I initiated this thread with the idea of giving away some of my hard won, long term teaching experience. To that end, I am writing a series of posts to guide golfers who are learning the game for the first time or going back to square one, to do it right this time! My first post was about the “Blue on Blue, Brick Wall Drill”. The purpose of that drill is to help novice and poorly skilled golfers develop an initial feel for and the ability to make a natural, free-flowing swing. It has come to my attention that the use of the terms natural and free-flowing need some further explanation. No problem.
My use of the word natural is an extension of the common definitions into the world of golf. My basic flavoring of the word is that natural means you don’t have to learn and you don’t have to try. Of course this does not mean that you don’t have to know anything. More accurately, it means, what you learn is much closer to common sense than calculus. There is a big difference between “knowing things” and “learning things”. The essentials of what you need to know about the golf swing are so relatively simple, it can hardly be called learning. Later, as you improve your skills, you may seek to know more details about how to do this or that, but NEVER does supplemental information negate basic, fundamentally sound information. The knowledge required for the basics of a sound whole swing golf motion begin with establishing a mental picture of what you need to be doing right. For different players, in different stages of learning, this need is different. For a novice, the best way to acquire basic knowledge is through observation and imitation. This is how kids learn to do everything … before some coach comes along and goofs them up. Kid learning is the perfect example of my flavored definition of natural. All they need is a mental picture and minimum correction. The role of the teacher is more observer/corrector than instructor. That’s the mental basics.
Basic mechanical fundamentals center around knowing the function and using four critical body parts … your nose, shoulders, elbows and thumbs. The nose centers the swing by simply looking at the ball, your shoulders motor the swing when they turn, your elbows control the direction of the swing when they fold on each side of the swing and your thumbs control the position of the clubface when they stay on top of the shaft. Applying these concepts is where drills such as Blue on Blue come into play. A drill should be self-teaching and ID10T proof. Translated, this means the movement of the drill is so simple, it cannot lead to a performance error. It is so simple, very few words are needed to describe what you need to do … for example, “point your nose at the ball and keep it there” is pretty hard to misunderstand. A drill is always supported by checkpoints of correct performance to double dog ensure it is being done correctly. Here’s a word of warning … drills are extremely powerful tools. They produce results. Consider what you are producing if you are doing them wrong. Is a teacher needed to “learn” at this level? No ... all you need is accurate feedback.
Feedback can come in various forms. Now, before any nit pickers get off track, I have used the word feedback in a generic way. There is a more scientifically accurate way to use this word. The obvious way to get feedback is to use your own eyes. Do what you do, freeze and look to see if you match up with the checkpoints. When you freeze and pose while checking, you are technically using shaping, not drilling. A key component of a drill is continuous, back and forth motion. Forward and reverse shaping is a technique best suited for the next level of learning for intermediate skill players who are refining and improving basic mechanics. A mirror is a poor man’s video camera and a lot easier to operate. A still better and higher level of feedback is to close your eyes and do the drill by feel. Can a learner (loose definition of learning) benefit from the help of an outside agent such as a teacher … who presents concepts in a logical, systematic, understandable manner. Obviously, but not necessary! The first teacher you might consider using is a training buddy. This is a friend who will participate in a “Coach and Pupil” program. You do it, s/he coaches you through the checkpoints. Then you switch. You are now the coach and s/he is the learner. Be nice … turnabout is fair play … what you give is what you are going to get back.
With another preamble out of the way, it’s now time for lesson two … posture. Stance is a term that includes more than just posture. Posture is about taking an effective body position. Once again, a simple, intuitive technique and some checkpoints of correct performance are all that are needed for you to be your own best teacher. The technique I developed is called “BOW, SQUAT AND HANGLE”. A learning technique, like a drill, should be both simple and as close to ID10T proof as possible. The checkpoints of correct performance should be easy to see and feel. Posture is where a full length dressing mirror comes in very handy. Thinking about this a little deeper indicates posture can be learned and practiced indoors. Most wives frown on turning their home into an indoor driving range so it is time to consider how many bad shots you have hit between the first lesson posting and now. I believe that would be a grand total of … zero. So far, everything has been simple and successful. Where does confidence come from? It comes from knowing you can and will do things right. This comes from trusting what you know to be right and your training program.
