Tonight, I was working with my swing coach on sequencing and recognizing all of the levers that we have in our swing to increase our club speed. How many levers are you aware of and how do you focus on making them efficient?
Levers in a Golf Swing
I am aware of “positions” and sequences during the swing as communicated in print and video over the years. I actually only think about positions when I am either slow motion swinging in my living room over the winter or as a follow up to a position my instructor has attempted to ingrain. I do not think about levers in the swing although they are a byproduct I guess of being in the proper position during the swing and how everything sequences. BTW I am in no way an expert or teacher but for me “positions” are my key.
I have always tried to keep swing thoughts out of my head and think along the line of proper posture and position during the swing. If I can execute these along with tempo/balance then I am happy.
Most recently I heard a really great comment from Rory in response to tge question if he has any swing thoughts as part of his routine/swing. I thought his response was very enlightening.
Let me paraphrase, (1) keep the club in front of you during backswing and (2) clear the left knee first/quickly during the downswing.
I have been simulating these 2 thoughts over the past week. As far as the first one dealing with the backswing this is very similar to what my instructor promotes to me which results in the flat left wrist at the top of the backswing which promotes a good club face position at the top as it starts the downswing. My instructor wants me to feel like my left hand is facing the ground on the way down.
The second point to me promotesI the feeling of having the club come from the inside on the downswing & quick clearing of the hips allowing the club to “follow the tracks” as I call it in the downswing where the right elbow stays tucked and the club head comes along for the ride.
I have always tried to keep swing thoughts out of my head and think along the line of proper posture and position during the swing. If I can execute these along with tempo/balance then I am happy.
Most recently I heard a really great comment from Rory in response to tge question if he has any swing thoughts as part of his routine/swing. I thought his response was very enlightening.
Let me paraphrase, (1) keep the club in front of you during backswing and (2) clear the left knee first/quickly during the downswing.
I have been simulating these 2 thoughts over the past week. As far as the first one dealing with the backswing this is very similar to what my instructor promotes to me which results in the flat left wrist at the top of the backswing which promotes a good club face position at the top as it starts the downswing. My instructor wants me to feel like my left hand is facing the ground on the way down.
The second point to me promotesI the feeling of having the club come from the inside on the downswing & quick clearing of the hips allowing the club to “follow the tracks” as I call it in the downswing where the right elbow stays tucked and the club head comes along for the ride.
Luchnia
You will never conquer golf.
I am somewhat aware of them, but I don't focus on them. I tend to get side tracked when I go down to that level. My focus has moved to the overall swing improvement and allowing all the parts to work good together in rhythm.
I increased my swing speed from 95 to 100 last year by simply working on speed training by practicing with the focus on speed or velocity through the ball. A decent increase for a 67 year old guy. I could possibly increase it some more and maybe get it closer to 105, but I have some other areas of consistency that I am working on right now that seem more important for my overall game.
Every joint is a lever.
To be honest I don't give any thought to levers. I know they're there, I have a couple of golf books that talk about them, but they are not a focus at all for me when I am working on things.
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Seriously, last night during my lesson, my swing coach had me swing my hybrid with my feet together, focusing on simply using my wrists and hands to generate club speed. He was trying to get me to focus on that particular lever. In effect, it was speed training for that one lever. I was kind of surprised how much club speed I could generate.
He coaches some long driver competitors and he is translating some of that to me, to try to help me increase my club speed. He seems extremely confident that by summer, my baseline driver club speed will be 105, which would be amazing to me.
My understanding and @blugold might tell me I'm crazy so he can certain confirm/correct my understanding, is that there are levers all over the golf swing pretty much at every major joint. However not all levers can be, excuse the pun, leveraged to gain speed and accuracy. Some need to be controlled to not interfer. For example, the lever created by the angle of the trail elbow during the backswing is a lever that can add to the swing. The lead arm, if it breaks down and creats a lever point pre impact, can actually harm the swing. Wrists are the obvious lever. Shoulders, spine/to hips, etc. are others.
I am not sure how many levers we have but utilizing them correctly is important. I thought the wrists always needed to be more loaded in the up and down to create lag. I found that using them with more of the back and forth motion better utilizes them. I know it's a blending of both but that's my feel.
This is a HUGE key for me. If I focus on "retaining or holding lag," my swing speed plummets. If I focus on using my wrists and hands (and forearms) to generate club speed, everything else falls into place. For some reason, that focus activates all the proper hip/shoulder/lower body movements.
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Levers? In my swing I've got sway & lunge, how many is that?
Just what I need, more things to think about during my backswing. 
This sounds dangerously like you don't need ground forces and that it's all in the hands. Where have I heard this before..
lol.I'm not surprised you could generate quite a bit with that handsy wrist swing though.
