Here we go again: THE MAGIC MOVE

[cypressperch]

I know. There are umpteen things that have been called the magic move. There are a few posts here that seem to indicate people would like a little more distance and consistency in there game. This particular magic move will accomplish that if it is not already a part of one's swing.

OK, we want the head to be pretty steady throughout the swing (Well, at least, until impact.). We swing the club back and up as the shoulders coil until the left shoulder is below the chin. If we have not rocked the shoulders but truly coiled, our left shoulder will be almost over the right knee when we have completed the back-swing.

Now, the magic move! If the head stays put and we began to uncoil the body, THE LEFT SHOULDER MOVES TO THE LEFT AND SEPARATES FROM THE CHIN. Sorry folks! That is all there is to it. But what this does is very important. If you begin your down-swing and keep your left shoulder under the chin, you will likely come over the top. You will lose the chance to attack the ball from the inside. Your swing will not be nearly so smooth. You will lose clubhead speed and have a harder time getting the clubface square to the ball for accurate, solid, consistent contact.

Again, the head stays in place and the left shoulder separates to the left from the under-the-chin position at the top of the back-swing.

If you are not already doing this, please give it a try.

Sincerely, Cypressperch

[dave.]

Eh? And if you start you downswing from the top, even the shoulder, you will definately cast and almost certainly come over the top.

The downswing starts with the hips, left heel, right knee, and of these, but nothing up tp!

[cypressperch]

Of course, we may disagree, and as I have said many times, "There is more than one way to skin a cat (or swing a golf club)".

When you get a chance, swing a club back and stop at the top. I believe you would agree that the left shoulder will be under the chin at that point. If you move the left shoulder away from the chin while keeping the head where it is, I think you will find that the hips will automatically start doing the right thing (get out of the way so you can swing from the inside). It is not automatic that an over-the-top move occurs with the movement of the left shoulder away from the chin. Also, if one does the old "pump drill" enough, it will become habitual to have the arms coming down while the back is still turned towards the target. Doing so prohibits the over-the-top disaster.

I know that the sequence of moves is from the bottom up. However, I believe that Manuel de la Torre has a very good point that clarifies such thinking about sequence. He uses the analogy of a platoon that is at attention and about ready to march. The front row will certainly arrive at a given point ahead of the last row, but they begin to move when the order is given. I really do believe that this is a better understanding of what happens in a golf swing than the idea that nothing moves when the left heel goes down. Additionally, I believe that a lot of people, myself included, have worked at our swings with the idea that the down-swing is a series of distinct beginnings of movements, and that idea has made our progress very difficult. Getting all those movements to start at separate times is a really difficult task given how little time a swing actually takes. Most would agree that it is really done subconsciously IF IT IS DONE AT ALL. I doubt if it is really being done because when the left heel comes down, the right leg has to move too. So does the left hip. And da hip bone's connected to the back bone, and da back bones connected to da shoulder bone. Da arm bones connected to da ..........

Trying to swing as though there are not all these connections no longer makes sense to me. I find it far more easy to get things smoother if I forget thinking in terms of separate starting point for each part to move. Instead the parts of the body that move are like that platoon. If everything starts moving, to a certain degree, at the same time, there is really no danger that clubhead will strike the ball before the left heel comes down. Likewise, going back, the shoulders coiled more than the hips which gives the hips a head start on the upper body along with fact that the hips would be like the third row and the upper body the fourth row, and the arms like the fifth row of a platoon in which all parts can begin moving at the same time. Therefore, I think it is possible to think of the left shoulder moving away from the chin as a first movement since the heel will also begin moving down as well. The time of the first movement for all parts is actually the same in the golf swing as the first movement for all rows of a platoon marching is the same. If a platoon does not follow this principle, it really looks bad. Different starting times for the body parts in a golf swing will also produce a jerky looking affair. When the swing is really smooth and fluid it is like a smooth marching platoon, very fluid like a stream that has no rapids that break down the timing.

Sincerely, Cypressperch

[cypressperch]

"Some say it begins with a pull downward of the left arm. Others say you turn your hips back to the left. Still others say it starts with a lowering of the left heel. Actually, all these things should happen simultaneously. Since you can think of only one thing at a time while you swing, choose whichever reminder helps you start down from the top without prematurely uncocking the wrists."

This came from "Sam's best swing keys" Golf Digest O8/13/2003.

Lots of things happen simultaneously because those things are physically, neurologically connected. We still have to dig our games out of the dirt, however. Few of us are perfectly connected to begin with, so we must train to attain the right movements.

About separating the left shoulder from the chin: If the shoulder stays at the chin, and we begin the swing with the arms moving first (I have never said that you cannot do that wrong move.) that is actually when the over the top move does occur. When the head stays put but the left shoulder moves away, then you can bring the arms down so that you can then attack the ball from the inside. If you keep the left shoulder under the chin and begin your downswing with the lower body turn that is initiated with the heel going down and/or left hip moving, there is a great danger of a slide to the left rather than the proper turn. The left shoulder moving away from the chin with the head staying put provides a good way of preventing such a slide. And if the left shoulder stays under the chin and the head happens to move left too, we end up with all kinds of bad shots by moving the center of the whole swing left resulting in a steep, most probably out-to-in attack path.

Cypressperch