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Ross Aug 04, 2014
Yes. If that works for you use it.For many years, I taught the “knees” start the downswing (from ground up), but many of my students had trouble with that concept, so I moved up to “hips”. I guess the feet might be helping initiate the start, by pushing against the ground in a rotary move. I feel more like I use the feet as “anchors” for the body to unwind against. The good thing is… it is repeatable and powerful (if the backswing wound up correctly to begin with). Thanks Davew
Ross Oct 14, 2014
I always think of the rotation as if I’m throwing a ball. It is exactly like it just bent over a bit. If you can turn faster throwing a ball than you can with your golf swing, then you should be able to speed up your golf swing once you find what’s holding you back or is in your way.It may be your front foot. Some golfers have their front foot pointed 90° to the target line and that can choke off the knee and limit the rotation (if they are not rotating to the outside of their front foot – some can’t). The answer is to setup like Hogan with the front foot flared out about 30-40°. Then there is more freedom to turn and I’m thinking for you, maybe faster if you don’t feet so restricted or that you may hurt your knee.
Ross
Ross Oct 11, 2014
Great. Yes, wish it was that you learn something and from then on it would just work and you would not have to ever worry about it again. I have found though, that it does become easier and easier to get back on track.Ross Aug 25, 2014
More and more, I’m thinking that a real focus on keeping the shape from setup, fixed during the backswing, and then back into impact and through, helps keep the hands busy “holding” vs. flipping and trying to help. You may need a bit more grip pressure to maintain the setup angles. That club wants to flip, if you don’t hold it from flipping… but your body must keep turning and accelerating.Traditional instruction has the hands doing many things on the backswing, and just before impact, trying to find this “ideal”* impact position. That take exceptional skill and luck… and is the first thing to go under pressure. You want impact to feel like a rotary/trapping move vs. a hit at the ball feeling.
* Shaft in line with the front arm, being supported by the back hand/wrist bent in. Then, this shape is essentially, drug through impact around to the left (right hander). This has the shaft leading the club face for a solid golf shot, and the body controlling. So, instead of trying to find this at impact, during the swing… we just setup like impact and maintain this using the Large Muscles for a repeatable golf swing. Makes golf more fun.
Ross Jun 27, 2014
Yes… right Dave! Lateral (away from/towards the target). Actually, if you’re focusing on the chest not really moving at all, it covers all directions and gives the shoulders something to turn around via a bit of resistance (like the lower body).Ross Jun 27, 2014
Wow… thanks Jay. This has been my passion (to find a better golf swing), ever since my dad took me at 10 yrs of age, and I spent the entire day on the right side of every hole looking for my ball. I was determined to know why that was happening… and that lead to the next thing… and the search never ended.Ross Jun 08, 2017
There is a Lesson Video in the “Mental Game” section called “Relaxation” … but a good start is to … Stop and stand still … then breathe in slowly through your nose … hold for a count of 4 … then let out through your mouth … repeat. Breathing through your nose should make your stomach go out (the diaphragm). You do not want to take a breath where your chest goes out. That kind of breath is for fight or flight and could make you more anxious.If you are concerned about breathing to relax, the real key to relaxing is to follow up the method above with an iron clad “Routine”. The Routine is the key to a repeatable golf shot. I also have a series of Lesson Videos called “Pre-shot Routine” that can help you develop your routine.
Ross Mar 06, 2016
Just about every golf course has an old bag of clubs they acquired over the years. I’ll bet you could find some older clubs to experiment with out on the range. Also, many times you’ll see old (perfectly good) clubs at garage sales or at hock shops or used sports equipment shops. They will be harder to hit if you don’t have a square face at impact, but you’ll learn a lot about your swing if you practice with them.Now, perimeter weighting can really help the average golfer who does not have (or wants to put in), the time to practice. This helps some with miss hits, but the open/closed faces and offset or exaggerated shaft angles are trade-offs. I’m sure there will be those that disagree (one reason I don’t talk much about clubs).
Ross Mar 06, 2016
Great post !! Yes, club makers have been “building in” compensations into clubs for years, to try to “fix” setup and swing issues. The problem with that is … “everything is a trade-off”.Let’s take the “extreme shaft angle” you’re talking about. If the golfer happens to get the shaft in line with the front arm at impact (a good thing), what happens to the club face?… or if it is a closed or open face compensation, and the golfer actually squares up the face correctly?