On the subject of right versus wrong, even the simple concept of a “standard” or correct swing model evokes an argument from some who’s motivation is to look for any excuse to find a negative rather than benefitting from the positive. I believe the tired old argument that “there are lots of ways to hit a golf ball” is sorta … let me find the right word … stupid. Your own eyes tell you the truth … nine out of ten tour professional swings look pretty close to being the same. Even those players with unorthodox swing motions are doing the same things with the clubhead in the impact zone in order to make solid contact with the ball. Here’s a fundamental you can take to the bank … POSTURE creates the possibility for a NATURAL, free-flowing swing. Guess what bad posture creates!
Back to work! The starting position for Bow, Squat and Hangle (BSH) is standing tall, back straight, head erect, feet spread about shoulder width apart, balance on the back part of the balls of your feet, knees locked and right shoulder golf club (like a soldier). If this sounds a little military, it is indeed a BY THE NUMBERS technique. All you non-veterans try to keep up! It is a three count movement … ready one, ready two, ready three. Do NOT combine these movements. Come on all you civilians, you can do this … you used to do it in junior high PE class even if you never put on a uniform! On the count one, BOW forward from the waist kinda like if you were standing up against a low fence. Keep your back straight and your head erect. Don’t let your butt move backwards … lean over the fence. You will feel a very important checkpoint if you do this right. You will feel like you have lost your balance and are about to fall forward. Relax, it will all go away in a second. To regain your balance, SQUAT. Have you noticed those are one word commands? Squat does NOT mean sit down . All you do is unlock your knees and drop down slightly lower. The old teaching to “sit on a barstool” is dead wrong. Your knees will be bent too deep and your balance will move too much to your heels. Name one sport you play on your heels! Nuf said! Now, HANGLE your arms by dropping them from your shoulder so they hang and dangle. The end of the club will be about one fist width from your thighs (I recently saw a video clip of Tiger out of this position … possibly sloppy pre-swing execution … guess what happened to his spine angle and where he found the ball). This is a very important fundamental. Even one inch of reaching will goof up even the best golfer. If Tiger can screw it up, then so can you!
There are five checkpoints of correct posture performance … BUTT UP, BACK STRAIGHT, CHIN UP, ARMS HANGLE AND WEIGHT BALANCED. Butt up, some say back, means your knees are NOT deeply bent. They are bent only enough to create some shock absorbers for the swing motion. I won’t argue with butt back. Of course “it” will move backwards some, but never so much that your weight ends up on your heels. Chest down means you have bowed over a sufficient amount to allow your shoulders to turn on an inclined plane … yes, that’s the spine angle thing that is the latest instructional rage. In case you were wondering, the Blue on Blue drill covers that without any words. Chin up means you can rotate your front shoulder under your chin enough to get to your back foot by the 3/4 level of the backswing. Here’s a visualization. Imagine someone driving a golf shaft down through the top of your, on down through your spine and out your southern exit point. OK, now get that picture our of your head. Arms hang means nothing else. You don’t reach out for the ball and you don’t stand too close. All this assumes you have the correct lie angle and finished length for your clubs. Here’s something to think about … how can club fitting be done if you have lousy posture! Is that fitter really serving your needs? Finally, weight balanced means you are balanced on the back portion of the ball of your feet. This, like the distance you stand from the ball is a very big deal.
This learning technique can be combined with Blue on Blue from post number 1 to form a linked, two task backyard 60/21 practice session. Have you noticed you are succeeding early and still haven’t hit a single bad shot.
Now that was a lot of words. One picture with a caption would have done the same job, but this forum doesn’t allow for pictures. To that end, I am copying my postings to my website where pictures and video are allowed. When that is modified and suitable for viewing, I’ll provide a link for anyone who wants more detailed information. ETA, one to two weeks. I’m learning to use WordPress template design. I could do it in ten minutes with MS FrontPage. ALL help with this problem would be greatly appreciated! I promise to try to write shorter posts.
Edited 5/16/2009 4:59:00 AM by guru4u
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