Setup is one of my favorite subjects so thanks for asking.
I feel relatively confident discussing it because everytime I visit the swamp, Yoda always comments on it. "I love that setup"...and..."you keep your head very still, we don't need to worry about that".
There are several analogies for the basic feel of it from a muscular readiness standpoint. Think of the following; a 1000M runner lined up at the starting line waiting for the gun, A linebacker preparing to rush the QB. It is a very athletic setup position. A state of readiness.
Anyone who lifts weights will recognize the muscular tension associated with preparing for a squat. Your body can be relatively relaxed with weight on your back, but the spine is perfectly straight to handle the weight, the kness are slightly bent, the weight is balanced across the feet, and the quads are in a state of readiness to accept the load. Ted has told me that after a day long range session, his left quad burns and can be sore the next day. I'm not suggesting you need to have a large amount of tension in the legs, just a state of readiness. My leg tension varies with the shot at hand and I've found a certain amount of muscular stability in the legs allows the rest of my body to relax. It's the platform to swing from.
In every case, you are set up "decidedly targetward" or as Yoda would say, "decidedly leftward". The weight isn't favored on the left side, it is balanced but the muscular readiness is targetward. My initial impression of it when I first started using it was that I couldn't differentiate the weight ratio left or right, but it felt like I was pressing the earth down with my left foot. From a muscular tension standpoint, my left quadricepts are much more activivated than the right. The right side presses into the left. But the weight is balanced. From there, I'm ready to take it back.
It's not stiff, but it's not loose either. As the body turns on the backswing, the left knee moves to accomodate the motion and the right leg can straighten slightly if you wish. At startdown, the hip bumps targetward, the left knee moves to accomodate the weight transfer. The weight is shifted into the left leg with the hip bump. The left quad takes a nice share of the load as you drive the left foot into the ground
Oh, one more impression. You feel like you can really rip the ball as you look down on it, and you will.
Aloha,
Bagger
Great post(s), man...very helpful. I assume you setup this way for all of your clubs? What adjustments do you make, if any, from driver to wedge?
From Driver to Wedge, the right foot moves more towards the left respectively. For chips and short pitches, most of the weight is on the left foot at setup with zero #3 accumulator angle.
Head is always between the feet. Right forearm pickup on all shots. Pivot loads and delivers #4 but always through the guidance of the hands.
But I'm really beginning to like "hitting" the short shots.
From Driver to Wedge, the right foot moves more towards the left respectively. For chips and short pitches, most of the weight is on the left foot at setup with zero #3 accumulator angle.
Head is always between the feet. Right forearm pickup on all shots. Pivot loads and delivers #4 but always through the guidance of the hands.
But I'm really beginning to like "hitting" the short shots.
Thanks, your posts helped me look again at my setup and realize that I was (unknowingly) progressively tilting more to the right and getting my head further towards my right foot as I went to longer clubs. With the feeling of a flat shoulder turn I would get all messed up and couldn't get on plane coming down. Can't wait to try these setup thoughts out at the range tomorrow.
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