Many of you may be familiar with these, as posted previously on other boards. Take the time to experiment with them, you will find much of the discussion of TGM will become quite clear using them as a reference.
Here are a couple drills that may help some of you get the 'feel' of coming from the inside.
First, the feel of the back of the left hand. Feeling that back of the left hand, as if it IS the clubface, is an essential step. Focus on your hands “ swing your hands with your shoulders, as if you had ropes for arms “ the rock on a string.
* Stand at address without a club.
* Put your right hand behind your back
* Put your left hand on your right shoulder
* Make your backswing turn, until your left elbow is behind the ball, over the right knee (this is very important, and a key postion to check)
* Let your left hand 'fall', and feel like you are going to slap the ball with the back of the left hand.
It can help to just let the arm fall, and feel like your body doesn't unwind until the hand pulls it around. Once you get the feel, allow everything to 'flow' together. In a swing, the motion is from the body, but you have to get this feel first.
Important: as you do this, be aware of your left forearm rotating. When you get just past impact, your left palm should be facing 'up', and towards you, on the arc.
Do this same drill, but with a club, just in the left hand.
Then do it with 2 or 3 clubs (or a heavy club) just in your left hand.
The second drill (The EdZ drill).
This one sums up a lot of the swing feels in one drill.
* Stand at address, no club, arms hanging, in balance
* make a fist with your left hand, and point your thumb to your right (away from the the target)
* make a 'V' with your right hand, split your middle and ring fingers, ala 'spock' (live long and prosper) and put that 'V' over the base of your left thumb
Your hands will look like this: -|
(your left and right respectively)
Now just practice 'swinging' back and through, 'let' your hands rotate and feel everything staying in synch with your chest. Keep your hands in the -| relationship going back, and let them rotate through.
Feel your left arm 'line' and plane (like a tailor was measuring you for a jacket)
Feel the right hand/palm staying on plane (basically faces the ball until hip high).
Feel the right wrist bending back to the forearm - the 'tray' feel
Feel the 'throw' of the right hand down the line.
Feel your elbows staying close together.
Feel the 'post' of the right leg - Important: keep the same flex in the right knee!!!
that one thought will really help you. putting a ball under the right foot is a great way to practice and get that 'solid' right leg - very important!
This drill does many things, one if which is give the "swinger's" feel of the left hand, and the "hitter's" feel of the right hand
And for the last drill, for body motion:
'EdZ'drill #2
Get into posture, hands hanging down in front of you, palms facing each other, flat.
Bend both wrists inward (basically 90 degrees), and touch the tips of your middle fingers together, or better, link your fingers together (like you are going to lift someone who would step into your hands)
At this point, your palms are facing up, fingers interlocked, arms hanging down.
Point both thumbs away from you.
Now just slowly swing back and forth, at first, feeling the 'line' on the ground your hands swing on.
As you start to increase the motion, let your forearms roll 90 degrees back, 180 degrees through.
Your elbows will naturally tuck in on your sides as they should.
They will stay the same distance apart, as they should.
They will point down, as they should.
Try this with something heavy in your hands, let it move your body, keeping your palms facing your chest (basically), as you feel the swing motion. Do it again, feeling your body move the arms as a unit.
Swing two clubs, one in each hand, ˜allow' the rotation, and keep them the same distance apart - get the same feel as this drill.
"The Plane" any true swinging force, will swing on plane, so when you really "trust" the swinging force, you don't need to "think" about it much. The best way to understand it, is to use the EdZ drill #1, and 'feel that thumb', and 'see the line' that is the base of the plane. A laser or flashlight on each end of a club should always point at the target line. Imagine a beam of light coming out of the hosel, and grip. The 'wall' of light it produces, is the plane. It goes over the right shoulder on the backswing, over the left shoulder on the throughswing.
Spin the wheel drills:
The best way I can summarize the swing in general is this.....
