DGS49
Diamond Member
I have written previously in this space that I began golfing at age 50, and have had little but frustration in my attempts to get "good" ever since (I'm 73). I am what is referred to as a "bogey golfer," but seldom better.
I have the firm belief - agreed with by virtually no one - that unless you learn to swing a golf club by the time you are 16, you will never be "good." It all has to do with that Muscle Memory thing. I won't belabor the point here. But the point is that if you take up golf as an adult, the quest to get "good" is extremely challenging.
The reason why golf excellence is so illusive is because a "perfect" golf swing requires the golfer to synchronize rotating movements on THREE DIFFERENT PLANES in perfect coordination, and a flaw in any of the three planes will cause the ball to veer off course, or be topped or hit "fat." If it sounds complicated, it's not. It's impossible.
Stay with me on this. The golfer must turn his hips and shoulders around the body in a lateral arc (like a carousel). At the same time, he elevates the club and drops it down to strike the ball (like a Ferris wheel). At the same time he rotates his wrist back, then forward with the swing, so that the face of the club strikes the ball when it is exactly perpendicular to the desired direction of travel. That's three different planes - shoulders, arms, wrists.
There is a lot of recent talk in the World of Golf about the "Single-Plane Swing." Bryson D shocked the Golf World when he beefed up and adopted the single-plane swing. But that innovation has nothing to do with the three planes mentioned above. That "single plane" is an alternative to the normal stance when addressing the ball. Normally the arms drop down vertically from the shoulders at address, and the club angles off to the ball THen, when you strike the ball the arms and club are on the same line (plane), which means that the total distance from the shoulders is a couple inches longer when you strike the ball than at address. What the Single-Plane Swing does is, it has the golfer line up his arms with the club at address, so that the distance to the ball remains the same throughout the swing, making consistency easier.
But as implied by the single-plane swing folks, the Natural Golf folks, the Square to Square folks, and so on, unless you learned how to hit a golf ball as a kid, you will never get "good" unless you remove some of the variables and simplify the swing.
I figured it out. By using parts of these techniques together, the variables are minimized, and it's possible to hit the ball crisply, straight, and consistently. Today - first time out with this technique - I broke 80. It was only the second time I've ever done that in my life (the first time was when I first moved up to the Senior tees a couple years ago).
First, the "single plane" setup is necessary. The arms and the club must line up. Second, the Square-to-Square swing technique must be adopted (many videos are available on YouTube). Basically, the wrists and the face of the club remain in line with the target throughout the swing. There is no pronation of the wrist at any time. - it bends straight back Of course, the swing must be adjusted to remain on the target line for as long as possible. It is not possible to swing directly along the target line; the club is going around your body, after all. And the clubs aren't made for a perfectly vertical swing. I have found that I can swing very close to the target line if I just open up my front foot - which also helps with the follow through. So if you look from behind me it appears that I am lines up to the left of the target. But my swing is dead center at the point of impact.
Third, at address, the hands must be slightly ahead of the ball. What this does is move the bottom of the swing to be an inch or so ahead of the ball, which is ideal.
The overall result is that you are striking the ball squarely, with both the face of the club and the swingplane aligned. It takes a while to make this work with the driver, but the irons are a breeze.
As a drill, I have drawn a straight line in chalk on the garage floor, and I practice swinging along that line, with the club face also aligned on the target line. Square to square, of course.
I hope I can remember all this shit.
I have the firm belief - agreed with by virtually no one - that unless you learn to swing a golf club by the time you are 16, you will never be "good." It all has to do with that Muscle Memory thing. I won't belabor the point here. But the point is that if you take up golf as an adult, the quest to get "good" is extremely challenging.
The reason why golf excellence is so illusive is because a "perfect" golf swing requires the golfer to synchronize rotating movements on THREE DIFFERENT PLANES in perfect coordination, and a flaw in any of the three planes will cause the ball to veer off course, or be topped or hit "fat." If it sounds complicated, it's not. It's impossible.
Stay with me on this. The golfer must turn his hips and shoulders around the body in a lateral arc (like a carousel). At the same time, he elevates the club and drops it down to strike the ball (like a Ferris wheel). At the same time he rotates his wrist back, then forward with the swing, so that the face of the club strikes the ball when it is exactly perpendicular to the desired direction of travel. That's three different planes - shoulders, arms, wrists.
There is a lot of recent talk in the World of Golf about the "Single-Plane Swing." Bryson D shocked the Golf World when he beefed up and adopted the single-plane swing. But that innovation has nothing to do with the three planes mentioned above. That "single plane" is an alternative to the normal stance when addressing the ball. Normally the arms drop down vertically from the shoulders at address, and the club angles off to the ball THen, when you strike the ball the arms and club are on the same line (plane), which means that the total distance from the shoulders is a couple inches longer when you strike the ball than at address. What the Single-Plane Swing does is, it has the golfer line up his arms with the club at address, so that the distance to the ball remains the same throughout the swing, making consistency easier.
But as implied by the single-plane swing folks, the Natural Golf folks, the Square to Square folks, and so on, unless you learned how to hit a golf ball as a kid, you will never get "good" unless you remove some of the variables and simplify the swing.
I figured it out. By using parts of these techniques together, the variables are minimized, and it's possible to hit the ball crisply, straight, and consistently. Today - first time out with this technique - I broke 80. It was only the second time I've ever done that in my life (the first time was when I first moved up to the Senior tees a couple years ago).
First, the "single plane" setup is necessary. The arms and the club must line up. Second, the Square-to-Square swing technique must be adopted (many videos are available on YouTube). Basically, the wrists and the face of the club remain in line with the target throughout the swing. There is no pronation of the wrist at any time. - it bends straight back Of course, the swing must be adjusted to remain on the target line for as long as possible. It is not possible to swing directly along the target line; the club is going around your body, after all. And the clubs aren't made for a perfectly vertical swing. I have found that I can swing very close to the target line if I just open up my front foot - which also helps with the follow through. So if you look from behind me it appears that I am lines up to the left of the target. But my swing is dead center at the point of impact.
Third, at address, the hands must be slightly ahead of the ball. What this does is move the bottom of the swing to be an inch or so ahead of the ball, which is ideal.
The overall result is that you are striking the ball squarely, with both the face of the club and the swingplane aligned. It takes a while to make this work with the driver, but the irons are a breeze.
As a drill, I have drawn a straight line in chalk on the garage floor, and I practice swinging along that line, with the club face also aligned on the target line. Square to square, of course.
I hope I can remember all this shit.