I loved my old pings, but eventually they had to go because of the offset hosels. As my method developed and I used my rotation for much better contact, I was constantly fighting the ball wanting to go left. I think I was helping in those days with a bit of a flip that had to go too. The two together made for some scary shots.
I’m not suggesting anyone run out and buy new clubs, but you do want to know the characteristics of the clubs you’re playing.
Ross Aug 13, 2016
Yes, but I don’t call the backswing, the upswing… but you’re close on the feeling of the inside of the back foot. It is across the inside of the whole foot… not just the heel. The downswing the push off (as you say) and the hips (plural) work really simultaneously. There is no separate push off… then the hips.Ross Jun 08, 2016
We feel tension in the same place. The instep of the back leg. That trailing leg or back leg, position once setup acts as a brace. The leg torques a bit, but the knee does not straighten up. We wind the shoulders against the “inside” of that leg.It is very important to not slide our weight back on top or to the outside of that leg.
As far as the front leg… since we have at least 60% of our weight forward, we are more on top of that leg vs. it being angled and braced. Everyone has to find what is good for them. The key is to feel like the lower body is holding and resisting at first, to give the shoulders something to windup against. The reason I said “at first”, is because the shoulders do wind the lower body eventually (if needed), but we never slide towards the back leg.
Ross Jun 06, 2016
Hello Rene’
On the backswing…
I feel like my feet are “anchored” and “hold” to the ground. The back foot is braced at an angle, generating from the “instep”*, resisting and preventing me from swaying to the back foot. The front foot feels like it’s “holding”, as if it were on a “dock” and my back foot was on a “boat” and I didn’t want to let the boat pull me away from the dock… (just the way I picture it). NOW… all that goes on (from practice), while my shoulders start the backswing and wind up.On the downswing…
I feel the “feet” in harmony with the body unwind from ground up… “push off” or “push against” the ground. I really feel the back “instep” use the ground to “push” to unwind.Much of the downswing is automatic from the correct windup. There had been so much “potential” stored from the shoulders on the windup, the downswing just has to “let go” and I use that to kind of “push off” the ground.
I’ve never tried to explain this before Rene’… hope it helped… Ross
*Weight on the backswing never moves to “on top” or “to the outside” of the back foot! There is kind of a “dug in” feeling braced.
Ross Mar 11, 2016
A “bigger turn” does not = “more distance”. It may add some distance, but just making it “bigger”, more often than not, causes other problems.Making it efficient* and accelerating faster on the downswing, with square/centered hits, and with the shaft in line with the front arm WILL give you some more distance**.
* A big part of “efficient” is keeping more weight forward, so you don’t slide or move toward the back foot during the backswing. Holding the front knee is one way to help. It is not in stone that the front knee must hold. If you can let it turn in, and not slide off the ball and still wind up correctly”, that is okay.
** There are so many factors that add up to added distance, or loss of distance, we could discuss it for days. My experience tells me, the straighter the ball goes, the lower you can score. Many times when a golfer tries to add distance they sacrifice direction. They think sacrificing direction is okay, because they’re closer to the green (I don’t agree). Distance isn’t the “end all” answer for better scoring or more fun/enjoyment. Distance is what advertising sells golfers on, to buy new clubs. Distance and poor course management, is what usually leads to the “others” (6, 7, 8s).
In my opinion… Everyone is capable of being excellent at putting, chipping and pitching regardless of body type or age… and most are average or worse, but still try to hit the ball farther.
FYI, I once played in a tournament and had (if I remember right) 8 one putts, most under 10′ but only had 1 birdie… the rest were all “saves” for par. I saved 7 shots with great short pitch shots and solid putting. Now that’s fun…
Ross Apr 11, 2016
Thanks Dan. When Jordan is bit farther away, he always rotates… one of the reasons he is as good as he is… but, when he gets closer, he tries to use only the shoulders and hands, thinking it has better control. This is not the case, because the shoulders are very limited on their own and will cause the flip and usually more backspin. They can only go so far forward (without some body rotation), This is why I don’t really advocate “chipping” because “pitching” is more natural and more reliable, even very close to the green. It is also easier to get the ball to roll forward with a pitch shot. Jordan also struggled 3 times on Saturday with short pitch shots where he didn’t rotate.