The EdZ Drills

[EdZ]

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.

[GPStyles]

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

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

[dkerby]

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.

Hope that his helps some.

[GPStyles]

Well yes, some Dkerby - thank you.

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?

[EdZ]

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

You are confusing action and motion.

Action is something you do with intent - drive off the right foot/right knee.

Motion is something that results - the left foot starts down.

That said, different patterns will tend towards different actions (what 'starts' the motion). A hitter may focus on the base of the right hand driving toward the aiming point, a swinger may focus on the hips, or yes, planting the left foot, or 'falling' onto the left side, or 'driving' the right knee.

There is no 'one' answer - it depends on the golfer and the pattern being used, as well as the perspective of the observer.


Perhaps best to move this to its own thread.