Category Archives: Mandatory

Feel an Efficient Swing

Posted on by

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.  At the end of a stretching motion, 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 bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up against the resisting top of the front right hip bone, 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 stretch up.  This causes the right upper body to snap down and 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 against the resisting top of the front right hip bone, 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 stretch up.  This causes the right upper body to snap down and the left side to snap up to the left 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 and feel the top of the right pectoral stretch up.  Feel the momentum swing the right shoulder, arms, and hands up.

Down Swing

Feel the bottom of the left shoulder blade stretch up, feel the top inside of the left latissimus dorsi stretch down, feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up against the resisting top of the front right hip bone, feel the top inside of the right 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 bottom of the front right hip bone “bounce” up and feel the hands stretch up.  This causes the left side, and the feet to snap up, 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 lower body.

These down swing actions can be seen in the video of all professional golfers: the stretch of the right pectoral and the left shoulder blade, and the “bounce” of the front right front hip bone.  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 stretch and “bounce” 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 stretch in upper and lower body 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 bottom of the front right hipbone “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 bottom of the pelvis and the left shoulder blade:

LPGA Golf Swings

PGA Tour Golf Swings

 

 

 

 

Dr. Kwon and High Percentage Golf Swing

Posted on by

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.

 

 

What You Must Know About the Golf Swing

Posted on by

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.

Patience in the Golf Swing

Posted on by

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 against the resisting top of the front right hip bone, 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.

Golf is a Really Hard Game

Posted on by

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

Posted on by

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.

Focus on the Snaps

Posted on by

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.

 

How to Feel Rhythm

Posted on by

Rhythm is the most important component of a golf swing.  A golfer may do all of the correct motions, but if the motions are not executed in rhythm, the golf swing will be inconsistent and jerky.  So what does a rhythmic swing feel like?  I will describe what must be felt and when it must be felt during the golf swing.

It is important to know that what is felt during the golf swing is not what is seen by someone watching the golfer swing the club or what is captured on video.  One of the most common swing thoughts is to “go low and slow” to start the back swing.  When this swing thought is successfully implemented, the back swing feels slow, but the actual motion is smooth and not slow.  It is hard to believe that what feels so slow is in fact not slow. This concept of fooling the brain in order to achieve the desired rhythm is crucial to develop a rhythmic golf swing.

An important part of the golf swing is the transition or change of direction from the back swing to the down swing.  In my blog article, “Feel and Efficient Swing ,” I describe the Stretch – Snap part of the down swing.  This article provides additional information on what I believe must be felt in the down swing to create a rhythmic swing: the pause.

Feel the Stretch

Feel the bottom of the front right hip bone stretch up against the resisting top of the front right hip bone, and feel the stretch up of the hands mature.

Feel 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 to the left and causes the arms to snap down, with abandon, and up to the finish. It is important to feel the back of the right upper arm snap down with abandon and not care where the ball is going.  The Snap automatically triggers the snap down of the right forearm and the snap of the club toward the target.  The Snap is an efficient method to produce an explosive release of energy.

Feel the Pause

The time it takes to feel the end of the Stretch and the start of the Snap creates the pause.  Be patient to feel the “bounce” of the front right hip bone and the “bounce” of the hands in the Snap.  This time period of the pause must feel the same for every swing.  This time period will actually be much shorter than it feels.  It is difficult to believe that the pause happens so quickly when it feels like it takes much longer.  Neuroscience calls this the “Oddball Effect.”  The theory is that when something unusual happens, the pause, your brain devotes more neural resources to it.  As a result, it feels like it takes a longer period of time.  Start by feeling a one millisecond pause.

The proper pause is the key to creating a rhythmic swing.  The pause is used to complete the gather of energy.  The last millisecond of the pause builds the last 20 percent of the force used to swing the upper arm down and up to the finish.  If the pause is too short, not enough energy will be created by a little more coil of the upper body and a little more loading of the right leg.  The result of not creating the additional energy with the proper pause is to add more energy using compensating moves of the arms and hands and the swing will not be rhythmic.  No patient pause, no rhythm.  No rhythm, no chance for a good shot.

There may be times when feeling the pause for the specific time period does not result in a good shot.  In such instances, increase the pause time by one millisecond or more.  It is better to err on feeling a longer pause than having a shorter pause.

