From Top Of Backswing to Lead Arm Horizontal-Horizontal Axis Shoulder Action

[WILDTHING]

This post is really for people interested in the academic side of the golf swing (ie. what is happening).

I've been reading a few articles by a gentleman called 'Ben Allen Jnr' who has a posted quite a number in the 'academia' website (all free to read , download and discuss).

Imho his physics of the golf swing is flawed but he's made lots of useful observations of Tour player swings , especially these 2 articles below.

www.academia.edu/37655758/horizontal-axis-shoulders-action_basic_description

www.academia.edu/33539349/Reengineering_9_Power_Action_Mechanics_-_horizontal_axis_tactics_with_focus_on_shoulders

I must admit that his analysis has given me 'food for thought' about preconceptions of the 'what' is happening in the golf swing of Tour players from P4-P5. I especially liked the top view photo stills of Nicklaus and Palmer which he used to prove his point.

Well worth a read but note his comment and summary below:

"The author, to the present time, has not found any Tour player who does not include a horizontal-axis-shoulders-action in his/her swing mechanics, nor a recreational golfer who does."

Summary:
• The horizontal-axis-shoulders-action is the mechanism by which the modern-swing-golfer powers his swing.
• The H-axis-shoulders-action requires stable body support but does not incorporate any tactic of body rotation except for that needed to position the hands for the down-swing-kinematic-sequence.
• If any Tour player has recognized the H-axis-shoulders action as his power action independent from body rotation, he has failed at any effective communication effort.

 

[-CRW-]

I just skimmed through it, but it seemed like a bunch of rambling to say that the right/trail elbow needs to lead the downswing. Am I missing something bigger?

 

[WILDTHING]

I just skimmed through it, but it seemed like a bunch of rambling to say that the right/trail elbow needs to lead the downswing. Am I missing something bigger?

I think he is claiming that the upper body pivot is not being used to move the shoulder joints. That its only the shoulder girdle muscles (especially for the right arm) that are being used to power the swing from P4-P5 (ie. to stress and bend the clubshaft ).

So he is claiming that PA4 in old TGM terminology is being released by the protraction,retraction,elevation, depression of the shoulder girdle muscles (but no shoulder joint rotation caused by an upper body pivot around the axis of the thoracic spine).

I think he's got that wrong because of this image below of Jamie Sadlowski's swing (viewed from the Top) in his own article. I think it's quite clear that JS's left shoulder joint is rotating in a curved path from P4-P5. Imho , the reason he's not seeing much rotation (in a vertical axis around the thoracic spine) in the Nicklaus and Palmer's shoulder sockets (in these top view photos ) is because the camera angle is pointing more parallel to their shoulder planes.

Also looking at other diagrams below it looks to me that there is still some upper body pivot happening , but maybe there is also a lot of downward movement of the arms caused by the shoulder girdle muscles..

I think his article does question any instruction that advises the golfer pivots his upper body while remaining connected as a unit ('arms/shoulders/club' moving together as a folded unit) from top of backswing to left arm horizontal to ground.

PS. Unless you have a one-plane type of swing.

 

[WILDTHING]

Here are some more photo snippets - seems to show that there is no rotation of the shoulder sockets perpendicular to the upper spine. It's almost like a 'Ferris' wheel for that early downswing.

Bobby Jones

Si Woo Kim

DJ

Tiger,Larry Nelson, John Daly