Within your Ability

[Martin Levac]

Greetings,

I want to share some thoughts so here goes.

The purpose of golf is to send a ball to a target using a club. It's the same purpose for the golf swing itself, to send a ball to a target using a club. The most important aspect of the golf swing is proper contact with the ball. Quite literally, it's the only way to fulfill its purpose which is to send a ball to a target using a club. Golf is a game of accuracy.

Retain control of the club.

What do you need for accuracy if not to retain control of the club as you swing it and as you strike the ball with it?

Hitting a nail with a hammer.

Have you ever hit your own thumb? It hurts. Imagine trying to swing that hammer all the way back with the hammer head almost touching your own back then bringing it back in front as fast as you can trying to make contact with the nail directly on the head. Wouldn't you be scared of squashing your own thumb? I certainly would.

Sending a ball to a target using a club.

Imagine the same kind of swing with the hammer above. Do you think you have a better chance of making contact with the ball? Imagine your thumb is right next to the ball, are you going to overswing anyway? Of course not, you'd be scared of hitting your thumb, wouldn't you.

Swinging the club within your ability. Retaining control of the club.

The contrary would be: Swinging outside of your ability. Losing control of the club.

The question really is, do you have the ability to swing the club as you do now and still retain control of the club?

This is only one reason to swing within your ability.

Here's another interesting question. Do you have a smooth swing but still send the ball zipping across the stalls at the range? Are you trying to dance or send a ball to a target using a club?

Focus on the ball.

Swinging within your ability is easy to determine. As you swing the club, does your head move sideways/up/down/front/back, to a great extent so much so that you lose focus of the ball? Do you lose focus of the ball at any point during your swing? Does your chin get caught up in your shoulder on the backswing? Do your eyes ever leave the ball during your swing?

A different way of looking at it. Are you doing anything that causes your head to move during your swing? If so, stop doing that. The head is where the eyes are, the eyes is what we use to aim. For the best accuracy when we aim, we must keep our head as immobile as we can.

Let's go back to the beginning of this post.

The most important aspect of the golf swing is proper contact with the ball. How do we produce proper contact with the ball if not by aiming with our eyes and maintaining the head as immobile as we can so that we maintain focus on the ball to produce the best accuracy we can? How do we send a ball to a target using a club if not by producing the best accuracy we can?

Is your ability so great that you can make proper contact with the ball every time all the time with your eyes closed and/or your head bobbing up and down, left and right?

Swinging within your ability. Maintaining focus on the ball.

The contrary would be: Swinging outside your ability. Losing focus of the ball.

That's another reason to swing within your ability.

Now combine both reasons, to maintain focus on the ball and to retain control of the club, so that you can produce a better swing, a better stroke and more importantly, a better result.

Below is an exercise I do regularly when I want to get back to what's important.

Address the ball, bring the arms not more than horizontal on the backswing, swing and bring the club back to the ball to strike it. Maintain the head as immobile as I can, maintain focus on the ball with the eyes throughout even as I strike the ball and longer after the ball leaves the clubface.

Aim for a target.

The more I practice, the more I learn. One thing I learned about hitting balls at the range and on the course is to always aim for a target, no matter what exercise I'm practicing. I've learned that aiming for a target is almost as essential as making proper contact with the ball. Otherwise, I'm only hitting balls to _somewhere_ and that's not sufficient for golf.

It's the difference between having a goal and going about the world aimlessly. Which would you prefer and which do you think is most effective?

Aim for a target. Retain control of the club. Focus on the ball.

Swing within your ability.

Some physics for the skeptics.

The purpose of the golf swing is to send a ball to a target using a club. Note that it's not: To send a club to a target using my hands or to send a ball to a target using my hands.

Whatever you're doing during the swing, you must eventually transfer the club's momentum to the ball by striking it. Momentum is speed or velocity.

If the purpose of the golf swing was to send a club to a target using my hands, I'd be swinging away like mad just trying to send that club as far as I could, wouldn't I? Wouldn't you?

