Yen and Yang

Hogan called this pronation and supination and believed it to be fundamental in his golf swing. Some people call it fanning the club. Every tour pro does it and almost every amateur does not. (HuMM)

I do it naturally right handed only and get a shot quality that I want. The thing is that I don't do it completely with both hands on the club. If I don't do it on the backswing or takeaway than I cannot do it on the downswing into impact through release. This is the way I get more feel of the clubhead.

You have to fully embrace that you cannot guide the ball with a clubface. It is only square at impact for and instant. The rewards of understanding this is more effortless power and consistency through better angles.

I'm to keep this Post simple and short. Go out and try this with 30 yard shots and they will probably go 60 and I'll leave it up to your feel to decide if you want this feel in your more full golf swings.

F&G,

DC

The Secret to Power

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This is a longer video so expect some loading time. The goal is to feel the club--especially the whip and power crreated and released. When you understand and master this you can move into bigger swings keeping the same feel in mind. Key concepts here are:
1) Loose hands and creating and releasing angles help you to feel the club.
2) If you create the angle and move your arms back to the ball--the reaction/releasing of the club will be powerful and moving down on the ball.
3) The transition at the top of the swing has to be lightly gripped and smooth and rythmic.

This is action and when you feel/trust and understand this it can happen all the time and the sky is the limit. This is the only thing that has to happen to hit zippy powerful shots. Anything swing thought or awareness that does not compliment this action is a waste of time.

Just to be clear...

I recognize that I got a lil wordy when all I'm trying to say is most backswings get you out of balance and do not allow you to get into the right position to allow you top clear your hips levely and fully. So if you learn to face the ball and make a little angle and lil backswing just using your armswing and keep your hips mostly sqaure than you be able to clear your hips properly. If you don't believe me go back and look at how quiet my hips are on the backswing in all three videos.
As you get good at this skill and feel it and understand it we will then work on getting it into your golf swing. Feel free to send me a video clip when you think you have mastered this lil horizontal drill and I will look and see.

F&G,


DC

B before A

To me: this is one of the most exciting posts YTD. I want to thank Brenda and Frank, Steve and Eleanor, John and Diane and Diane for giving me the support and fuel to write this. We are going to look at the golf swing from the golf balls perspective. The golf ball wants to soar through the air. The golf ball wants to travel a mighty distance--high above the tree line so it can enjoy the panoramic view at 4 to 5 thousand RPS's (revolutions per second) . Why--because the GB Nation over the past two Centuries has gotten a bad rap. They are not the mean and nasty bunch that most people think they are. Actually, they are a proud dependable lot and they have a lot to say about the abuse they have been taking. I have gotten to know ODO (Golf Ball Nation Citizen) and I have found him, although at times unpredictable, to be exceedingly simple and yet remain very interesting at the same time. Odo told me, "They want to feel the clubhead moving downward with a lot of speed right through the clubs sweet-spot". They are a little demented at times but they know what they want. They know what will make them happy and the things that will give them the best chance for a fulfilling ride. I've even learned they are the most excited when they are allowed to do their favorite trick...To slightly over-shoot their landing zone and sneak up on their target from behind.

In this article I want you to marry three thoughts. I would like to thank Doc Abel from Ft. Pierce, FL for the first two thoughts which I heard in 1987 while playing golf for the IRCC Pioneers.

These three thoughts shall be joined together in GB Nation Matrimony:

1) "Good players seem to face the ball a long time."

2) "Good arm swing creates a shoulder turn"

3) "B before A"

To understand this third concept, lets break the golf swing into three basic parts:

A) The Backswing

B) The Downswing

C) The Follow-through

The golf ball only cares what the clubhead is saying at impact--all the rest is pomp and circumstance. So I got to thinking that maybe we learn the golf swing in the wrong order. Maybe we should learn B (the downswing) before A (the backswing). Maybe the only thing important about the backswing (A) is that it allows us to do the downswing (B).

Thus the Title of this Article is "B before A". I feel like most people make such a contrived backswing that they fall of the tracks. I feel that they are in such a challenging position that making a good efficient downswing is next to impossible. Remember, the golf ball doesn't care how pretty your backswing looks. Odo told me while out getting drunk their secret. They only care what the club is doing at the point of contact. This same night ODO and I were getting trashed and he told me how GB nation makes fun of people that try to manipulate the club right before impact causing all hell to break loose- he was in stitches over that one. He went on and on, story after story, finally coming to a point of clarity saying, "Don't we know that it's too late at that point for corrections?"

