SWING IN A CIRCLE
The golf swing is a combination of biomechanics and physics. But it is also more than that. It requires us to develop mental pictures of what we are trying to do. It also requires that we trust in the biomechanics and physics. If we don’t believe that what we are trying to accomplish will work, then it is unlikely that it will work. That’s one of the reasons that we do drills. It lets us start feeling the biomechanics so that the physics will work. The feel and the picture that we have established often do not jive. As we begin to feel the biomechanics through drills, the picture and the feel will get closer and closer together.
One of the pictures that is most difficult to imagine is the ball going straight and the club head and hands continuing on a circle after impact. People often ask me what difference does it make if it’s after impact? Let me give you this example. If I ask you to run as fast as you can and stop when you get to a wall, will you crash into the wall? No, of course not. You will start slowing down before you get to the wall. The brain knows what’s going to happen next. If your brain thinks that the clubhead is going to follow the ball, it will come off the circle and slow down before it gets to the ball. This slowing down is a major cause of flipping. When the left-hand (and handle of the club) continue in a circle, forward lean occurs on a curve instead of parallel to the target line. This is one of the real secrets to eliminating the flip through impact.
The sequence of the swing is very important. The hips must work passively as the result of the external oblique turning the torso. This is because it is nearly impossible to create a circle of the upper body using the hips. The right external oblique is the muscle that turns the upper body counterclockwise, in other words to the left. However, I have found it easier to envision the belly button turning to the left rather than thinking about the right external oblique.
If you look at the two drills that I have included, the front loader drill and the left arm drill, it is essential that the belly button lead the hands around the circle. In order for the clubhead to move in a circle, the torso must move in a circle which makes it possible for the hands to move in a circle. Since the hands are connected to the club, the club head will also move in a circle.
I have been studying the golf swing for over 50 years. The first huge lasting change that I saw was after Tiger Woods was being taught by Butch Harmon. His setup changed, and almost every player on the PGA tour since that time has mimicked that set up. Before that, there were a multitude of different setups. The next big change has occurred recently. Many of the tour players are now using the obliques to turn their upper body instead of trying to use their legs and hips. In order to do this, they are moving their upper body into position during transition instead of leaving their head back. This allows them truly circular movement through the ball which I think allows them to hit it longer and straighter. Compare Rory McElroy’s swing from five years ago to his swing today. You’ll see what I’m talking about. He hits it much longer and straighter than he did five years ago.
So if you want to hit it longer and straighter, get into the correct position after transition and swing in a circle!