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Ross Mar 21, 2019
Some say “choked up” and some say “choked down”… my reference means to grip the club with your hands closer to the club head. This essentially shortens the shaft. As you shorten the club, remember to still “sit down” to the shot… do not bend over to get to the ball. You must stay in balance at setup.Hi Ed
Yes! It gives you much better control. It shortens the radius, so you can be aggressive on short shots. Experiment and see the results you get.If you are asking about how long the Driver’s length is? it does not matter. Shorter Drivers have more control, so there is a trade off… longer more distance (maybe), but less accuracy.
I also do not talk about swing plane, because every club is different and swing plane plane is controlled by the shoulders (when you learn to use your shoulders to move your arms/club around your spine). Once you’ve setup athletically and balanced, based on the club length and conditions for the particular shot, you’ll just rotate your shoulders around your spine. We never try to direct the arms/club on a particular swing plane (not repeatable). The Large shoulder muscles can do the the work and are more dependable. I don’t have a side view of Driver, because if there was one, my students would try to copy my swing and they need to just focus on using their shoulder and let the arms and club follow how and where their body moves. This will give them a better chance to return back through impact correctly.
Ross Jul 16, 2019
Yes. Or you can change clubs to change loft. Personally, I prefer just one (56°) and make it do what I visualize.Ross Jul 16, 2019
Hey Dan
Doing Great. Great to hear from you. I don’t have any exact pointers for the shot you’re describing, but in general that kind of shot is about using your imagination. You want to imagine the entire trip the ball will take. Imagine the ball in the air, landing on the spot that will allow it to roll and finish at or in the hole. This line you’re imagining, must allow for the break once the ball starts rolling. One way to practice the shot, is to actually throw a golf ball underhanded to your spot, at the speed needed for the ball to land and continue rolling and stop at the hole. By throwing and practicing like this, you’ll develop an imaginary “feel” for the speed and trajectory to get the job done. Then next time you’re actually playing and you have a pitch/chip shot, think back to your underhand practice and I’ll bet your result will be improved. Keep in touch.Ross Jul 20, 2019
Hi Anthony
First, the back elbow never straightens out completely, until after you’ve made contact with the ball. In other words, at impact, the front arm is straight, with the elbow pointing back at the front hip, and the back arm is still slightly bent. Your conclusion from the first part of the video is the most correct. There are many different parts moving at different rates and most of the movements are rotary.I would like to mention something that you may be thinking happens, but does not… I say at impact, the arms/club have returned back in front of the hips, but the hips are not exactly how they were at setup, they’re in the process of turning all the way to the finish. They don’t stop and wait for the arms to get back in front. So, (roughly) when the arms are back in front on the downswing, the back elbow is closer to the back hip, but the front elbow is a little farther away from the font hip, because the hips are turning and opening up to the target. This is hard to explain. I hope it helps.
