Hand Controlled Pivot- Thesis - LynnBlakeGolf Forums

Hand Controlled Pivot- Thesis

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Old 02-09-2005, 01:38 AM
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Hand Controlled Pivot- Thesis
Originally Posted by Yoda

Mike,

It is a curious irony that the Swinger's Centrifugal Force is largely the result of the Momentum Transfer of the Turning Body (the Pivot) into the Primary Lever Assembly (the Left Arm and Club). And yet, we who teach The Golfing Machine maintain that the Pivot (Body) is best controlled by the Hands and not the other way around.

I know you've done a lot of work in this area that our members would find fascinating. It would make a great new thread in The Lab, and I, for one, would read every word! Could you kick this subject off for us?
Lynn,

I feel it's important to differentiate what one is trying to accomplish in a movement- i.e. one's procedure from what is happening in a movement. So you should have a procedure based on the nature of human movement, which is consistent and then you have other issues in regards to if the movement is integrated completely or if it is not and work on those.

Below I have posted a validation and elaboration of the hand-controlled pivot concept- with hopefully additional information that will make the concept more clear. Unfortunately none of the graphics came through but the information is there. I actually have three additional sections that integrate with this section- and if there is some interest could be posted later to further flush out the concepts. Certainly, I post with some hesitation, but as we discussed- I'll take my chances under the category of the LAB, in hopes that it might help at least one person.

Thanks for this opportunity to further explain The Golfing Machine Concepts.

CHAPTER 2

A PROPER PROCEDURE
"Your Consistent Guide to Every Movement"


The Definition Of A Proper Procedure
Complete integration is the epitome of the future—a player’s long-range goal (Chapter 1). Procedure is the epitome of the present—the thought on every movement. A procedure must be consistent for one to achieve complete integration. Every aspect of a player’s movement automatically attempts to integrate to the procedure they use—hence, the importance of having a consistent procedure. The human body has a specific identity. Humans are not jelly one day and a rock another. For one’s procedure to coincide with the nature of a human being, the procedure must and should be consistent. Not only must a procedure be consistent it must coincide with the nature of a human being.

STOP: - Take a few minutes and try to identify what your procedure is and write it down. Do not continue reading until you have written down what you believe to be your current procedure.

In the course of trying to identify your procedure, you might ask yourself what is the definition of a procedure? But don't just focus on the golf movement, look at all of the movements that you make. Is a procedure merely a description of what happens? Is a procedure something that you can see or observe, like a car or boat? Is a procedure merely being aware of the feel of the movement or part of the movement? Are there procedures that have nothing to do with human movement? Is a procedure a thought? Perhaps a procedure is a combination of some or all of these attributes? Should you use a procedure all the time or merely sometimes when you feel like it. All of these are the questions that an independent mind asks when trying to figure out the "how to" of their movement.

STOP: Take a moment to think independently, regarding the answers to these preceding questions. What do you think the definition of a procedure is?


Definition of Procedure - A procedure is your primary thought that initiates and guides a movement from beginning to end.


The fundamental method/procedure of any conscious self-generated movement is a simple thought. First, your mind focuses on moving the part of the body that will contact, or is contacting, the object that you are touching, moving, manipulating etc. Secondly, the mind focuses on where to move that part of the body and object to accomplish the goal of the movement.


For example, "Take the hand to the ball" would be the proper procedure/thought to use when picking up a small ball. "The hand" is the body part and "to the ball" is the where. In a coordinated movement, the body part one should think about moving is not a matter of personal preference or subjective choice—it is determined by the nature of the object or tool being used and the goal being sought.

Examples Of Proper Procedures
All of the following examples demonstrate proper procedures of movement as discussed in the previous section.. The goal and object being used in each movement requires a focus on a different body part.

Example One
The goal: type a letter on a keyboard.

The basic thought/procedure would be: "take the tip of the index finger to the key on the keyboard." The body part is the tip of the finger and the "where" is the key on the board. There are many other aspects of the movement depending on where the correct letter key is located on the keyboard, such as the finger straightening or bending, plus other fingers moving in response to the movement of the directed finger, and wrist/forearm/upper arm movement. But regardless of all the associated movements, the primary thought initiates and guides the body part (fingertip) that will interact with the object (the key on the keyboard). The thought guides the movement by having a goal to accomplish, a "where".

