I believe that Doyle and Hebron are talking about transporting the hands with the pivot. I'm talking about the the hands dropping to release point during the pivot, the shaft staying close to the Right Shoulder and the Right Elbow moving in front of the right hip.
[Bold by Yoda.]
MJ,
For a number of reasons, the ideal Swing Plane is the Turned Shoulder Plane (10-6-B). Further, this may be accomplished with Zero Shift (10-7-A) -- that is, the Hands adhere to this Plane Angle throughout the Stroke and execute a Straight Line Delivery Path (10-23-A) to the Ball.
However, the procedure you have described -- "the hands dropping to Release point during the pivot" -- is a viable alternative and is catalogued as the Angled Line Delivery Path (10-23-D). That is, as the LeadingBody Transports the Lagging Power Package to Release, the Hands take a nearly Vertical path to the Elbow Plane Angle before they drive directly at and through the Aiming Point.
There is no inconsistency here. There is only Homer Kelley's genius:
Straight Line or Angled Line. Your choice.
And there is no right or wrong. Only personal preference.
Have just seen your latest clip -- a great swinging and hitting procedure. What is the main thing you feel to start the down swing when swinging. You mention you crank the gyroscope. Also, what do you feel when hitting? Thanks.
The Computer requires Five Programming Routines to do its best work (Chapter 14). The first of these is the Feel of your Total Motion -- your Basic Procedure. This 'one' Feel is actually a composite of the many Feels you have learned and mastered separately during your G.O.L.F. journey. Each of these Feels maintains their separate identity and yet always relate harmoniously to the whole.
So, in answer to your question, what I will describe are my Primary Feels -- themselves also a composite -- that govern my Stroke and that I can depend upon to reliably reproduce the Mechanics patiently and deliberately acquired through the Star System Process of 1-J and 3-B.
Swinging: My Lower Body leads and my Upper Body and Power Package lags. This Start Down Motion causes my Wrists to Cock a bit more and the Clubhead Lag to Load against my #3 Pressure Point (Right Forefinger). Since Start Up, I have been aware of a definite Extensor Action (against the #1 Pressure Point -- heel of the Right Hand against the Left Hand thumb). That Feel is accentuated by the Lead-and-Lag Start Down Motion. I sense a Gyroscopic Motion as I Pull the Club Down Plane until it is automatically Thrown-Out by Centrifugal Force in Release. I am very aware of the Left Wrist Throw through the #2 Pressure Point (the last three fingers of the Left Hand sensing the Centrifugal Left Wrist Uncock per 10-20-E). And -- from The Top (Station Two) to The Finish (Station Three) -- I Trace the Straight Plane Line with my Right Forearm and #3 Pressure Point.
Hitting: Except for the Lag Loading (Drive versus Drag) , the Feel is essentially the same as above until Release. Then, the Club is Driven-Out by Right Arm Muscle Power. I am very aware of the Right Elbow's Drive againt the #1 Pressure Point per 10-20-B and my Right Shoulder acting as a Launching Pad for that Drive. As with Swinging, I Trace the Straight Plane Line with my Right Forearm and #3 Pressure Point. However, because I am Actively Thrusting, I Feel the Pressure Point Combination (the Active Muscular Drive against #1 and #3) much more strongly than when Swinging (with its Passive Centrifugal Drive against #2 and #3).
This is a question about the extension of the shoulder.
I'm not sure how to explain it.
If I stand straight up, my shoulders feel very close and "attached" to my body. Seen from the side view, I guess I would say the shoulders are in line with my body.
If I extend my left arm straight out, then I can still have a similar feeling with my shoulder. But, I can reach further than that by stretching my shoulder forward in front of my body.
I'm just wondering which position is correct? at address, do I keep the left shoulder in line with my body? Do I keep this feeling throughout the whole swing? Does anybody understand what I'm talking about? I'm not making sense, right?
I notice that when I'm chipping, I always have the left shoulder non-extended. But, when I do the full swing, I sometimes extend my left shoulder away from me on the backswing (instead of just rotating my shoulders). And I'm thinking that if I do this, and I don't bring my shoulder back, then the radius that I established at address will be incorrect and I will, presumably, hit it fat.
FP,
Your concerns are well-founded. The Throw-Out Action of Centrifugal Force (2-K) works to pull all your Power Package Components into a straight line. These Components include your Arms, Hands, and Shoulders (which are a Pivot Component but also, being part of the Triangle Assembly of 6-A-1, are considered part ofthe Power Package as well).
