flat swing

Question
Hi Eddie. I have been using my upper body and shoulders to power my swing. I use no arms or hands to control the club. Hence, we have issues. Plenty of power just not controlled. Mostly pulls on 90% of all clubs when not on line. Now, I have read some of your questions and see you are big believer in not having the body control the swing. One of the rare few teachers to say that out loud, haha. I tend to just set up and really load up in the back swing and just try to completely unwind to the finish without any attempt to hit the ball. This requires a ton of energy after 4 hrs, lol. I play to about a 5 handicap and feel like I shot a 100 after 18 holes after walking to every fairway but my own. Now, I have been trying to go with your philosophy with letting the body react more rather than dominate.Here is the question , normally since I don't swing the club with my hands they never set the club properly i guess and tend to go behind me too much not terribly but enough, and if i check my shoulder plane at the top, a club would point a good amount ahead of the golf ball, flattish I guess. Now, when I swing the club back with my hands and set the 90 degree angle early and not worry about shoulders turning or whatever, the shoulder plane steepens and now points almost directly at the ball. Now, before I go to try this out for real can you tell me your opinion on my issue.

Thanks alot.

Tim

Answer
Hi Tim:

I believe the body should respond to the swinging motion (arms, hands and club).  I also love the statement Manual de la Torre said when he mentioned "you cannot force the club to move any faster than you can swing it".  That is a true statement by the way.  With that said, let's keep this real simple Tim.  The only part of you that touches the club is your hands.  The only part of you that can swing is your arms.  Your body should provide support and balance.  So if you're body is trying to do something (like unwind at supersonic speeds), where is the club?  If the club is moving out in front of you fast enough to keep up with your body pivot, great.  But if it is not, then it is usually stuck behind you (I believe you said that).  What's left is an attempt to flip the clubhead at the ball, hoping to catch it square.  Results:  pulls, pushes, hooks, fat and thin....extremely inconsistent.  

So, from the set up position, swing (it is called a backswing) the club away from the ball with your arms and hands and notice that at the top of your backswing, the hands are positioned opposite of or above your right shoulder (depending on flexibility). The shaft would be cocked about 90 degrees to the left arm and the club would be resting (cocked) against the left thumb.  If you were flexible enough to get the club all the way back to parallel to the ground at the top, the left thumb would be underneathe the shaft. That is the "set" position you were asking about.  

From the top, in one continuous move, swing the club all the way to a balanced finish, making sure you can brush the grass with the leading edge of the face.  The ball would get in the way and off she goes.  Now if the timing of the turning of the body (pivot) and the swinging of the club is together, you will hit it great.  And if your timing is good, you can swing as fast as you want (notice I did not say as hard as you want) as long as you keep your balance.  So to build speed, we need to swing it faster.  In doing so, the body would have to pivot faster so it can support the move.  

Are you getting the picture.  Don't get caught up too much in your shoulder plane.  If your setup is good and your a 5 handicap, you'll do fine.  Let's start with being comfortable at address.  Arms and hands swing the club away from the ball to the top of the backswing.  Eye is on the ball.  At the top, hands would be opposite of or above the right shoulder.  Then, in one continuous move, swing the club in the other direction towards the target and make a balanced finish.  Believe it or not Tim, that is exactly what I would tell you to do and work on with you in a lesson.  I don't want you all worried about this or that or knit picking here and there.  As a 5 handicap, you can play.  Why not let some of your natural instincts take over so you can start to trust yourself out on the golf course?

To begin though, do some drills.  Start small.  Hit some 8 or 9 irons with your feet pretty close together.  By having your feet almost together, it really helps you focus on maintaining your balance and staying more centered.  Once you get a good feel of your arms, hands and club swinging more around you, start to widen your feet a little bit at a time.  Gradually increase the speed and the width of the stance.  You can work your way up to a driver using this drill.  What you'll find is your body moves and responds more to the swinging of the club, because with your feet close together, if you try to power up with your body, you'll lose your balance badly.  Great drill to start.  

Hope this helps you with a little more understanding.  Good luck.  

Eddie Kilthau
PGA Member