Golf Instructions for Tom in 1999

Tom, study Tiger Woods.  Look closely when he swings.  He uses his shoulders, not his arms.  And those 300+ drives are accurate time and time again.  I believe he can only be accurate a lot because he employs a simplified swing.  By the way, Tom, the dates are the time I wrote the notes.  I left them for you to emphasize the fact that good golf cannot happen overnight.  Also, there are a lot of repetitions of the concept of the swing here, with minute variations.  This tells you that it is a lifetime quest - always fidgeting around for the perfect swing.

August 14, 1997 - Golf Simplification Technique - the Basics.


To simplify we must group the body parts into three movable sections.  

Each section must be "theoretically" firm and all parts moving in concert as a whole and the brain not consciously making it so.  The whole intention is to make the moving muscles or parts as few as possible so that it will be easier to achieve consistency.  Less parts, less chance of screwing up.  The three sections are:

1. The club and the hands - with the wrists as the only flexing or moving part.  The action of the move is only up and down (cocking) motion.  On the grip, the left hand is a palm grip while the right hand is a finger grip.  Refer to Hogan's book for details.
* 9/15/98 - The secret of the grip is the cradling effect - the right middle two fingers acts as a fulcrum supporting the club while the left palm pad exerts the balancing force to make the club "alive".  Use this cradle grip for all shots - putts, chips, etc.  (Tom, I think when the grip on the club is "alive" like this, it essentially makes this body section united with the next section - combining into one big section - remember the one-piece-takeaway?.)

2. The upper body with the arms.  In order to make the arms and body act as one unit, the arms must fully extended and have the tied up feeling.  The purpose of this is to immobilize the shoulder joints from moving by itself and not bringing the body with it when turning.  The arms should conceptually form like solid stilts (as in nipa huts) to the body forming a stiff triangle - when the arms move the shoulders are automatically turned also and vice-versa.  Like Hogan said, when he is swinging, nobody can tear those arms away from each other - as if they are bound together with a rope.  This is like a triangle where the angles are always kept constant 

3. The lower body from the waist down - with the spine as the only moving part and the left side muscle acting as the rubber band that connects the upper body to the lower body.

*  4May98 - Extreme care must be taken to prevent the natural tendency of the lower body to turn the waist rather than being pulled around by the upper body - Tom, this is very important - see detailed explanation below on 9/15/98 notes.

More on the Tiger Woods Swing :

1. With regard to the Tiger Woods swing, it should be a shoulders-only swing.  It should be envisioned as a large circular saw on the shoulders, twisting along the golf plane.  The swing is imagined as a circular saw cutting the ball on the backward and forward motion (twisting effect of the body) but it is important that the circular saw twist along the golf plane.

* 13Apr98 - Although, for me, the shoulder is the engine or prime and only mover of the swing, in actuality the whole trunk (left shoulder to left hip) really moves around the axis of the neck and spine.  This keeps the shoulders along the plane, otherwise, there is a tendency to move the shoulders towards the inside of the plane on the back swing.

* 4May98 - as discovered, the actual culprit that puts the shoulders out of the golf plane is the lower body turning the hips around and pushing the shoulders rather than the shoulders pulling the waist around. 

* 9/15/98 - Amen (ditto).

2. 4May98 - The circular saw can be imagined also as Lionel train tracks circling the shoulders and forming as the golf plane envisioned by Hogan.  The train-track plane is there so that the golf club head can be imagined as moving along backwards and forward without pronating ala Tiger Woods.  During a practice session, I found hooding the club face this way and not pronating (although the centrifugal force pronates it) makes the direction straighter than any other variation.  This also is in line with the simplification method since there is less conscious extra movement of cocking the club.

3. 4May98 - Remember that the club is swung out the Lionel tracks with the main intent of making the centrifugal force tighten the left side and pull the waist.  When the club is heaviest at the top, then the downswing is started. 