This automatic 'stretching' by Centrifugal Force is the reason for the precision routine of 2-J-1 wherein the proper Left Shoulder to Ball Stroke Radius is established and 'pre-stretched.' This routine includes the Extensor Action (6-B-1-D) of the Right Triceps which stetches the Left Arm and also the Bent Right Arm (6-A-4) as the Checkrein Action (6-B-4-0) permits.The Extensor Action is in operation from Impact Fix (8-2) to the end of theFollow-Through (8-11) at which time the folding of the Left Arm by definitionterminates the Action.
Also, as you have discovered, the Shoulder Girdle (or Pectoral Girdle) attaching and supporting the Arms is very flexible and also must be controlled. This is the reason for the directive in 2-M-3 to keep the Shoulders and Arms forward with Pectoral Muscle Contraction if necessary. Therefore, this piece of the G.O.L.F. Engineering System must likewise be incorporated into your personal G.O.L.F. Feel System (1-J and 3-B).
And now to your question of Shoulder Position for Chipping versus Driving. The Geometry of all Golf Strokes -- for any given Ball Flight Characteristic and from Drive to Putt -- stems from the Impact Geometry required by the Shot at hand. These alignments should not be left to chance. Instead, they should be be systematically established in the precision Impact Alignments Routine of 2-J-1 and then reinforced via the Three Checkout Procedures Address Routine of 3-F-5.
With the proper Radius established and 'pre-stretched,' and with ExtensorAction maintaining that Radius, it is up to Educated Hands (5-0) and their able assistants, The Magical Right Forearm and Elbow (7-3), to trace the proper Geometry throughout the Stroke. The Pivot Components will yield to the dominion of the Hands, and no matter what degree of Pivot Motion you employ -- Zero, Partial or Full (7-12 and 10-12) -- there should be no difference in the way your Shoulders operate. And once you have incorporated The Golfing Machine Impact Fix (8-2) and Adjusted Address (8-3) routines into your Feel System...
Yoda said: "Then, repeat it from memory:
1-L #4 -- The Hinge Assembly controls the Clubface alignment. "
So in the office I yelled at the top of my lungs: The Hinge Assembly controls the Clubface alignment.
The Hinge Assembly controls the Clubface alignment.
The Hinge Assembly controls the Clubface alignment.
The Hinge Assembly controls the Clubface alignment.
The Hinge Assembly controls the Clubface alignment.
It was funny watching all the heads pop up from the cubicles. Like groundhogs.... does that mean there will be 6 more weeks of winter?
But the Hinge Assembly does not control the Clubface alignment.
With the hinge pin verticle to the horizontal plane, the hinge blade horizontal plane the little club face stays verticle to the horizontal plane. The face of the little club is open to the intended target line, then square to the line and finally closed to the line. Is this "open, square then closed" what you mean by "The hinge assembly controls the clubface alignment?
Does the hinge pin represent my shoulder/arm joint? And the bolt at the hinge arm/plate represent my fixed Wrist?
I missed that first part, Jim. What did you say? Oh! I hear you now!
1-L #4 -- The Hinge Assembly controls the Clubface alignment!
You are right!
But then you say, it does not control the Clubface alignment, and Yoda is confused. The Clubface's circular, horizontal ('closing' only) motion is the direct and inevitable result of the identical motion of the horizontal blade rotating about its vertical pin. If this is not controlling the Clubface alignment throughout the motion, then what is?
And surely you did not mean that the Clubface should stay 'square' to the Line, did you? Because if so, that would be Steering, the No. 1 Snare in the Game -- attempting to hold the Clubface square to the Line of Flight. And we learned in Lesson One that you cannot make the blade of a hinge move in a straight line. It only moves in a circle!
Remember, in G.O.L.F. we are dealing with a Force moving in a circle --the Clubhead Orbit (2-N-0). And because you measure the circumference of a circle in terms of angles from its center, we call that force Angular Force. Force moving in a straight line -- like a pool stick through a cue ball-- is Linear Force. The problem we have in golf is to produce the same effect as a Linear Force -- a point of contact between Ball and Clubface that remains welded until separation -- while our Clubhead force is moving in a circle. And the way you do that is through this Horizontal Motion of the Clubface through Impact.
