Swaying off the ball

Good stuff GLM. Tension is a killer for me. I often pose on my through swing and notice I am squeezing the handle REALLY HARD. That can't be good. Also, a great point in the article is that the tension could make starting with the lower body difficult. Never thought about this. One might just say, I can't do it or it doesn't work well for me, when tension could be the culprit. Good stuff! CG
Thanks...and I likewise never really connected the dots that tension in the upper body could very well inhibit lower body being engagement. But there's no doubt that the most stressed-out body parts will want to unleash first.
 
My Fav is swaying Through the ball, not on the backswing

I would introduce you to the doorway drill. Set up in a doorway with the outside of your target side foot up against the door jamb. Fold your arms across your chest and assume a golf swing posture. In slow motion mimic a backswing and then the downswing, remembering to initiate the downswing from the ground up. Let the target ward hip just touch the jamb, and then turn. Do this enough, and it will teach to not to let your hip get outside of your foot. It will also not let you get stuck on the back foot.

Exactly. The interesting aspect was that she caught a fault that has nothing to do with mechanics, but ruins mechanics such as tenseness. For me, tension builds without knowing and starts in the hands, then up through the arms and shoulders. At the top my tense shoulders and arms are thus given "priority" to initiate the downswing. See GD article below.


I quoted this post, but both of your examples with the ex LPGA pro involving "separation" and tension I liked very much. In fact, when I was learning about the game in my youth my Uncle, who used to be a "country club" pro before WWII, told me to watch the LPGA pros because their swings were much more textbook than the PGA pros. He felt that the men's swings were far too idiosyncratic.

I once read an article quoting Tiger as saying that he didn't want to feel a tense muscle in his body before swinging a club. Now, there will be some muscle tension. You have to hold onto the club. You are standing on your feet, not lying in bed. You have to make an athletic movement in order to do what you want to do. Yet, I see guys standing over a shot with their forearm muscles standing out like cords! You know they just have a death grip on the club! Their swing will have no fluidity.
 
I would introduce you to the doorway drill. Set up in a doorway with the outside of your target side foot up against the door jamb. Fold your arms across your chest and assume a golf swing posture. In slow motion mimic a backswing and then the downswing, remembering to initiate the downswing from the ground up. Let the target ward hip just touch the jamb, and then turn. Do this enough, and it will teach to not to let your hip get outside of your foot. It will also not let you get stuck on the back foot.



I quoted this post, but both of your examples with the ex LPGA pro involving "separation" and tension I liked very much. In fact, when I was learning about the game in my youth my Uncle, who used to be a "country club" pro before WWII, told me to watch the LPGA pros because their swings were much more textbook than the PGA pros. He felt that the men's swings were far too idiosyncratic.

I once read an article quoting Tiger as saying that he didn't want to feel a tense muscle in his body before swinging a club. Now, there will be some muscle tension. You have to hold onto the club. You are standing on your feet, not lying in bed. You have to make an athletic movement in order to do what you want to do. Yet, I see guys standing over a shot with their forearm muscles standing out like cords! You know they just have a death grip on the club! Their swing will have no fluidity.
The pro had me stand at address with my arms folded over my chest....with a completely tense my upper body....then she said "Ok, make a turn back". I could barely turn. Then she said "Ok, you're a wet noodle in the upper body....now turn back". I easily turned beyond 90* with my shoulders.
 
The pro had me stand at address with my arms folded over my chest....with a completely tense my upper body....then she said "Ok, make a turn back". I could barely turn. Then she said "Ok, you're a wet noodle in the upper body....now turn back". I easily turned beyond 90* with my shoulders.
You would get the same result if you tense your left side and relax your right side. Why? Because the rotator muscles on the left side of the spine work together to rotate the trunk to the right and vice versa. Both sets of the rotator muscles on either side of the body work together to stretch the whole trunk.
I find it an indictment on the game that golfers need to go outside the sport to learn how the body works, especially when they are paying for information. There seems to be a gap between instruction and anatomy/ movement in our sport.
 
You would get the same result if you tense your left side and relax your right side. Why? Because the rotator muscles on the left side of the spine work together to rotate the trunk to the right and vice versa. Both sets of the rotator muscles on either side of the body work together to stretch the whole trunk.
I find it an indictment on the game that golfers need to go outside the sport to learn how the body works, especially when they are paying for information. There seems to be a gap between instruction and anatomy/ movement in our sport.
The point of the exercise was to demonstrate how tension can severely limit movement. I realize this is fundamental knowledge, but then again I've been around plenty of folks who believe they cannot make a full turn due to "flexibility issues" when in reality they unknowingly have a high level of tension built into their address position, and that tension level extends to nearly every muscle and tendon from their wrists to their thighs. Worse, their starting tension actually increases during their swing. They don't realize it because their level of tension is pre-set into their brain, or feels "natural" and/or "in control". As such, inferior instructors overlook the issue of tension and work on flexibility training, or prescribe work-arounds that serve to mask the underlying problem. How many times have we heard someone say "well, what he taught me made my swing worse". In reality that person's observation is likely true because the underlying problem was not addressed.

