Thursday, August 06, 2020

I NOW OWN MY GOLF SWING

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Remember my posting about when I shot a 78 at Richter's Golf Course? I cannot figure out how I did it. The only thing I remember doing was just letting go of my swing and just rely on muscle memory. But every time I try to re-live it, I fail.  That was in 1998 and now 20 plus years later, I am almost positive that I discovered it - not re-discovered because I was not aware that a golf swing was even close to what I have discovered now.

CATAPULT GOLF

The swing, which I will name as an Explosion shot, is a shot where the hit to the golf shot is not consciously done but instead an automatic reaction like a sling effect or a catapult effect. Let me describe how to execute it in detail.
  1. Get ready for a one-piece takeaway. Firm up the arms, left wrist supple. The left wrist will be the only one moving to fully COCK and in only one direction - UP, not right but just up.
  2. IN ORDER TO PREVENT THE CHICKEN WING AND TOEING HIT, DO NOT USE THE HANDSHAKE GRIP. INSTEAD USE THE "ALREADY COCKED BACKWARDS GRIP" WITH THE STRAIGHT FROZEN LEFT ARM (2020-08-06). At address, make sure the arms and hands are falling directly perpendicular to the ground. This angle is essential in order to create the maximum catapult effect. Also, make sure the left hand and wrist are holding up the weight of the club - ready for cocking. Let the right thumb and forefinger wrap around the club grip to make it impossible for the club to straighten out to less than perpendicular. Very important. 2020-07-18 THIS WRAP AROUND TWO RIGHT FINGERS IS THE KEY TO "MY" SWING. IT FORCES THE COCKING... AND RESULTING LAG THAT PROMOTES THE FLUSH HIT EVERY TIME. NO MORE RUSSIAN ROULETTE HITS.
  3. Not left hip start but left hand, ala Hogan upswing (2020-08-09). Using the LEFT HIP, start the swing by SLOWLY sliding and brushing (like oozing liquid) the club face back AND DELIBERATELY SLOWLY TO A FULL LEFT HAND COCK. The bounce on the left wrist is the signal to start the downswing. 
  4. NO THINKING AT ALL ON THE BACK SWING. IT IS OBLIGATORY TO JUST LEAVE EVERYTHING AT THIS POINT TO MUSCLE MEMORY.
  5. At that certain transition point - with the left wrist - cock the club fully (repeat, FULLY, AND IT MUST BE FELT) as much as the wrist can bend but not backwards as learned before. (There will be shots, sometimes when chipping, where cocking the wrist is not desired but this is not the standard)
  6. The above points are pretty much standard textbook golf...(ALL IS REQUIRED - ALL!) but what follows is the difference - and works only with a fully cocked club.
  7. WHEN THE WRIST FULL BEND IS FELT, the downswing starts and is initiated by the hips.  And at almost the bottom, two things can happen:
    • the RIGHT HAND SMASHES or
    • the LEFT ARM SMASHES 
    • the ball leading to a picture perfect high finish
    • The hit is 
    • automatic - a sling effect like that from a catapult.
Very important thing to note is the LEFT HIP sets up the initial coiling and the desired forward swing is mostly the left side and arm. But important to know is what the RIGHT HAND can do. It is the RIGHT HAND SMASH HIT that consequently squares up the face of the club AND IT ENSURES THE SQUARED UP HIT WHEN THE BODY DOES NOT TURN AROUND BY ITSELF. You can even say that it is the GO-TO ACTION WHEN EVERYTHING FAILS. SO THE MOST IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER IN THIS TOPIC IS THE KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING OF HOW THE MOVEMENT OF THE LEFT HIP AND RIGHT HAND (OR AUTOMATIC LEFT PULL) IS ESSENTIAL IN THE CORRECT GOLF SWING. (BUT SOMEHOW THE EXTREME COCKING SEEMS TO ALWAYS BECOME THE PREREQUISITE TO THE FLUSHED SWING - ANSWER IS YEEESSS)

2020-07-26: WHEN THE LEFT HIP STARTS AND PUSHES THE CLUB HEAD BACK, EVERYTHING ELSE AUTOMATICALLY FOLLOWS - EVEN IN CHIPPING.  MY GOD, IT CAN ALL BE LEFT HIP - UPSWING AND DOWNSWING!  Using the left hip forces and insures a pulling action which is a necessity for my new swing. NOW THE ENTIRE PARTS OF MY SWING IS GLUED TOGETHER JUST LIKE IN 1998 - BUT NOW I KNOW WHY.