At Impact a Line of Compression (2-C-0) is constructed through the Ball-- like a bullet hole through a baseball. This is a Linear Force. Now, if we can keep that point of contact -- the Compression Point, from slipping on the Face, then we will have 'sustained' the Line of Compression.This maintains the Linear Force in relation to the Ball, even though the Ball has now joined the Orbiting Clubface in its circular, centrifugal journey.
This is the goal of every Golfing Machine: To sustain the Linear Line of Compression as the Orbiting Clubhead is Arcing through Impact. And it all begins here with an understanding of the horizontal motion the Clubface must make through Impact. Then we must train our Flat Left Wrist to reproduce its motion on demand.
So, the Horizontal Hinge Assembly is producing a pure 'opening and closing'-- ONLY! -- Motion of the Clubface. THERE IS NO LAYBACK! If Impact occurred with the Clubface in the 'slightly Open' alignment, and if separation(of Ball and Clubface) occurred with the Clubface Square to the target line,then the result would be a perfectly Straight Shot and Maximum Compression.
The 'Closing Only' Motion produces the Ideal Application of Linear Force(2-C-1) because the Angled Clubshaft and the Closing Clubface are rotating about the same center. Thus, there is no glancing force (except for backspin). This 'Closing Only' Motion of the hinge blade produces the exact same motion in the Clubface. And because the Clubface does not Lay Back, the true loft of the Club is maintained throughout the Impact Interval]. Further, since there is no 'tilting under' of the Clubface, the Ball and Face stay welded, and the Compression Point -- the 'point of contact' between Club and Ball -- is maintained until they separate.
Hinges whose blades duplicate the remaining two planes of motion -- vertical and angled -- do Lay Back, and this causes the Clubface to made an identical 'Layback' motion through Impact. With Vertical Hinging -- the 'Layback Only' Cut Shot (2-C-2) -- as in Horizontal Hinging with its 'Closing Only' Motion -- the Point (and Line) of Compression is sustained. However, the Layback of the Clubface effectively increases the Clubface Loft and therefore produces higher, softer Shots than the Ideal Application of the Horizontal Hinge. This characteristic Ball Flight may be exactly what the player intends to produce -- out of a greenside bunker, for example. On the other hand, it is doubtful the player would deliberately employ this technique off the tee of a long Par Four!
The Lob Shot (2-C-3) is the Low Point application of 'Layback Only.'This results in a 'tilting under' of the Clubface through the Ball and a total loss of the Compression Point. This loss of the original contact point is termed 'Compression Leakage,' and in this application produces the Lob Shot, the high no-spin floater. This is the Shot Mr. Mickelson often uses greenside, but again, has probably never used off the tee.
The Angled Hinge also results in Compression Leakage. Here, we have simultaneous 'Layback' and 'Close' and thus an 'uncentered' motion and Slicing tendency. There are compensations for this deficiency, but the Angled Hinge application of Linear Force remains inferior to the pure 2-C-1 Ideal Application of the Horizontal Hinge.
So, the Hinge Assembly does indeed control the Clubface alignment, and tomorrow we will re-orient the hinge pin to see exactly how that occurs.
I'll be back tomorrow to complete our 'mechanical' stuff. Then we'll get on to educating our Flat and Vertical Left Wrist to duplicate the Three Planes of Motion on the face of one Inclined Plane.
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.
So then the "feel" for impact should NOT include a right arm thrust? - for a 3 barrel swinger?
I'll answer my own question and say yes, it should NOT include a #1 acc. thrust. What then does impact feel like? Are the hands simply moved and the body responds?
Is this like "Yes, we have no bananas?"
You are correct, R2DU! With your Active Right Shoulder driving the #4 Accumulator you will not sense Active Right Arm Thrust. You will, of course, have some Right Triceps activity to maintain your Extensor Action (6-B-1-D). However, that activity will be a minimal, below Plane stretching action, and not an Active On Plane Driving Action.
The characteristic Feel through Impact (8-10 per 7-8 and 2-J-1) will be a continuation of the Clubhead Lag Feel initiated and sustained from the Top. Namely, per 7-19, Hit or Swing, the Feel of a deadweight inertia -- exactly like dragging a wet mop through Impact -- constant direction, constant loading, a careful nursing of the Clubhead Feel.
