  The stretch in the little fingers automatically results in the supination of the left wrist.  This is described in my blog, “How to Use the Fingers.”
  3. Efficient down swing – Feeling the rhythm and the multiplication of power in the Stretch – Snap as described in my blog, “Feel an Efficient Swing.”

None of the High Percentage Golf Learning System concepts talks about hitting the ball.  A commitment to focus on feeling rhythm and feeling the timing of the Stretch – Snap will go a long way to stop thinking about hitting the ball and help develop a consistent and efficient golf swing.

Trust Gravity and Centrifugal Force

I have described how to feel rhythm in my blog, “How to Feel Rhythm.”  I have described how to use the right little finger in my blog, “How to Use the Fingers.”  I have described how to develop an efficient down swing in my blog, “Feel an Efficient Swing.”   These are all necessary components of an effective and consistent golf swing.

The most important aspect of the down swing is to have patience to trust gravity and centrifugal force.  At the end of the pause in the transition to the down swing, everything has been done to gather energy that is to be released.  Gravity and centrifugal force are strong forces that are used by an efficient down swing.

Since the force of gravity is directed downward, use the force of gravity by feeling the right upper arm snap down.  The average golfer moves the arms to the left and up; horizontally and against the force of gravity.  This is why the average golfer has an inefficient swing.

Any attempt to move the club horizontally will create a tight right forearm.  The right forearm should not feel tight but should feel “empty.”  The force of the right little finger must be light in order to feel the stretch in the right forearm that is created by the force of gravity and centrifugal force.  If the grip force of the little fingers is greater than 1 out of 10, the tight feeling in the hands will negate the feeling of the force of gravity and centrifugal force and cause the arms and hands to manipulate the club.

When the right upper arm snaps down, this triggers the release of energy built up during the back swing coil.  The snap down uses gravity and the release of energy produces centrifugal force which is felt in the stretch of the right forearm and the stretch of the right little finger.  Feel the result of using gravity and centrifugal force by feeling the club swing toward the target.  Trying to move the body, arms, or hands toward the target is an inefficient motion that goes against gravity and does not use centrifugal force.

Use centrifugal force by allowing the energy to flow from the center outwards through the fingers.

Having patience to trust gravity and centrifugal force in the down swing is the best chance to execute an efficient and consistent golf swing.

 

 

Lessons from Golf Legends

What can we learn about the golf swing from the legends of golf?  The primary concept that we can learn is that the golf swing is counter intuitive.  My High Percentage Golf Learning System describes the counter intuitive concepts regarding how to develop a consistent and efficient golf swing.

The High Percentage Golf Learning System’s major concepts are:

  • How to Feel Rhythm
  • How to Use the Fingers
  • How to Feel an Efficient Swing

The following are quotes from golf legends Jack Nicklaus, Sam Snead, Gary Player, Lee Trevino, Tom Watson, and Moe Norman.   These quotes are the “secrets” that very few golfers learn.  These counter intuitive “secrets” are also the key concepts of the High Percentage Golf Learning System.

Gary Player – Gary Player said that golf is about the mind and putting.  This means that there are a lot of counter intuitive concepts about the golf swing that requires a strong mind to embrace.  My blog article, “The Mental Game,” describes the mindset that is required to create a consistent swing.  Golf is really about putting, but most golfers do not spend the time to learn to putt well.  The professional golfer that wins a golf tournament on any given week is the golfer that had a good week putting.  My blog article, “Putting,” describes the process of putting.

Jack Nicklaus – Jack Nicklaus said that in the down swing he felt that he was trying to keep moving the club away from body.  An efficient way to keep moving the club away from the body in the down swing is to stretch the hands away from the body as described in my blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing.”

Jack Nicklaus said that the key to putting is to have the confidence to “believe” that you can make the putt.  Adopting a confident attitude is the key concept.  The golfer must not wait until putts start going in the hole in order to “build” confidence.  My blog article, “Putting,” describes how to develop a confident attitude.

Lee Trevino – Lee Trevino said that during the down swing he felt that he was momentarily slowing the left arm and left shoulder.  This concept is what Jack Nicklaus said about trying to move the club away from the body during the down swing.  My blog article, How to Feel Rhythm,” describes how the Pause can create the momentary delay.

Moe Norman – Moe Norman is a Canadian golfer who is described as the best ball striker who ever lived.  He said that he along with Ben Hogan and Lee Trevino were the only golfers to swing under the body while most golfers swing around their body.  My blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how to swing under the body.

Moe Norman said that he does not think of distance when he is executing his swing.  He only focuses on the “purity of technique.”  My blog article, “How to Feel Rhythm,” describes what to focus on during the golf swing.

Sam Snead – Sam Snead said that the golfer should move right shoulder down and towards the ball in the down swing.  This action is automatic when executing an efficient down swing as described in my article, “Feel an Efficient Swing.”

Tom Watson – Tom Watson said that in 1994 he found the secret of the golf swing where he moved his shoulders down the same plane as the back swing plane and this move felt like he was coming “over the top” instead of a reverse C:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=piHHfKxNP9w .   My blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing” describes how to swing like Tom Watson.