Plus, we've all played with someone who hit a bunch of great drives on the practice range then suddenly topped their drive on the first tee. Next, I played with a 2 capper in a tourney who was one under after 4 holes and suddenly shanked 12 balls, $50 worth of ProV1's, into the water from a 60 yard drop area on a par 3. Another example is we all know how to walk, but walking on a 3 foot wide plank placed on the ground for 100 yards vs. a 3 foot wide plank 40 stories high between two buildings is quite a different undertaking. Suddenly the legs would become tight / heavy, every step would become calculated, fear of tripping amplifies and many would end-up crawling. Anxiety and fear promote tension which severely hampers otherwise natural movement regardless of how much we understand about the movement.
 
The point of the exercise was to demonstrate how tension can severely limit movement. I realize this is fundamental knowledge, but then again I've been around plenty of folks who believe they cannot make a full turn due to "flexibility issues" when in reality they unknowingly have a high level of tension built into their address position, and that tension level extends to nearly every muscle and tendon from their wrists to their thighs. Worse, their starting tension actually increases during their swing. They don't realize it because their level of tension is pre-set into their brain, or feels "natural" and/or "in control". As such, inferior instructors overlook the issue of tension and work on flexibility training, or prescribe work-arounds that serve to mask the underlying problem. How many times have we heard someone say "well, what he taught me made my swing worse". In reality that person's observation is likely true because the underlying problem was not addressed.

Plus, we've all played with someone who hit a bunch of great drives on the practice range then suddenly topped their drive on the first tee. Next, I played with a 2 capper in a tourney who was one under after 4 holes and suddenly shanked 12 balls, $50 worth of ProV1's, into the water from a 60 yard drop area on a par 3. Another example is we all know how to walk, but walking on a 3 foot wide plank placed on the ground for 100 yards vs. a 3 foot wide plank 40 stories high between two buildings is quite a different undertaking. Suddenly the legs would become tight / heavy, every step would become calculated, fear of tripping amplifies and many would end-up crawling. Anxiety and fear promote tension which severely hampers otherwise natural movement regardless of how much we understand about the movement.


Agree, GLM. Unfortunately, this tension is also a killer for me at work, too. It increases back pain and a lack of productivity. Time of all us to chill out :) .
 
Agree, GLM. Unfortunately, this tension is also a killer for me at work, too. It increases back pain and a lack of productivity. Time of all us to chill out :) .
Best advice I can give you is to start practicing Feldenkrais "Awareness through movement" exercises to rid the body of excess tension in your everyday life.
I was introduced to Feldenkrais 40 years ago and do certain exercises most days. The beauty of this technique is that the exercises can be done mentally (several repetitions) once the exercises have been mastered, with the same result as 30+ physical reps. In fact the visualisation reps are effective immediately whereas the physical reps take a couple of minutes to shed the excess tension.
I found this technique to be effective for golf, not only before the round but on the course between shots with visualisation and awareness.
 
Try the DownUnder Board. You can make one yourself - just get a piece of plywood that is 12x18 and use that. You place your feet outside the board and squeeze the board lightly. Then make some easy swings. Almost impossible to sway off the ball. You'll feel the proper rotation in no time. Then you can add speed.

Also watch this Jake Hutt video where he shows you where your butt cheek is supposed to be in the back swing. Follow him on instagram. Honestly - if someone had just shown/told me that this is where your ass is supposed to move and be on the backswing - as in this 30 second video - when I started - i would have saved a few hundred bucks on golf lessons and lots of bad rounds.

 
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Try the DownUnder Board. You can make one yourself - just get a piece of plywood that is 12x18 and use that. You place your feet outside the board and squeeze the board lightly. Then make some easy swings. Almost impossible to sway off the ball. You'll feel the proper rotation in no time. Then you can add speed.

Also watch this Jake Hutt video where he shows you where your butt cheek is supposed to be in the back swing. Follow him on instagram. Honestly - if someone had just shown/told me that this is where your ass is supposed to move and be on the backswing - as in this 30 second video - when I started - i would have saved a few hundred bucks on golf lessons and lots of bad rounds.


That's what the S&T guys teach in the book I just bought. Works wonders.
 
The pro had me stand at address with my arms folded over my chest....with a completely tense my upper body....then she said "Ok, make a turn back". I could barely turn. Then she said "Ok, you're a wet noodle in the upper body....now turn back". I easily turned beyond 90* with my shoulders.

YES!!! Exactly what I was talking about. Sounds like you have found a good instructor, which can be an accomplishment in and of itself!

I've also found that some people confuse "grip strength" with grip "effort". I think having strong hands and forearms is a plus in the game of golf. Many years ago I read an article where the author had been introduced to Ben Hogan and shook his hand. He said it felt like he had put his hand into a vice! Hogan's strength was enormous. My Uncle, who was a really good golfer, was the same way. Had the big "popeye" forearms and big hands!

Here's the thing. If you have a lot of "grip strength", you dont' have to expend a lot of "effort", in order to hold onto the club during the swing. You can keep you wrists and forearms nice and relaxed and flexible! As I've said before, tight muscles are slow muscles. Keep it loose!
 
Agree...and to keep the swing fluid the S&T guys in the Red Book (and Rob Cheney out of Singapore...GREAT teachings) emphasize flared feet at address to allow full hip turn back and through the swing. I have learned more from my instructor AND the Red S&T book...AND Rob Cheney than I've ever learned. To your point about strong grip....I used to do wrist rolls with a straight bar (or dumbbells) for forearm/wrist strength which I believe helped amplify my swing speed to hit over 300 with my old Yonex Carbon driver...if you remember those. LOL.
 
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