So now for the Marriage. In the video I demonstrate what feels to be a little backswing where I create a good angle (the function of a proper grip) and hopefully you will notice that I face the ball and the appearance of a shoulder turn is only that. (It is moreover just good arm swing) This is where the marriage of facing the ball and good arm swing creates a shoulder turn comes into play. I do this drill 5 times a day at least for 50 swings. What I am doing in this drill is training the feel of my body-hips-legs in a coordinated effort creating my downswing although I do it horizontally because it is easier. This is a skill you will develop and the goal of this video drill is to learn how to get real, consistent, coordinated power on the downswing. You want to feel that the body (torso,hips,legs) is initiating the turn through and the hands and arms are reacting to this. Our torso's and hips and legs are much more powerful than our arms in this rotary way. I want you to learn to trust this mechanism to deliver your strike. This is what GB Nation has observed and what they have shared with me. It's really a win/win for GB Nation as they have the opportunity to have a lot of fun while being proud of us and get the opportunity to shed their bad reputation.

The reason I call this the Lil' horizontal drill is because I want the backswing to feel little (Lil', small,short) so you can understand the concept of facing the ball on the backswing. If you accomplish this you will be able to feel true connected rotary power on the downswing which is the goal of this Post. Now lets go on to the second word-- horizontal. I want it to be horizontal so you can fully understand the power you are capable of generating. I also want you to feel like you are facing the ball for the backswing--this will keep you in position to create true coordinated power. The third word is drill meaning that you have to do this a lot and get involved with it and good at it.

If none of these words made any sense than just imitate what you see in the videos below and learn that you can create a ton of effortless power. It will be healthier for your body and you will decrease your probability of injuring yourself while increasing your efficiency.

Summary:

If you want to be powerful thru the ball than you have to be in the proper position to be powerful on the downswing. This needs to be your goal. Too many backswings fail to do this!

There is nothing Lateral going on here--notice the head stays centered and the angle of the left leg on the downswing into impact in all the videos. We are learning to have a simple armswing while facing the ball more and due to being in the proper position have the ability to clear through the ball. This feel has to be developed 1st.

Most of us will find this easy to do. If you watch exercise infomercials you can call this type of drill your Golf Zumba Dance. Do it at least 250x per day.

Later in this series we will look into translating this feel into a more vertical golf swing. Remember to keep it more horizontal to start. You guys will be great at this and will be surprised how much power you are capable of generating in your golf swing.

Brighter ball striking days are ahead--Odo Guarantees it!

Therefore...rather than learn a backswing, let's learn to create clubhead speed efficiently on our downswing and learn how to let our bodies and natural athleticism lead the way. BB4A

Fairways & Greens,

DC

PS..

If you are wondering at this point how to create good armswing I do have it labeled out in a 4-step drill in a previous blog post. --(see superfluous motion Post)

The Ultimate Gift

The best gift that I can give my Blog followers is not about how to hit a golf ball better. The Ultimate Golf Gift to me is a perspective/attitude about the game of golf.

I have recently challenged my playing partners to recall their favorite shot of the day after the round as we are sitting down for a drink. My favorite shot is usually not a drive. Although the drive is one of the easiest and most important shot of each hole. If you lay 2 hitting your 3rd shot from the tee (OB or lost) than the rest of the hole is most likely going to be a double or higher. My favorite shot is where I was challenged by a tough lie or hit a great long putt that just rolled by the hole or basically anything I visualized, felt and trusted and then I somewhat achieved the type of shot I was attempting. This is what is fun about golf to me. The reason I ask players what was your favorite shot today is because I get tired of hearing all the negative self -destructive recounts of all the failures of the day. Golf is not about failures, it is about successes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The facts are: the game of golf is difficult.

This is givin that you understand what it is you are trying to do in a golf swing. Most people do not even know that. One of my favorite sayings from my old boss at Tedesco CC goes like this. "Most golf information is transferred from player to player and the problem with this transfer of supposed golf knowledge although well intended is that they don't really know what they are talking about and they don't really care." You would think that your golf knowledge at the Country Club level would start from the golf pro and that it branches outward but it does not.

I hear people talking about how many birdie putts they missed that day and how they
should of ' could of' may have' and must of. Here are the facts on putting. The best putters in the world on the PGA Tour make about half of their 6 ft putts in competition on Thursday thru Sunday and the conversion rates get worse the further you get from the hole. We can thank Mr. Pelz for these great statistics. So if the best putters in the world convert only half of their 6 footers as a group average than why would you expect to make all of your 10 footers for birdies. If the best ball strikers in the world who all they do all the time is play and practice golf, hit on the average 14 greens in regulation then why do you beat yourself up if you miss a green.