George Knudson – A Canadian golf professional who is said to be as good a ball striker as Ben Hogan.  George said about the golf swing that “It’s not what you do that matters.  It’s what you attempt to do.”  I take this to mean that hitting the ball is not the goal.  Instead, the proper golf swing is what matters.  George also said “Golf is a stationary ball game in which we make a motion towards a target.  The ball simply gets in the way of the motion.”   This again means that the objective of the game is about making a proper motion and is not about hitting the ball.  My blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how to make an efficient and proper motion.

None of the golf legends said anything about trying to hit the ball.  They all talked about what the golfer should feel.   Learning how to feel an efficient golf swing is the best way to develop a consistent golf swing.

What is Felt in the Golf Swing is not Reality

Golf is challenging because the golfer must focus on feeling what the body is doing.  Being in tune with the body is very difficult for most golfers because the focus of most golfers is to try to hit the ball or try to help the ball up into the air.  This focus on the ball prohibits any focus on feeling what the body is doing.

If the golfer is successful in focusing on feeling what the body is doing, the next challenge is to accept the fact that what the golfer feels in the body in order to execute a successful golf swing is not reality.  By this I mean that what is felt must feel exaggerated.  The reality is what is felt as being an exaggerated motion would actually measure much less than what is felt.

Here are some examples of exaggerated feelings must be felt:

Grip Pressure – Most golfers grip the club too hard.  This tight grip prevents the wrists from moving efficiently.  The grip pressure must feel like a pressure of 2 where 10 is maximum pressure and 1 is minimum pressure. What feels like a pressure of 2 would actually measure more.

Aim Parallel Left – Most golfers turn their heads to much to the left to check their body alignment.  This causes the body to aim too much to the right.  In order to align the body correctly, parallel left, the golfer must feel as if the body is aiming left.  What feels like aiming left would actually measure parallel left.

Tilting the Pelvis – Most golfers feel self-conscious about sticking their buttocks back in order to develop correct posture in the golf setup.  But if the focus is on tilting the pelvic floor up and back, it accomplishes the same thing.  What feels like an exaggerated tilt of the pelvis is actually perfect posture.

Change of Direction – Most golfers do not have a rhythmic swing. The biggest factor preventing a rhythmic swing is the transition.  A quick transition results in a jerky swing.  It requires patience to feel the half-second pause before starting the down swing.  This pause provides the time to feel the loading of the right forearm and the hands and to feel the energy gather at the start of the down swing.  What feels like a half-second pause would actually measure a one-tenth second pause and appear as a more rhythmic swing to the observer.

Action of the Fingers – The stretch of the little fingers as described in my blog post, “How to Use the Fingers,” is key to preventing the right hand from overpowering the left hand.  What feels like an exaggerated action of the fingers is invisible to the observer.

Vertical Motion Creates Horizontal Motion – The vertical motion of the right upper arm as described in my blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” creates horizontal motion of the golf club.  It is difficult for the golfer to believe that vertical motion will cause the golf club to move horizontally.  Trying to move the golf club by moving the arms in a horizontal motion is a very inconsistent and inefficient motion.

Use Less Force – Most golfers swing with too much force.  If the golfer used what feels like 30% less than their usual force, the swing will be more rhythmic, the contact will be more solid, and the ball will travel straighter and farther.  What feels like using less force will appear as a more rhythmic swing to the observer.

The exaggerated feelings that the golfer feels is not reality but correct. Embrace focusing on feeling what the body is doing in order to become a better golfer.

Do More by Doing Less – Part 2

My previous article, “Do More by Doing Less,” talks about the fact that, in golf, trying harder never works.  I also described how to determine the amount of force to use that will produce the straightest and longest shots for your swing by discussing the law of diminishing returns.

In this article I want to tell you what happens automatically when you have achieved an efficient down swing as presented in my article “Feel an Efficient Swing.”  When you can produce an efficient down swing, a lot of actions that you think you need to do will be done automatically.

When you have an efficient down swing, you will feel that you will be doing less with your lower body, upper body, arms, and hands.  When you try to do too much with your lower body, upper body, arms, and hands, you are using a very inefficient down swing motion.

The following will describe the Automatic Actions created as a result of an efficient down swing.  I will also describe the cause of the Automatic Action in an efficient down swing.  Since the following actions are Automatic Actions you do not need to focus on trying to do these actions.

  • Rhythm – The stretch to the right of the point in front of the right ear, at the end of the back swing, creates the pause that automatically creates a rhythmic swing
  • Weight shift – The stretch of the back inside of the ball of the right foot and the stretch of the hands away from the body automatically causes the weight to shift to the left
  • Unwind the Upper Body Towards the Target – The snap down of the back of the upper right arm causes the release of tension, created during the back swing coil, automatically unwinds the upper body
  • Move the Club Towards the Target – The snap down of the back of the right upper arm automatically pivots the right arm at the right shoulder and pivots the upper body at the spine to move the club towards the target
  • Snap the Hands Down – The snap down of the back of the right upper arm uses gravity and centrifugal force to automatically snap the hands down
  • Lag, Increased Club Head Speed, Increase in Distance – Less tension in the fingers and arms and the stretch up of the right little finger causes the club head to lag behind the movement of the upper body and arms. The lag increases the club head speed and increases the distance of the shot.
  • Supination – Feeling the stretch up in the right little finger during the down swing automatically creates the supination of the wrists and eliminates the distance robbing pronation of the wrists
  • Solid contact – Focusing on a rhythmic swing, feeling the stretch of the inside of the tips of the little fingers, and doing less with the arms and hands automatically creates better contact
  • Balanced Finish – Starting the down swing from the ground up using the back inside of the ball of the right foot and allowing the body to react automatically produces a balanced finish

There is no need to do inefficient motions when using just the right upper arm, the tips of the little fingers, and the back inside of the ball of the right foot is enough to create a consistent and efficient golf swing.