The amount of that Constant Inert Pressure applied is the Player's option. And the Clubhead's inertia is capable of sustaining all the Lag Pressure we humans are physically able to exert. When Homer was discussing this Start Down maximum Lag Pressure Loading potential with our 1982 GSEM class, he made this statement:
"I have at times felt that if I had been just a little stronger, I would have been able to lift both feet off the ground."
Now, that's Sustaining Lag Pressure!
To assist you in your own pursuit of The Secret, Homer offered this advice (6-C-2-0). Establish your normal pressure, and then learn to vary it in five-yard increments. Work on this first with your scoring clubs, especially the Wedges. If it's possible at your facility, put markers out in those five yard increments. I've used everything from range buckets -- I've seen Tom Kite do that -- to towels to little piles of golf balls already on the range.
Challenge yourself to move back and forth between these "+ or -"five-yard targets. You can get really deadly with this, and your short game should improve dramatically. Once you've got the hang of it with your Wedges, do the same thing with your Short, Middle and Long Irons. Finally, move into the Metalwoods. It's fun to use your ability to vary Lag Pressure Loading and land that Driver five yards short of a target or five yards long of it.
Not only that, for the real ball beaters out there, you'll start playing a game I call "Poleys". This is where you keep score in every practice session with how many times you actually hit the flagpole. Believe me, you get zeroed in on this at the range -- "Taking Dead Aim," as Mr. Penick used to say -- and you will begin to surprise yourself. I am not bragging, and I am not kidding! It may be only one or two a session -- but you'll get'em -- and when you do, you'll sing out for all on the range to hear:"POLEY!"
Remember to keep the Ball back per 6-E-2 on the Short Shots and the Hands well-ahead through Impact (7-8 ). From the Top, direct your Thrust directly toward the Aiming Point (6-E-2) and take the heavy, Loaded Lag Pressure Feel Down the Delivery Line; Down through the Smash of Impact; Down through the Aiming Point (probably a bit in front of the Ball); Down through the Low Point; and then continue to Feel the Down Plane Motion into the Both Arms Straight Position of your Follow-Through (8-11).
Go back and count all those 'Downs.' After Impact, you've still got three more 'Downs' to go! So don't Quit (Second Snare 3-F-7-B)! Keep going! Where? Down!
I remember watching a video of Sam Snead at a clinic where some Golf Digest guys were also participating. First one guy would talk about the Forward Swing, and then another would talk about the Forward Swing. Forward Swing this and Forward Swing that. Melnyk and Kostis still do it today from the broadcasting booth. Not Snead though. All he could talk about was the "DownSwing." and over and over "Hitting the ball on the Downward Blow. He liked that term and used it a lot: the "Downward Blow."
Then he demonstrated a little high pitch, and turned to the gallery and said,"On that one you've got to go Down and Upat the same time!" And then, chuckling, "Guess that's pretty hard to do, isn't it? But that's what you've got to do." And, of course, the gallery laughed, having absolutely no earthly idea what he was talking about. After all, Down and Up at the same time? Guess that is kind of funny!
But what he was talking about was that the Clubhead continued Down on its way to Low Point as the Clubface began to Lay Back with his near-Vertical Hinge Action. Hence, Down and Up at the same time! That is the way you have to describe things like this when you don't have the precision terminology of The Golfing Machine!
But in our Star System, these are distinct Mechanics that we have names for and that produce Describable Sensations that can be Translated into Indentifiable Feels (1-J and 3-0/A/B) one-by-one. And once Translated and integrated into your Basic Stroke Pattern (12-1-0 or 12-2-0) they become your 'Open Sesame' to a lifetime of better Golf.
I'll soon have more to say on this subject. We need to explore the two very separate identities of Accumulating and Releasing Power versus sustaining the Clubhead Lag into the Finish. There remains much Fog on these subjects.