Use the base of your right hand to extend your left during the entire motion. Width is efficient force. Your right palm should feel as if it is tracing the inside rim of a wheel, the hub is the top of your spine/base of your neck, and your wrists are the other end of the spoke. The hub turns the wheel, as you feel like you are using the palm/base of the right hand to swing/drag the knuckles of your left hand along the inside rim of the wheel. The wheel, and you, should remain in perfect balance. Spin the wheel with your belly. Post impact, allow the forearms to rotate and feel the back of the left hand ride the inside of the rim. Always in balance, always feeling the 'swinging' of the clubhead, always focused on 'target'.
If you are not in balance, you are not swinging well.
Understand this, and understand pressure points.
Think of your entire body as a whip - the downswing starts with the left foot, and the whip action moves up the left leg, through the hips and mid section, down the left arm, to the clubhead - the last piece of the puzzle to 'crack' that whip.
This is LAG. The sequence must be in order, or you have no 'whip'. The shoulders never get ahead of the hips.
Pressure points, are a way of 'feeling' that sequence. On the right forefinger (PP#3), being the easiest to 'get' and monitor for most people.
To understand PP3, think of 'grabbing' the edges of the rim with the thumb and forefinger... pp3 is where the forefinger stays 'on the edge' of the rim and after impact, it switches to the other rim edge - it rotate around the 'point' of rotation
Perhaps it would be more clear to say the 'rotation point' is the 'tip' of "THE" magic triangle.
Try hitting pitch shots, with your right forefinger extended down the side of the shaft. As you swing back, and change direction, notice the 'pressure' on your finger? Great, now 'keep that pressure'. That is lag pressure, one of the foundations of a great swing. Lag and Balance are critical.
If you were to get your shoulders ahead of your hips, you wouldn't have that whip action moving down the rope/body - you would not have any stored energy.
99% of golfers don't move that whip action from the ground up, because they start from the top, and once ANY part is out of order, you don't have lag, you don't have a 'whip'.
The feeling of lag is that the club is 'very heavy'. It is a feeling of 'dragging the back of the left hand. It is the feeling of the ˜stretch' that moves up the left side, through the body, and down to the club.
If you don't feel the 'heavy', 'drag', you are rushing your move from the top, you aren't 'spinning the wheel with the belley'
The best way to start to get this is to hit your 170 club, 100 yards with a full motion. Feel like you 'swing in slow motion', and that the hands 'fall', that the club is 'heavy.
Let gravity help you get the sequence right. You won't believe how smooth, and flowing, and 'heavy' this feels.
Have someone pull the shaft at halfway back, and ˜feel the stretch' on the left side.
A few words on TGM -
To understand the "flying wedges" concept in TGM, read my "EdZ" drills again, and how that relates to the 'riding the rim' image. The drill with the split right hand fingers over the left thumb (hands like this -|). The second one, with fingers interlocked, thumbs pointing away from you as well.
Basically, it is PP#1 that rides the rim, the point where the two lines meet. That is the 'wedge'.
In the second version (fingers interlocked as if you were going to boost someone up - ride the 'outside' of the wheel. The point at the base of the fingers is the 'wedge' that rides the rim (note - THIS is why Moe Norman's swing worked so well, look at his grip, and imagine this 'wedge')
The first gives you more of a 'hitting' feel, the second more of a 'swinging' feel (more rotation).
Watch good players, you'll see it.
Imagine that rim is about as wide as your hand, and 'grab the edges' of the inside of the rim so that your palm is riding the inside of it and your thumb and fingers are on its edge.
The left thumb rides the rim, the right palm rides the rim.
Right wrist straight back on the plane of the rim, and spin that wheel with the body. Forget about the hands once you've set them, just spin the wheel, think TARGET and BALANCE.
You may wish to experiment a bit with your grip when using this image.
The best way to 'get' the image is to grip like this:
Clap your hands in front of you. Your right palm stays facing the target.