 

Golf is a Really Hard Game

Here is a fact that very few people want to acknowledge: the game of golf is an extremely difficult game to learn and to maintain proficiency.  The game of golf is a challenging game for people who like challenge.  Golf is a marathon, not a sprint.  It is a game you can never master, but the challenge is in trying to master each of the various facets of the game.  Because golf is so difficult, the game is not well suited to the perfectionist, the overly emotional, the easily frustrated, or the multitasker.  This does not mean they cannot play golf, it just means they will derive little joy from the game.

Here are some of the reasons why I think that golf is such a difficult game:

We are human

Golf shows us every day that we are humans and not robots.  What is needed to play golf consistently is better suited to robots.  Golf requires the execution of the same motion over and over; difficult for most humans.  Golf requires extreme precision; another challenge for us humans.  Humans are like a box of chocolates, we never know what you will get (how you will perform on the golf course from one shot to another.)

Golf is a Game of Feel

Golf is a game that requires the golfer to feel the golf swing.  This is why young children can learn a correct golf swing more quickly than an adult.  Young children can feel their bodies and are aware of what their bodies do.  When young children make a swing and achieve a decent ball flight, they are more likely to be able to repeat the swing. When adults make a swing and achieve a decent ball flight, they are more likely to wonder what happened: the adult has no clue about the swing that was just executed.

Successful Adult Habits are an Obstacle to Playing Consistent Golf

My blog, “It is a Challenge for Adults to Learn the Golf Swing” describes that successful adults want to do a little “extra”, try harder, and try to hit the ball or try to help the ball in the air.  All of these “natural” habits of successful adults sabotage the learning of a consistent golf swing.  Unless the successful adult finds a way to block these “natural” habits, the chance to develop a consistent and efficient swing is very low.

The Fundamentals Required to Play Golf Well are not Obvious or Logical

The most illogical aspect of the game of golf is that the objective is not about hitting the ball.  Rather, the objective is to execute a repeating and efficient motion.  Another important but not obvious aspect about golf is that golf is a mental game.  Golf requires the golfer to focus on areas that make no sense to the average golfer.

The golfer must focus on making a proper grip, address position, stance, and posture and including them into a precise pre-shot routine.  The golfer must focus on using his personal rhythm and executing an efficient motion.  Most golfers know these fundamentals but most golfers do not seriously practice these fundamentals.  Failure to precisely execute these fundamentals greatly reduces the chance of playing consistent golf.

Hitting the Ball is the Biggest Distraction

As mentioned before, the game of golf is not about hitting the ball. But for most golfers, the “hit the ball” thought overwhelms any attempt to focus on executing the fundamentals in order to play golf well.  For most golfers, this focus on hitting the ball will forever prevent them from playing consistent golf.

Golf is an Extremely Precise Game

Golf is so precise that the margin of error is measured in a few degrees, a sixteenth of an inch, and a few milliseconds.  A shot that is one or two degrees offline, teed a little too high, or executed with a slightly different rhythm can result in a less than desirable outcome.

Unrealistic Expectations

Most golfers have unrealistic expectations on how they should play. Golf is a game of misses and the objective in learning to play golf is to have better misses.  This is hard to accept by most golfers.  So the game becomes a very frustrating endeavor.

Hard to Remember

It is very difficult to remember the precise mental and physical process required to generate a successful golf shot.  Successful adult habits, focusing on hitting the ball, and other distracting thoughts makes it extremely difficult for the average golfer to remember what to do to generate a good shot.  Golf is a mental game that requires a strong mental discipline.

Golf Instruction is not Properly Focused

Golf instruction is about trying to fix whatever the golfer believes needs to be fixed.  This is evident by observing what the golfers are doing or not doing at the practice range.  The average golfer does not have a rhythmic swing.  No one on the practice range is practicing a pre-shot routine.  Most golfers on the range are trying to hit the ball or trying to help the ball in the air.

The best golf swing method I have seen so far is the method of Dr. Kwon, a biomechanics professor at Texas Woman’s University.  He teaches his students how to have a rhythmic and efficient swing motion.  He does not teach how to hit the ball.

Dr. Kwon on YouTube.

You Still Need to Get the Ball into the Hole

The average golfer spends most of the practice time at the driving range.  Even if the golfer can drive the ball over 300 yards, if the golfer cannot avoid three-putts and make more one- putts, the scores will not be very good.  The driving range is crowded with golfers while the practice putting green is empty.