Aaaarrrrggggghhh. I hate days like this. Round 1 of a 2 day event and I was lost as an easter egg. Had a couple of good range sessions this week working on the swivel and staying behind the ball (I have a tendency to lean into it sometimes). Did some TGM studying during the week (book and the forum), but felt so frustrated on the course today. Hit a lot of not-so-solid iron shots, several drives that flared right, and a couple of marginal chips. The putter wasn't my friend either. Finally on 18 I made myself focus on #1 PP thru impact(this is after hitting another weak drive), and hit a nice high solid rescue club to the middle of green from 230 out. Shot 80 and pretty much took myself out of any chance of placing in the event, but need to use tomorrow's round as a chance to work on the swing "on the course". Not sure why I'm burdening you with all this bad news, but I guess I wanted to get a quick input from "the man" before tomorrows round. What might be the reason that a swinger would feel the need to focus on PP#1 in order to get the best results? Obviously my swinging procedure must not be very precise, but I don't quite know what piece of the puzzle could be causing the problem. I realize it's probably impossible to analyze via email, but any suggestions are appreciated. -- Hank
Hank,
As a Swinger, your Adjusted Address (8-3) probably finds your Hands in their mid-body location and your Left Wrist Bent. That is good.
Unfortunately, most of your Impacts today closely replicated those same alignments. That is not good.
Instead, they should have replicated your Impact Fix alignments (8-2;2-J-1). At Impact, per 7-8, your Hands will be visually covering your Left Toe and nowhere near the Ball. This one difference separates Pro and Hacker. Without exception. So, you have to figure out a way to get those Hands into a much more "forward" position at Impact.
I suspect that the #1 Pressure Point Thrust that you added on your last shot helped you to do that. However, it is not the ideal way because, as a Swinger your #1 Pressure Point should be passively funneling the Right Shoulder Turn Thrust (per 6-B-4-A) that is driving the #4 Power Accumulator (the Angle formed between the Left Arm and the Left Shoulder (6-B-4-0), not actively driving the #1 Power Accumulator (6-B-1-0) through its associated Pressure Point (6-C-1-#1)
However, I suspect that exactly that may have happened -- what you are interpreting as a strong Pressure Point #1 thrust was actually a strong #4 thrust in disguise, i.e., the power was merely funneled through #1, not produced by it. Hence, the good shot. Your Feel System must learn to non-automatically (6-P-0) produce both actions and thus learn to differentiate them. Per 6-R-0, only then can the selected Action "be pushed on to maximum Delay and become an Automatic Release."
Enough already. You've got a round to play tomorrow. Here's what to do:
Tonight.
Go into Impact Fix (8-2) and then back into Adjusted Address (8-3). Over and over. Note the terrific difference in Left Wrist Locations between the two. Also, be critically aware of the Forward Lean of the Clubshaft in Fix as opposed to the almost right-angled-to-the-Line alignment in Adjusted Address. Finally, Monitor carefully the difference in the Wrist Alignments, i.e., Flat at Fix, Bent at Adjusted Address.
You may be able to accomplish the correct alignments in Fix, but fail totally in real time. If so, the problem may well lie in your Right Shoulder location. In Fix, make sure you [b][keep that Right Shoulder down /B](On Plane per 7-13).You're probably coming into Impact too high, and as a result, you're "running out of right arm," an automatic throwaway. From the Top, turn your Right Shoulder directly toward the Ball and then through it, and continue to Trace the Straight Plane Line with it into the Follow-Through. Picture Trevino's Right Shoulder Down on plane through impact and let it happen.
Finally, per the last paragraph in 7-3, from Fix, use your Right Elbow Action(the Magic of the Right Forearm) to move the club up, in and back on plane. Learn to feel that originating motion.
Tomorrow.
In your pre-game warm-up, emphasize your Impact Fix position before each shot. Focus first on the very short ones -- Acquired Motion per 12-5-2, Right Forearm no higher than level with the ground. Take the motion to the end of the Follow-Through -- Both Arms Straight Position -- and make sure your left wrist is flat and your right wrist has remained bent. Hit a lot of these shots and monitor the follow-through -- which is also the finish in this case -- and ask:
First Imperative: "Is my Left Wrist Flat? Is my Right Wrist Bent?"
Second Imperative: "Did I feel and sustain the loading pressure against the passive first joint of my Right Forefinger throughout the Downstroke, Impact, the Follow-Through (Both Arms Straight) and even into my Finish?
Third Imperative: "Did I trace the Straight Plane Line? And did I direct the Clubhead Lag Down -- through the Ball, through the Aiming Point, through the Low Point, through to the end of the Follow-Through (Both Arms Straight Position)?"
Then, do what you can to achieve these alignments during your full Strokes. Do not think of how you're going to do it, just focus on your objective.
After the round.
Keep working on these same ideas. They are the ones that must be assimilated in order for you to come close to your potential as a player.