Turn your left hand at a 45 degree angle (where a 90 degree turn would put your thumb pointing directly away from the target). This grip is a good variation, more of a 'hitting' action, and less rotation.
With this variation of grip, doing nothing else at address but bending your right wrist straight back on the plane of your right forearm, should then make your left wrist flat, and left thumb facing straight away from the target. From there, keep the spoke straight, and spin the wheel with the belly. You can think of the right forearm as a spoke in the wheel.
In the second version, fingers interlocked - the 'wedge' that rides the rim is where the hands meet each other at the base of the fingers.
The 'thumbs' follow the outside of the rim edges. The 'wedge' follows the middle of the rim.
Just 'past' impact - the entire structure rotates around the 'center' of that 'wedge'.
The 'thumb' side of your wedding ring is the center point of that rotation (where it meets the the middle finger of the right hand).
That 'center point' - MUST ALWAYS FACE THE SAME POINT ON YOUR CHEST
This is what 'being in synch' is all about.
You will then understand how the 'body' moves the arms and hands, and how the 'hands and arms' must provide enough support to stay 'centered'.
This is a 'body release' of the club.
It is 'both' a hands swing feel, AND a body swing feel. Both 'feels' are valid, as long as you keep that point 'centered'.
To further understand this, you can put a shaft in that 'center point' of your fingers, and have the grip end touch your chest./belly.
In terms of efficient force, the 'body' is the main factor.
Feel it in your feet. Feel the ground.
The 'spoke' runs from the spine at the base of the neck, to this 'wedge' point, basically, where your wrists would intersect, or in TGM terms, PP#1 - the point where the base of your right hand, meets the base of the left thumb.
It is the 'tip' of 'the' magic triangle that rides the rim. The left arm is one side of the triangle, the chest another - that angle does not change, or at worst only decreases, never increases, until after inpact.
This image is all about keeping the distance from that 'wedge' point to your chest/base of neck the same - that is the 'spoke'
Arm and body swing work together - to keep the hands and chest in synch. It is 'both' and arm swing, AND a body swing, but if one is to 'win' the argument, it is the body. Getting 'lag' and efficient force - physics is physics.
The best way I find to 'feel' this is to focus on the shoulders and their turn, while holding the butt of the club against your chest/belly and griping down near the clubhead.
Your arms prove 'support', and your body, force.
Practice from both extremes (see some of the EdZ drills)
Feel the hand and arm swing move the body, feel the body move the hands and arms. When you find the mid point, you will be in 'synch'.
Another great way to feel this is to swing a broom. Grip the broom down near the head, and let the handle rest on your left side. Keep the handle on your left side and use the body to swing it back and through.
A broom can be a very good training aid. It can show you the plane line, and that the right wrist bend is on plane with the forearm - and really helps you understand how to turn the body 'through' a shot. In fact I'd bet I can teach someone to swing well using only a broom and a mop!
The mop shows you 'lag' keep the strings of the mop dragging
Once you have 'set' that right wrist back/flat left, the hands and arms are passive. The body moves the triangle through. Your feet provide much of the 'feel' and the power moves up through them - up your left side, through the 'belly', down the left arm, to the club.
Crack that whip. Practice the sequence in slow motion until you can 'feel' the unwinding from the ground up. That 'stretch' that moves all the way up the body and down to the club.
You want to think more about the right wrist back, and the left thumb. When the right wrist is back, and the right hand is used to keep the left arm 'gently' straight, the left hand takes care of itself. (palms facing each other, square clubface 'weak' on both hands grip - trust it - as long as you get that left flat, and keep the right back - ride the rim, allow rotation)
If you are still going right, chances are you aren't getting that left shoulder over the right knee you aren't 'behind the ball'. The 'lever' is the left shoulder, and the arm and club the shoulder must get behind the ball. Thinking of this 'lever' can really help you. Feeling like you hit the ball with the back of the left shoulder is a great feel for you to have. The arms are 'along for the ride', while the hands feel the clubface.