Yes, the game of golf is a really hard game.  It is time to acknowledge this and just focus on executing a rhythmic and efficient swing, proper use of the fingers, and adopting a realistic attitude towards the game.

 

Releasing the Club

Releasing the golf club in the down swing is a motion of the arms and hands that causes the club to efficiently propel the ball towards the target in a consistent manner.  In a proper release, there is no attempt to manipulate the hands.

An efficient and repeatable release is an important part of a consistent golf swing.  The release motion that is described here is appropriate for use in chipping, pitching, and the full swing.

Ben Hogan in his book, Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, mentions that the release of the right arm in the impact area “is quite similar to the one an infielder makes when he throws half underhand, half sidearm to first”.  In golf, this motion is the release of the right arm to swing the club towards the target.

In order to execute an efficient release of the club, the little fingers and the right triceps need to work together correctly to build and release energy in the right arm.  As I describe in my blog, “How to Use the Fingers,” the stretch of the little fingers is used to create supination of the left wrist.  The little fingers must maintain the stretch throughout the swing.

The right upper arm is crucial for building and releasing energy:

  • Feel the stretch up of the right elbow, while the top of the right triceps resists up, to build energy in the right upper arm
  • After the pause, as I describe in my blog, “How to Feel Rhythm,” feel the right triceps snap the right upper arm down and release the energy

The action of the right arm is similar to how an infielder “throws half sidearm to first.”  When the right upper arm snaps down, the result is the snap down of the right shoulder, the right forearm, the hands, and finally, the release of the club.  This sequence is the most efficient way to release the club towards the target.

Golfers who develop an efficient and repeatable release will hit the ball straighter and farther.

Enter the Golf Universe

Golf is a mental game.  This is described in my blog “The Mental Game”

I have previously suggested ways to win the mental game in my previous blogs “You Must Believe in Magic” and “Golf’s Secret Society.”  This is another suggestion on how to win the mental game.

Pros talk about being in the zone.  Being in the zone is a vague concept that is hard to describe.  Being in the zone is elusive and may never happen for the average golfer.  Thus, being in the zone is not attainable; it just happens.  The average golfer cannot aspire to be in the zone.

When you watch a better golfer with a consistent swing, you are watching a golfer who is in the Golf Universe.  I could say a different world, but being in a different world is to not be on this planet.  But the good golfers are on this planet, but I believe they are in a place where the rules are different.  This is how they become good golfers with consistent golf swings.

The Golf Universe is a parallel universe where the rules are different.

Embracing and accepting the concept of a Golf Universe is extremely difficult.  The rules are not logical, not natural, and very difficult to accept.  Most golfers will not want to enter, some golfers will try to enter but will not stay, and the golfers that enter will not be able to follow all of the rules.

When you are in the Golf Universe, the “real universe” becomes external and becomes secondary to the Golf Universe.  Your focus in the Golf Universe is about trying to play golf by obeying the rules of the Golf Universe and everything else is not important.

Here are the rules of the Golf Universe that must be obeyed:

  • Must be calm – You must adopt a calm attitude before starting a round of golf.
  • Must be rhythmic – Rhythm is the most important aspect of the consistent golf swing.  Please refer to my blog post: “Rhythm”
  • Must use the fingers correctly – The fingers control the club. Please refer to my blog post: “How to Use the Fingers”
  • Must use an efficient motion – An efficient motion is simple, precise, and repeatable. Please refer to my blog post: “Feel an Efficient Swing”
  • Try to repeat the same swing – The focus is to develop a swing you can repeat the same way every time.  The key word is “same”, not approximate or almost.
  • Must use an effective swing thought – Use a swing thought that will block distracting thoughts that come from the “real universe.”  If you do not consciously put an effective swing thought in your mind, you will be distracted.
  • Must develop a consistent pre-shot routine – A pre-shot routine is a ritual that can be repeated the same way every time. The most important aspect of the pre-shot routine is to remind you to use your swing thought.
  • Use vertical body motion to move the club towards the target – This concept does not seem logical, but is the most efficient way to move the golf club towards the target.  Please refer to my blog post: “Focus on the Snaps”
  • Not about hitting the ball – In the Golf Universe, the objective is to ignore the ball and execute the same swing over and over. This is not natural in the “real universe.” In the “real universe”, everyone is trying to hit the ball. In the Golf Universe, the ball is there to indicate the quality of the swing.
  • Don’t try to hit or help ball – Trying to help or hit the ball is a major distraction from the “real universe.”  This rule is the most violated rule in the Golf Universe.  If an effective swing thought is not used, this rule will be violated.
  • Do less to get better results – This is not logical, but in the Golf Universe using a shorter back swing or using less than your maximum swing force will produce better results.
  • Trying harder never works – This is an absolute in the Golf Universe.  Trying harder never works.
  • Doing extra credit fails – In the “real universe,” doing the extra credit problem in a test will give a better grade.  Also, doing a little extra, going the extra mile, or add a little more is rewarded. In the Golf Universe, doing a little more is deemed a failure.
  • Must value the short game over the long game – In the “real universe” everyone is trying to hit the ball as far as possible.  In the Golf Universe, more time is spent developing short game skills: chipping, pitching, and putting,
  • Must value patience over results – Golf is a long journey with many detours. Instead of always worrying about the score, the focus should be about learning to play the game and obeying the rules of the Golf Universe.  This all takes time and patience.
  • Must not fall into “traps” – Golf has a lot of “traps” that can cause the golfer to stop obeying the rules of the Golf Universe. The most common traps are focusing on trying to hit the ball farther, ignoring the short game, always making swing changes, and “I got it now.”