Example Two

The goal: Kick a soccer ball into the net.

The thought/procedure would be: "Take the foot back and then through to the ball." The body part would be the foot and "back and then through the ball" being the "where".


Example Three

The goal: Bump someone with your hip.

The thought/procedure would be: "Move your hip to contact the other person's body." The body part is the hip and "the where" is a part of the other person's body. Many joint motions are made during this movement, weight shifted etc., but the proper procedure used would be the same for any human being.





Summary
Understanding the principle of a proper procedure in human movement is an important step in learning a coordinated movement. All self-generated movement is goal oriented. The goal of the movement and object being used determines which part of the body will contact the object. The mind directly monitors the feedback information by focusing on the body part and its corresponding feel of the object or tool, to ensure that the goal is being accomplished efficiently.
In golf, the proper procedure is the thought “(move the hands—the body part(s)) from (the set-up position to the end of the backward movement and through (directed at the ball) to the finish (all of that is the where)." I.E. OnPlane
Note: When referring to the "hands" we are referring to the hands and the feel of the club in the hands as one unit. From now on when the hands are mentioned it implies that we are also talking about the feel of the club in the hands.
Note: Later, as we get more specific, the definition of where the hands move will get more detailed, as we understand the concept of “swing-plane”.

The Procedure Is Essential
A very crucial aspect of the learning process is the relationship between the player’s procedure and the integration of different joint motions, i.e. making changes or improvements in your movement. The thought of moving the hands should never be dropped or forgotten when integrating new movements. The primary thought i.e. procedure, should always be on moving the hands, with the golfer’s secondary awareness on the specific change being made to the movement. Let's look at how we can retain the procedure yet at the same time, work on making changes to your movement, i.e. integrating your movement.
The human mind is limited in the number of things it can consciously discriminate between, remember and/or deal with at any one time. For example if a person tries to consciously be aware of all the sounds around them they would discover that they can perceive more than one sound but say less than five. Hence, the mind has the ability to be aware of more than one thing at a time.
Therefore, your mind can think about moving the hands, while simultaneously monitoring a change in the movement. It is this dual monitoring, that allows a player to improve their movement while still having a coordinated, consistent movement.
Let's look at a non-golf example to elaborate on this concept of having your primary thought on the proper procedure and your secondary awareness on making a specific change in the movement.


Example: Eating food with a fork.


Imagine an individual concentrating on bringing their hand and fork to their mouth. As their hand and fork reach their mouth, imagine their elbow above the level of their ear. This would not be a very efficient or integrated movement but is conceivable, even if the individual was only focusing on bringing the hand and fork to the mouth. To correct this problem of the elbow being too high and not closer to the side of the body, the individual would make the following correction: while still primarily thinking of bringing the hand and fork to their mouth, on a secondary level of awareness they would make sure that their elbow was staying closer to the side of the body.
This method of concentrating on moving the hands and club while making changes to the movement has several very important features. First, it produces a consistent procedure of movement i.e. concentrating on the movement of the hands at all times. In direct contrast, current golf instruction changes the procedure for the golf movement every time a player works on a new correction. The player focuses on shoulder turn, then something else such as the movement of the arms, then the folding of the right arm on the backward movement, or keeping the elbow close to the side of the body, etc. In summary, whatever the player is currently working on has their primary focus—there is no consistent procedure.
The other advantage to this method is when the player is not working on anything in the golf movement, they still have a procedure, their mind does not go blank. Because the procedure for most golfers is whatever they are working on at that moment, they don’t know what to focus on when they are not having a problem. They may randomly pick an aspect of the movement, which then changes and disrupts the entire movement.
Finally, this method of having a consistent procedure while improving your movement—integrates and automatizes all the movements being learned to the fundamental principle of human movement. In this case, it is the simple thought of the golfer’s mind focusing on the moving the hands and golf club. This consistent procedure allows the player to build a movement instead of constantly tearing down their movement by always changing their procedure.

