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New swing learning method

LongGolf

Well-Known Member
Dec 20, 2008
5
0
Here is a radical “backward” approach to learning the golf swing. Develop the swing from impact backwards to address. A good impact motion is the final goal (as usual). Take a good address position and grip with your favorite club but no ball. The first step is to simulate a good impact movement, using a short, continuous, bi-directional motion across the impact point. This motion should be very short, slow at first, divided equally on each side of impact, and gradually quickened to the limit of control. Just don’t allow the hands to move in the opposite direction to the clubhead. There must be hand-eye control of the line and timing in the impact zone in both directions. Try to swing through the same impact point, going neither inside-out nor outside-in, without loops. Timing refers to hand position at “impact:” neither late nor early with the hands. With the short swings the hands do not traverse far. The hands work very hard when the speed is maximized. In spite of maximum hand strength, the club is able to wiggle because the hands are inherently flexible. As you are all good golfers, all of this so far should be easy to perform. Then the swing is slowed a bit, if necessary for coordination, and lengthened one increment (some inches), then quickened to the limit. This is repeated until finally, and not necessarily on the same day, a full swing is reached. For some it is too exhausting at first. With experience, the length increments can be larger, reducing the time is takes. Maximum force does not always have to be reached. You should not use full force in the backward direction when you reach the longer swings; the goal here is accuracy. Each added increment of swing length extends but preserves the motion that came before it, thus ultimately preserving the proper action in the impact zone. This motion also tends to create one swingplane and good top positions for all lengths of swings. These top positions are much better than the ones produced by a normal backswing. With the shorter swings there is no time for extraneous body moves. For longer swings the head location may need to be monitored. The above exercise I call the downswing exercise.

To complete the procedure, a backswing is developed. The backswing has as its goal the copying of the dynamic and location of a top position that has just been created by the above exercise. This top position can be for a full swing or a shorter swing. The exercise for the backswing begins at this top position. The first backswing move is down to address and back to the top. This is then repeated until you lose the feeling of the top. The top must then be regenerated by doing a full or quick version of the downswing exercise. You can make the transition from downswing to backswing exercise in two ways: with stopping and without stopping. Both ways seem instructive. If you stop, the pause can be of different lengths. Furthermore, a pause can be inserted any time the top is reached during the backswing exercise. Without stopping, it may be easier to remember and copy the dynamic of the approach to the top (as learned in the downswing exercise). Eventually a pause at address should be introduced to simulate starting the backswing from a standstill.

Also available is a hybrid exercise that intertwines the backswing and downswing exercises together into a shorter sequence.

Another “new” idea is to use a repeatable address relationship between the arms and torso, characterized by a fixed distance between the hands and groin for all clubs. The purpose is to develop only one “groove” or upper body geometry for all clubs. I measured three famous pros to see if they do this. T Woods and E Els display this constant arms to torso relationship. Another idol, the legendary B Hogan does not.

Well? I’ve made a lot of unsubstantiated assertions. It is up to others to question them. Here are some questions I would ask: Is this a workable system for learning or improving a golf swing? What makes it work and not work? Is the swing it generates more consistent? More accurate? Easier to learn? More powerful? Better looking? Easier to maintain or improve? If you tried the exercises, what happened? What did it do to your swing? Did it recreate the swing you already have or change it? If it changed your swing, was this change good or bad? The full write-up on these exercises are on my website longgolf.com on the special exercises page.
 

SplooGe

Well-Known Member
Supporting Member
Jan 7, 2007
1,694
249
Thats what I was thinking but you never know he could just be a helpful soul looking to save the shottalk masses stokes without expecting anything in return. ;)
 

Wi-Golfer

Golfer on hiatus.
Supporting Member
Jul 25, 2007
8,147
1,474
Madison, Wi
Country
United States United States
Thats what I was thinking but you never know he could just be a helpful soul looking to save the shottalk masses stokes without expecting anything in return. ;)


If it were 1 post & the webiste was something along the lines of a myspace page where he had a few tips he picked up, then sure. But when he makes 4-5 posts & all of them point back to his site, then it's tasty spam.
 

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