Being successful in the Golf Universe requires the golfer to obey all of the rules in the Golf Universe.   Just obeying ONE rule is very challenging. That is why being able to play consistent golf is so difficult and challenging for the average golfer.

Even if you obey all of the rules in the Golf Universe, the chance of executing a perfect shot is less than ten percent. The best outcome that can be achieved is to develop better misses.

If you want increase your chance to become a good and consistent golfer, you must enter the Golf Universe and obey the rules of the Golf Universe.  Developing a consistent golf swing is a long journey, but the journey can be shortened by entering the Golf Universe.

Benefits of Tai Chi for Golfers

I have been taking Tai Chi, a Chinese form of exercise, and I believe there are a lot of things that I have learned doing Tai Chi that has helped me develop a consistent golf swing.  The benefits of Tai Chi for golfers are both physical and mental.  The following are the benefits that I have gained from doing Tai Chi.

Be calm – You must be calm to do Tai Chi. You also must be calm in order to play golf.  The average golfer worries or is anxious before hitting their golf shot.  Learning how to consciously be calm will help block distracting thoughts.

Focus – Focus on being in the present is required to correctly perform Tai Chi movements. Thinking about the past or the future will hamper the execution of the current Tai Chi movement.  The average golfer is constantly distracted with worry, stressing over previous shots, or thinking about results.  Learning how to  be in the present and focus on your swing will help the golfer win the mental game of golf.

Feel Proper Posture, Weight Shift, and Balance – The slow movement of Tai Chi provides the opportunity to learn to feel what the body is doing.  It is important to feel the proper posture, to feel the shifting of the weight from one foot to the other, and to feel balanced.  The average golfer does not consider that the proper posture, the proper weight shift, and balance are important.  Learning to develop feel for the proper posture, weight shift, and balance, is crucial in order to develop a consistent golf swing.

Execute Precise Motions – Tai Chi requires the execution of precise motions.  The movement of the feet, legs, body, arms, and hands must be precise in order to be correct.  Golf is an extremely precise game yet the average golfer is not aware of the precision that the game requires.  The average golfer is focused on hitting the ball or trying to help the ball in the air.  When the average golfer executes a good shot, the golfer is not aware of the motions that resulted in the good shot.  Tai Chi will help the golfer develop the mental and physical skills needed execute precise motions.  Learning to execute precise motions is crucial in order to develop a consistent golf swing.

Leg Strength – Over time, Tai Chi maintains or increases leg strength.  Golf requires strong legs to support the motion of the upper body and arms.

The Power of Intent – Intent in Tai Chi is a mental component that leads the body.  When the intent moves, the body follows.  In the golf swing, feel the intent coil back and then move towards the target and feel how the body automatically follows.

Arms and Hands Coordinate with the Lower and Upper Body – Tai Chi requires that the lower body and upper body support and prepare for the movement of the arms and hands.  The average golfer moves the arms and hands without precise coordination with the lower and upper body which causes inconsistent results.  Learning to develop a consistent golf swing requires that the arms and hands precisely coordinate with the movement of the lower and upper body.

Dantien the Source of Power – The Dantien is the center of the body; an area three fingers below the navel and two fingers behind.  Energy or Qi (pronounced “chi”) produced from the Dantien requires less effort and yet is more powerful.  Tai Chi movement originates from the Dantien and radiates out towards the fingers.  The average golfer originates movement with the arms and hands and at best has the lower body follow the hands. The majority of the time, the average golfer does not use the lower body efficiently in the golf swing.  Using the Dantien as the source of Qi for the golf swing is the best way to develop a consistent and efficient golf swing.

Allow Energy to Flow from the Dantien – An important Tai Chi concept is to feel the Qi, originating from the Dantien, expand through the legs, body, arms, and fingers. Patience is required to feel the complete flow of energy from the ground up through the hands.  The movements described in my blog post, Feel an Efficient Down Swing, are all initiated by the Dantien as the following describes:

  • Feel  the body settle and then feel the flow of Qi from the Dantien initiate the back swing coil and the expansion of energy is felt up through the legs, lower body, upper body, and arms to finally feel the stretch in the fingers
  • At the end of the back swing, feel the energy settle down over the right foot and feel the increased stretch.  This is used to gather the Qi before feeling the Qi flow, from the ground up, to snap the right upper arm and the hands down

Learning to have patience to feel the Dantien be the source of power, for the back swing and the down swing, will greatly improve the golf swing.

 

 

 

 

 

Embrace a Rhythmic and Efficient Motion

All golfers are searching for a repeatable golf swing.  Achieving and retaining a repeatable golf swing is the most challenging thing to do in golf.  In this journey to develop a consistent golf swing there is a lot of focus on swing mechanics and swing positions.  Unfortunately, the two most important components of a consistent golf swing is a rhythmic and efficient motion.