While I don't advocate using it for shots - experiment with the 'feel' of the 'long' left thumb in combination with the flat left wrist.
You will 'feel' the 'karate chop' motion of the left hand (from 45 degrees to the target line) and the 'upper cut' or 'punch' of the right hand and arm (keeping that right wrist back)
Get that right wrist back, left flat - and spin the wheel, punch the target.
Note, in the second drill, fingers interlocked, you want to feel as if the palms ride the 'outside' of the tire, and the two thumbs 'ride the edges of the rim'
Stay balanced - always.
"See" the shot, and then make it happen - a lot like shooting a basketball - you don't 'think' you 'do'.
I think this will help a lot of people. I hope this explanation makes sense, try it.
Let me know what you think, or if you have seen this variation before. I'd like to know if this helps you, and if so, just remember, you saw it here first! - Ed Z.
As a wise being once said....... LET THE FORCE BE 'WITH' YOU - trust it
balance, ALWAYS in balance
__________________
"Support the On Plane Swinging Force in Balance"
"we have no friends, we have no enemies, we have only teachers"
Simplicity buffs, see 5-0, 1-L, 2-0 A and B 10-2-B, 4-D, 6B-1D, 6-B-3-0-1, 6-C-1, 6-E-2
Please help i have been seeing a TGM teacher i am learning the right arm swing; but i am having the hardest time. i have a serious sway forward toward the target and i am getting better but i need help i cant figure out why i am doing this? My hands are getting better as well as my right arm swing but the sway is holding me back from reaching my highest levels, i also have a power leak in my stroke somewhere. please assist. thanks a bunch
Step
Please help i have been seeing a TGM teacher i am learning the right arm swing; but i am having the hardest time. i have a serious sway forward toward the target and i am getting better but i need help i cant figure out why i am doing this? My hands are getting better as well as my right arm swing but the sway is holding me back from reaching my highest levels, i also have a power leak in my stroke somewhere. please assist. thanks a bunch
Step
Hula Hula . . . you need to learn to make your hips go forward and not your upper body. The hula hula is deamed as such because the hips move independently of the shoulders while allowing the head to be "steady." Do a search on start down waggles . . . . good place to start.
What is your ball flight like? Why are you learning to right arm swing? Keep in mind with the right arm swing the center of your stroke is your right elbow. So the ball is played back. So if you are moving foward you are REALLY moving your low point well forward.
the index fingers of both hands are on a 'track' keep them on track through the shot
left index finger frisbee throw
In Hogan's grip, he stressed the right index finger and thumb stay pressed together, thus creating the 'trigger'.
The tip of your right index finger, of the 'trigger' can be used as a guide which PP3 will follow into the inside back corner of the ball, downplane through the base line, into the ground - just like you had a hammer and its 'face' was the tip of the trigger, the index finger.
Get a hammer in your right hand, then translate that feel to the tip of the right index finger.
When you get the feel for this, you will notice the lead hand pinky, the lead hand index finger, the 'interlock point' (if you interlock, also known as the 'rotation point and mirror point') will all be 'on plane' and 'on paralell tracks'.
The pinky and index finger of the right hand will be on paralell, on plane tracks.
More like an uppercut punch, but similar to skipping a rock, very similar in that the 'tip of the trigger' is your guide.
post impact you can either bend/arch (mirror point) or swivel (rotation point)
Either way, the feel is that the index finger of the lead hand is the same motion as a left handed frisbee throw, and the tip of the right index finger is your guide to send PP3 downplane through the inside back corner.
Hogan had a few big keys, a few big secrets. Plane. Driving the right knee and the tip of the right index finger, the left thumb under the shaft. Lag pressure. The arch of the left wrist, page 102 of 5 lessons, pure swinging of the club and pure balance. Downplane, into the dirt. Long, wide, thin divots.
