Gorillaswing

How does this sequence look for you?

I took your last frame and moved it to three

Gorilla 1st lesson - Takeaway-4/23

Gorillaswing


video at youtube

Well Gorillaswing I don't think you are cured yet but I know that you're not as far off as you think. You worked on setup and takeaway and will see that these adjustments in this early stage of your action have already created counter balancing changes in the backswing for the positive.

Stepping back, there are 5 stages to the golf swing: setup, takeaway, backswing, transition, and recoil. Setup is static and occurs prior to address, the setup creates the required angles for you to coil the body and club together away from the target on plane. The takeaway is summarized by its completion when the hands have reached belt high (when viewed from down the line). Backswing, transition, and recoil were not discussed but we can see the results of an improved setup and takeaway in the photos of your completed backswing.

Morning Joe

Tis the season of new club purchases and dreams of single digit handicaps.

So you purchased an shinny new driver over the past few months and are ready to start bombing it down the fairway? It’s time to redefine your goal on the tee. With the driver in hand I want you to try to hit every tee ball on the green. The driver is the one club in your bag without a speed limit, it has one specific purpose, going deep. If you want to hit fairways grab a 3 wood (which I suggest getting 1 in. longer than std) or hybrid but when you have a driver it’s time to go for the glory.

If your caddie hands you the big dog be a long drive champion, imagine yourself flying the ball all the way to the green. Swing for the fences frees up your rotation allowing you to complete your swing liberated of speed restrictions. Don’t overdo the idea of speed there is no need to add speed with any quick violent moves the length of the club will create more than enough energy your job is to not slow it down.

One last thought, pick your holes they all don't require a 300+ drive.

---

This message is private and confidential. If you have received it in error, please notify the sender and remove it from your system.

Aim

After a mini bar-crawl a friend and I found ourselves flinging darts in Howell's Bar with a couple regulars. Having had a dart board in my dining room throughout college I consider my self better than average, I didn't expect to go 17 - triple 17 - 19 in my first round. For each toss I would stare intently on the hole that I wanted the dart to plug into. Thoughts of arm movements, plane, and speed never entered into my process.  When I missed my target my focus had invariably slipped to and area or color rather than a definitive hole.

Aiming is more than a step in your pre-shot routine, aiming is the intentional focus on a target. Think of a sniper, if he aimed his rifle and proceed to look at the trigger while he fired; how accurate could he be? In golf we look down at the ball but our focus must be on the mental image of our target. Deep focus on the target frees up the body to make an athletic turn back and through the ball.  Ice Hockey provides a great example of a target focused movement;  NHLers stare down their target as they fire slap shots. Here Alex Ovechkin is about to reach impact and his aim is clearly not the puck.

Do you think he cares what position his right arm is in during the backswing?

When practicing or playing remember the goal is where you aim not the ball; free your mind from the sight of the ball and imagine your target while in mid-swing. Your backswing and follow through will become more free flowing and connected.

ppms

Morning Joe

In 1879 Thomas Alva Edison caught lightening in a bottle when he used simple sewing string that he carbonized as a filament in what would become the modern light bulb.  Edison had tried countless materials as filament including human hair, what Edison new above all was innovation came from building upon a foundation of knowledge. Contrary to popular belief Edison only improved the light bulb; 50 years prior to 1879 the electric light bulb was invented by Humphrey Davvy.


Finding the most efficient and athletic motion to execute the golf swing doesn't not have to be a guess and check adventure. Using the swing models and teachings of tour pros you can innovate not invent a golf swing that fits your limitations.

Chip v. Pitch - after thought

Worm burners, Matchbox Cars, and Darth Bladers!


Pitch shots that zip across green snail high and at a bottle rockets pace are the result of  flipped club faces. In an effort to elevate short game shots armatures will turn the leading edge skyward at impact, in doing so they stop the grip end from moving and decrease the chances of the ball finishing anywhere near the hole. Chipping encourages the handle of the club to athletically continue past the ball before contact is made resulting in a descending blow that pinches the ball between the turf and face of the club - pro contact. Achieving pro contact in chip shots will teach the student the feel necessary to transfer pro contact to the rest of their bag.


A golfer who adopts a chipping short game methodology will find that in time they are creating more spin then ever before, once this sensation is observed the golfer can then meld pitch shots to their short game arsenal.


So, in time the art of spin control is best learned by learning how to play without spin around the green.

Chip v. Pitch

"Why didn't that check?" 

"Awe...Release, I can't believe that stayed there?" 

Odds are these golfers are using poor technique but even if they had the ability to execute perfectly why impart spin and bring in an unnecessary variable? Struggles around the green are agonizing, setting aside putting woes for a later article the following essay defines a chip shot, pitch, the application of each, and why all amateurs should eliminate spin from their short game vocabulary.

Pitch- a shot executed from a distance that requires less than a full swing with the golfers most lofted club, the carry distance exceeds length of roll. The Phil-flop is a pitch, bunker shots are pitches from the sand, and 60 yard bitting wedges are pitches; when hitting pitch shots the golfer must gage spin, hang time, and distance to execute a shot.

Chip - a shot played from off the green where the golfer attempts to land the ball on the green (typically) with little or no backspin allowing the ball to roll out to the hole. To hit predictable chips the golfer must determine how much speed he/she wishes to impart on the ball.