In order to develop a rhythmic and efficient motion, there needs to be a change in attitude and focus.  Most golfers are trying to hit the golf ball.  If the focus is on hitting the golf ball the motion will be very inefficient.  When the focus is on hitting the golf ball, the result is a swing that is controlled by the hands and arms.  Controlling the swing with the arms is extremely inconsistent and inefficient.

The attitude must change to focus on developing a consistent rhythm and an efficient golf motion.  I discuss these topics in my blog articles “Rhythm” and “Feel an Efficient Swing.”

A rhythmic and efficient motion has no appearance of a violent or unsynchronized motion.  A rhythmic and efficient motions looks like the energy just flows from the ground up through the lower body, upper body, and finally the arms and hands.

A rhythmic and efficient motion can be seen in the motion of baseball pitcher Madison Bumgarner and golfer Inbee Park .  Their motions seem like they are not trying very hard and the motion moves from the ground up.  They establish a stable lower body to whip the upper body and then the arms and hands.

To view their rhythmic and efficient motions just click on the videos below.

Madison Bumgarner:

Watch the fluid motion of Madison Bumgarner.  His motion is so rhythmic that it does not appear that he is trying hard, yet his pitches can reach a speed of 94 miles per hour

Inbee Park:

Whether you are watching Inbee Park in slow motion or normal speed, it does not appear she is swinging hard, yet she can drive the ball 250 yards

The most consistent golf swing is the swing of Moe Norman.  Moe Norman was a Canadian golf pro whom everyone felt was the best ball striker they have ever seen.  His swing was always the same: rhythmic and efficient. Moe’s view of the motion is summed up in his words: “Stabilize, Energize, Contain, and Release.”  Moe never thought about the ball, he was divot oriented.  His rhythmic and efficient motion created the divot and the ball just got in the way.

This change of attitude to not focus on hitting the ball but to focus on creating a rhythmic and efficient motion is the key to a repeatable golf swing.   The challenge is not in developing a rhythmic and efficient motion, the challenge is to mentally embrace the concept that golf is not about hitting the ball, but of focusing on a rhythmic and efficient motion.

Properties of an Efficient Down Swing

Golf is a very challenging game.  All golfers want a consistent golf swing that propels the ball in the desired direction with effortless power.  The first requirement of a consistent golf swing is to execute a rhythmic swing.  Once a repeatable rhythm is achieved, making efficient back swing and down swing motions will help to produce a consistent golf swing.

My blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes what you must feel in order to execute an efficient down swing.  An efficient down swing has many properties that help reduce the challenge of creating a consistent golf swing.  Here are a few properties that I believe make up an efficient down swing.

Explosive Snap

The Snap feels like a miniature explosion. An explosive snap means you have surrendered to the release of energy and you are not trying to control the club.  The Snap is not a violent snap.  A violent snap is a violent jerk when you try too hard to control the club.  There is a fine line between an explosive snap and a violent snap.  Your balance is maintained in an explosive snap, while you lose balance when you have a violent snap.  An explosive snap is smooth while a violent snap is jerky.  Any effort to use the hands to lift or hit will result in a violent snap.

It is Automatic

When you feel the Vertical Motion, it makes everything automatic and consistent.  As long as you focus on feeling the Vertical, the club will always swing the down the target line automatically.  There is no need to try to lift the arms or hands or attempt to push the right hand towards the target.  Just trust the Vertical Motion.

Trust

Trust that the Vertical Motion creates acceleration.  Let the acceleration hit the ball and the next thing you are aware of is that you have swung the club to a balanced finish.  Do not think about striking the ball.  Trust that the snapping motion will result in solid contact.

It is like snapping your fingers.  You are aware of the pressure of the fingers before the snap and then you feel that your fingers have snapped.  You are not concerned about what happens to your fingers between the start and the finish.  You trust that the motion of the fingers will create the snapping sound.  Trust that the Vertical Motion will make the ball go straight and long.

The proper Vertical Motion is critical to making a good shot.  This same chain reaction should be felt in the chip shot and pitch shot, but the amount of force used is less than the force used in the full swing.  You will find that good shots will result from a proper Vertical Motion.  While poor shots will result from improper chain reaction.

 

Focus on the Snaps

I have said before that the objective of golf is not about trying to hit the ball.  The best golfers have said that they try to focus on making their best swing and “the ball just gets in the way” of the swing.  In order to embrace the concept of “the ball just gets in the way” you must focus your mind on something other than the ball.  If you do not change your focus from the ball to the swing, you will always try to either hit or help the ball.  Whenever you try to hit or help the ball, you will be using a very inefficient and very inconsistent swing.

The best way to change your focus from the ball is to focus on using your right upper arm to create a motion that snaps the club towards the target.  An analogy is what happens when you snap your fingers; you are aware of the thumb and finger pressing together at the beginning of the snap and you are aware that the fingers have executed the snap.  You do not think of what happens during the snap.  If you could visualize that you had a tiny ball between the tip of the finger and the palm when you snap your fingers, you will know what it means to have “the ball just gets in the way” of the snap.  Another way to view the ball is to think of the ball as collateral damage caused by the club snapping towards the target.  By focusing on the snap, the tendency to hit or help the ball is minimized.