Improper Procedures
An improper procedure is one in which the mind's primary thought is not focused on the part of the body that is contacting or will contact the object that one is moving. In addition, an improper procedure is when the golfer’s mind is not thinking of where to move the part of the body interacting with the object.
Imagine making the movements covered in the proper procedure section focusing on a different body part and feel how awkward and unnatural the movement would be. For example, when eating food with a fork, imagine bringing the fork to the mouth while concentrating on the movement of the elbow. That would be a much inferior and improper procedure compared to concentrating on moving the hand and fork to the mouth. Just as focusing on the elbow movement would be an uncoordinated movement, so is any golf movement equally uncoordinated if the player’s primary thought is on some other aspect of the movement other than moving the hands and club.
Many people have not understood the importance of a proper procedure in movement based on the nature of a human being. The following are common procedures people use that are uncoordinated and ineffective for consistent golf.

1) Primary focus on a specific feel in the player's current movement.
2) Primary focus on a specific thought not based on the proper procedure.
3) Primary focus on the overall feel of the movement.
4) Primary focus on current change in the player's movement, either by a feel or a thought.
5) Primary focus on many factors—using a description of the movement as the player's procedure.

Let's review examples of these improper procedures to clarify the concept of a proper procedure:

1) Primary Focus on a specific feel in the player’s current movement. Large and small sensations (feels) either from contracting muscles or stretching muscles, tendons or ligaments, as effects caused by the effort to accomplish one's goal of moving the hands and club. Therefore, a specific feel is not to be one’s primary focus. Specific feels should and are meant to be on the player’s secondary level of awareness, as important information to guide the integrative process. Shown below are three examples (A,B,C) to help clarify this kind of improper procedure.

Example A
When a person is eating food with a fork, their primary thought is to move the fork to their mouth with the hand. However, from sensation level or feel perspective, the muscles of the upper arm and shoulder produce the largest sensation. But one would not make this movement by focusing primarily on the muscles of the upper arm and shoulder.

Example B
Lift your golf bag with one hand to your shoulder in a curling motion. While the movement is being made, the thought is on moving the hand and the feel of the bag in the hand to a specific place; between the neck and shoulder. Notice that the largest sensation is not in the hand but in the upper arm and shoulder area. The upper arm and shoulder area would be the area you would be focusing on if you let your primary awareness be directed at the area of the body that has the greatest stimulation. But again, having the feel of the upper arm and shoulder as your procedure for lifting a golf bag would be an uncoordinated movement. Make this movement with the primary focus on this feel to understand that it is an improper procedure.

Example C

A golf example would be the muscle stretch you might feel during a full shoulder turn. This feel can dominate all sensations based on overall intensity, but instead of having that feel as your primary focus you should still have your primary thought on moving the hands. You would still feel the shoulder turn, sense it, and be aware of different feels, but those feels belong in the background, not the foreground. To summarize, the mind can selectively focus on what is important, regardless of the degree of any sensation.


2) Primary thought not based on the proper procedure.
A player may take one aspect of the movement and have that aspect as their primary thought. For example, they may notice the club head moving inside the target line, on the beginning of the backward movement. The player may decide this is crucial to their success and isolate the thought, “Take the club inside the target line.” Merely focusing on the club head and only the beginning of the movement is not a procedure.

3) Primary focus on the overall feel of the movement.
Focusing on the overall feel of the movement is a common "method" beginning golfers use. After hitting a good shot, the player will try to mimic or copy the feel of the previous movement. This is only helpful short-range, maybe for the next movement or the next five movements but to chase a consistent feel is a goal that can never be accomplished.
Let's look at a simple movement that you can duplicate to begin to understand this improper procedure. Put a ball down on the ground and stand up. Pick up the ball with your hand. Now repeat the procedure. Notice, you didn’t try to copy the entire feel of the movement. The proper method would be the thought "take the hand to the ball". That thought would initiate and maintain the movement. You can be aware of certain feels and sensations associated with the movement but they should not be your primary focus.

4) Primary focus on a current change in the player’s movement – either by a thought or a feel.
Because the procedure is whatever the player is currently working on, the player’s procedure changes as frequently as each new change is made. This is by far the most common improper procedure used by golfers today. Psychologically, it breeds lack of confidence because there is no consistency in your procedure. Physically, every cell, every joint motion, every part of your movement is trying to integrate with your procedure. When the procedure is constantly changing, the automatic integration to the new procedure has to start all over from the beginning.


5) Primary focus on many factors - having a description of the movement as the player’s procedure.
From the players perspective the thought process might be similar to the following. " Now start the movement by shifting the weight over to the right side. Make sure the hands get high at the top of the backward movement. Keep the left arm straight, now pause at the top, drive the legs on the downswing before the upper body starts down and turn the hips through and finish with the hands high in the finish position." This is seen in may golf instruction books where there is no differentiation between procedure and a description of the movement.

