Observations from GD

[Bama Duffer]

Two items in the September Golf Digest caught my eye.

First, stack and tilt. I had some success applying some of this theory, but my lower back and left knee hurt after a few holes. Looking at the picture on page 129 of the "Tilt" position, I see why. This looks suspiciously like the old Reverse C to me.

Second, Jim Hardy wrote the Breaking 100/90/80 feature. I really liked the one-plane swing theory. Liked it so much that I bought his first book and the DVD. But on page 200 he describes the "One Plane: Magic Starting Move." He says to start the downswing "by letting your right arm drop straight down and your left forearm rotate toward the ground."

WHAT?!

Where did that come from? Don't get me wrong, I know it works--this is how I was able to hit my best shots using the one-plane swing. I just don't recall him ever stating anything remotely like this in the book or the DVD. In fact, I recall him saying that you start the one-plane swing only with the shoulders and hips--your arms are "passive."

Does this strike anyone else as odd?

[Bignose]

Re: Hardy. that phrase is in his new book, The Plane Truth for Golfers Masters Class. I just got this book a few days ago, and never read the first one or saw his DVDs. Though, in his new book, it doesn't seem to be in the general One-Plane instructions, but it is in the section in correcting people whose arms disconnect from the body. This is one of my issues, which is why I remember this piece of advice. The body (shoulders) still drives the swing, but his words are means to encourage keeping the front arm across your chest all the way through impact. A few paragraphs later he tells you that you will probably feel as though your arms are too far behind your body. I would imagine that a very common problem for people just coming over the one-plane swing is way too much hand movement, and he is telling them (me) to move the arms downward not outward. Downward still keeps them near the body, outward is nothing but trouble.

Sounds to me like he is just refining the teaching even more. More than likely, all the people who were throwing their arms and club outward couldn't quite get their bodies to react the way Hardy taught, so this is version 2.0 which includes specific instructions on how to keep the arms close to the body.

I wouldn't be wholly surprised if the ins't a version 2 DVD in the making and a few years later a version 3 book coming out. To compare it with a university level textbook, they have new editions coming out all the time as well. Improvements to the teaching methods, the writing style, the information all happen, so I see this as just Hardy's improvement to his teaching method.

[Bama Duffer]

Bignose--Point taken.

The statement just struck me odd because I've associated dropping the arms as the first move down with the two-plane swing as Hardy describes it. In fact, if I remember right, he says this himself on the DVD. So, to some extent he seems to be blending his own theories.

I'm sure it is a refinement, and I think it's a useful one.

[Bignose]

Here's the quote directly from his new book:

"If you suffer from this [arms thrown too far in front of body] outside-in downswing, the key to correcting it is to improve the movement of your right forearm at the very start of the downswing. Try to keep the right elbow in the position it was in as your reached the top; in other words, keep it up and behind you, while you lower your right forearm (and your left arm with it, since both hands are holding the club). Lowering your right forearm while keeping the right elbow up and behind instead of throwing them will put your hands on the inner circle very close to a spot just below your right pant pocket.
A split second after you drop your right forearm, as you enter impact, start to bend your left elbow to the left, keeping it tight against your chest."

All the while, you are rotating your shoulders, too. The shoulders still are the power behind the swing, but this peice of advice is for people like me, who always liked to get their arms extended when playing baseball or softball and can't seem to stop ourselves from trying to do the same thing with the golfball.

[warbirdlover]

I don't read Golf or Golf Digest anymore because of all their stupid "magic" moves. Too mechanical and years ago got me all screwed up. I don't even want to think about "how to start my swing". It just happens.

[BigJim13]

Originally Posted by warbirdlover

I don't read Golf or Golf Digest anymore because of all their stupid "magic" moves. Too mechanical and years ago got me all screwed up. I don't even want to think about "how to start my swing". It just happens.

Agreed, I plan on letting my subscriptions die...I did however try the stack and tilt. It killed my back, but did do one good thing. I had been moving my head WAY off the ball in my backswing, so I started keeping it more still and my shots have improved....WITHOUT killing my back with the stack and Tilt...