Improperly executed entensor action causes Clubhead Throwaway (6-B-1-D). Would pushing too much with the right arm at start down (8-7), losing storage, cause the club to move below plane (too vertical), leading to an uncocked left wrist at impact, thus giving the flattening right (and clubhead) the responsibility of closing the clubface (producing a "leakage hooker")?
Is this what Homer means when he states, "the stretch direction is always below plane"? That is when over-done.
At Impact Fix, the Left Arm is above the Plane. When it is stretched -- pulled not pushed! -- into a straight line by either the #1 Pressure Point or the #3 Pressure Point, the direction of that stretch must necessarily be below the Plane (6-B-1-D).
Extensor Action may be limited to stretching only the Left Arm using the #1 Pressure Point to Pull on the Left Thumb. However, it is possible to stretch the entire Primary Lever Assembly -- the Left Arm and Club -- by using the #3 Pressure Point to Pull on the Clubshaft. However, should this specialized pulling application of #3 Pressure Point Pressure be allowed to become a 'Pushing Away' Action, Throwaway will inevitably result.
I understand how you can describe extensor action as pulling,(Ex: if you had an arrow stuck in your stomach you would pull it out not push it, that seems to more resemble what you would want to accomplish with extensor action) but is it described as pulling in the book somewhere? Why do people seem to teach it as pushing?
Chris
Yes, Chris, Extensor Action is described as a pull in 6-B-1-D: "...use only #1 to pull on the Left Thumb."
In Physics, a Force is either a Push or a Pull. And, some people think of Extensor Action in terms of the Right Triceps pushing the Bent Right Arm against the Left Thumb. However, the defining concept is that the Right Triceps push of Extensor Action results in the Left Arm being stretched or pulled into a straight line. When you stretch something -- like a rubber band or a piece of string -- you are pulling it, not pushing it. You can pull a piece of string into a straight line, but you can't push it into one.
At the end of the day, if the Left Arm is stretched -- pulled into a straight line -- Extensor Action's purpose has been served. It matters little if that Action is alternatively perceived as a push of the Right Arm.
Is Extensor Action the same for both Hitting (Angle of Approach) and Swinging (Arc of Approach)?
To explain, on the Backswing, for Arc of Approach, my right elbow bends as a result of the Checkrein Action of the left arm. But for Angle of Approach, it seems it needs to bend earlier (before the Checkrein Action kicks in) in order to follow the Closed Plane of 10-5-E. Is this correct?
Hitting or Swinging, Extensor Action (6-B-1-D) is applied at Impact Fix (8-2) and is maintained to the end of the Follow Through (8-9). After the 'Both Arms Straight' position, the Left Arm folds (6-A-4) and Extensor Action can no longer exist. The application of Extensor Action is constant regardless of the Clubhead Delivery Line (2-J-3):
2-J-1 describes a "geometrically proper procedure is to establish the correct radius..." the left arm should be stretched to the ball.
Should the left arm be stretched to the ball with extensor action at address setup as well????
Quick answer - not unless you are starting from impact fix. When in fix, you stretch out to the ball to establish the correct radius (or distance from the ball) for impact as described in 2-J-1...this is what Homer is referring to. After that most people move back to a standard address, with no extensor action being applied.
In 6-B-1-D Homer describes applying extensor action during startup -in 2-J-1 he is describing establishing the radius for impact alignments, not necessarily address.
Patrick
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Extensor Action (6-B-1-D) is in operation from Impact Fix (8-2) to the end of the Follow-Through (8-11). However, in Adjusted Address (with its Bent Left Wrist), Extensor Action is applied only to the Left Thumb (via Pressure Point #1) to stretch the Left Arm (only). In Fix and Start Up (and beyond), it is ideally applied to both the Left Arm and the Clubshaft (via Pressure Point #3), stretching them into as straight a line as the #2 and #3 Power Accumulators permit.
Topic:Golfing Machine Confusion
Using my dowel, I applied extensor force , which puts pressure on my right thumb pad onto the top of the left thumb, which stretches/straightens the left arm. I get that. Also causes the left wrist to flatten and cock, and the right wrist to flatten.
GolfCatty,
With the Left Wrist in its Flat, Level and Vertical Impact alignment, the correctly applied 'Stretch Below Plane' Extensor Action (through either the #1 or #3 Pressure Point) should never cause the Left Wrist to Cock nor the Right Wrist to Flatten. In fact, to the extent the Left Wrist is Cocked and the Right Wrist is Flat at Fix, the opposite should be the case.
Remember, the whole idea is to assure structural rigidity -- to get the 'wobble' out of the Power Package -- by stretching the Left Arm (and ideally the Clubshaft) into a straight line -- the Plane of the Left Wristcock Motion, a.k.a. the Plane of the Left Arm Flying Wedge. Try again.
No, I mean that the left and right shoulder move independently. There are
ways to "tie them together", such as imagining a rod joining the
tops of the arms. Some players squeeze the upper arm joints toward one
another to unite them so that a precise move down of the right will produce
the same precise move upward of the left. Some players are put together
"more tightly" than others, which naturally tie their shoulders
together better than others who have "looser joints". On the other
hand, I've seen tour swings in which the shoulders turn back flat, and then
to complete the backswing the right shoulder is raised straight up
independently of the left.
Proper Power Package structure is achieved in two ways:
(1) Using Extensor Action to keep both Arms as straight as the Checkrein
Action allows;
(2) Taking the 'wobble' out of the Shoulders by keeping them forward, using
Pectoral Action if necessary.
Players who choose to accomplish the above by forcing the Upper Arms to the
Chest add nothing to Power Package rigidity. In fact, such action can
actually inhibit the proper Extensor Action, i.e., the required stretching of
the Left Arm and Shaft by the Right Arm. They also risk inhibiting the Hands
and thus their assignment of maintaining the essential Stroke Geometry.
Finally, they will almost certainly force the Elbows to rotate inward and
closer to each other and contort the natural position of the Arms.
Ironically, this will disrupt the all-important Flying Wedge Alignments that
their 'precise up and down' Shoulder Motions are seeking to accelerate and
support.
You pick the club up the plane. You still need to apply extensor action to
the left arm by stretching it with the right arm.
MG,
First your brilliant response to SuperDave Alford's anemic critique of Homer
Kelley's Bobby Clampett Swing Analysis. Now your correct prescription of the
Extensor Action technique that is invisible-to-the-untrained-naked eye, but
absolutely indispensible to high-level golf.
Hybrid Mode