Evolution Of Procedure
The following is an example of the evolution of one individual's procedure. This section puts into perspective some improper procedures as natural and understandable given the player's perspective and length of time around the game of golf. The reader may be able to point to a stage described herein and have an appreciation of where they are and where they need to go with their movement.
Initially after picking up the game of golf the golfer makes random changes or experiments with different movements in order to improve their ball flight. Given the lack of integration and skill level, some of these changes make immediate, tremendous and dramatic improvement to the ball flight. The key attribute of this initial stage of development is a lack of knowledge of a proper movement, therefore the ball flight is "king" in regards to the player determining if they are making a correct change to the movement.
In a short time, the immediate ball flight improvements come few and far between as the movement becomes more integrated and ingrained. Now the player becomes frustrated that they are not seeing the great changes that they saw when they started the game. They continue to search for the changes that will produce immediate and dramatic ball flight improvement—without success. The player starts to realize that by making constant changes to their procedure, they have no consistency.
Now realizing that they need consistency, the player tries to decide what exactly to use as their consistent method. Something is chosen—such as tempo—that the player stays with for the short term. But as ball flight does not improve, the player realizes that something must be changed, so another swing thought replaces the tempo swing thought. The key attribute of this stage is that the player tries to make their procedure stay the same, but it still changes—just less frequently. The player has not differentiated between one’s procedure and integrating new changes into the movement.

After being frustrated with the failure to achieve a procedure that produces consistent ball-flight, the player discovers a consistent procedure based on the nature of human movement—focusing on moving the club with the hands. Previously making a change in the movement and the player’s procedure were the same thing, and the standard used to determine the success of a new movement change was the ball-flight. Now the player is able to mentally separate procedure and integration; proper integration and ball-flight; procedure and ball flight.
In the next stage, the golfer uses the proper procedure “take the club back and through with the hands” as their consistent procedure, but the player improperly interprets this to mean the only sensation or feel experienced should come from the hands. Thus the hands are moved in such a way as to not have the body contribute to the movement. Feeling the inadequacies of this movement, the player may revert back to a shoulder turn/body focus with the hands going along for the ride. There may be periods of flip-flopping back and forth between these two procedures, the player unsure if the focus should be on the hands or body.
Finally, the player realizes that by moving the hands in a certain manner they bring the body into the movement. The player also realizes that they can focus on moving the hands while sensing the entire body. Much like when picking up a ball the thought is “Take the hand to the ball”, this does not mean that the primary feel emanates from the body.
In summary—focus on moving the hands, even if initially this causes you to leave out body movement. As you work with and understand the procedure, you can integrate more body movement later.

Exceptions To The Proper Procedure
When integrating a fundamental change, it can be too much for a player’s mind to focus on the new change as a secondary thought to the primary procedure of moving the hands. The new change and corresponding sensation may be so strong, exciting, and produce great results, the player may not want it to be secondary no matter how much they try.
An exception should be made with the following understanding. The player will get back to having the proper procedure as their primary thought and the new change secondary sometime in the near future. As the new addition becomes comfortable its initial “wow” effect will wear off, allowing for the proper procedure to be used.
Keep in mind that there is a tremendous difference between this exception and how most people are playing the game today. Most people focus on their new addition because it provides the biggest sensation but they never have the understanding or the goal to use the proper procedure as soon as the change becomes comfortable. They move from having their primary focus on one new addition to another, never building a golf movement.
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Old 02-09-2005, 11:43 AM
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Interesting perspectives Mike. The mind/body problem meets learning theory....
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Old 02-09-2005, 12:27 PM
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Great post Mike O.
Keep them coming, folks read this post over and over, especially if you teach, we have to battle this problem everyday as our students are bombarded with info from mags, books and the golf channel.

Todd
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Old 02-17-2005, 09:15 AM
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Training Aids
Mike,

While reading your thesis I was considering how common training aids would or would not be effective. Any training aid that falls into the category of secondary awareness and learning the feel of the proper procedure would be effective. I'm thinking of training aids that are used in conjunction with actually hitting a ball.

Some aids such as the tic-tac for auditory awareness of the left wrist collapsing would not distract from the primary procedure.