A drill that may help folks get a better understanding of the right hand, of the flail, and of lag pressure, and of the 'head of the hammer'-
go to your kitchen and get a wooden spoon
point your right index finger out in front of you, and hold the end of the spoon between your thumb and the side of your middle finger, near the top joint. The spoon will 'hinge' between the thumb and middle finger, and be 'in plane' with the index finger.
If you allow the hinge to move freely, and align either the edge of the spoon to the plane of the index finger, or the face at 90 degrees, you can use a gentle swinging of your right hand back and through, like an underhand toss, to show you how the right hand works, the 'skip of the stone' and the 'uppercut punch', as well as the 'loading' against the index finger, the 'head of the hammer'. You will also be able to 'trace the plane line'. This drill can work well with a laser pointer instead of the spoon, but the spoon is very helpful in showing the 'clubface'.
__________________
"Support the On Plane Swinging Force in Balance"
"we have no friends, we have no enemies, we have only teachers"
Simplicity buffs, see 5-0, 1-L, 2-0 A and B 10-2-B, 4-D, 6B-1D, 6-B-3-0-1, 6-C-1, 6-E-2
The idea of the right knee is to a) keep the angle of the leg and b) start the downswing by driving the right knee at the inside back corner, keeping the shoulders back
It sets the proper sequence of the body unwinding to create 'full body' lag, that is, a from the ground up unwinding, a cracking of the whip, that is 'lag' - from the left foot, up the left side, down the arm to the club - the flail in action. It also lowers the trail shoulder down plane. A wider stance makes this easier to 'get'.
the key to getting it right is 'counter fall' onto the left leg (tour tempo cd is very good at getting this feel), and having the left foot 'open' a touch greatly helps this work properly
A hammer, on a plane board, with an understanding that the elbow leads the wrist which leads the tip of the index finger. Note that the elbow stays on its plane (a good visual/video check point), some good pics of this in Hebron's books.
Keeping that right wrist bent back - if you keep the thumb and index finger pressed against each other, and have a 'hook' in your index finger, in order to actualy 'use the hammer', the tip of the trail index finger, you must have the right wrist back in the proper position. Another feel that this will give is the heel of the hand leading/punching, before the index finger 'throws'. The wrists hinge, how the wrists hinge (mirror point).
As for the divots, when you really get the 'hogan' wrist position through impact (page 102), you will find that you need less 'down' and you are very square to the arc. There is still very much a downward blow, which a vast majority don't have, but the divot will be a 'slice' rather than a 'chunck' of dirt. The 'down' gives margin for error, so if you error, go with too much 'down (there really isn't such a thing, other than that which creates distance control problems) - the thin slice is the best combination of down vs. forward force, and there will be a slight arc to them on the ends, but not much, think 'square to the arc'
The entire motion is somewhat like you were going to break a door down with your lead shoulder, like you hit the ball with the back of the lead shoulder - the right knee/foot/leg braces and 'pushes off' - just like a pitcher pushes off the mound or a sprinter pushes out of the blocks.
If you push off of the right leg and haven't coiled lead shoulder behind the ball, you'll have troubles. Hogan had full shoulder coil and a short arm swing for a reason, it keeps the hands and chest turning through without getting 'out of sequence'.
__________________
"Support the On Plane Swinging Force in Balance"
"we have no friends, we have no enemies, we have only teachers"
Simplicity buffs, see 5-0, 1-L, 2-0 A and B 10-2-B, 4-D, 6B-1D, 6-B-3-0-1, 6-C-1, 6-E-2
The first part of the physics is lag, the 'cracking of the whip' from the ground up. At the start of the downswing, the 'whip motion' moves through the body, to the club, starting with the left foot, left knee, left hip, left side, left shoulder, arm, wrists, club. You can push with the right in 'feel', but pull or push, you must maintain the hands leading, or you have 'lost the whip'. At impact the 'bend in the whip' is the arch of your lead wrist, see Hogan p 102.
