Grumblings

Rhythm

After all is said is done, rhythm is everything.  It is the glue that binds all the learned mechanics together.  Without it all is for naught.  When pieces of an artist creation are not glued together, they stay as pieces and not an art.

Take putting.  Bring back the putter with the right hand and swing forward with the shoulders.  Easy said but in practice, there is something off sometimes.  You feel it but cannot put your fingers on it.  You keep practicing to get the "feel" back.  It is rhythm that is missing.

What is rhythm in the golf sense of it then? This may be a personal thing for me.  To others, this can be automatic or inborn.  But golf rhythm is something I was not born with... I have to work hard for it.

Golf rhythm is the merging of the backswing to the forward swing in such a way that it is melded into one beautiful move... the one that delays the hit and creates the backspin, the one that makes the ball farther, the one that makes the hit sound ecstatic.

Grip 101 - Positioning

The hands must be ahead of the ball at address.  This is especially true for chips with stopping action.  The right hand grip should feel like the club is pinched but the hand is already cocked at address.  It is an unusual feeling where you know you have put the hands ahead of the position of the ball.  As a matter of fact, the club butt should be pointing left of the body while the eyes and ball position are on the center of the stance.

12Jul2013:  Something to experiment in the future.  Make the left hand responsible to the path of the ball (fade or draw) and the right hand for the trajectory.  Both should be accomplished by how the hands are positioned on the grip.

Finally the Secret

And I thought the secret to the backspin is the grip! What a mistake.  It helps and can be used with the secret but the secret is the flail with the left hand!  Yes the flail! Yes, it is the full cocking of the right and the left hand pulling and flailing the club underneath the ball.  The difference with the flail is where the fulcrum of the swing happens.  With the flail, the fulcrum is the hands.  On full shots and the putter, the fulcrum is the shoulders.  Like I said, the flail can work together with the Grip 101 and both should maximize the backspin.

One thing to remember is the flail back swing direction or height can vary - either steep to really pinch the ball to the ground or little lower (on chips) to make the ball run farther.

Another thing to remember is the flail is mostly used in chipping and short irons - when spin is needed.  Never with putting and, maybe, with the driver and long clubs too where you want the ball to roll farther but no spin at all.

03July2013: Another perspective to this.  Imagine Tiger Woods' way to blast the driver - full twisting backswing and a jerking forward swing, This is how to do it:

1. Start the cock very early with right hand.
2. Continue to twist the shoulder until it is felt by the body.
3. Now... feel your left hand in control of the club at the top
4. Hang on... and jerk the lower body around and pull everything connected to the left arm!
5. THAT IS IT!

Right wrist drags and cock (only), body unwinds (only)

The main purpose of this posting is for me to remember that the club goes only backwards and not forward.  The hit is just an unwinding of the body.  This is the essence of every shot, from putting, short game and the full shots. 09FEB2014: REMEMBER THE LEFT WRIST IS FIRM ALWAYS ESPECIALLY ON THE DOWNSWING BY THE HIPS.

The flip of the right wrist, in more detail, is done in the direction of the V formed by the right thumb and fore finger. 29Jun2012: Correction.  The V is not the key, it is just the right wrist flipping backward.  Let us put it this way, Hogan, who is a left handed player "cups" his left wrist while a right handed player "bends" his right wrist.

Essential motion of the right hand wrist

At address, while the putter head or club head is behind the ball, the initial motion is for the right wrist to flip backwards, essentially dragging the putter head or club head along the ground.  Somewhere along the plane, the right wrist cocks upwards up to the top.  Of course, in putting, the only motion is the putter being drag back... otherwise, chipping (somewhat), pitches (most) and full shots (definitely) will employ the full cocking.

29Jun2012:  Correction.  The V is not the key, it is just the right wrist flipping backward.  Let us put it this way, Hogan, who is a left handed player "cups" his left wrist while a right handed player "bends" his right wrist.

