12-5-0 The Basic Motion Curriculum
 

Chris,

There are two things you must learn to do. First, you must learn to keep your Left Wrist Flat. You say you are doing that. Look, look LOOK to make sure. Second, you must learn to swing through the Ball and not at the Ball. Swinging at the Ball is 'Hacking the Ball' and that produces only Hackers.

Here's how to get started. Take your normal grip -- hopefully it is a Strong Single Action per 10-2-B -- and a Square Stance. Be sure that the Stance is actually parallel to the Target Line. Put a Club down and check it out. There's a very good chance you are aimed to the right.

Now start the Club swinging continuously over the top of the Ball as if you were going to hit a short Chip Shot. No more than three feet back and three feet through. Back and through and back and through and back and through. Continuous motion. Don't Cock your Wrists. Instead, just Turn and Roll your Left Forearm as you swing your Flat Left Wrist back and through and back and through. Turn and Roll and Turn and Roll and Turn and Roll and Turn and Roll. It is the Rolling of the Flat Left Wrist that gets the Club through Impact, not the Flattening of the Right Wrist. Please read that last sentence again. And one more time. Thank you.

As you continue this motion, be aware of the pressure created in the right forefinger as you swing down and through and down and though and down and through. Continue to be aware of that pressure and keep it 'pointed' at the Straight Target Line as you swing back and through and back and through. Turning and Rolling and Turning and Rolling. Keep pointing at the Line, 'Tracing' it with the Pressure in your Right Forefinger as you Turn and Roll and Turn and Roll the Flat Left Wrist. On each Downstroke, be very aware of theRight Hand Tracing and the Left Hand Rolling.

Now lower the Club behind the Ball and make the exact same Motion away from the Ball and through it. The Ball will go straight. If it did not, first make sure that you properly 'Traced' the Line. If you did not, try again. If you did and the Ball went to the right, Roll more. If it went to the left, Roll less.

Repeat until satisfied.

12-5-0 The Basic Motion Curriculum GM#156
 

Left Wrist Action (7-18 ) is independent of Plane Angle (7-6). For Swingers using Standard Left Wrist Action, the Start Up Swivel places the Left Palm On Plane almost immediately.

That said, I did not necessarily advocate Standard Wrist Action. I simply said 'Turn and Roll.' Even with Single Wrist Action, there is a degree of Turn and Roll. Only with Zero Wrist Action would there be none.

Remember, too, the problem I'm trying to solve here: Failure to allow the Clubface to properly close through Impact. This is Steering (3-F-7-A), the Game's #1 Snare. And if the Left Wrist (Clubface) doesn't Turn going back, it won't Roll going through.

Topic:The Basic Motion Curriculum

12-5-0 The Basic Motion Curriculum GM#157
 

Remember...

Left Hand: Clubface.

Right Hand: Clubhead.

Also, for all Hitters and 'Manipulated Hands' Swingers (which is almost everybody else), a Ball Positioned forward of the Straightaway Position tends to produce Fades and Slices. That fact, combined with the lack of proper Left Hand Roll during Release and Impact, causes an Off-Center Impact -- the Clubface contacts the Inside-Aft Quadrant (2-B) of the Ball instead of directly in the Back, i.e., through its Centerline. Similarly, a 'back of Straightaway' Ball position tends to produce Draws and Hooks.

So, if you're fighting a Fade or Slice, make sure the Ball is Back in your Stance rather than Forward. And, keeping your Left Wrist Flat, Level and Vertical (4-A/B/C-1) in Fix, align the Clubface more Closed (which will tend to make it contact the Center or Outside-Aft Quadrant of the Ball). Properly executed, this will produce Clubface Alignment-Clubhead Path divergence and the Draw you are looking for.

12-5-0 The Basic Motion Curriculum GM#158
 

Uninterrupted, Centrifugal Force will align the Clubface for Horizontal Hinging through Impact. This means that the Clubface will be Square to the Target Line at only one point in its orbit through the Impact Interval. Before this point, the Clubface will be Open, and after this point it will be Closed. Thus, for the 'True' Swinger, positioning the Ball forward brings a Closed Clubface into Impact and produces Draws and Hooks. Similarly, positioning the Ball back in the Stance brings an Open Clubface into Impact and produces Fades and Slices.