If we somehow could magically have a completely verticle 'whip', then no rotation would be needed (well actually, just a 'bit' because of the design of the club) - if it were more like a croquet mallet, you could though. The fact that there is an angle between the shaft and the clubhead means that physics will tend to lead to the toe rotating to be in line with the shafts motion/plane.
So we have the first two parts, the physics of lag, and the design of the club.
The third is the body. The club follows the hands, which follow the arms, which follow the shoulders, so where the shoulders move is one of the more critical components. Feel like you 'hit the ball with the back of the lead shoulder' (or for some, the front of the trail shoulder), will let you feel the 'triangle - that the entire shoulder line and arm span is one big unit/triangle - its 'tip' is where the hands meet, and that is the 'point' that both hands are either pulling, and/or pushing - the last 'hinge' in the whip motion, of the flail.
If you take your grip with your palms square to each other, there is a conflict between how your left hand will align when swung on its own (stronger, butt of hand leading) and how your right will align on its own (more 'square', palm facing planeline)
So if you have that grip, you will have to have rotation in the lead arm but standing on the side of the ball, and the physics of the club design, but contribute to the left hand 'rolling' back to square IF you let them (relaxed) or force them (intentional roll).
If you don't, you're going right OR breaking the 'whip' to square up.
I would encourage most people to look at Alex Morrison's approach to the grip, because it accounts for the natural motion of the hands and arms 'in the whip'. It does not fight the natural move of the left arm, nor does it 'roll', until well after impact if at all.
My preference, as stated in the first post, is to have the lead hand at '45 degrees', which allows for a more 'direct line' takeaway, a good way to feel right forearm pickup.
__________________
"Support the On Plane Swinging Force in Balance"
"we have no friends, we have no enemies, we have only teachers"
Simplicity buffs, see 5-0, 1-L, 2-0 A and B 10-2-B, 4-D, 6B-1D, 6-B-3-0-1, 6-C-1, 6-E-2
The idea of the right knee is to a) keep the angle of the leg and b) start the downswing by driving the right knee at the inside back corner, keeping the shoulders back
Originally Posted by EdZ
At the start of the downswing, the 'whip motion' moves through the body, to the club, starting with the left foot, left knee, left hip, left side, left shoulder, arm, wrists, club.
This is why golfers get confused!
Which is it - does the left foot start the down-swing or the right knee?
The drills are great but I don't like being confused like this
GPStyles, V.J. Trolio with his book "The final Missing Piece" shows
that Hogan was allready on the left side at the top of the swing.
No need to plant the left foot.
In the book Afternoons with Mr. Hogan by Jody Vasquez, Hogan
says that his big secret was to start the downswing with the
right knee in pefect balance. Home Kelley will be the first to tell
you to maintain balance and not let the knees cause bobbing
and sway. The move must be done correctly. Ed Z has a lot of
insite and knows his stuff. A great guy. His post on the right
knee has a lot of good information.
A further study would be a read of the post, Hogans Power Secret,
posted on the Lab. In this post, Yoda says that Hogan push off
the right foot, instep, to get the right elbow deeper into impact.
V.J. Trolio mentions that Hogan early move to the left side is a
move and may not be the secret but Hogans way and very helpfull.
Counterfall is a word coined David Lee in his book Gravity Golf.
With Counterfall the weight shifs toward the right heal in the
backswing. If I remember correctly, about 22 degrees. Lee
said that Hogan sent students to him?
Much of what I have said fall into X Classifications in the Yellow
Book and should be experimented with a fundamental understanding
of the Yellow Book first.
You seem to be favouring the right leg starting the downswing rather than the left yes?
Sorry to post this in this thread btw - more than happy to have the conversation elsewhere. I am happy with my set up (although I have a tendancy to get over plane with my right forearm) and back swing but my downswing does not have the right chain at the moment. My bad move is a 'round house' movement rather than an OTT movement so I am looking for a good trigger and drill for the down swing.
I have read that Tiger has described 'crushing a soda can' with his right foot - is this a good analogy?
Hybrid Mode