Isn't that what you're doing right now? Swinging like mad?

Since the purpose of the golf swing is to send a ball to a target using a club and that activity is ruled by the transfer of momentum from the clubhead to the ball, swinging within your ability will only allow you to transfer as much momentum as your ability will allow.

Proper contact with the ball is the most important aspect of the golf swing. It's where power comes from, it's where accuracy comes from. You can lose more power from a bad contact with the ball than from any other aspect of the golf swing. If that previous statement is true, it follows that you can produce more power with proper contact with the ball than with any other aspect of the golf swing.

As far as accuracy is concerned, I dunno about you but what I truly hate to see is the ball going either side of my intended target. Short, I don't normally care. Too long, I care a bit more but still not so much. Off line, that pisses me off to no end.

What I truly want is the ball to go directly to my target. Every time, all the time.

Have fun


Martin Levac

[rharris06]

Re: Within your Ability

Proper contact isnt the most important aspect of the golf swing. Proper contact has nothing to do with the golf swing. Proper contact comes from a good golf swing :-)!

[Martin Levac]

Re: Within your Ability

Proper contact isnt the most important aspect of the golf swing. Proper contact has nothing to do with the golf swing. Proper contact comes from a good golf swing :-)!

Do you mean to say that you could get away with improper contact with the ball? That's what club manufacturers want you to believe as well. Do you mean to say that even though proper contact has nothing to do with the golf swing, that's what comes out of it anyway? That makes no sense at all.

Do you mean John Daly's swing, is that what you mean by a good golf swing? Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Walter Hagen, Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, Seve Ballasteros, Fred Couples. More? Alright, John Senden (just won the John Deere Classic, his first after 139 tournaments with the same smooth swing), Craig Parry (won his first after over 200 tournaments with that funky swing), Bernard Langer, David Toms.

No matter how well or how badly you swing that club, the result does not lie.


Martin Levac

[BrianW]

Re: Within your Ability

Do you mean to say that you could get away with improper contact with the ball? That's what club manufacturers want you to believe as well. Do you mean to say that even though proper contact has nothing to do with the golf swing, that's what comes out of it anyway? That makes no sense at all.

Do you mean John Daly's swing, is that what you mean by a good golf swing? Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Walter Hagen, Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, Seve Ballasteros, Fred Couples. More? Alright, John Senden (just won the John Deere Classic, his first after 139 tournaments with the same smooth swing), Craig Parry (won his first after over 200 tournaments with that funky swing), Bernard Langer, David Toms.

No matter how well or how badly you swing that club, the result does not lie.


Martin Levac

Martin

I think Rick is saying that proper contact is important but it is only possible repeatedly by using good swing mechanics. I would tend to agree with him!

It is possible to hit a good golf shot with an irregular golf swing as long as you square the club face at contact, but if you have to make many complex adjustments eventually you will fail and start hitting bad shots. IMO a good sound, reliable and grooved golf swing is the best way for us mortals to improve our game.

Regards
Brian

[aftford]

Re: Within your Ability

Martin

I think Rick is saying that proper contact is important but it is only possible repeatedly by using good swing mechanics. I would tend to agree with him!

It is possible to hit a good golf shot with an irregular golf swing as long as you square the club face at contact, but if you have to make many complex adjustments eventually you will fail and start hitting bad shots. IMO a good sound, reliable and grooved golf swing is the best way for us mortals to improve our game.

Regards
Brian

great reply brian.
We all know how difficult it is to achieve a reliable , repeatable golf swing. Good contact can only come from a sound swing based on sound fundamentals. achieving this type of swing can take years of practice and perseverance .
There are those who are not willing to put in the hard work that it takes and are always looking for shortcuts or claiming to have found a way to hit the golfball perfectly everytime.
Those of us who live in real world know and understand that you only get out of golf what you are willing put in and that there are no shortcuts or miracle formula's for the perfect swing.

cheers

[tpg1965]

Re: Within your Ability

Greetings,

I want to share some thoughts so here goes.