As I mention in my blog, “How to Feel Rhythm,” it is important to remember that a rhythmic swing is the first objective of the golf swing.  You must focus on snaps during a rhythmic swing.

In my blog, “Focus in the Down Swing,” I describe the importance of snapping the club down in the down swing.  I will now tell you how to get your mind to focus on the snaps.  Focusing on the snaps is not easy.  If it were easy, every golfer would have an efficient and consistent swing.  Focusing on the snaps is also not taught.  If it were part of every golf instruction, then every golfer would have an efficient and consistent swing.

The Secret of How to Focus on the Snaps

In order to snap the club down, you must have patience to focus on feeling the rhythmic buildup and release of energy by using snapping motions.

What snapping motions do you need to feel?  In my blog, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” I describe that during the down swing, feel the lower body snap up and feel the right upper arm snap down.  The snap down of the right upper arm automatically causes the club to snap down and towards the target while “the ball just gets in the way.”

There is a fine line between a snap versus a jerk.  The snap is efficient and quick while the jerk is inefficient and violent.  The best way to see an efficient and forceful snap of the golf club is to watch the LPGA player Lydia Ko:

There is no violence in Lydia’s swing; just an efficient and quick motion. The amount of force used to create the snaps must be commensurate with the energy created in the back swing.

You must develop the attitude of good golfers that a rhythmic snapping motion should be the focus and not to focus on hitting the ball.

It’s a Secret  

People watching you swing or you watching a video of your swing will not be able to see the snaps.  Now you know the secret of an efficient and consistent golf swing.  Use  snapping motions and don’t tell anyone what you are doing.

 

Biggest Challenge of the Golf Swing

Golf is the most difficult game you will ever play.  The biggest challenge of the golf swing is not trying to hit the ball.  After all, the ball is NOT MOVING!  The biggest challenge of the golf swing is not the swing itself.  After all, an eight year-old child can produce a beautiful golf swing.  I have said before that golf is a mental game and yet most golfers do not embrace that fact.  The fact that golf is a mental game is not the biggest challenge of the golf swing.  But it is related to the biggest challenge of the golf swing.

The biggest challenge of the golf swing is TO REMEMBER.  Remember what?  The biggest challenge in the golf swing is to remember what works.  What works in a golf swing is a combination of the setup, rhythm, and efficient motions that make the golf ball go the desired distance and direction.  I am sure you have the experience where a swing thought or tip from a teaching pro, a friend, magazine, or the golf channel has resulted in consistent golf shots.  But how long did the tip last?  I am sure not very long.  Why did the tip stop working?  The tip that was working stopped working because you forgot the tip.  You forgot TO REMEMBER!  You must remember to focus on the swing thought on every swing in order to create good shots.  Focus is the key word, not think.  Focus refers to visualizing the shot and feeling your swing thought you must execute to create a good shot.

Distractions

The biggest obstacles that prevent you from remembering are the many and varied distractions in the game of golf.  Since your brain can only focus on one thing at a time, if you are distracted you will not remember.

What are some of the distractions?

Attitude – how you feel about yourself, the weather, the course you are playing, the hole you are playing, the shot you are playing, etc.  A negative attitude will always be a distraction.  You must learn to adopt a positive attitude on the golf course.  A major distraction is assuming you no longer have to focus:  “just let muscle memory take over.”   It is a myth that muscle memory does not require focus.  In fact the only way muscle memory works is when you focus.  When golfers are “in the zone” they do not think but their focus is extremely sharp.  That is why they become oblivious to what is happening around them externally.

Greed – Once you start hitting good shots, the natural tendency is to want to do more.  If you try to do more, you are no longer focused on remembering the swing thought that produced the good shots.  You are now doing something extra in your swing. Doing something extra is doing something different, not the same.  This is one of the biggest distractions in golf.  Rarely is the word “same” used in golf.  You rarely read in the magazines or hear it in the discussions about the golf swing.  Once you have something that works focus on doing it the same for the next six months.

Golf Course – Just because the swing thought you are using works on the practice range, this does not guarantee that the swing thought will work on the golf course.   This is because your brain knows you are no longer on the practice range and you are in a different environment: the golf course.  The golf course is a big distraction.  Mentally, it is so different from the practice range that it is like going from the Earth to Mars. Try to not keep score for a few rounds while you are getting accustomed to remembering to focus on your swing thought on the golf course.

Golf Ball – Most golfers do not embrace the fact that the game of golf is a mental game and not about hitting the ball.  You have probably seen players that have great practice swings when they are focusing on the swing thought that produces good shots.  When they step up to the ball they suddenly use a different swing!  They use a different swing because they are trying to hit the ball!  The golf ball is a huge distraction.  When you step up to the golf ball you must remember to focus on your swing thought.  You will be aware of the ball, but the focus is on your swing thought.

Hazards – The reason golf course architects put hazards on the course is to create distractions.  They know that a hazard will distract the golfer to not focus on the swing.  It only takes a tiny distraction to cause an improper swing motion.  The key is to ignore hazards and focus on visualizing your shot landing on fairways and greens.  Golfers in “the zone” only see fairways and greens.