The inside-approach device which is fundamentally an preventative device which is an obstacle designed to prevent an off-plane motion. Primary attention on this device tends to be in the avoidance of making contact with it, and feeling the motion associated with that avoidance. The successful outcome would be a change in the path of the hands, but most people are never consciously aware of that change, only the change in the total motion.

How do you suggest golfers use training aids to change their procedure?

Fantastic post Mike. Thanks for sharing!

Bagger
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Old 02-17-2005, 12:28 PM
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Mike O,

Excellent information! I believe you are getting into aspects of motor learning that have long been misunderstood, and/or poorly applied to golf learning.

Do you think that many of these guys that say they are "body players", "big muscle" players, etc., actually still have their hands as the primary focus, but they just cannot explain in words what they are feeling or how they are doing what they are doing?

lagster
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Old 02-17-2005, 12:36 PM
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Training Aids
Bagger,
Before I get started, thanks for the question! Also, I see most of my information as expanding, elaborating or filling in holes that existing in my mind in the Golfing Machine. I don't really see it so much as a completely different approach.

First, let me be a little picky and precise with regards to your post and my original post.

1) Bagger Quote: “Any training aid that falls into the category of secondary awareness and learning the feel of the proper procedure would be effective.”

I mentally I differentiate Procedure from your Movement, and I also differentiate both Procedure and Movement from Feel. So you wouldn't learn "the feel of the proper procedure" because feel is not a procedure in my book- it's a tool you use to integrate your movement until your movement is automatic.

2) Bagger Quote: “How do you suggest golfers use training aids to change their procedure?”

I would suggest that golfer's use their training aids to change their movement, through the change in feel that the training aid provides, of course they need to understand that the feel is going to change overtime, and they must understand how to do that.

__________________________________________________ ______

I'm not really a fan of training aids myself, not that they can't be very helpful. The point is that you need to change your movement to get better, which you can do on your own if you understand what your movement problem is and how to fix it. In the proper context, certainly training aids can help you improve a certain aspect of your movement.

Why are training aids popular?
For those that think they provide the proper and one procedure for the golf movement- and think that a procedure is a certain feel- and that the training aid will give them that feel. That certainly explains some of the thinking behind some of the purchases of training aids- not all but some.
__________________________________________________ __________

I know that my "thesis" is original, but for those that are interested (if any), I would certainly like more questions, disagreements, etc if they have them to flush out issues or problems.

I am going to post in the "Lab" a couple of more posts on "Integration" and "Feel: What is it and how do you use it." Which tie into my first post and this discussion- again for those that are interested.

Thanks Bagger.
Mike O.
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Old 02-03-2006, 06:10 AM
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Originally Posted by Mike O
I'm not really a fan of training aids myself, not that they can't be very helpful. The point is that you need to change your movement to get better, which you can do on your own if you understand what your movement problem is and how to fix it. In the proper context, certainly training aids can help you improve a certain aspect of your movement.....

I know that my "thesis" is original, but for those that are interested (if any), I would certainly like more questions, disagreements, etc if they have them to flush out issues or problems.

I am going to post in the "Lab" a couple of more posts on "Integration" and "Feel: What is it and how do you use it." Which tie into my first post and this discussion- again for those that are interested.

Thanks Bagger.
Mike O.
Absorbing stuff here Mike. Your posts are one of the few to really bring out what Mr Kelly intended to be taught - instead of the Hands only or Pivot only groups.

Is this "thesis" just a thesis or has it been published? Sure would like to get my hands on the entire copy.

As pertains to your post, I am curious as to what training aids would you recommend if pushed to offer one?

Thanks in advance
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Old 02-03-2006, 12:29 PM
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training aids
Justin,

Training Aids:
1) A Video Camera- used once every three months.
2) A good golfer watching you and giving you feedback on a daily basis

My thesis isn't published- but it could be if Bill Gates would send me a check to allow me the time to complete it! Somehow 4 girls, a wife, a job, managing a HOA, real estate mgmt & speculation, and MOST importantly - playing golf - get in the way.
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Old 02-03-2006, 09:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Mike O
Justin,

Training Aids:
1) A Video Camera- used once every three months.
2) A good golfer watching you and giving you feedback on a daily basis

My thesis isn't published- but it could be if Bill Gates would send me a check to allow me the time to complete it! Somehow 4 girls, a wife, a job, managing a HOA, real estate mgmt & speculation, and MOST importantly - playing golf - get in the way.