Ross Apr 29, 2019
If you watch the Ross Move Drill (in the Practice Drills Section), I think it explains just what you’re talking about and it shows the positions slowly so you can see. I think this will answer what you’re asking. The Ross Move Drill is like the 11th drill when you scroll.Ross Nov 25, 2018
Without going into details… the chest/arm connection can create a stiffness, where the chest restricts or even stops the shoulders. There should always be shoulder freedom (except for a slight tightening at the very top of the backswing just before the downswing. I think you’re okay, as long as you’re unwinding (on the downswing) and not thinking that the arms/chest/hips all realign through impact (like setup)… they don’t. They’re in a dynamic unwinding movement while turning all the way to the finish. In other words, your upper front arm never “attaches”. Hope this answers your question.Ross Sep 30, 2018
No, just keeping the elbows close does not automatically bring the arms/elbows back down in front. That is what the Ross Move helps with. It is very easy to leave the arms behind. Usually this happens because the arms did some lifting on their own vs. letting the shoulder turn control them. Many golfers get the arms too high or across the body and they end up stuck behind. Practice with shorter backswings to help you learn the feeling of using the body’s rotation on the downswing to bring the arms back down in front.Ross Sep 29, 2018
Yes, the back (right) elbow is still bent as it passes through impact. It will straighten out a little past impact. Also, the back elbow does not have to be straight at setup. I do think the back elbow should point back at the back hip at setup, and point again at the back hip through impact on the downswing, to help it stay close to the front elbow.Ross Oct 27, 2019
The Ross Move video is describing how the arms/elbows are not left behind when the body starts unwinding on the downswing, but are actually being moved back down. The Ross Move pulls the elbows/club down “back in front”… not “at the ball”. The downswing is a continuous dynamic move from the top of the backswing, back down and to the finish. The Ross Move is explaining that the arms/elbows need to come along for the ride, and should return back in front of the body* as the body unwinds through the hitting area. Dragging the handle is a term I use to help stop golfers from throwing the club head into the ball. After impact the club head will pass the hands and release on its own for a basic shot. The reason I use the “dragging the handle” term is… many golfers are taught to release the club head into the ball and then point the club head and shaft at the target, after impact. With my method that does not really happen because, the golf swing is rotary not linear. So, in the body rotation video I’m exaggerating the concept of the arms/club shaft being moved (by the body rotation) to the left for a right handed golfer.* This does not mean everything is exactly lined up static like setup, the body is still unwinding, turning to the finish. It just feels like the elbows have returned in front vs. left behind.
I don’t recommend clubs. I would however not buy clubs with correction build in (like offset hosels) or closed/open face… I would try many different say 6-7 irons at the range and then you choose which one you believe feels the best to you. That is the most important factor.
Ross Apr 05, 2020
Yes… no lift. Just let your arms get moved by your shoulder turn. Sometimes turning the shoulders a little faster helps create momentum to carry the arms to the top. The top is when your shoulders have turned as far as they can turn and they may have turned the hips a little too if needed on full swings.Yes, you need the shoulders to start first (like a head start) and move the club head about 1-2 feet. This takes the slack out of your back muscles … then as the shoulders keep turning, they’ll turn the hips a little. You don’t want the hips turning on their own.
Ross Apr 05, 2020
Hi Anthony
First, No the hips do not slow down. It is not a pull straight down… the arms don’t do anything. The arms/elbows are being pulled down by gravity as the body starts unwinding (from ground up*) at the start of the downswing. The body unwinds at a pace that will hopefully bring the elbows back in front of the body.One thing that might be affecting your backswing, hampering your downswing, is… on the backswing you might be using your arms/hands to help “lift” or “finish”, so they’re activating themselves to help get you to the top of your backswing. Then they’re kind of “resisting” and “restricting” gravity making it difficult for them to drop. Ideally, the shoulders will control and dominate the arms on the backswing, so there would be no lift with the arms and then they’d be ready to just follow (without resistance) back down.
Keep in mind, the elbows back in front, is an ideal position… to prevent a need to flip because the back (right) elbow got stuck on the downswing.
* This unwinding is like the forward movement when you throw a ball (except no weight shift). The body unwinds from ground up.
Ross Apr 01, 2020
Just a thought… Since you can’t physically play golf at the course, you can do something I use to do for “Mental” practice (and it helps)… Sit down somewhere comfortable and close your eyes and relax. Then imagine yourself at the golf course you want to practice. Then in your mind, start your perfect round. Visualize yourself from every point on the course… where you’d tee off… where you’d take your next shot… imagine looking up, seeing the green from a perfect drive right in the middle of the fairway. You get the idea. This is very hard to do at first. You have to “stay in the moment”. It is tough to do this for every shot and putt, but will become easier with practice.I also use’d to imagine putting and chipping from different areas around all the greens. Try to remember all the breaks and quirks that each green has. Imagine seeing the ball roll on the perfect line at the perfect speed.
This is a form of Mental practice. It too can improve your game. Then the next time you play, when you get to the shot (you imagined in your mind during your mental practice), you can recall taking it as a “perfect shot”… trust that image and tell yourself (just repeat that swing) and go! Then enjoy improving.