Hence, for the 'True' Swinger -- one who does nothing to override this action via intentional (or unintentional) Hand Manipulation -- the Ball must be precisely positioned for Straightaway Flight. This position varies with the design of each Club and can only be determined by experiment. Fortunately, the Clubs are manufactured to position themselves well for this Straightaway Flight, e.g., a Three-Iron positions itself further forward in the Stance than a Pitching Wedge. However, once the Ball Position has been determined for the Club in Hand, the 'Pure' Swinger must not interfere. Centrifugal Force has 100 percent responsibility for aligning the Clubface for Impact. And that means that if the Ball has been put too far back, a Slice must result, and if too far forward, a Hook.

Hitters and 'Manipulated Hands' Swingers, on the other hand, are not bound by the problem of 'One Straightaway Position.' Again, remember that we are not talking about one Ball Location for all Clubs, e.g., 'inside the Left Heel.' Instead, we are talking about a Straightaway Position unique to each Club. Players using Hand Manipulation can choose to play the Ball from this Straightaway Position, or they can position it further backward or forward. In other words, by Aiming Point (6-E-2) and Clubface Adjustment, they can hit the Ball Straight with any Club from any Location in their Stance.

The Aiming Point Adjustment can be determined only by experiment. The Clubface Adjustment is accomplished by positioning the Left Wrist Flat, Level and Vertical and turning the Club (more Open or Closed) in the Hand. This procedure -- 'Rotating the Grip' (7-2) -- aligns the Clubface appropriately to produce the intended Ball Response, i.e., a Straightaway or Curved Ball Flight.

So, Densikat, your difficulty in producing Draws from the Forward Ball Location was because you were not using the 'True' Swing technique. Instead, you were overriding the natural action of Centrifugal Force that brings a Closed Clubface into Impact with a Ball positioned forward of the Straightaway Point. Your success in producing Draws from the Back Ball Location is because you are correctly using Hand Manipulation to produce an Impact on the Outside-Aft Quadrant of the Ball.

One final thought:

It is extremely difficult for the 'True' Swinger to determine the necessary precise Ball Location for each unique Club and under all conditions and circumstances. Therefore, Homer Kelley felt strongly that 'Hand Manipulated' Swinging was by far the better alternative.

12-5-0 The Basic Motion Curriculum GM#159
 

GolfCatty,

Here are your questions answered in the order asked:

1. 'Manipulated Hands' Swinging has nothing to do with the Releases. Instead, it is positioning the Left Wrist Flat, Level and Vertical at Impact Fix and aligning the Clubface -- by turning the Club in the Hand -- to produce the intended Ball Response. 'True' Swinging, on the other hand, is allowing Centrifugal Force only to align the Clubface for Impact.

2. Homer preferred using the Ball Location dictated by the Club instead of one Ball Location for all Clubs. He especially liked playing the "shorter Sticks," as he called them, further back. Why? "More Backspin. Better Bite." Also, there is "less chance of scuffing them."

3. Using one Ball Location for all Clubs mandates the use of the Aiming Point concept.
Topic:A New 'Level' Of Understanding

Golfing Machine Confusion GM#220
 

Always remember that the express purpose of this drill -- done without a Club -- is to isolate and coordinate the respective functions of the two Hands: Right Hand...Clubhead. Left Hand...Clubface.

The Left Wrist is positioned in its Flat, Level and Vertical Impact Alignment. It remains at all times within a few inches of this location. Its only function is to Turn a bit to the right on the Backstroke and Roll a bit to the left on the Downstroke. Meanwhile, the Right Forearm is 'brushing' by the Left Hand with the Right Forefinger Tracing the Plane Line. Do not slap the Left Hand with the Right or in any way interfere with the Right Hand's passage by the Left. The Feel of the Right Hand Overtaking the Left (and of the Hands by the Clubhead) -- all without breaking down the Flat Left Wrist -- is the whole point of this drill.

As the Right Forearm and Right Forefinger #3 Pressure Point brush above the Left Hand through 'Impact,' the Left Hand simply 'Closes the door' with a Roll. This 'Closing' Motion of the Flat Left Wrist is felt in the Left Forearm. It can be practiced as both a Hinge Action and as a Swivel Action.

