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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.Ross Apr 11, 2016
In theory. There are always “trade-offs”. If a golfer has no intention of working or changing their golf swing and using game improvement clubs help, … then use them.The main reason for the post is not about equipment, and not about the hands leading the club head, but about how using the “body’s rotation” will help maintain the correct position of the shaft through and past impact. It is more difficult to “flip” through impact when the body’s rotation is dominating the arms/club. Many times, if a golfer is struggling with contact and direction, just improving and completing the body rotation (correctly), improves their swing.
Ross May 25, 2018
I’m going to say; It’s not possible to over rotate if it is done correctly and in balance. It is possible to rotate the hips way ahead of the shoulders/arms, to the point that when the shoulders/arms catch up, the new path is left of the target. Here’s one example.You start with your shoulders and hips parallel to the target line. You start the takeaway using the shoulders first. The shoulder eventually turn the hips some to the end of the backswing. Hypothetically at this point the shoulders have turned 90° and the hips 45°. Okay, on the downswing the body unwinds, and because of gravity, the arms/club are pulled back down in front of the body into impact. Now, ideally, at impact, the hips are slightly open to the target line, the shoulders are back parallel with the arms/club at the ball with a square club face. This is a “dynamic” position… meaning everything is moving and nothing is stopping or passing. The body is unwinding like a rubber band.
Now this scenario is a kind of ideal model. Everyones body is different and shots are different with different needs.
Now, I suspect in your case, your arms/club are stuck behind you. Usually that is because the back elbow is bent out* getting caught on your back hip, so the arms could not get back in front in time… the body keeps turning and by the time the arms/club impact, there is a new path to the left. Some call this “Spinning out”. This might be because you lifted your arms up to help and your own muscles are holding your arms/club up, or back, so gravity can’t bring them back down. Essentially, they’re left behind until later in the swing when you’re now aimed left.
* The elbows must stay close together. I prefer pointing back at the hips as much as possible… especially the front elbow at impact!
Ross May 22, 2018
Those are great Keywords. Alignment is very different for everyone because of so many variables. Whatever you can do to get the body to get the club face back to square through impact is great (and use it). Now if it starts to not work; time to go back to the basic setup I teach.Ross Aug 24, 2015
Yes, taking a moment (like Jason Day), to see your shot and recall when you’ve taking the shot before and were successful is VERY powerful. It really works great around the green to imagine the entire trip the ball will take to end “in” or “by” the hole. Then just hit your spot at the speed you imagined (don’t forget to allow for break too).