The purpose of golf is to send a ball to a target using a club. It's the same purpose for the golf swing itself, to send a ball to a target using a club. The most important aspect of the golf swing is proper contact with the ball. Quite literally, it's the only way to fulfill its purpose which is to send a ball to a target using a club. Golf is a game of accuracy.

Retain control of the club.

What do you need for accuracy if not to retain control of the club as you swing it and as you strike the ball with it?

Hitting a nail with a hammer.

Have you ever hit your own thumb? It hurts. Imagine trying to swing that hammer all the way back with the hammer head almost touching your own back then bringing it back in front as fast as you can trying to make contact with the nail directly on the head. Wouldn't you be scared of squashing your own thumb? I certainly would.

Sending a ball to a target using a club.

Imagine the same kind of swing with the hammer above. Do you think you have a better chance of making contact with the ball? Imagine your thumb is right next to the ball, are you going to overswing anyway? Of course not, you'd be scared of hitting your thumb, wouldn't you.

Swinging the club within your ability. Retaining control of the club.

The contrary would be: Swinging outside of your ability. Losing control of the club.

The question really is, do you have the ability to swing the club as you do now and still retain control of the club?

This is only one reason to swing within your ability.

Here's another interesting question. Do you have a smooth swing but still send the ball zipping across the stalls at the range? Are you trying to dance or send a ball to a target using a club?

Focus on the ball.

Swinging within your ability is easy to determine. As you swing the club, does your head move sideways/up/down/front/back, to a great extent so much so that you lose focus of the ball? Do you lose focus of the ball at any point during your swing? Does your chin get caught up in your shoulder on the backswing? Do your eyes ever leave the ball during your swing?

A different way of looking at it. Are you doing anything that causes your head to move during your swing? If so, stop doing that. The head is where the eyes are, the eyes is what we use to aim. For the best accuracy when we aim, we must keep our head as immobile as we can.

Let's go back to the beginning of this post.

The most important aspect of the golf swing is proper contact with the ball. How do we produce proper contact with the ball if not by aiming with our eyes and maintaining the head as immobile as we can so that we maintain focus on the ball to produce the best accuracy we can? How do we send a ball to a target using a club if not by producing the best accuracy we can?

Is your ability so great that you can make proper contact with the ball every time all the time with your eyes closed and/or your head bobbing up and down, left and right?

Swinging within your ability. Maintaining focus on the ball.

The contrary would be: Swinging outside your ability. Losing focus of the ball.

That's another reason to swing within your ability.

Now combine both reasons, to maintain focus on the ball and to retain control of the club, so that you can produce a better swing, a better stroke and more importantly, a better result.

Below is an exercise I do regularly when I want to get back to what's important.

Address the ball, bring the arms not more than horizontal on the backswing, swing and bring the club back to the ball to strike it. Maintain the head as immobile as I can, maintain focus on the ball with the eyes throughout even as I strike the ball and longer after the ball leaves the clubface.

Aim for a target.

The more I practice, the more I learn. One thing I learned about hitting balls at the range and on the course is to always aim for a target, no matter what exercise I'm practicing. I've learned that aiming for a target is almost as essential as making proper contact with the ball. Otherwise, I'm only hitting balls to _somewhere_ and that's not sufficient for golf.

It's the difference between having a goal and going about the world aimlessly. Which would you prefer and which do you think is most effective?

Aim for a target. Retain control of the club. Focus on the ball.

Swing within your ability.

Some physics for the skeptics.

The purpose of the golf swing is to send a ball to a target using a club. Note that it's not: To send a club to a target using my hands or to send a ball to a target using my hands.

Whatever you're doing during the swing, you must eventually transfer the club's momentum to the ball by striking it. Momentum is speed or velocity.

If the purpose of the golf swing was to send a club to a target using my hands, I'd be swinging away like mad just trying to send that club as far as I could, wouldn't I? Wouldn't you?

Isn't that what you're doing right now? Swinging like mad?