If feeling a one millisecond pause is not possible, feeling the additional stretch of the hands as the upper body continues to stretch creates an automatic pause.  Usually, when a rhythm is too quick, the stretch was not done.

The pause is really a part of a continuous sequence of motions that make up the back swing and the down swing.  The pause cannot be seen, but must be felt.

The “natural” reaction to the back swing coil is to uncoil.  But the Stretch – Snap of the down swing is a more efficient method to build and then release energy during the down swing.

Practice the feel of the pause before the “bounce” of the front right hip bone and the “bounce” of the hands.  The tendency is to omit the pause.  A rhythmic swing is not possible without feeling the pause.  A successful golf shot is not possible without a rhythmic swing.  A poor golf shot is always the result of not feeling the pause for the correct amount of time.  Golf is a mental game and remembering to feel the pause for a precise period of time during the swing is another example of the mental challenge of golf.

 

How to Use the Fingers

Posted on by

The fingers are used to do more than grip the club. It is important that the fingers work correctly in order to create an efficient and consistent golf swing.  The fingers have more of an effect on the golf swing than most people realize.  Inappropriate action of the fingers will cause the hands, arms, and body to execute an improper golf swing.

The little fingers provide 50% of hand strength.  Thus, subtle changes in the engagement of the little fingers can have a significant effect on the golf swing.  The little fingers control the tightness of the grip on the club.  When the little fingers grip the club with too much force, the wrists and forearms become too tight and immobile.  The best way to see if the golfer’s grip is too tight is to keep the elbows against the side of the upper body and bend the elbows until the club’s shaft is parallel to the ground   Have someone gently pull the club head away from the golfer and notice if the wrists are bending.  Loosen the grip of the little fingers until it feels like the pressure of the little fingers are providing a pressure of only 1 where the maximum pressure is 10.  Now when the club head is gently pulled away from the golfer, the wrists will move up.  This movement in the wrists indicates the correct grip pressure of the little fingers.

The little fingers barely do anything; they just lay there.   The friction of the middle fingers, ring fingers, and the thumbs on the club provides sufficient pressure to control the club.

Ben Hogan’s Secret

OK.  Everyone has said they know Ben Hogan’s “secret” to his golf swing.  You may have heard things such as:

  • Cupping his left wrist at the top of the back swing
  • Driving his right knee in the down swing
  • Manipulating his arms or hands in the back swing or down swing
  • It was his strong mind and mental strength

Now, I will tell you about my version of Ben Hogan’s secret.   Well, it is really not a secret, because it is in his book “Five Lessons the Modern Fundamentals of Golf.”  Ben specifies that supination of the left wrist is the most important action for the best ball contact.  On page 104, Ben states that “Every good golfer supinates his left wrist. It is a ‘must’.”  Ben spends five pages (101 – 105) discussing the benefits of supinating the left wrist.  Unfortunately, he does not specify what causes the left wrist to supinate.  I would like to describe how to efficiently create supination of the left wrist.

The Secret is in the Right Index Finger

Ben Hogan mentions in his book when describing the grip how the fingers of the last three finger of the left hand press up.  That is part of the secret but not the whole secret.  What is omitted is what he describes in this video:

The key words are “at all times.”  This means the fingers are engaged throughout the whole swing!  Feel the inside of the tips of the little fingers stretch up to cause the other fingers to apply the pressure that Ben Hogan describes.

In the following video, Bobby Jones states: “here’s a thing about the hands that is very important.”  He shows how the left little finger has a light touch so that the grip of the club moves freely in the left hand.  Feeling the grip press against the tip of the left little finger allows the back swing to mature.  This creates the pause that results in a rhythmic swing.

Feeling the inside of the tips of the little fingers stretch up allows the grip to move freely and is not a forceful feeling.  Rather, it is a constant engagement.  The stretch of the inside of the tips of the little fingers creates supination in the left wrist.  The constant stretch keeps the hands in the proper orientation during the swing, and prevents the hands from trying to hit or help the ball.  This engagement of the inside of the tips of the little fingers provides the best chance to make solid contact with the golf ball.  When I feel the vertical stretch, I am able to achieve a “smash factor” of 1.5 with my driver.  The smash factor of 1.5 means the ball was hit on the sweet spot of the club face and results in the optimal ball speed for a given swing speed.