08JUN2012:  Full cocking is achieved when the left wrist freezes to support the centrifugal weight and the left hand is cocked fully like an L or a square tool. 29Jun2012: Correction. Once the right wrist achieves full "bending", the preceding statement may not be as important any more.

11JUN2012: Back swing is 99% left arm responsibility. The sequence is like this:

1. Left hand pad pushes down while the right fingers support the club like a fulcrum.  
2. The left hand continues up to an extreme cocking.  
3. What is the difference to using the right hand to bring the club up?  With the left hand  pushing down, it starts the twisting early and by the time the full cocking is achieved, the back is already turned facing the target.  
4. The feeling will be different because it will "force" you to turn around for the hit.
5. 29Jun2012: Correction. Once the right wrist achieves full "bending", the preceding statements may not be as important any more.

Putting

After getting the line, the putter head is brought back by cocking the right wrist backwards.  No forward motion is necessary.  The shoulders brings the putter back towards the ball and the hole.  29Jun2012: It is a positive thing that "cocking" was used here.  However, the term should be "bending."

Chipping and pitching

Employ the wrist action (above) with the cocking variable to the needed outcome - more cocking means higher trajectory and vice-versa. The shoulders (most often) creates the hit. 29Jun2012: It is a positive thing that "cocking" was used here.  However, the term should be "bending."

08JUN2012:  With an open stance, flip the club up with the right wrist until the elbow touches the right body side.  With a firm left wrist to support the club, the lower body (with the right hips supporting and touching the arms/hands) turns around and "throws" the ball to the target surface.  The same approach is employed on full shots. 29Jun2012: The term "flipping" should mean "bending."

13May2013:  Just like in putting, the right hand cocks but instead of the shoulder moving forward, just concentrate of moving the body around the left foot.

Full shots

The cocking is a two motion move.  As explained above, the wrist is swung backwards moving the club face along the ground... continuing upwards and at the same time the right wrists breaks upwards to a full cock pulling the body muscles tightly where the only recourse is to uncoil.  05JUL2012:  This is a refinement of the  previous sentence with the purpose of creating a consistent hitting position.  The wrist is swung backwards or rather, the club head is flipped backwards by the right wrist - hard enough to create a centrifugal dead weight at the top, which when pulled by the body downwards forces the left arm to pull the club grip towards the ball - which promotes consistency resulting in a solid and timely hit by the club head to the ball.

08JUN2012:  Full cocking is achieved when the left wrist freezes to support the centrifugal weight and the left hand is cocked fully like an L or a square tool. 25Jun2012:  Another way to achieve this full cock is when the right arm is fully "holstered" at the top - meaning the upper right arm muscles are taught to the fullest and the club is "cocked".

There is no hit done by the hands or the arms.  All the power is initiated and provided by the un-twisting of the body muscles.  08JUN2012: However, the left frozen wrist plays a big part to guide the club face to the ball and provides the extra kick. 11JUN2012:  Primary goal must be to complete the left hand cocking where the left wrist cocks the club backwards as far as it will go.

25Jun2012: The "dukot" is an essential part of the full swing.  It is the similar to what Hogan suggested in his book wherein the plane dips just before the downswing.  In essence, this is keeping the head behind the ball and starting the swing with the body weight pushed towards the ball.  The ultimate part of this is when the mental aspect is already "hit" oriented and the left side, arm, wrists are in full control - back swing and forward swing - all moving without consciously thinking about it (just result oriented). NOW IT IS TIME TO INGRAIN THE THE FUNDAMENTALS INTO MUSCLE MEMORY !  29JUN2112 CORRECTION: THE BACKWARD BENDING OF THE WRIST IS MORE IMPORTANT.

Again, to summarize.  The club is only brought back and the body untwisting provides the power. 29JUN2112 CORRECTION: THE BACKWARD BENDING OF THE WRIST IS MORE IMPORTANT.

13May2013:  Just like in putting, the right hand cocks but instead of the shoulder moving forward, just concentrate of moving the body around the left foot.  In addition, concentrate on flinging the clasped cocked hands rather that the club which should create an explosive hit.