Since the purpose of the golf swing is to send a ball to a target using a club and that activity is ruled by the transfer of momentum from the clubhead to the ball, swinging within your ability will only allow you to transfer as much momentum as your ability will allow.

Proper contact with the ball is the most important aspect of the golf swing. It's where power comes from, it's where accuracy comes from. You can lose more power from a bad contact with the ball than from any other aspect of the golf swing. If that previous statement is true, it follows that you can produce more power with proper contact with the ball than with any other aspect of the golf swing.

As far as accuracy is concerned, I dunno about you but what I truly hate to see is the ball going either side of my intended target. Short, I don't normally care. Too long, I care a bit more but still not so much. Off line, that pisses me off to no end.

What I truly want is the ball to go directly to my target. Every time, all the time.

Have fun


Martin Levac

Well done Martin.
This is a very good attempt at a long winded irrelevant thread.Makes very good bedtime reading.

[dannyra]

Re: Within your Ability

I also don't agree with a lot of this, but if it works for him all the better.

I think the underlying point is your better off making good solid contact then swinging out of your shoes hard at the ball.

By the way momentum is mass times velocity not just velocity.

[aftford]

Re: Within your Ability

Hi danny .
In physics , quantity momentum is represented by the small case "p".Thus the equation can be written as p=m*v. where m is mass and v is velocity.
do i get a A+ ?

[dannyra]

Re: Within your Ability

If a class was based off one simple question you would get an A+.

I have my bachelors degree in physics, so I had to make that correction above

[aftford]

Re: Within your Ability

If a class was based off one simple question you would get an A+.

I have my bachelors degree in physics, so I had to make that correction above

I bow to your superior knowledge.

well done mate

[Martin Levac]

Re: Within your Ability

Martin

I think Rick is saying that proper contact is important but it is only possible repeatedly by using good swing mechanics. I would tend to agree with him!

It is possible to hit a good golf shot with an irregular golf swing as long as you square the club face at contact, but if you have to make many complex adjustments eventually you will fail and start hitting bad shots. IMO a good sound, reliable and grooved golf swing is the best way for us mortals to improve our game.

Regards
Brian

I know what Rick was saying, thanks anyway. It's futile for you to try to defend his opinion, if he can attack, he can also defend so let him defend his own opinions.

The best way for anybody to make proper contact with the ball is to focus on that and only that. As soon as you take your focus away from that by thinking about casting/lagging/posture/grip/chin/shoulders/hips/feet/weight/weightshift/etc, you don't focus on making proper contact with the ball so you can't make proper contact with the ball.

The question becomes, are you done mucking around with the club so we can go back to what's important? I see a bunch of actors on the course. They don't really know what they're doing but they sure do look the part. Is that what you mean by good swing mechanics and fundamentals? They all appear to know how to swing a club but the results do not lie and they tell me that those players are actors, not the real thing.

BTW, who said anything about an irregular golf swing? "Eventually you will start hitting bad shots"?!? How can you eventually start hitting bad shots if the only thing you focus on is proper contact with the ball? Aren't you going to learn at some point in time if all you practice is making proper contact? Last I looked, practice makes perfect, not worse. It is not possible to practice something for the purpose of becoming good at it and eventually fail and then become worse at it, I mean who ever heard of that concept anywhere else but in golf? This argument is invalid.

Also, if you have to make complex adjustments, you're not focusing on making proper contact with the ball so that argument is also invalid.

"IMO a good sound, reliable and grooved golf swing is the best way for us mortals to improve our game."

Care to prove this right away? I can prove the contrary right now. Go to your favorite golf course and look at the number of players who play worse than you do and the number of players who player better than you do. You know your ability, you should be able to estimate anybody's ability at a glance based on their swing by your logic so look at their swings and figure out if they play better than you.

I'm going to give you a better pointer for that estimate, look only at their head and at how much they move it during the swing. You can also look at their leading elbow to see if it's bent but that's not as accurate as the head movement to determine player ability.

Those who shoot straight know how to aim.


