Joe,
I find it confusing when I read instructions, some of which say to take a full shoulder turn but not much hip turn. I find this to feel most unnatural. If I turn the shoulders fully, my club goes past parallel, which I hear is not a good thing. This seems like too much to think about. What is so bad about turning the hips also, is there such a thing as too much hip turn?
Hank the Shank
Hello Hank,
Some instructions are intended for low handicappers who have better than average athleticism. Golfers with average athleticism might do better to keep things a little more simple. It sounds nice to say you should imitate the swing of the pro, but that is hard to do unless you have the same degree of athleticism as the pro, which is not likely. Average golfers should consider this, the farther you turn, the harder it might be to meet the ball on the sweet spot of the clubface. Therefore you have a better chance if you take a comfortable amount of shoulder turn, and allow your hips to turn naturally without restricting them (be careful not to sway). Only increase your turn if you can hit the sweet spot most every time. Also, going past parallel is not always a bad thing. John Daly, Phil Mickelson, and several others go past parallel, even the great Bobby Jones did that, so as long as you are making good contact, no need to change.
Joe
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Joe,
How do you explain the unusual swings of Jim Furyk and Kenny Perry, who do not swing at all according to any instructions you will find anywhere? How are they able to get away with that?
Willie
Hello Wille,
Jim’s college golf coach said he would never make it on the tour unless he changed his swing, boy was he wrong. Kenny Perry’s swing has been described as home grown. In either case, nobody else even tries to swing like that. How do they get away with it? The answer lies in understanding the difference between mannerisms and fundamentals. Backswings are mannerisms, downswings are fundamentals. Jim and Kenny do not look much different than any other pro on the downswing, therefore their fundamentals are correct. Their backswings, although unusual, succeed in getting them into proper position at the top, which indicates it does not matter how you get there, so the different ways that they get to the top are only mannerisms. On the takeaway Jim sets his wrists early, bringing the club inside, but then raises his arms up to get on plane, which looks very loopy. Kenny raises his arms with no body movement, and just before he gets to the top, he turns his hips and shoulders to get on plane. Both guys at that point are in a powerful position, and that is the most important idea here. Again, the only purpose of the backswing is to get you to your most powerful position at the top.
Joe
How do you explain the unusual swings of Jim Furyk and Kenny Perry, who do not swing at all according to any instructions you will find anywhere? How are they able to get away with that?
Willie
Hello Wille,
Jim’s college golf coach said he would never make it on the tour unless he changed his swing, boy was he wrong. Kenny Perry’s swing has been described as home grown. In either case, nobody else even tries to swing like that. How do they get away with it? The answer lies in understanding the difference between mannerisms and fundamentals. Backswings are mannerisms, downswings are fundamentals. Jim and Kenny do not look much different than any other pro on the downswing, therefore their fundamentals are correct. Their backswings, although unusual, succeed in getting them into proper position at the top, which indicates it does not matter how you get there, so the different ways that they get to the top are only mannerisms. On the takeaway Jim sets his wrists early, bringing the club inside, but then raises his arms up to get on plane, which looks very loopy. Kenny raises his arms with no body movement, and just before he gets to the top, he turns his hips and shoulders to get on plane. Both guys at that point are in a powerful position, and that is the most important idea here. Again, the only purpose of the backswing is to get you to your most powerful position at the top.
Joe