You said pivot thrust can drive acc. 4 through impact. What would this motion "feel" like? I gather that it is more or less a turn of the body into and past impact.
If this is true, how is that not "pivot controlled hands" procedure?
For Swingers utilizing "Body Power" per 2-M-4, Pivot Thrust must drive Accumulator #4 through Impact. For Hitters, it is optional. They can (1) Use the Basic Hitting Pattern (per 12-1-0) with its Three Barrel Stroke (Right Arm Thrust driving the Lever Assemblies via the #1 Accumulator and Pressure Point); or (2) use the Four Barrel Stroke (10-4-D) with its Right Shoulder Thrust driving the Lever Assemblies via the #4 Accumulator and Pressure Point.
The Geometry of the Stroke is the same in both Actions. Only the Physics change, i.e., you can either Pull the Club through or you can Push the Club through. In both instances, however, it will still be a Left Hand Stroke (1-F) unless the Right Elbow replaces the Left Shoulder as the Center (10-3-K). The "describable feel" (1-J) you seek will be dependent on the Physics (1-F) of the procedure employed.
That said, the true Swinger "lets the Club do the work." Among other things, he uses the Standard Left Wrist Action (10-18-A) and actually Swivels his Hands and Forearms (a true rotation) from Release (8-9) into Impact. He then executes the "full roll" feel (2-G and 6-B-3-0) of Dual Horizontal Hinge Action (8-10 and 10-10-D) before Swiveling out of the Follow-Through (2-G and 8-11) and into the Finish (8-12). As a result, he will feel much more "Wristy" than had he used -- your words from the quote above-- "more or less a turn of the body into and past impact."
No doubt your descriptive phrase also meant that the rotating Body and the orbiting Arms (per 2-G) were responsible for the Rotation of the Hands, i.e., there was no actual, independent rotation of the Arms and Hands themselves. And that is correct. Through Practice, that correct Mechanic -- the substitution of a Hinge Action Feel (per the last paragraph of 2-G) from the Top through to the Finish for the "Two Swivels and a Hinge Action "previously described -- can be translated (per Chapter 3) into a"describable sensation" per 1-J, i.e., describable to and by the individual player.
Hitters, on the other hand, do not allow "the Club to do the work." In fact, the Hitters I know dearly love to control the situation!
"To heck with Centrifugal Force doing all this stuff for me; I want to do it myself!"
"You want to pull? By golly, I'll push!"
In fact, Hitting was Homer's preference:
"Both procedures are equally accurate," he told me, "but I just like to control all that flying around!" And if ever a "control"guy ever lived, it was Homer Kelley!
Now, if you choose to "control" -- and Swingers can do it, too, given the appropriate adjustments -- then you will be "Feeling" what you described as simply "turning the body into and past Impact." With that "Feel" (of the Pivot Motion turning back and through from Release through the Follow-Through, the Acquired Motion of 12-5-2), you will have substituted a Hinge Action of the Hands -- the Flat Left Wrist remaining Vertical to one of three desired Planes of Motion, i.e., Horizontal, Angled, or Vertical -- for their Swivel Motion.
As a result, it is not only possible that you will Feel "less Hands," it is probable. In fact, when I asked Larry Nelson how he got so good so quickly -- he broke 70 a year after he started playing at age 21-- he said, "I took my hands out of the swing." Now, this is Pure Golf Machine:
Per 2-M-3, "the Hands are strong, educated, adjustable Clamps attaching the Club to the Arms for control of the Clubface alignments. By themselves, they are actually able to drive the ball only a relatively short distance. Even the Wristcock is not properly an action of the Wrist muscles.So, the only absolutely essential muscular contribution of the Wrists is "holding on." [Italics mine.]
Okay, if the Hands aren't the Power (and they are not), then just what do they do? The answer is that they control the crucial geometric alignments of the Golf Stroke, that's what. And per Chapter 5, it is your job to educate them properly.
Each of the Three Zones (Body, Arms, and Hands per Chapter 9) has its respective assignment. Zone #1 provides Balance, On-Plane alignments, and the initial Thrust so necessary to the Power Components located in Zone #2. But it is Zone #3 -- the Hands -- that control the entire operation, not only the sequencing and alignment of the employed Pivot Components of Zone #1, but also the Accumulation, Loading, Storage, Delivery, and Release of Power in Zone #2.
