cure for arms swing

[kbp]

Re: cure for arms swing

I would say it shouldn’t be a mix of both to start the downswing, but it is in many average swings. There are a lot ways to hit a golf ball. Some are just more natural, efficient, and repeatable. The more a push is involved as the impetus, IMO, the more compensations are necessary elsewhere. Sadlowski’s footwork shows no push off. Rory is lifting his right heel, not pushing off with it.

It is a perfectly natural move if you haven’t been previously corrupted with "lower body leading" or "push off the right foot" or "hold the shoulders back", etc. It’s very easy, very stable, very powerful. Kids will do it naturally IF you can get them to minimize their head movement by watching the ball.

A two year old doesn’t need bio-mechanics to walk because it’s natural instincts produce the correct movement. Not true for most adults learning to swing a club. The natural instinct to hit a ball on the ground is to chop at it with the arms and the upper body....over the top. I would say it’s more like teaching an amputee to use a prosthetic leg or teaching someone with a speech disorder how to properly move their tongue and mouth for particular troublesome letters. It requires some conscious thought to relearn a "natural" skill with a new tool or to break a mis-learned habit.

If you are getting results, more power to you. You are obviously doing something right. Most instructors are not getting results and most adult students are not getting better. Since there have been volumes upon volumes written and argued about what should start the downswing, and since OTT and arm swings are so rampant on the course and the range, I assume it is not so "naturally" pick-up by most golfers, nor successfully taught be most instructors.

IMO, of course.

[rogue]

Re: cure for arms swing

I would say it shouldn’t be a mix of both to start the downswing, but it is in many average swings. There are a lot ways to hit a golf ball. Some are just more natural, efficient, and repeatable. The more a push is involved as the impetus, IMO, the more compensations are necessary elsewhere. Sadlowski’s footwork shows no push off. Rory is lifting his right heel, not pushing off with it.

It is a perfectly natural move if you haven’t been previously corrupted with "lower body leading" or "push off the right foot" or "hold the shoulders back", etc. It’s very easy, very stable, very powerful. Kids will do it naturally IF you can get them to minimize their head movement by watching the ball.

A two year old doesn’t need bio-mechanics to walk because it’s natural instincts produce the correct movement. Not true for most adults learning to swing a club. The natural instinct to hit a ball on the ground is to chop at it with the arms and the upper body....over the top. I would say it’s more like teaching an amputee to use a prosthetic leg or teaching someone with a speech disorder how to properly move their tongue and mouth for particular troublesome letters. It requires some conscious thought to relearn a "natural" skill with a new tool or to break a mis-learned habit.

If you are getting results, more power to you. You are obviously doing something right. Most instructors are not getting results and most adult students are not getting better. Since there have been volumes upon volumes written and argued about what should start the downswing, and since OTT and arm swings are so rampant on the course and the range, I assume it is not so "naturally" pick-up by most golfers, nor successfully taught be most instructors.

IMO, of course.

Yeah I do agree with a lot of what you say. When I was talking about it being natural i was referring to the idea of throwing a club out to the target or similar drills. Most of the problems i see in the swing are a result of BF Skinner style self conditioning (operant) or conscious/subconscious concepts of how to hit the ball incorrectly (such as lifting)


i suppose i get good results as i try to keep it instinctive - learning to get the club on the ball the right way at first, then working back from there to improve how they do it - but most swing theory is just that. one plane - two plane. You can find great players with all swing methods, and a good player like tiger can still win when they change their method. Thgis shows thats there is more to thi game than your method - and thats exactly what i teach

[Wil]

Re: cure for arms swing

Good point mentioned above: If you "slide" your hips straight left at the beginning of the downswing, like some instruction tells us, will you lose your spine angle like kbp says? I think he's right-sliding the hips will likely improve and straighten your downswing path and maybe prevent OTT but your forward lean will be destroyed. Not good, right? Or does it even matter? ...Wil

[BrianW]

Re: cure for arms swing

I try not to get myself pondering too deeply on the exact details of what muscle groups or exact body parts sequences create a golf swing. I agree with the previous statement suggesting that our bodies are already conditioned to create certain actions but I can also see the points made by KBP that with the golf swing these instinctive actions do not always work. Another point is that we are not all made up with the same proportions and the way one person can move is not necessarily achievable by another in the exact way.I like the following drill 'Nick Bradley' uses to start the downswing in his book 'The Seven laws of the golf swing':Address the ball with a 7 iron, take your left(lead)foot and slide it back against your right (trail) foot, make a back swing and pause at the top, now slide your left foot back to its address position while initiating and completing your downswing. Pick up on the way your weight naturally moves from right to left in a wave like natural motion.

[rogue]

Re: cure for arms swing

Go low

100% agreed. Thats why I gave up on traditional methods of teaching and became an instinctive coach a long time ago.