Lots of levers in a golf swing. I mainly focus on two, lead wrist being the main one for me. It's not really affected by day to day mobility as much as some other things on me. My base swing has one thought - long levers. Just keeps it in my head to have a long arc and let the levers do the work.
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This sounds dangerously like you don't need ground forces and that it's all in the hands. Where have I heard this before..
I'm not surprised you could generate quite a bit with that handsy wrist swing though.
Lots of levers in a golf swing. I mainly focus on two, lead wrist being the main one for me. It's not really affected by day to day mobility as much as some other things on me. My base swing has one thought - long levers. Just keeps it in my head to have a long arc and let the levers do the work.
Long arc creates speed without having to swing fast, if that makes sense. Long arc is a great way to just keep it simple and let the work happen all on its own. Damn you tall people and their ease of making clubhead speed!
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The work on my hands and wrists was just for 10 minutes. What you are describing pretty much sums up the total effort. He is having me focus on three primary things:This sounds dangerously like you don't need ground forces and that it's all in the hands. Where have I heard this before..
I'm not surprised you could generate quite a bit with that handsy wrist swing though.
Lots of levers in a golf swing. I mainly focus on two, lead wrist being the main one for me. It's not really affected by day to day mobility as much as some other things on me. My base swing has one thought - long levers. Just keeps it in my head to have a long arc and let the levers do the work.
1. As much turn and separation as possible with hips and shoulders;
2. Ground forces, pushing off of the back foot and then up with the lead foot/leg; and
3. The timing of the lead wrist so that it is combining with the ground force and hips clearing to maximize the ball compression.
I may not be explaining it very well, but it was one of the most exciting lessons that I have ever had with a swing coach. I wasn’t necessarily seeing increased speed last night, but I was seeing less dynamic loft. It is going to take some time to put everything together that he is having me work on.
Of course, that was then lowering my driver spin. I was working with the TSi3 (which as an aside, is still amazing in the face of all the new releases). I was seeing quite a few drives with sub 2000 spin, which is frightening, but that is another issue.
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I feel the same way at 5’8”. I see all of these guys who are over 6 feet get their speed much more effortlessly. It is why I am spellbound watching Rory’s swing. He just pounds it for his size.
Ditto x2 -- and it helps to have 35-36" sleeve-length arms.This sounds dangerously like you don't need ground forces and that it's all in the hands. Where have I heard this before..
I'm not surprised you could generate quite a bit with that handsy wrist swing though.
Lots of levers in a golf swing. I mainly focus on two, lead wrist being the main one for me. It's not really affected by day to day mobility as much as some other things on me. My base swing has one thought - long levers. Just keeps it in my head to have a long arc and let the levers do the work.
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Pounds it for any size. It's grossly unfair.
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Where do I buy those?
Hey, I might trade an inch for a little hair.
Just saying, we all have challenges.Now that's exciting as an immediate change for you. Woohoo!. And sounds like some great keys to focus on during the lesson. I'm excited for you. I'm excited. This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to go play.
It can be a double-edged sword.
On those effortless, auto-swing days, it's a huge bonus.
On those frustrating, out-of-sync days, it's more that can go wrong.
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- #23
Hey, I might trade an inch for a little hair.
Well, I have neither.
I like this thinking approach. The only way, mechanically, to use the big muscles in the body is to use levers in the swing, with rotation, to generate speed. I am 58 and still think I can gain some club speed with control. I have spent time this winter working on how I generate speed with the swing. It's ugly sometimes. Haha. I do think I am learning some things. Maybe.
A big part of this for me is what feels like a hip bump at the start of the swing. It's really about getting good hip rotation on the backswing and then rotating that hip in a way that makes room for the swing. When I do that, I can lever the swing from the shoulders (with energy coming from my legs via the ground) and then that shallowed left arm and then finally the last levered move with the wrists, which happens faster than I can perceive. I'm not yet sure I have this right. I don't want too many pieces to think about -- limited brain capacity!
A big part of this for me is what feels like a hip bump at the start of the swing. It's really about getting good hip rotation on the backswing and then rotating that hip in a way that makes room for the swing. When I do that, I can lever the swing from the shoulders (with energy coming from my legs via the ground) and then that shallowed left arm and then finally the last levered move with the wrists, which happens faster than I can perceive. I'm not yet sure I have this right. I don't want too many pieces to think about -- limited brain capacity!
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What was even more interesting is that he was getting my attack angle with driver up to 6, but yet the dynamic loft was coming down. I naturally hit up with driver quite well, but not 6. It is fun to think about having a steep angle of attack, but delivering the club to maximize compression for whatever my speed is.Hey, I might trade an inch for a little hair.
Now that's exciting as an immediate change for you. Woohoo!. And sounds like some great keys to focus on during the lesson. I'm excited for you. I'm excited. This is the kind of stuff that makes me want to go play.