Whaaaat...Its not completed?
I await more good stuff then.
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Old 02-17-2005, 12:43 PM
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Integration- Movement Improvement
CHAPTER 1
Note: Understand this section in the context that the Golfing Machine is a great tool for learning and understanding important aspects of the Golf Movement to integrate.

INTEGRATION
"Complete integration your ultimate goal"

What Is Integration?
Complete integration is every aspect of the movement working in harmony with every other aspect, forming one complete harmonious whole. The underlying principles are the same for all humans (generally all humans have two arms and two legs, etc.), which means that all great golf movements look similar. However, the specific identity of every individual is different i.e. body type, age, strength, flexibility, psychological makeup etc. This creates and allows for many variations in the final look of the integrated movement. The long-range goal of complete integration (i.e. the "perfect movement"), as seen in the best players in the world, is a constant, never changing goal. Complete integration is your long-range goal!
The act of integrating your movement is an ongoing process. Psychologically, it nourishes and builds self-confidence when you can slowly achieve your long-range goal. This happens when every integration (i.e. change or addition) is seen as moving closer to a more complete integration of all the possible variables involved. It is the concentration on and the working toward the goal of complete integration that provides the most satisfying results for the individual player.

This is crucial - your goal is to integrate your movement! Your ball flight will improve as you integrate your movement!

When asking players what their long-range goal is, you might hear such answers as keeping their movement smooth, not rushing, or keeping their head still. Having those ideas as a long-range goal severely limits the ability of the golfer to improve their movement on the long term because those ideas are aspects of the movement and not an all- encompassing principle. Without the proper long-range goal, the golfer will not build their movement efficiently and will not see the success that they desire.


How To Integrate
The essential psychological characteristic for being able to integrate is a constant awareness. Awareness is an active state of consciousness; it does not happen automatically, but takes a deliberate and focused effort. The golfer’s mind must be aware of what is happening in the movement. This is a constant process of assessing one's movement visually and kinesthetically (feel) and finding areas in the movement that need improvement.
Entwined within and crucial to this process of awareness is the knowledge of a proper golf movement. Increasing your knowledge of the principles and specifics involved in an integrated golf movement is an important function of improvement. Comparing your movement with the ideal means you must understand the nature of the ideal movement. This is accomplished by reading and studying all the available information pertaining to the golf movement.
To assess your current movement visually, you observe many professional golfers, ignoring the differences and noticing the similarities in their movements. By comparing those similarities or principles to your own movement, you can quickly see what aspect of the movement needs to be improved.
Once a movement problem is identified via the process above then there are two specific ways to integrate. The first way is by moving the hands and club in a different direction or manner thereby causing a change in your movement. The direction the hands move influences many things including shoulder turn. For example, if you pick the hands up steeply in front of yourself, you would not have a very full shoulder turn. If you wanted a fuller shoulder turn, you would take the hands and club back lower, longer and more inside the target line causing more shoulder turn on the backward movement.
In contrast, there are certain movements that are not directly influenced by the movement of the hands (movements that are already automatized into the movement). For example, if a player automatically exaggerated the movement of the left knee prematurely at the beginning of the movement (takeaway) then a different direction of the hands would not influence the left knee motion or prevent the knee from moving as much. The player would notice that the knee movement is not integrated by looking at professional golfers versus photographs of their movement. Then, to change the movement the golfer would still focus on moving their hands and the club—but their secondary awareness would focus on limiting the exaggerated knee movement (more later on this subject).

Focusing On Movement Improvement—Integration
Versus
Short Term Ball Flight Improvement—Ball-Flight
A focus on integration means the player is primarily concerned about their movement, not the ball flight. In direct contrast, the most common pragmatic method used today is guiding your improvement by focusing on how well you hit the golf ball. The goal of seeing immediate ball flight improvement as a mandatory requirement for any movement change is an equation for disintegration with no hope for long-range success.
There is no planning, no thinking ahead, and no building on previous improvements when one merely focuses on how well a change affects the immediate ball flight. This pragmatic approach is much like how a 4-year-old would approach putting a puzzle together. The child randomly attempts to attach separate pieces together until finding a match—not a very efficient method.



