Two swing thoughts that make consistency impossible!
The 2 things every golfer has been taught, thought or encouraged to do that have made consistentcy impossible!
Having taught golf for almost 25 years i have met and talked to thousands of golfers and along the way asked many questions to better understand how they think about their golf swing, how they organise their thoughts and also what concepts they universally accept as being correct or fundamental.
Did you know that the average golfer has not improved in the last 25 years ? Technology though has advaned in leaps and bounds making the game for the tour player easier than ever. A PGA tour player said to me in late 2007 that there are players playing on the PGA tour that would not be there without the technology advancements that had occured in the previous 10-15 years.
If this is the case, then why has the average golfer not improved? My belief is that there are many concpets and ideas out there that golfers consider to be fundamental and never question that are the main reason that the average golfer is not improving.
The purpose of this article is to highlight two concepts that i believe every golfer has tried, believes to be true or has been encouraged to try and implement into their swings that have had a detrimental affect on the consistency of their golf.
Concept 1:
The left arm should be the dominant arm in the golf swing ! (right handed player)
We have two hands attached to the club and what is relevant to a tour player is most of the time not relevant to the average club golfer. If you believe that the left arm should be the most dominant in the swing, i would ask you to things. Question 1 - Why do you wear a glove on your top hand(left hand for a right handed player) and don’t need to on the other ? Questions 2 - Do you struggle with hooking the ball excessively to the left with Driver ? If you say “No” (which is about 85% of the golfing population) then you need to better understand the roll of the right arm/hand/wrist in the golf swing. Ironically, i teach people who over hook the ball how to use the right arm/hand/wrist in a way in which you cannot over hook/curve the golf ball. The left arm stabilises the momentum created and has a major effect on the ball flight and consistency of contact. The right arm/hand provides the majority of the force and is most impactful on the ability to square the face. So, If you cannot control a hook, hit a fade, slice, cannot draw a ball with all clubs or shank every now and then, I would encourage you to develop a better awareness in what your right hand/arm/wrist is doing within the downswing and how it affects the club face.
Concept 2:
Start the downswing with the left hip turning !
I would suggest this is the most destructive and universally accepted swing concept that you could have to the consistency of your golf and reliability and repeatability of your swing. It doesn’t mean this trigger to start your downswing can’t work , it is just not efficient and requires excessive practice to manage the negative affect it has on your arm swing, swing path and balls start direction.
Ben Hogan suggested 50 years ago that this was the first move from the top and i constantly hear players incorrectly believing that to get through the ball they need to clear their hips. I often hear coaches suggesting this is the transition movement. Thank goodness for me that those coaches are still out there pushing that information.
Yes the left hip clearing can look like it is the first thing that moves, but that is because it is the thing closest to the ball (aside from your left knee). The golf posture of BEND and TILT and the swing movement in the backswing of TURNing means that if you instigate your downswing with a left hip turn one of two things is guaranteed to happen. Either your arms will get swung over the top (casting, slicing, chopping) or your right hip will get in the way of the arms swinging the club from the inside path (stuck, jammed) . Either way you will be required to make compensations from both positions that will negatively effect your golf.
If either of the two things above you work on, have locked away as fundamental or are struggling to try and implement, i would suggest you book a lesson to learn how to better transition from the top and/or how you manage the clubface throughout the swing, in particular through impact.
To book a lesson message me on 0416 125 375 or email christian@momentumgolf.com.au