My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Down Swing,” states to feel the hands stretch up in the back swing created by the momentum of the upper body.

During the Stretch, feel the stretch up of the inside of the tips of the little fingers.  Feel the grip press against the tip of the left little finger.  Feel the stretch in the arms.

During the Snap, feel the bottom of the pelvis “bounce” down, feel the top of the right abdominal “bounce” up, and feel the inside of the tips of the little fingers stretch up.  This causes the right elbow to snap down in front of the body and causes the right upper arm to quickly snap down and up to the finish.  This action creates the supinating left wrist and makes it difficult for the right hand to overpower the left hand.  This is why Ben Hogan wished he had “three right hands.”

During the down swing, as the hands reach the level of the right hip, the “power zone,” feel the inside of the tips of the little fingers “bounce” up.  This adds more club head speed and makes the club head “shallow out” at the bottom of the swing which creates a more consistent contact.

This is what, in my opinion, is Ben Hogan’s secret.  At least this is the first explanation of how to create supination of the left wrist and what to feel in the fingers during the swing to produce a shot that is straight and long.  The average golfer does not know how to engage the fingers to produce consistent shots.  Accomplished golfers do so unconsciously.

My blog articles, “Chipping” and “Basic Bunker Shot,” describes the additional use of the right index finger.

 

What Causes a Missed Shot?

Posted on by

Golf is a game of misses.  Ben Hogan said that in a round of golf where he had 36 full swings, he only hit two perfect shots.  A perfect shot means the shot went the desired distance, direction, and trajectory.  Two out of 36 shots is less than ten percent!  More than ninety percent of Ben Hogan’s shots were misses.  Similarly, Tiger Woods said that he had two to four perfect shots per round.  Again, that is approximately ninety percent of his shots were misses.  Of course, the misses of Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods are much better than our misses.

What causes a missed shot?  The answer to that question is actually very easy.  Here is the answer that you have been waiting for:

A missed golf shot is caused by a swing rhythm that is too quick.  

That is it.  It is not more complicated than that.  Now when you hit a bad shot, you can be certain that your rhythm was too quick.  What happens when the rhythm is too quick?  The result is the incomplete gathering of energy.  The body will react subconsciously to try to make up for the less energy by moving the body, the arms, and hands in a jerky motion.

A quick rhythm is caused by pause at the top of the back swing that is too short.  A quick rhythm does not allow the upper body and the right upper arm to completely gather the energy that is required for a good shot.  My blog article, “How to Feel Rhythm,” describes how to feel the correct pause.  A rhythm that is too quick by even one millisecond will result in a bad shot.

If you have a rhythmic swing and still have a bad shot, the cause is allowing the right hand to try to hit the ball or to try to lift the ball in the air by using diagonal or horizontal motion.  My blog post, “How to use the Fingers,” describes how to engage the fingers to prevent the right hand from trying to hit the ball or trying to lift the ball in the air.

My blog post, “Feel an Efficient Swing,” describes how to use vertical motion to snap the right upper arm down and feel the club snap down and up towards the target.  Using diagonal or horizontal motion means the golfer is focused on hitting the ball which prevents the focus of executing a graceful golf swing.

Correcting a bad shot is not about focusing on what you did but instead about focusing what you did not do.  When you hit a bad shot, ask yourself:

  1. Did I feel the pause?
  2. Did I feel vertical motion of the right upper arm?
  3. Did I feel the constant engagement of the fingers?

The answer will always be NO to one or more of the questions.  Not doing any one of the above actions will cause the loss of synchronization between the right side and the right upper arm.

One of the good aspects of the game of golf is you will have a chance to create a good shot on the next swing if you can focus on feeling the pause, the engagement of the fingers, and feeling the vertical motion of the right upper arm.

Patience is the key to allow yourself the time to do the correct motions.   My blog article, “Patience in the Golf Swing,” describes the patience required to execute a successful golf shot.

The cause of a bad shot is no longer a mystery.

 

The Mental Game

Posted on by

Golf is really a mental game.  Very few people realize this and that is why they struggle to learn to make a consistent swing.   The golf swing is not a complex motion.  In fact, most children can execute a good swing.  If an eight year old child can execute a good swing, how complicated can the golf swing be?