In contrast, the adult in the same situation would not begin by attempting to put pieces together but instead by planning out and organizing: First, the adult would turn over all of the pieces, then they would begin to put together puzzle pieces into groups of the same color and/or pieces with straight edges. Next, the adult would begin putting certain areas of the puzzle together, finally filling in the missing sections. Notice, the adult would not be concerned about getting immediate results by fitting pieces together. The same principle that holds true in integrating a puzzle is true for integrating the golf movement.
Focusing on the immediate ball flight requires that you not make any fundamental change in your movement. Making fundamental changes to your movement would require time for all the associated movements to adapt to the major change. Typically, making a fundamental movement change would not allow for immediate ball flight improvement. Most golfers change their movements to adapt to their fundamental flaws, instead of changing their fundamentals and having their movement adapt.
For example—take a beginning player who is athletically gifted and scores in the low 100's. This player is erratic and inconsistent but has tremendous power when he does hit the ball well. This player (in addition to other problems) has a very unintegrated grip, and the right hand nearly comes off the club, allowing for a very long backward movement of the club. One of the great enjoyments of this player's game is that he can at times hit the ball a very long way. But this player needs to improve his grip, throughout the swing, in order to become a better player. This would shorten the player’s backward movement of the club and change the movement in many different ways. The immediate ball flight results may not be any better; the player may even lose significant distance on their best-struck shots. Many players, at this prospect, would not change their grip and therefore not see any long-term movement or ball flight improvement.
For movement improvement that will benefit you long term, focus primarily on the movement. The ball flight is taken into account but is only secondary to the movement. The proper ball flight does not necessarily correlate to a proper movement. For example, take a right-handed golfer who has a severe closed stance (aimed to the right of the target). Yet, that player is generally hitting the ball towards the target due to compensations made during the golf movement. Noticing that professional golfers either have a square stance or open stance, the player should square up their stance. Without any other corrections (besides the square stance) the golfer’s ball flight would now moving well left of the target. If the player is primarily using ball flight to determine proper technique, they will quickly go back to their old stance, preventing long- range improvement.
One might not believe in or have the patience for this long-term approach merely by reading it out of a book. But if the player, over many years, has made day-to-day corrections based on immediate ball flight with no long-term improvement, it becomes clear that the proper focus is on movement improvement.

Integration Versus Feel
Much like the player who is primarily concerned with the immediate ball flight when integrating a new addition to the movement, many players let the immediate feel, impact whether they continue with a change in their movement. If the change feels uncomfortable then they do not continue with the new movement.
When integrating, the player must be acutely aware of any new addition to the movement by way of visual observation via video or photos and not solely rely on feel. The golfer must believe strongly in what they are integrating due to visual comparison to the ideal movement. That belief and confidence in the new change allows the player to continue with the uncomfortable feeling until it becomes normal. Feel is relative to the player’s existing movement. If having a poor movement feels comfortable, then changing that movement for the better surely will feel different and uncomfortable on the short-term.
Changes that improve movement can cause “unbelievable” and “weird feels”. Don't let “Mr. Feel” mislead you on the way to the perfect movement because he will certainly try.

“Mr. Feel”

Besides perceiving a new feel as uncomfortable or awkward, there is another interpretation and misunderstanding of feel that prevents a player from staying with a proper change/integration. The feel is interpreted and translated into a visual equivalent. In essence, the player takes the feel as given or true information. If the movement feels extremely upright, it must look extremely upright. Even though the movement is only slightly more upright, the player translates the feel to a visual equivalent that corresponds to an extremely upright plane, a plane angle so upright, the player perceives it to be incorrect. This improper interpretation of feel will prevent a golfer from making major or minor integrations to their movement.

When To Integrate
When to integrate will vary with every player and every situation. However, there are some guidelines the player will use when integrating different joint motions and changes into their movement.
You should integrate a new movement when you completely believe in the change. After looking for an area in your movement that is un-integrated, you will find something so obvious that it hits you like a ton of bricks. If you do not have this type of experience, keep being aware of the movement and look for areas of improvement but don't make random changes based on immediate ball flight. Just keep playing the golf game with your existing movement even if the results are below your goals or expectations. Have patience and avoid making changes frequently. It is not beneficial psychologically or physically to make constant changes that are flawed.
Generally, a player will want to work on one aspect of the movement at a time, definitely no more than two. In regards to any particular change, wait until the change is automatic and does not require any conscious monitoring. Not only will the new portion of the movement become automatic, but it will completely blend into the player’s overall movement. After the new addition has become integrated and automatic, the player stays aware of any other changes in the movement that might be warranted in order to keep improving.
For the most part, once a change to the movement is made, the individual can feel a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment while taking the time to ingrain the specific and/or overall feel of the movement. However, at anytime, the player can look for other aspects of the movement that are not integrated and integrate them into the movement. The time involved to integrate a new addition can vary from one month to twelve months or longer. The player realizes that ball striking and scoring will only improve with a constant, slow, gradual improvement of the movement. Usually, the player believes every new integration is the one that will take them to the next level, even though, in actuality the progress of improvement seems to blend together at a much slower pace.