And it is within their own Zone #3 that the Hands execute that ultimate simplification of The Golfing Machine, the Star System Triad:
The Three Imperatives controlling the Three Functions (Face, Head, and Shaft) through the Three Stations (Address, Top,and Finish).
Each of the Three Imperatives is monitored and controlled directly by The Hands:
1. The Clubface is controlled by the Flat Left Wrist executing its Hinge Motion (2-G, 7-10, and 10-10);
2. The Clubhead is controlled by the steady-as-she-goes drive of the #3 Clubhead Lag Pressure Point; and
3. The Clubshaft (or more accurately, the Sweetspot) is controlled by the Right Forearm tracing with the #3 Pressure Point the Straight Plane Line.
Thus, per Chapter 5-0, you must "Learn to Swing the Hands. Monitor the Hands...until the Hands no longer consciously Monitor the Clubhead or Body -- only themselves -- and automatically dictate total Component compliance with Delivery Path (6-E) and Delivery Line (2-J-3) requirements (7-23)."
Should the golfer be looking at the aiming point, or the inside-aft quadrant of the ball when they swing?
Good question.
In The Golfing Machine, the Three Stations are the Address (8-01/2/3), the Top (8-6) and the Finish (8-12) The goal is to be as prepared as possible before Start-Up, as precise as possible through the Top and as smooth and complete as possible through Impact to the proper position at the Finish.
Note that Impact (8-10) does not enjoy the rank of a Station. It simply "gets in the way" of your Delivered Clubhead. And you use the Three Zones (Chapter 9) to train your Machine to operate without interference from either Club or Ball. In Zone #1 (Body / 9-1), for example, you learn your Pivot motion without the Arms and Club to avoid awkward "hitches." In Zones #2 (Arms / 9-2) and #3 (Hands / 9-3) you learn to make their Motions without a Ball to avoid Throwaway (4-D-1) and Steering(3-F-7-A). So, once you've established your Impact Fix alignments(2-J-1) -- this is where you nail that inside-aft quadrant! -- the Ball becomes irrelevant. It could be there. Or not be there. Practice Stroke (3-F-5-1) or for real (12-5-3).
Once you've determined your Fix alignments, the Aiming Point (6-E-2) replaces the Ball.You now direct the Lag Loading (7-19) of the #3 Pressure Point at the Aiming Point as if it were the Ball. This Aiming Point can only be determined by experience (Practice!) only. And you will need to learn how to direct your Thrust precisely at that point once you've learned where it is.
The way to do that is explained in 6-E-2-1. At the Top, you mentally construct a line from the first joint of your Right Forefinger (#3 Pressure Point /6-C-1-3) to the Aiming Point. This becomes your Delivery Path (10-23-A or10-23-C). Practicing in slow motion -- first without a Club; then with a Club but no Ball -- you let a careful Downstroke Pivot (On-Plane Right Shoulder /10-13-D) deliver the Lag Pressure Loading (7-19) strongly down the Straight Line Delivery Path (of the Hands). In real time, the Club is driven strongly downward, smashing through the Ball, through the Aiming Point to the Low Point to the Both Arms Straight Position (Follow-Through / 8-11) from which you Swivel into your Finish.
The big idea -- if you haven't noticed! -- is "Down." Straight Down through the Aiming Point. Straight Down to the Low Point of the Stroke. Only then, per 1-L 13/14/15, does the Club begin the Upward portion of its Orbit, and even then the Thrust continues Down Plane until the end of the Follow-Through (8-11).
Homer told me one time that very few golfers actually go all the way down. Almost all reach the Ball and begin their upward Motion before the Low Point is reached. "Even Tour players," he said.
"They almost all come up, and I'm really kind of surprised when I see them still take a divot."
I asked him for the name of a player who did go all the way down.
"Trevino", he said with a lowered voice and a growl.
"I like that guy. He hits a wedge, and you've got to help him get the club out of the ground!"
I've dug up a lot of old posts by Yoda. I think it is his great ability to convey TGM in an interesting and clarifying way that really stands out. But I can't help wondering - am I capable of using any of this on the course - can I even remember it? I guess it works best when you get guidance on spesific problematic areas where you are stuck or doing it wrong. But the cheer amount of detail and posts can appear overwhelming. It is easy to get lost... What else is new.. ?
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Linear Mode
