THE SWING
The Dr Golf website provides a comprehensive review of the forces and elements
present in the golf swing.
This section of the work therefore, provides a guide to enable you the individual
to abridge and assimilate the information in a way that is relevant and helpful
to each particular case.
The swing
should be an automatic response to the stimulus of the ball This work can be used to help several situations:-
Beginners.
Established Players.
Specific Faults.
Academics
Beginners
The first thing to understand
is that learning to play golf is a proposition of challenging proportions.
The scale of the project
naturally varies with differing individuals but an average learning time of 2
years before a consistent game can be achieved is normal.
Follow the Pre Swing section of
Grip
Aim
Set Up.
When you are comfortable with
these element, your are ready to move onto the next topics.
When the player is confident of the general swing shape it is time to break down individual
areas of the swing to be learnt:-
Speed: Finding the appropriate swing speed and developing the ability to reproduce it
on a regular basis is paramount to attaining a consistent game.
See consistency of strike
in
Faults & Fixes.
It is likely that the new player will struggle with ball gathering, either striking
behind the ball or on top of the ball more frequently than making good connections.
Once again, look at consistency of strike in the Faults & Fixes section. Further help can be
found in
Topping/Hitting the ground first.
Having reached the stage where ball gathering does not present undue problems look at the
sections relating to Direction.
When direction is at a reasonable level look for further areas of improvement in
Distance.
Having reached a level of success in the three areas
of Consistency, Direction & Distance
the player is has now attained an established player status.
Established Player
Having learnt the 3 Pre Swing Principles
(Grip, Aim & Set Up) it is important even for the established golfer
to become familiar
with the golf swing as a whole this knowledge will allow you to teach yourself
eventually.
In order to be able to break down the golf swing into the constituent In Swing Principles,
the player must first develop an action that is a natural response to the stimulus of the ball.
This section gives a basic explanation of the swing. Once a
natural action has been formed
then more detailed analysis may be made by the player using the
In Swing Principles
as a basis.
The starting point for any
established player should be an honest appraisal:
Do I strike the ball consistently
?
Do I hit the ball straight
enough ?
Do I hit the ball far enough ?
Having determined which of
these core demands above are not being satisfied go to Laws
and print out the full section. An analysis of the
section will show which Law and Principle affects either Consistency, Direction or Distance.
Go through In Swing Principles
and using the above analysis
narrow down the Principles that you need to work on.
Find tips, and fixes for your particular Principles (work on say one per month) in the
Preferences
section.
Specific Faults.
Specific faults are best
tackled in two ways:
Firstly locate the help pages
entitled, Hooking, slicing etc.
Secondly carry out an analysis
tracking back from the ball flight laws through to principles and on to
preferences, again using the site pages under these titles.
Developing the golf
Swing
The swing can be divided into three areas:-
Backswing
Downswing
Throughswing
The Backswing
The first movement away from the ball is known as the take away. This is where the club is
moved away from the target slightly inside the flight line. Around hip height the wrists are
cocked to form the lever:-
The backswing is completed by a turn of the shoulders, a transfer of weight from central to a
right side bias, and the club is stopped at the horizontal position. At this point it is usually preferable
to have the club pointing
toward the target at the top of the backswing:-
The backswing needs to be a smooth sequence of events. From the take away action where the club
is moved away from the target slightly inside the flight line, through to the lever and up to
the horizontal top of backswing position.
The Downswing
The Downswing is the most important
section of the swing. It is how the player operates the
Downswing that determines the position through impact.
The Downswing incorporates the Principles of:-
Clubface Position
Downswing Plane
Release
Initiate the Downswing by turning the left hip and swinging the handle of the club toward the
target.
At about hip height the hands should begin the release:-
At the moment of impact, the clubhead should be returned to the ball in a square position
(900
to the line of flight). The weight will have shifted from a right side bias, and will now be
powering toward the left side:-
The Downswing must continue the smooth acceleration started in the backswing, and time the
release so that maximum energy is at impact.
The Throughswing
Continuing through impact with the weight movement transferring to the left side, the
Throughswing should allow the hands to cross over:-
and a balanced finish to be maintained for 2 - 3 seconds after the ball has been struck.:-
The above is a simplified explanation of the general swing. It will suffice as a learning
tool before venturing forward to the more complex and demanding In Swing Principles, press below
for information.
Academics
It is possible that this work
could serve as a basis for serious academic study. In particular the golf
swing model (Dr Gary Wiren USPGA) could be used as a vehicle for further
study.
If further information is
required please contact drgolf@drgolf.org.
