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Ross May 19, 2017
You don’t use a club for this. The thumbs give you your shoulder line. If you move your front shoulder down, then up (correct for putting), you can see your path. This is the path the ball will roll if you have a square putter face. Now… if you move your shoulders around your spine*, you will change your path. This is why most right handed golfers miss left, because their front shoulder moves behind them on the downswing (changing the path) vs. pulling up with the front shoulder to not change the path.
* We do not turn our shoulders around the spine for putting or chipping. We do turn the shoulders around the spine for all other golf shots. This is for more control when we don’t need much power.
Ross May 15, 2017
Hi Ed
Sorry this got a bit long, but it is all great stuff that will work well once incorporated.#1
In a perfect world, the shoulder line and toe line would be parallel to the target line*. I know my feet are a bit closed, but that is okay because the path the putter head moves along, is exactly underneath the shoulders, and can be seen/practiced, by letting the arms hang**. What this means is, the shoulders dictate the path, not the feet. The path won’t change unless you let your hips or head move (a nono [nono]). The shoulders are the only thing that moves with my method. Have a friend watch you to point out how many other body parts move during your stroke. It takes a lot of work to not move anything except the shoulders.Now, the putter face is exactly 90° (perpendicular) to this target line, and hangs (about 1/2″ off the ground) above this line, exactly on the sweet spot … and your eyes*** must be over this line too. These all add up to many more makes.
#2
No, there should not be any contact with the body during the stroke.* The target line is the line you want the ball to start on that allows for break if needed. This may be a line straight thru the cup if no break is needed.
** Once setup, with the arms hanging, you can find your shoulder alignment, and the path the putter head will travel, by pointing your thumbs towards each other (Thanks to Dave Pelz)… then while pointing your thumbs towards each other, push down and pull up the front shoulder to see the path. It is easy to see if your path is in-to-out, or out-to-in, to your target line… we want straight back and straight thru along the target line. We don’t use the hands/arms to manipulate the path, the shoulders must do the work while the arms hang. Then, setup using your putter the same way. Just make sure the putter face is exactly 90° to the path your shoulders make. HINT: The grip end must be setup ahead of the ball a bit, and you must keep firm wrists during the entire stroke, to keep the putter head from flipping ever.
*** As you let your arms hang at setup, you want your eyes exactly over the target line too. Once setup, you can drop a golf ball from the bridge of your nose, and see where it hits on the ground, to see if your eyes are over the line. Most are surprised when they try this. You may need to allow for a bit more tilt, to get your eyes over the line to not brush your body during the stroke. If you add more tilt, this must still be athletic and in balance (no lean out or reach out).
Ross May 20, 2017
First … you can do anything you want if it works for you.Second … since we do not use the hands/arms to help*, your maximum rotation speed is as fast as you can rotate. Also, if you have maximized the backswing, and then use your maximum downswing rotation speed, you’re maxed out. I also believe your max backswing/downswing can change slightly at different times (not warmed up, warmed up and excited, tired at the end of the round, weather conditions, extra/less clothing like jacket etc.)
* It is very important to understand, if your hands take over or help, your body stops. You don’t get both … your body won’t turn and hit at the same time. A person swing an axe into a tree, will not keep turning his body and hit the tree with his hands throwing the axe, at the same time, he’ll stop his rotation just before the hands take over to hit at the tree. The body stops to take on a “supporting role” so the hands have something to swing against to throw the head of the axe. This action (stop body, throw club head) in golf, makes for a very bad golf swing and it not reliable.
Ross Apr 03, 2017
Thanks for the nice comments.Golf is about 2 things… direction and distance (that’s all). I would like to also mention, there are many aspects of golf, and the golf swing is only one part.
My method uses the entire body at impact, as a sum to move the ball. All of the body mass is being used*. I incorporate an athletic move to the golf swing, like throwing any object. We use the Large (more repeatable) Muscles to move the arms/club for more reliable impact, and that equates into more accuracy with both direction and distance. I’m not implying you’ll hit the longest 7 iron ever, but you’ll hit it straighter and about the same distance each time, due to a square face at impact and finding the sweet spot more often.
I guess what I’m trying to say is … the hands are only a small part and all they do is hold the club. If they “flip” the club head everything changes (path, face angle, shaft angle, loft, direction, etc.) and we know what happens next… golf can be more fun when almost** everything below the shoulders is maintained letting the big muscles do the work.
* More mass is more efficient at times … like pitching a ball out of deep rough. The body mass rotating, can pull the ball out much easier than a stationary body using the arms or hands (much weaker)
** The elbows need to bend a little (at different times) depending on the shot, but they do not move on their own.
Ross Apr 02, 2017
My method was established about 15 years before S & T came out. As far as I know we have nothing in common since I’ve never looked into their method. We do keep at least 60% weight on the front foot for more consistency, and so we can rotate without the need for an unreliable weight shift to the front leg first (traditional golf).Ross May 21, 2017
You don’t really have to worry about tempo, because we swing at many different paces depending on the shot. It is good to have equal rhythm on the backswing and downswing. Slower is better for the longer clubs. Each person has to find his own paceThe Drills are the real key for learning this method. The Finish Drill, Stop Rotate Drill, Large Muscles Drill, are key and should be done daily or as a warmup. The Fixed Wrist Drill is a great warmup too.