With Regard to the 78 at Richter Park 

Here are the topics (in sequence) that I was working on at the time that led to this wonderful event.  The purpose of this is to document the steps that may be needed to recollect  the swing in case the new found swing is lost again (Ain't this the truth! Tom). 


* Left shoulder dips and go around the plane.
* Set up and fire technique - without too much thinking.
* Swing is timed to explode on the ball position.
* The 7 o'clock set-up.  This is a grip where the hands are set-up in relation to the shaft.
* Left shoulder must go up to the fullest.
* Full left shoulder swing, no arms at all.
* The right shoulder, when lowered at set-up, helps the visualization of the plane.
* ALIVE putter - the left hand palm pad pushes the club down while the right middle two fingers acts as a fulcrum cradling the club shaft.
* Ernie Els has the one-piece swing.
* Actively cock the club by pushing the left hand pad down while the left middle two fingers support the club.
* Roped feeling supports the club.
* Left hand leverage helps a lot.
* Putt with "Alive" putter.  Left shoulder push toward ball (the back swing) while putter is cradled by the right hand two middle fingers acting as the fulcrum and the left palm pad pushing down with enough effort to balance the putter slightly above the ground.  Hitting should be automatic and done by the shoulders.
* Extend the alive putter technique to chips (the plane employed).
* Bingo! Hit with the shoulders like Tiger but look like David Duval.
* Full shoulder turn with full cocking is needed.
* Yes, there is an automatic back swing!
* Cocking is not consciously done.  Set-up with the alive putter, neutral left palm drill left shoulder towards ball (resulting with the shoulders finishing parallel with the plane) .  At the top, pause slightly and fire ala Tiger Woods with the shoulder (along the plane!).


Swing Thoughts While Addressing the Ball
9/15/98 - The key to the accurate results is the neutral left palm (club face) staying looking at the target all the time during the entire swing (of course, up and down swing).  In addition, both shoulders hit (ala Tiger) along the plane which is the secret to the professional shot (ala Duval).  Here are the mechanics of the 78-swing:  First set up with all the simplified body parts (explained in the previous section).  Next, feel the alive putter - the right middle two fingers must be cradling the club.  Visualize the neutral (like a left handshake with the back facing the target) left palm (and feel the weight of the club against the left pad) in relation to the ball.  Now forget the left palm and look instead at the ball and see the golf plane cutting through and across it.  Now push down the left shoulder imagining that it is drilling straight (yes, straight not around) to the ball and pass through it.  There is no conscious cocking (else the neutral palm is not neutral anymore) - it happens only by the centrifugal force generated by the up swing.  At the top, the shoulder must be along the plane (otherwise the lower hips moved by itself - not pulled by the upper body).  A slight pause and the hit  is performed by the shoulders going around the spine but along the plane.  It must be emphasized that the shoulder must hit along the plane and assumed to have finished at the top along this plane during the back swing.  If not, then the drilling motion of the left shoulder straight to the ball must have been flawed.  The usual error is letting the should turn around.  Accurate straight shots should result.


Full Swing (especially the driver):


Drive like Tiger Woods, minimum motion swing with shoulders doing the hitting while moving along the plane. 

Position the ball a little left of where the left heel  vertically aligns. Make the driver "alive" - the right middle two fingers must be cradling the club and the left pad balancing the weight of the club. (1/9/99 Note:  the alive club is very important.  It promotes consistency by not allowing the club to be left (lazy) by the shoulders on the hit - ball goes uncontrolled to the right!)  It is very IMPORTANT to feel the neutral left hand (the back facing the target - this ensures straight shots) while carrying the weight of the club against the left hand pad.  Now focus instead at the right side of the ball and see the plane cutting through it.  Now push down the left shoulder imagining that it is drilling straight (yes, straight not around) through the right side of the ball, effectively launching the driver perpendicularly away from the ball.  Cocking, if accomplished at all, is created by the centrifugal force - no conscious cocking is done (except for the irons).  The downswing hit is consciously performed by shoulders.  Head is kept still and lateral body movement is kept "behind" the ball (hitting the wall).  1/8/99 - "cocking" is accomplished unconsciously by the active pressure of the club by the right two middle fingers against the left hand pad.

