Key skills of Golf Swing
Merge detail techniques into natural swing by feeling forces
Without natural swing, the best technique and equipment can not make you the pro players. It doesn’t matter how hard or how smart you are, because the human body is the best system and your body is different with others. If you do not comply with your body structure and follow your feelings, you cannot make the natural swing for yourself. The natural swing is different from one individual to another because the body structure and muscle are not the same. You can make your body stronger and more flexible, but you can not make your body the same as others.
To play golf better, everybody has to swing the club by the basic concepts and our own feeling of forces. We can swing using arms only, we can swing using arms and shoulders only, we can swing using the upper body only, and we also can swing using the whole body depending on how much power we need to make the ball fly with proper speed to the specific place. All these actions are controlled by our brain and feelings, and they are natural things just like walking and riding a bike. You don’t have to consider the details too much if you are familiar with them very well.
Just like learning how to drive a car, we have to pay attention to learn the detail techniques of the golf swing using the whole body. These techniques have to be conformed to both the science and your body structure. You can hit the gas or break softer or harder, but you should control the car to start or stop at the right time and proper speed, and you will enjoy driving without worrying about the driving skill. The golf swing is the same: after you can control the swing techniques and are familiar with them, what you try to do is to merge them into your natural swing. Other words, try to make these techniques into only one skill: natural swing. Just like riding or driving, after getting the driving license, nobody cares about your driving skills and you will not forget them.
How to merge the techniques into natural swing as a natural ability without thinking to finish?
- Setting up a stable and powerful body structure: two legs and the spine. Holding the head steady to see the ball clearly can help keep the spine angle and body structure during the swing; this way can make the swing easier and powerful.
- Coordinating body’s movement and the forces. It is crucial to let hands feel the weight of the club head and the hitting force during the swing. Then the arms, shoulders and upper body can feel the pulling force from the club and control the movements of the club. Do not try to use the wrists to control the club.
- Feeling the club during the whole swing. So try to follow the feeling of pulling forces to hit the ball, and then the perfect position will show up. Instead the standard or pretty position can not create the solid force to hit the ball.
Swing direction --- vertical with spine
The torso turns around the spine to swing the arms by pulling the arms up during backswing. Then the turning action creates the clubhead speed to hit through the ball. Keep in mind: the arms and the club should be vertical with the spine for high speed turning, even the same for the backswing because it will set the right path for returning back during backswing. So the swing power is from the body’s pulling force, torso and shoulders’ turning and superposition, not force from the wrists. The wrists can keep the angle of the clubface with the arms. Basically the wrists are negative during the downswing.
Notes for the picture on right:
- Imagination one: 2D setup position of ground: A is the ball, B is left foot and C is right foot. The arrows are the swing directions of torso and arms during backswing and downswing.
- Imagination two: 3D setup position of body: A is head, B is left hip and C is right hip. The arrows being vertical with the line of AC are the direction of turning around the spine during backswing; and the arrows being vertical with the line of AB are the direction of turning around the spine during the downswing.
- Bear in mind: the spine for golf swing is the line from head to one hip;
- This picture just shows you the upper body’s swing direction; line AC is the spine position of backswing and line AB is the spine of downswing, both AC and AB can not exist at same time like the picture.
The reasons of the torso should turn around spine along the direction of being vertical with the spine during backswing:
- The fast turning line should be vertical with the axle: like the helicopter propeller; even though the backswing doesn’t need this high speed, the downswing needs it and the torso should turn back along the original direction.
- It is not easy to turn the whole torso along this vertical direction, but this action can restore a lot of elastica force in the back muscles — it is like the spring: the more you push it the higher it rebounce up;
The reasons of the torso should turn around spine along the direction of being vertical with the spine during downswing:
- The fast turning line should be vertical with the axle; besides, the weight should transfer to the left and the head should be at the center during backswing and impact.
- Don’t worry about the golf ball will fly up to the right: the both arms are not straight especially the left arm with the club, so the torso will turn more pass the center ( or the ball) and the club head will be late to arrive and be square to the ball; ( Other reasons are too complicated to tell here)
- Because the lag action needs the curve shape during the downswing and impact: the left shoulder leads the left arm and the left arm leads the club; even the left elbow may bend a little and the left hand is ahead of the club at the impact.
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For reading “STEM Golf Methodology”
By William B. Justice
