Re: The Transition--the last hurdle

On Sun, 08 Jan 2006 20:26:20 -0800, larry <larry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

>On Sat, 7 Jan 2006 23:33:05 -0500, "\"R&B\""
><NoneOfYourBusiness@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>"larry" <larry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>news:cfm0s1hjj1apdv9jrlhmrjg387a58pl5ji@xxxxxxxxxx
>>> On Sat, 7 Jan 2006 15:16:59 -0500, "\"R&B\""
>>> <NoneOfYourBusiness@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>>>
>>>>"larry" wrote
>>>>>
>>>>> So sometimes our hands are behind the ball
>>>>> (we will pull it) and sometimes our hands are
>>>>> in front of the ball (we will push it) and
>>>>> sometimes we get it right and it goes straight.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>Every touring golfer in the world has his hands in front of the ball at
>>>>impact. Slightly more so than he has them at address. Any examination of
>>>>stop-action video would reveal this, if you were to ever expend the energy
>>>>to look at it.
>>>>
>>>>Randy
>>>>
>>> Correct. And MOST amateurs might have their hands in front or behind
>>> or right beside the ball as they did at address. They don't know
>>> where their hands will be at impact because they swing around their
>>> back leg. Instead of taking the club back, then moving to their front
>>> leg and then swinging, they take the club back and swing.
>>> Unpredictable results are inevitable. Thus the hard rule stated by
>>> SLAP and many others that low handicap golf is essentially impossible
>>> until the golfer learns to make the transition move.
>>
>>Here's a subtlety that even you haven't picked up on yet, and evidently,
>>your pro hasn't yet felt that your depth of understanding would enable you
>>to grasp:
>>
>>The move to the front leg is more precise than what you've described. In
>>point of fact, when done properly, it's a move to the front HEEL. In other
>>words, the weight should end up over the heel of the front foot, not just
>>the front foot in general. Many amateurs make the mistake of shifting their
>>weight forward, but they fail to get it to their front heel. As a result,
>>their weight ends up too far forward, and their balance is less than
>>optimal. This is a huge power leak.
>>
>>The touring pros refer to it as getting their weight to "the post."
>>
>>David Lee talks about this in depth in his Gravity Golf material. You can
>>believe his stuff or not, but the fundamental is the same whether you do or
>>not. The weight needs to get to the front heel (left heel for a
>>right-handed player). Merely getting it to the left FOOT is not enough.
>>
>>Randy
>
>Wow! Refreshing. Thanks Randy for an intelligent post.
>
>Yes, I do keep substantial weight on my front HEEL during my
>backswing-- just bouncing off my back foot (the inside edge) so that I
>immediately move up and POST on my straight front leg before my arms
>come through.
>
>Sam Snead's books talk about his independent discovery of that when
>hitting balls in a pasture in the 30s-- and when he discovered that he
>could keep weight on his front heel, post first and then swing-- he
>could nail that sucker out of sight-- that country boy became the
>famous person we are familiar with.
>
>A very good way to learn this is to first take leisurely slow
>"baseball" horizontal swings-- to feel the move off the back foot to
>the front heel, and then balance on that front leg. Another good
>method is to first pose on your front leg, just stand there being
>"pretty," and then turn back and hit a ball, bounce off your back foot
>but keeping your weight forward and your front leg posted. This is
>the secret only the best of the best ever learn. All the rest are
>doomed to hit it sideways off their back leg.
>
>Larry

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The reason is pretty simple. I wish I had thought it through a couple
years ago when I read the blurb about the transition in SLAP, and saw
their absolute statements about the transition in their CD, with
little video clips, etc. Dr. Mann said it is impossible to play low
handicap golf consistently without a transition move--which gets us
solidly posted before impact.

The reason can be seen by comparing ourselves against the robot--which
can hit every ball on the same line, the only variation is distance.
With identical balls it can wear out the grass in a spot 200 yards
out. The reason it can hit them on the same line every time is that
it has only one arm, it swings around only one shoulder--and it does
not need to surge its weight forward in order to generate clubhead
speed.

We have two arms and two shoulders, and we also must move our weight
forward in our athletic throwing motion--if we are to generate
sufficient clubhead speed to play competitive golf today. Otherwise
we would swing like Ernest Jones did on one leg after his WWI injury.
He won several championships, but likely could hit it less than 200
yards--good enough at the time.

The problem with inaccuracy accrues because unless we very
consistently swing around our front shoulder, i.e. get ourselves
"posted" on our front leg, we never know where our weight will be at
impact--we never know which leg and which side of our body is the
fulcrum of this swing. Our weight MUST be entirely on our front leg
(like when we hit short wedge shots) in order to ensure our weight is
NOT partially on our back foot--which invites disaster. If our weight
is NOT fully on our front foot (like EVERY good player does) then we
might swing around our trailing side and shoulder--and either
pull-hook or push the ball and often decelerate before impact. You
can't feel when you were late, but you can watch the monster slice,
push, or pull-hook.

As you know, golfers get good at swinging off their back foot by
developing elaborate wrist compensation, "wrist flipping" as our head
pro termed what everyone does. And of course that is necessary in
order to hit it straight. But nobody can do it consistently. That
explains why nearly all our games are erratic-- the harder we try, the
worse we do. Our only recourse is to either fix this fault, or get
good at scrambling-- or find a solution like radically shortening our
backswing, hitting the ball like a farmer swinging a hoe. That is the
wrong path for me.

The answer is simple and actually not difficult. Just do in the full
swing what you do in wedge shots. Get your weight fully on your front
foot and swing around your front shoulder EVERY time.

That teaching pro at Stoneridge confirmed that he succeeds teaching
kids to make the transition and post by making them anticipate the
finish and get there regardless They are punished if they don't pose
in balance after their swing.

Please, lets just talk about this technical golf subject. Leave the
other crap to other threads. I know some are interested in this.

Larry
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: The Transition--the last hurdle
    ... >>can hit every ball on the same line, ... >>We have two arms and two shoulders, and we also must move our weight ... >>we would swing like Ernest Jones did on one leg after his WWI injury. ...
    (rec.sport.golf)
  • Re: The Transition--the last hurdle
    ... >> or right beside the ball as they did at address. ... >> leg and then swinging, they take the club back and swing. ... >point of fact, when done properly, it's a move to the front HEEL. ... >weight forward, but they fail to get it to their front heel. ...
    (rec.sport.golf)
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