Golfers who learn the swing when they are young children have the best chance to make a consistent swing.  Golfers who learn the game as adults have the hardest time.  This is because everything you learned in order to be a successful adult does not work in learning to make a consistent golf swing.  Things that a successful adult does naturally are: try harder, do a little extra, worry about what can go wrong, try to hit the ball or help the ball into the air.  All of these things do not work in trying to make a consistent swing.  In fact, they prevent the adult golfer from ever being successful in making a consistent swing!

Golf legend Gary Player said that golf is about the mind and putting.

If you accept that golf is a mental game, you have taken a big step towards learning to focus on your rhythm and making an efficient swing.  This is easy to say, but mentally hard to do.

A good example is the fact that the majority of golfers do not focus on developing a precise setup: grip, aim the club, stand to the club, and posture.  Most amateurs take lessons on improving the swing, but not much attention is given to the setup.  Most professional golfers focus on the setup much more than amateur golfers.

Along the same line, very few amateur golfers have a consistent pre-shot routine.  The pre-shot routine is intended to stop the thinking and focus on the doing.  You rarely see anyone on the driving range practice their pre-shot routine.  When you watch professional golfers’ pre-shot routine, you can tell they are focusing on the doing.  When you watch amateur golfers, you can tell they do not have a consistent routine and they are focusing on the worrying.  Developing a consistent setup and pre-shot routine is all mental.

One concept that is not taught is the word “same”.  You rarely hear this word used when taking a lesson or read about it in a golf magazine.  When golfers want to create a more consistent swing, they rarely focus on doing the same.  When you find something that works, focus on doing it the same way.

“Easy to say, hard to do.”  This saying is a common hurdle in trying to become mentally strong in golf.  We all know what we should do, but executing it is not as easy as it seems because of the mental distractions that exist in golf that prevent us from mentally focusing on the easy and effective behaviors.  Here are just a few golf concepts that are “easy to say,” but mentally “hard to do.”

  1. Be in the present. Don’t let the past or the future distract you from focusing.
  2. Swing smoothly
  3. Ignore the hazards and focus on the fairways and greens
  4. Focus on your rhythm
  5. Focus on your balance
  6. Feel your swing
  7. Swing down
  8. Bring your swing from the range to the course
  9. Do less and you will get better results
  10. Practice your pre-shot routine
  11. Be very precise
  12. Focus on executing the same swing
  13. Practice your short game (chipping, putting, pitching) if you want to lower your score
  14. Use more force on uphill putts or on slow greens

This shows how mentally challenging the game is. The key to making the “hard to do” easy, is to let go of your “natural” thoughts and fears and focus on the effective behaviors.  Unfortunately, that is easy to say, mentally hard to do.  But you must let go of your “natural” thoughts and fears and focus on adopting effective behaviors if you want to develop a consistent swing.

Being logical interferes with developing a consistent golf swing.  The things that you need to do to achieve a consistent swing are not logical.  Here are some true but seemingly illogical concepts regarding the game of golf.

  1. Most people think golf is about helping the ball into the air or hitting at the ball. But, the golf ball really indicates where to make the swing and how well you executed your swing
  2. You will never miss the ball if you focus on making an efficient swing
  3. Bad shots come from forgetting to focus on rhythm, balance, or efficiency
  4. Golf is a very precise game. Consistent means the same, not similar.  Your setup, rhythm and efficiency must be the same, not similar.
  5. Trying harder never works
  6. The pre-shot routine gets you into the “zone” and the routine must be the same.

If you embrace and remember the illogical concepts presented above, you will have the proper mindset to develop a consistent swing.

Now you know why golf is really a mental game.  Very few golfers know this.  Now you also understand why golf is so challenging.  Are you mentally strong enough to accept the challenge of golf?  If so, enjoy the never-ending journey that is the game of golf.

My blog post “The Most Important Focus in the Golf Swing,” describes what your mind needs to focus on to produce a consistent golf swing:  rhythm, the little fingers, and vertical motion.  I’m sure you are thinking “that makes no sense!”  But if you are ready to begin the proper way to develop a consistent golf swing I urge you to be open to the challenge of focusing on the illogical.