1/9/99 - Something to be proven - simplicity of driving by keeping everything firm and disallowing any random movement of the club.  Promote more controlled cocking by the actively doing the two-finger-left-pad technique.

1/9/99 - When hitting the drive, although the ball is teed, must be imagined hitting a ball on the ground but the ground is perpendicular to the shoulders.  The "divot" is still taken but only on the imaginary slanted ground. 

How to Drive Like a Short Iron - 1/13/99 Golf Quest, Southington.


The right hand grip must not exactly what Hogan say about the two fingers but like Tiger's where the club handle diagonally crosses the palm from the edge of the pad to the base of the index finger.  The purpose is to prevent too much cocking of the club that will inhibit the shoulder hit.  Both hands  should grip firm enough to prevent any uncontrolled movement of the club.

The usual aiming routine should be employed.  At address, the back of the left hand must be parallel with the face of the club.  The face then is aimed towards the target.  The left hand remains dominant initially at address to ensure that the club stays square and properly aimed.  By the time the swing starts, the mental focus goes to the plane.

Before the start of the swing, the plane is visualized as a line going from the shoulders to the ball sitting on the ground whose surface is perpendicular to the plane (like an uphill lie). Once ready, the left shoulder is pointed to the point where the ball, the plane and the imagined surface meet.  This action bring the shoulders and club up along the plane.  No conscious cocking or pronation of hands are done.  On the contrary, the hands are consciously imagined as traveling along the plane at its original position - perpendicularly.

The down swing hit is performed by violently twisting the shoulders along the plane back to the ball and taking, repeat, taking an imaginary divot on the imagined slanted surface.  This shoulder hit is only possible if the club do not go too far back as what happens if the hands consciously cocks the club.


Putting:

9/30/98 - Putting and full swing (e.g., driver) must be the same.  This way, any swing is a practice of putting and vice versa!

9/30/98 - Position the ball a little left of where the eyes vertically aligns. Feel the alive putter - the right middle two fingers must be cradling the club and the left pad balancing the putter.  At the same time, feel the neutral left hand (the back facing the target) and feel the weight of the club against the left hand pad.  Now focus instead at the right side of the ball and see the plane cutting through it.  Now push down the left shoulder imagining that it is drilling straight (yes, straight not around) through the right side of the ball, effectively pushing the putter perpendicularly away from the ball (1/8/99 pushing in another way is brushing back the putter along the grass).  The length of the movement should relate to the distance of the ball to the hole.  The hit should be automatic - not left or right hand dominant (1/8/99 - can be the left hand alone but never the right hand alone) - whatever comes (on a full swing, the hit is performed by the shoulders).  Head is kept still and body movement is held to a minimum until the ball is gone from the putter.


Sand and Pitch Shots:

9/30/98 -This is performed like the regular but the hands consciously cocks the club first.  The shoulders still make the hit!  On pitch shots, cocking first makes it easier to be consistent on the distance.  Remember, the reason for cocking on sand traps is for the club to go under the ball and create a cushion of sand. A cushion of sand must be created before, under and after the ball, so watch out on downhill lies.
Chip Shots

12/28/98 - Chips are the same as the pitch shots as above.  The right hand brings the clubs face along the imagined rails - the shoulders do the hitting.  1/8/99 - the left shoulder must be leading and active especially on chips where there is a bigger tendency to just work with the hands.  The action of the left shoulder is like a big swing - push towards the ball with a brushing backward motion along the grass. However, the difference is the right hand takes over to finish the back swing, creating the necessary upward motion (along the rail) to gauge the distance needed.  The shoulders do the hit.  In a way, you can say the left shoulder loads and both shoulders hit, and follow through with a ball-throwing motion (like rolling the ball in bowling but sideways).