Conscious And Subconscious Integrations
Only two types of integration take place - conscious and subconscious.
Conscious integration is a deliberate change made to produce a better movement. Subconscious integrations are automatic adaptations resulting from conscious changes and usually occur without the player’s knowledge; in essence, the mind tries to integrate and produce economy of motion automatically, subconsciously integrating to the conscious thought the player is focusing on. The concept of subconscious integration is important to understand in order to have the patience and confidence to give your movement time to adjust when making a conscious change.
There are two different aspects of subconscious integration. First, on the wider level, a player can have the goal of hitting the ball at a specific target, and the body will slowly adjust over time. If the target is always specific and the player has a strong desire to achieve the result, the body will make adjustments in order to accomplish the goal. Unfortunately, as we have already mentioned, the automatic adjustments might be compensations based on fundamental faults.
Second, when making conscious changes, realize that subconscious changes are also taking place in order to adapt and integrate with the conscious change. These subconscious changes take time to complete. Give your integrations (i.e. movement changes) time to "mature" before going to a new change. One to twelve months should not be an unusual time to allow for a fundamental, conscious change to become completely integrated. Completely integrated in this context means all of the subconscious changes have taken place to adapt to the conscious change.


What To Integrate
Physically, the golfer works on the most fundamental problem within their movement. If the player were a machine, there would be no need for compromise. A physical machine is simply rebuilt to correct a fundamental problem. But much like the compromises that have to be made due to economic factors when rebuilding a machine, similar compromises are made in building a movement, taking into account psychological and emotional factors. The player must understand that the largest problem is not always the first problem to be worked on.
Psychologically, the degree of your knowledge determines what you consider the most fundamental change to make. A player must understand and believe in any change that is made, so the degree of their knowledge can or will limit what integrations are made.
Emotionally, the player still needs to strike the ball to some degree when making a change. Even for long-term success, a player would not accept a change that caused them to miss the ball. Therefore, depending on the expectations of the player, some limitations, on what can be changed are made in order for the player to keep enough hope and positive attitude to remain integrating the new change. Since the length of time involved integrating movements can be long, and positive results in ball flight may not appear initially, it is crucial that one remain positive about the long-term results in order to continue with the new change.
These psychological and emotional factors do not change the end result but merely the sequence and order of the changes made on the road to complete integration. For example, you may not be able to change a fundamental problem initially but after making other minor changes, you could comfortably make that change.

Roadblocks To Integration
Besides the problems previously discussed, e.g., focusing on immediate ball-flight improvement, misunderstanding feel etc., the following are other roadblocks to integration.
When a player wants improvement too quickly, they make changes too hastily causing them to tear down their movement instead of integrating and building a movement. Be patient when integrating and only make appropriate changes when you absolutely believe they are correct.
The fallacy of the perfect correction prevents players from making a correct integration. Good players learn an important aspect of integration: when a change is made, other parts of the movement take time to accommodate and integrate with the new change. A new addition may create “problems” on the short-term.
For example, if you were off-balance when adapting a new movement, you should still work on the new movement. You would not want to assume a perfect correction and give up on the new change because it "causes" an off balance movement. Thinking short- term and having a lack of understanding of the integrative process prevent most people from pursuing long-term integration. Stay with the change and give it a chance. Much like your first step into the ocean, if you make your judgment from the first reaction you would get right out, but when you understand that over time you will become accustomed to the water temperature you have the opportunity to enjoy it.
Much the same process happens as the beginner advances to being an experienced player—a process of understanding the nature of movement. This book's major focus is identifying and laying out the knowledge to allow interested players a chance to reduce the time it takes to go through the learning process.

Mike O.
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