The drill should be executed in continuous motion, i.e., the Right Forearm swings back and through and back and through continuously. Again, the Left Arm simply remains in its Impact Location as the Left Wrist Turns and Rolls (from the Left Forearm) in sync with the passing Right Forearm.

The benefit of this drill is that it trains independently but coordinately:

(1) The Right Hand and Forearm to sense Clubhead Lag Pressure and Trace the Plane Line, thus controlling the Clubhead and its Line of Flight through the Ball;

(2) The Left Hand to Hinge and Swivel, thus controlling the Clubface and the Rhythm of the Stroke, i.e., the Clubhead Overtaking of the Hands during the Impact Interval (from Release to Finish Swivel).

Do not allow the simplicity of this drill to cause you to underestimate its importance. It has the potential to do nothing less than revolutionize your Golf Stroke and with it, your entire Game.

Think Dorothy and her full-color entrance into the Land of Oz! :oops:

Missing the boat on Basic Motion BM#59
 

Yes. Most players wait far too long to get the Bending Right Elbow into
action. They have been led astray by the instruction to "Take the Club
away with your Shoulder Turn" and, by all means, "Preserve the
Triangle."

This procedure is nothing more than a Paw Minor Basic Stroke Start Up
(10-3-H) with both arms frozen (Bent or Straight) and a Shoulder Turn
Takeaway. Though the Power Package is usually later assembled, the damage has
been done: The true Orbit of the Clubhead has been disrupted and, with it,
the required On Plane Loading of the Clubhead Lag. Without substantial
re-alignment at the Top, a true Three-Dimensional Impact with its maximum
compression has become impossible.


Instead, integrate the Magic of the Right Forearm into your Stroke by
practicing the Bending and Straightening of the Right Elbow. To do this, use
the Continuous Motion procedure of 12-5-1 (with Zero Pivot) and 12-5-2
(with Minimal Pivot). Also, per 7-3, practice the Right Forearm Takeaway from
Fix (with Zero or Minimal Pivot) making sure to preserve the all-important
alignments of the Flying Wedges Assembly (6-B-3-0-1).

Wise to use Basic Motion Curriculum BM#165
 

You are wise to use the Basic Motion Curriculum (12-5-0) to assemble
your G.O.L.F. Stroke. Homer Kelley was very proud of it and felt it would one
day become, in his words, "more popular than the book itself."
Remember, the purpose of the Curriculum is best served if the Motion is kept
continuous, i.e., back-and-through and back-and-through and back-and-through,
as you integrate each Component. Use 'breaks' in the process to rehearse the
Address Routines of 3-F-5 and 2-J-1.

You have observed that Pressure Point #1 is not listed in the Curriculum. Nor
is Pressure Point #4. However, you will find Accumulator #1
(the Right Arm) and Accumulator #4 (the Left Arm) as Items #12 and #9
respectively in Stage One (the Basic Motion per 12-5-1). The
Accumulators are normally actuated by their "same numbered"
Pressure Points (7-11). So, when the Study References are given to 6-B-1
(Power Accumulator #1) and 6-B-4 (Power Accumulator #4), the references to
Pressure Points #1 (10-11-0-1) and #4 (10-11-0-4) are implied.


As stated in 12-5-0, the items in each of the Three Stages are meant to be
interpreted per the Stroke Patterns of 12-1-0 (Hitting) and 12-2-0
(Swinging). In other words, if you are learning to Hit, then the Right
Arm becomes active, and Pressure Point #1 becomes its Direct Drive. If you
are learning to Swing, then the Left Arm becomes Active, and
Pressure Point #4 becomes the Direct
Drive.


Pressure Points #2 and #3 are listed (as Items #14 and #15 in 12-5-1).
Their associated Power Accumulators (#2 and #3) are not introduced into the
Curriculum until Stage 2 (the Acquired Motion per 12-5-2). The Swinger
uses Pressure Point #2 to drive the #2 Accumulator -- the Wristcock -- but
normally only as actuated by Centrifugal Force. The Hitter drives the #2
Accumulator with Right Arm Thrust (2-P) using either Pressure Points #1 or
#3. Finally, the Clubhead Lag must be assigned to one of the employed
Pressure Points, and this is almost always #3. For both Hitters and Swingers,
this constitutes the Indirect Drive of the Club through Impact.

Basic Motion Basics CE#70
 

Fast Track for Progress CE#74