The facts are that golf is a difficult game chocked full of challenge and this is assuming that you know how to hit a golf ball: most of you do not. I'm not trying to be mean in saying this. The good news is the bad news is wrong. It is not that difficult to learn the basics of grip, posture, alignment, and then creating motion in your clubhead. The problem is very few people are asking, thus condemned to their own swing thoughts. 10 percent of my golf lessons are people telling me how to hit golf ball and I question their motivations for a lesson. Thus, the quote in my favorite quotes blog. "If you are paying someone for their opinion then shut up and listen".

Golf is not a game of rush-rush and and hurry-hurry and finish. It's not about worrying about what the group in front of you or behind you is doing or not doing. Pace of play is incredible over-focused on at the Country Club level. One perspective I would like my blog followers to embrace is: Enjoy your round, enjoy your playing partners and enjoy the challenges that this day of golf will present. Don't get lost in the mentality of why is this group ahead of us so slow or what are they doing and why don't they let us play through. I suggest that if you fall prey to this mentality each time you go to a golf course that you are playing too much golf and need to take a break. Get in pace! Whatever it is, play the game.

Carpe diem

Boxing, Baseball and Golf

This is a post about consisting of some further thoughts on power. Tiger says he feels like he is throwing a big right uppercut. The Golf Channel describes it as keeping your right arm bent on the downswing until impact. Jim Hardy describes it as baseball homerun hitters are pull hitters. He further explains that power is created when the arms stay closer to the body. I'm going to describe it as a powerful right hand punch starts with your upper right torso (shoulder). Pull your arms in tight and bent like you are a boxer--hands up. Now make a punch with your dominate hand. Hopefully your shoulder will rotate back and your arm will stay bent as you powerfully move your shoulder forward and then the last thing that happens is your arm extending outward towards the target. Compare this motion in a power sense to only extending your arm with no shoulder involved in that same punch. This is the same difference in power you can have in your golf swing. This is why every right handed tour pro ends their swing with the right shoulder being their closest body part to the target. Compare this right shoulder action to your horizontal swing and become more aware of the role your right shoulder can play in your golf swing.

Catch and Release

I'm 41 and have been playing golf since I was 10. For the longest time I never really understood what a release was. I heard people talk about it but if you had asked me to define it on paper I would have failed. Here is what Dictionary.com has to say:

To free from confinement. To be free of anything that restrains.

Without getting into what it is exactly that the hands, arms or body do in a release, let's put a definition to how release applies to a golf swing. If the goal of a golf swing is to create motion and translate it to a golf ball, than a release could simply be defined as the non-hindrance of that motion. I think it is a little more than that though.

In past posts I have said that release and lag are inter-related. The better/deeper your lag the better your release.

You can experience this by swinging horizontally. With a good golf grip: create an angle which is the natural result of a good grip and then as you are swinging back and forth continuously create a deep lag on your down swing/forward swing and notice as your hands get to where the ball would be how the centifical force takes over and your arms will actually slow down while the club whips through. If you tie the words "catch and release" you might start to understand how lag and release are inter-related.

Become aware of the horizontal nature of a golf swing. Thanks to a friend of mine Jon B. who let me watch a tape made by Jim Hardy called "The Plane Truth for Golfers" I have become more aware that golf is a 'Side-line' game. Jim likens golf with Baseball and Tennis where the ball is to the side of us and contrasts it with 'In-Line' games like Bowling, Darts or Billiards.

Because golf is a side-line game off he ground, we have to consider both the horizontal and vertical natures of the golf swing. Think about the horizontal aspect of the golf swing sometime when you are doing the 4 foot tee drill (swinging continuously back and forth horizontally) and let it seep into your golf swing.

I have stated that the biggest problem with golfers is 'flipping it' or that there is an element of "trying to help the club get back to the ball' which hinders your centrifical force. Helping the club to get back to the ball hurts your golf swing and shot results. It's not that you do not use your hands-they are on the club. Is is just that most golfers over-use them and they over-use way too early in the downswing. This is why Pro's are always asking you to relax your hands and arms . This is the biggest part of the counter-intuitive side golf. This is why most golfers hit it poorly. This is why on little swings that are not sitting up that they are hit either fat or thin.

The hands in the golf swing need to be used like they would be used to throw a baseball. When you throw a baseball a long way you hold it lightly and have a lot of body action and the hands are the last thing to react and are reacting to a lot of coordinated body movement. one of my favorite sayings in is: "When the body stops the hands take over--so... keep your body/arms moving".