The Value of a Pre-shot Routine

All good players have a pre-shot routine.  Most golfers discount the pre-shot routine as trivial and unnecessary.  In fact a consistent pre-shot routine is needed to remind you to remember.  If you do develop a consistent pre-shot routine, the chances are high that you will remind yourself to remember the swing thought that produces the good shot.

Remember to focus on your swing thought.

Golf’s Secret Society

There is a secret society in golf.  This secret society is a society of accomplished golfers.  This group of golfers is what all golfers aspire to: have a consistent golf swing.  A lot of the members of the society learned the game of golf early in their lives so it is difficult or impossible for them to describe how or what they do to become a member of this secret society of consistent and skilled golfers.  There is reluctance by members to reveal the secrets, so these secrets are rarely revealed.  The secrets are sometimes hinted at.  This blog article reveals the secrets that are shared by all members of this secret society.

The biggest secrets are: attitude, visualize, focus, and feel, how to feel rhythm, how to use the fingers, and feel an efficient down swing.

Hints from Society Members

Here are some quotes from two great ball strikers and my interpretation of their quotes.

Moe Norman

“Come on now, let’s not be a ball beater, let’s be a mind beater.”  – This means that golf is a mental game.  It is not about hitting the ball, but about being mentally strong enough to focus on the swing.

“I’m not ball oriented.  I’m divot oriented.  Swing past the ball.”  –  Again, the focus is on the swing (taking a divot) and not the ball.

“Everyone swings around their body except Hogan, Trevino, and me.  We swing under our body.” –  The down swing is a vertical motion.  The top of the left arm pit snaps up and the right hand snaps down under the left side.

George Knudson

“It’s not what you do that matters.  It’s what you attempt to do.”  –  Focus on making a consistent and balanced swing and the flight of the ball will be a reflection of the swing.

“Golf is a stationary ball game in which we make a motion towards a target.  The ball simply gets in the way of the motion.”  –  The focus is on the motion, not the golf ball.

Attitude

The biggest secret is to adopt the attitude that hitting the ball is not the objective of golf.  Members of the society understand and embrace the fact that a repeatable motion is the objective.  This sounds illogical, but if you want to become a member of this secret society, you must be willing to suspend logic.  The secrets that are being revealed are not logical.  If you suspend logic, you will be open to embracing the secrets.

Visualize, Focus, and Feel

“Do not think.”   This is a common advice on what to do if you want a repeatable golf swing.  It should be “Do not think, just visualize, focus, and feel.”  Do not think about swing mechanics, do not think about the ball, do not think about the past, do not think about the future, do not think about results, and do not worry.  All of this “thinking” is “natural” but creates distractions.

In order to block distractions and don’t think, you must develop a pre-shot routine that you do without thinking.   Part of the pre-shot routine is to focus.  Focusing is not thinking.  Focusing on a swing thought is not thinking.  Focusing on feeling your motion is not thinking.   If you do not focus, you will think and get distracted.

Your pre-shot routine must include the visualization of the shot, the focus on the motion, and the feel of the motion.

Members of the society feel the golf swing.  They visualize what they want the ball to do and execute the required motion.  The focus is on feeling the motion.

How to Feel Rhythm

The secret is that rhythm is the most important part of the golf swing.  Every member of the secret society has their own rhythmic swing.  The secret to creating a rhythmic swing is to take the time to feel the pause that occurs between the back swing and the down swing.  The pause must feel longer than it actually is.  The pause may feel like one-half second but the pause will not be visible to onlookers.  The noticeable difference will be a rhythmic swing.   My blog article “How to Feel Rhythm” describes how to develop and feel your rhythm.

How to Use the Fingers

The members of the secret society know how to use the fingers to prevent the hands from destroying the down swing motion.  If the fingers are not engaged during the down swing, the hands will naturally overtake the motion of the body and destroy the down swing.  The secret is to engage the right ring and middle fingers to snap down along the right side of the body in the down swing.  My blog article, How to Use the Fingers describes how the fingers are used in the golf swing.

Feel an Efficient Swing

Members of the secret society of accomplished golfers all have a rhythmic swing, know how to use the fingers, and have an efficient golf swing.  An efficient golf swing builds and releases energy efficiently.  “There should be no tension in the golf swing” is the common advice.  What is really meant is “there should be no tightness in the golf swing.”  If there is no tension created between the lower body and upper body there energy is not efficiently created and released.  If there is no tension created between the fingers and the upper body, energy is not efficiently created and released.

Most golf instruction teaches swing motions and swing positions, but there is no focus on feeling the tension that is built and released.  The secret in an efficient swing is to focus on creating vertical motion by feeling the back inside of the ball of the right foot snap up and the right upper arm snap down.  My blog article, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes the secret  swing moves and what to feel in the down swing.

Breaking the Silence

I am not concerned about ramifications from revealing these secrets because one of the hardest things to do in golf is to embrace these secrets and it is even more difficult to remember these secrets.  Now that you know the secrets of the society of accomplished golfers I hope that you can embrace and remember the secrets so they can help you become a member of this elite society.