Ross May 26, 2017
1 No, I don’t think of the golf swing as a circle. Think of Large Muscles… Shoulders (backswing), then the body (core) unwinding from ground up (downswing).2. The upper arms both automatically do what they need to do when you start with the elbows pointing back at the hips and keep the elbows working towards each other.
The easiest way to learn this golf swing is to do the Drills regularly … not just for a week or two … just keep doing them. They’ll do the job vs. trying to think your way through. Time and Effort.
Ross May 28, 2017
Sorry Dave, no way around having to clean the club. YES, your practice swing (if you take one), must be exactly like you plan to swing … but, it should not be an issue if you follow this:~ Take your practice swing next to the ball so you can simulate as close to the stance and conditions and should always brush the ground slightly
~ Then as you walk back behind the ball to start your routine, clean your club. You should never take a practice swing next to the ball then move over to the ball and hit … you should always follow your routine and your routine should not have a practice swing as you come from behind the ball to setup. You might watch the Pre Shot Routine series found under the “More” drop down menu.
Ross May 15, 2017
It is perfectly fine (and recommended), to take 1-2 complete practice swings while recalling a time you used the club you’re about to use, and were successful. As you take a practice swing tell yourself, “yes this is how that great swing felt, let’s do it again”. Then go through your routine and hit the ball. You don’t have to rehearse the whole routine. Your body is an amazing thing you just have to tell it what you want to do and trust it.On the course you have to just trust the swing you have. You can’t be working on your swing while you play. The golf swing has to be automatic, hence trusting your routine and just hit … and get what you get.
Food for thought… I can’t tell you the last time I cared if I hit it longer or shorter than anyone else. Never crosses my mind. It does not matter. I play my game. Straight is good and gives you low scores when you perfect the short game. Next time you go out, keep track of Fairways hit, Greens hit, Saves, Total putts … then try to beat yourself the next time out.
Ross May 31, 2017
The elbows don’t move themselves, your body unwinding brings your arms back down and around (to the left – right hander). Maybe you can imagine not having muscles in your arms and the body is going to turn towards the target and needs to bring the arms/club along. The arms/elbows just get moved and go where they need to go and generally follow gravity in a somewhat downward motion. Remember this is a rotary move. Things don’t go along a line. Let the body core move the arms (template).Ross May 13, 2017
My body is slightly tilted, because my back hand is lower than the front on the grip. I am trying to feel like my shoulders are level (not back shoulder dropped). My shoulders are not rocking during the swing. They’re trying to turn around my spine on the backswing, then unwind the opposite of how they wound up. I only feel my shoulders working on the backswing. When they unwind, they are being unwound and dominated by my torso/legs (just like you unwind when you throw a ball). Personally, I don’t feel my shoulders doing any work when I throw a ball forward … they just go along. Now, I might feel my arm or hand try to help when throwing a ball for different effects, but we don’t want the arms/hands doing anything but keeping the face square.The arms/elbows/club are all brought down as a package. One elbow, does not move on its own. I also do not feel like my back arm/elbow are straightening out on the downswing. They are just working close together. The back elbow will straighten out much later after impact and is not an active movement.
One thought that might help you, is to think of the back elbow pointing down (sightly bent) on the backswing… then the opposite happens on the follow through (the front elbow points down). You have to be careful with this thought because it is easy for the face to start opening and closing. This though is for you Anthony. I don’t go into elbow detail like this because it does not have to be discussed. We want to focus on the Shoulders controlling the arms. Large Muscles can do the work.
Ross Jul 11, 2017
Great Dave! Make sure that “whoosh” sound is not the hands helping. I found some of my students that use a bag start using their hands again. Feel your entire body impact the bag as it turns.Ross Jul 09, 2017
Okay, I reread the post and now know why you were confused (probably the way I try to explain things). In that post, the arms moving on their own, is a “Bad” thing, because when they do, they will “choke” or “stop” the body from rotating. The body can not turn or rotate AND use the arms or hands at the same time*… it is one or the other. We want the body to continue turning and accelerate through impact, so the arms/hands must “go for a ride” during the golf swing.* I’ve looked at hundreds of videos just for this phenomenon, and once the body senses that the hands are going to do something (like throw an axe into a tree), the body will stop turning, and brace, to throw the momentum down to the head of the axe. Most golfers think this is a reliable way to play golf and it is not !!! It changes the club face causing miss hits and causes the “flip” cutting our radius in half for a weak shot (in putting too).