[airair]

http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/forum/thread6123.html

Mechanics constitute structurally "fixed" geometry and physics. Feel is the body's equivalent to structuring and its foundation is Educated Hands (Chapter14).

So, when you introduce any new Mechanic into your Basic Motion Pattern (12-1-0 / Hitting or 12-2-0 / Swinging), you better be able to Feel it! Otherwise, you cannot hope to even Reproduce it (1-J), much less increase its Precision over time (Preface).

Specifically, you've asked about the 10-4-D Four Barrel application for Swingers. Should you be able to Feel the Right Arm Thrust? You bet! Otherwise, at best you have the "lop-sided lottery" of an Engineering System without a Feel System (1-J), and at worst, you have nothing at all!

You've gleaned from my prior posts that Homer was no fan of the Four Barrel Stroke. That is true. He felt its disadvantages outweighed its advantages for all but the most elite of golfers (and even then it was suspect). And the reason for that is that Pushing (Hitting) and Pulling (Swinging) are basically incompatible procedures (Chapter 13) and with the Four Barrel Stroke you are, in essence, attempting to do both at the same time.

And yet he didn't make a big deal of it in The Book. That is also true. And the reason is that The Book is "the Duffer's Bible, the Golf Nut's Catalog, the Circuit Player's Handbook and the Instructor's Textbook." (Preface) Each of these end-users has a different purpose. Homer felt his job was first, to solve the Problem of G.O.L.F. for once and for all time, and second, to put it down in such a way that it could best serve each individual's specialized need.

However, at no time did he attempt to dictate personal preference or evidence strong feelings one way or another about the Variations to be employed. He might give little hints from time to time such as, "Well controlled Double or Triple Barrel Combinations have little to fear from the Four Barrel Combination that is less than fully mastered." (4-D-0) But other than that, his feeling was:

"I've given you the information. Put it together whatever way you want. Then, fly at it!"

That said...

In early 1983 Golf Magazine contacted Homer, told him they were going to run a multi-page sequence of Bobby Clampett's golf swing, and asked if he would provide the written analysis. He agreed and upon receipt of the sequence, he went to work. For each of the photos -- from Address to Finish -- he provided a detailed commentary. He packaged it up and mailed it back to New York. John Andrisanni, then their senior Instruction Editor, opened the package, took one look at the commentary and did something like this:

There was no way they could put that "talking in tongues" in their magazine. After all, The Tower of Babel was no place for their average 22-handicap reader! So, they gathered their staff writers, plugged in the lava lamps, lit the incense, had a rite of journalistic exorcism and basically bastardized the whole thing. When the magazine came out in April 1983, Homer was furious -- like that line from The Godfather when Don Corleone looks down at the bullet-ridden body of Sonny and says, "Look how they've massacred my boy!" -- but there was nothing he could do about it.

The good news is...

We still have the commentary!

And in the Start Down (8-7) analysis, Homer made this point:

"Power Package muscle power (right triceps thrust) can make a miniscule contribution and only with great effort during a swing procedure."

To my mind, you just can't get any clearer than that. Yes, the Four Barrel procedure can be done and if you want to do it then "Fly at it!" but realize that it is extremely difficult to accomplish, much less to master, and even if you do, it only adds a miniscule amount to the process, and then only with great effort. Whew!

Hey, given this, I'm going into the old Saturday Night Live Emily Latilla routine of the late Gilda Radner:

"Never mind!"

Now, as for not being able to maintain your Stroke Geometry, i.e., stay On Plane, per Chapter 4, "The key to control of the Golf Club is Educated Hands. Very few are the mistakes and troubles of a golfer that do not stem from faulty Hands."

So, your Hands may be being pulled out of their proper alignments by your Pivot or they may still be relatively ignorant or both. No matter! Until the Hands learn to monitor only themselves -- and not the Club and not the Body (Pivot) -- and to maintain the proper Three Dimensional Backstroke and Downstroke (2-F), then you still have UNeducated Hands.

And that is your problem. And you are not alone. On practice tees and golf courses around the world, you see an infinite variety of heaves and jerks that are supposed to be golf swings. And the problem is always the same: Habit reinforcing its Ignorance.

Homer's Star System of G.O.L.F. is not a "band-aid" system. As I've written repeatedly in other posts, you must go back to the six components in Zone #1 (9-1) and then work your way into Zones #2 and #3. And Zone #3 (9-3 / Hands) can only be as good as Zone #1 (Pivot) allows it to be. So, go back and look, look, LOOK (9-2) and re-build your Total Motion per 12-5-1/2/3. And all the while, really work on The Hands per Chapters 4 and 5.

It takes effort and discipline, that's for sure. But...

It is the only way to make real, lasting progress.