Martin Levac

[Martin Levac]

Re: Within your Ability

Well done Martin.
This is a very good attempt at a long winded irrelevant thread.Makes very good bedtime reading.

How polite of you. Make your own irrelevant thread.

[Martin Levac]

Re: Within your Ability

I also don't agree with a lot of this, but if it works for him all the better.

I think the underlying point is your better off making good solid contact then swinging out of your shoes hard at the ball.

By the way momentum is mass times velocity not just velocity.

Thank you. That's exactly where most people lose themselves, they don't realise that the momentum equation serves no purpose if you can't transfer this momentum to the ball properly hence the "focus on making proper contact" not the "try to produce a lot of momentum".

BTW, the underlying point is written at the top of the text and several times throughout: Within your Ability. I thought it was clear enough.

Another question about ability. Does your ability allow you to focus on every single technique you learned how to do, one at a time, in sequence, as you swing the club, while you swing the club?

Why do you even try then?

Let me ask another question about that, how much time are you wasting thinking about technique on the course when you address the ball before you strike it? If it's 30 seconds, multiply that by the number of times you strike a ball during a round. Don't you think that's the true reason you are wasting your time on the course? Practice swing(s), look for target, align using some sort of method, take stance, adjust posture, adjust alignment, adjust distance from the ball, adjust ball position, adjust grip, yadayada, swing and strike the ball. It takes me 5 seconds to do all that, what about you?

How come it takes me only 5 seconds to do all that? I come prepared, I don't think about technique, I think about my next shot and all the relevant aspects of that shot before I get to it: Target, club selection, stance due to lie, etc. I don't take a practice swing, why should I? It's a waste of time and energy unless I have a funky lie, otherwise I do exactly as I did so many times at the range: Address ball, aim for target, swing and strike. I don't think about technique, why should I? I have a motor cortex, you know the part of the brain that controls the muscles? Ya, that's the one. Why should I think about what this part of my brain already knows how to do? I just give it a purpose, send ball to target using club, it does it for me and I don't need to think about it. It's a beautiful thing.

Perhaps you waste your time because you frequently send balls in the rough? If that's the case, why do you even think that wasting your time before you send it there will prevent you from sending it there? Stop wasting your time. Stop thinking about technique because you can't think about all the actual technique your muscles require in order for them to perform the action that you want of them. You can't think about all this technique as you perform it.

The point is, you can still perform it even if you don't think about it.

How much fun is it to think about all this technique your pro teacher taught you? From not at all to a whole lotta fun, how much fun is it? Is it fun to send the ball into the **** using that same technique? I don't need all that that technique to send my ball into the ****per, really. In fact, I don't need any technique at all to send my ball in the rough, thank you.

Did you understand what your teacher taught you? Good, now strike the ball using that club and send it to your target.


Martin Levac

[rharris06]

Re: Within your Ability

Look maybe what i was meant to say, is: Golf Is Not A Game Of Perfect :-)!

[rharris06]

Re: Within your Ability

Do you mean to say that you could get away with improper contact with the ball? That's what club manufacturers want you to believe as well. Do you mean to say that even though proper contact has nothing to do with the golf swing, that's what comes out of it anyway? That makes no sense at all.

Do you mean John Daly's swing, is that what you mean by a good golf swing? Bobby Jones, Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Walter Hagen, Jim Furyk, Fred Funk, Seve Ballasteros, Fred Couples. More? Alright, John Senden (just won the John Deere Classic, his first after 139 tournaments with the same smooth swing), Craig Parry (won his first after over 200 tournaments with that funky swing), Bernard Langer, David Toms.

No matter how well or how badly you swing that club, the result does not lie.


Martin Levac


Martin, John Dalys swing is a very good swing, go through every position in his golf swing and you wont see much wrong, his club face is dead square through out his swing, it might be abit past parrelel but that doesent matter, Why? because his club face is dead square at the top!

All those names you ahve just mentioned in your reply to my 1st post have good golf swing. Actually they all have GREEEAT golf swings. Great Rythum, Great timing, Club face is always square.