Читать книгу From the Inside Out - I. B. Nobody - Страница 11

II. Swing

Takeaway

There are a couple of schools of thought regarding the takeaway. John Geertsen Sr. advocated “setting the angle early” as opposed to what Lucious Bateman taught, the one-piece takeaway (more about that in Lessons from the Six Under Par Club). In a one-piece takeaway, when your hands are at hip level, the club shaft is parallel to the ground. In “setting the angle early” takeaway, when your hands are at hip level, the club shaft is perpendicular to the ground. Johnny Miller’s (“find an angle and keep it”) record speaks for itself as what can be accomplished with an early set. For the average player—an early set has a tendency to activate the hands too soon in the golf swing. At the time of Johnny’s success, this methodology became very controversial. Hogan, Snead, Lord Byron, Palmer, Nicklaus (to name but a few) all employed a “one-piece takeaway.”

Many golf instructors advocate early angle setting somewhere between the takeaway and when the hands reach hip level. For those, if there isn't a shoulder turn along with the angle set, it activates the hands. Instead of keeping the hands passive, they become active. Once the hands are “activated,” the triangle (both hands on the grip of the club connected to your shoulders) “separates,” and the hands get ahead of the body. Once this happens, power is displaced, and the ball can go anywhere—usually a relatively short distance. By turning the triangle (billiard rack) with the big muscles (shoulders) and getting your left arm and hand extended out and in control, you’re able to capture the feeling of a true pivot. This is not to say that an early angle set is wrong. The student who adheres to the “early set” methodology needs to realize it is imperative to keep the angle behind the body while initiating the downswing.

“There is no action in golf less understood than the use of the wrists, for curiously enough we do not have to work them, but we have to let them work themselves—like hinges on a door.” Percy Boomer.

In support of a one piece takeaway.

“The triangle formed by our arms and a line between the shoulders should never lose its shape . . . it should be possible to push a wooden snooker triangle in between the arms and to leave it there without impeding the swing back or through.” Percy Boomer.

“The wrists cock themselves. If you hold your wrists free to respond to the movement of the swing and to the momentum of the clubhead which sets up that movement, the weight of the clubhead itself will be sufficient to cock the wrists for you.” Percy Boomer.

“At no time make a conscious effort to cock the wrists. By this I am not saying there is no cocking of the wrists. It is the deliberate attempt to do so that causes looseness in your swing—and this is a severe detriment to accuracy and consistency.” Byron Nelson.

“When you swing back to waist high—the shaft parallel to the ground—the toe of the club must be pointed straight up to the sky.” Harvey Penick.

“The wrist cock is an integral part of the backswing, and should not be cultivated as an independent action.” Sam Snead.

“I believe that you cannot start the club back too slowly, provided you swing it back rather than take it away from the ball. I said in a previous book that the ideal swing start is a terribly forced, ridiculously slow movement of the club away from the ball. I still feel that way. The harder I want to swing, the slower I try to start the club back. But on every shot, I endeavor to swing the club in motion very deliberately, very positively, only just fast enough to avoid jerkiness. Obviously, the motion speeds up as my backswing develops, but the slower I can keep those first few feet of the takeaway, the better I’ll play. Reasons? Primarily three: (1) The slower you start back, the better chance of moving the clubhead on a particular line, and thus the better your chance of establishing the particular arc and plane you desire. (2) The slower you start back, the easier it is to coordinate or unify the movements of the feet, legs, hips, hands, arms, and shoulders, the better your chance of starting back in one piece. (3) The slower you start back—while still swinging the club, mind you—the smoother the over-all tempo you’ll establish.” Jack Nicklaus.

“I once heard Arnold Palmer say that if he got started right away during the first 14 inches of his swing he never had to think about anything else during the rest of it. That may be a slight exaggeration, particularly for a player who has less ability than Arnold, but it illustrates the importance good players place on the takeaway. I believe that your takeaway should be one piece. You should feel that you are starting the club back with your whole left side moving together with your left hand and arm. When I was playing my best, I definitely began my takeaway with my left side. The left hand is firmly in control. The left shoulder and left arm push the club away from the ball on a straight line for a few inches, then swing it into the air. The relaxed right side is just pushed out of the way.” Byron Nelson.

“The clubhead is placed at the back of the ball, and the swing commences so slowly in as to suggest that it is indolent.” Bobby Jones.

“The two danger points are at the start of the backswing and the start of the down stroke. To start back smoothly avoids haste later on; to start down in a leisurely fashion helps to maintain the perfect balance, and provides for well-timed, accurate striking.” Bobby Jones.

“The initial movement of the club away from the ball should result from forces originating in the left side. The real takeoff is from the left foot, starting movement of the body. The hands and arms very soon pick it up, but the proper order at the beginning is body, arms, and lastly clubhead. It is always easier to continue a motion than to begin it: this order has the virtue of originating the hip-turn; it goes a long way toward assuring a proper windup of the hips during the backswing.” Bobby Jones.

“I just try to do it the most simplest way I know how. I don’t bother thinking about it; what I do is just take the club back nice and lazy and then try to whop it right down on the barrelhead.” Sam Snead.

“When I’m trying for an extra-long drive, I actually feel I am taking the club back more deliberately, not with more strength.” Sam Snead.

“Footwork, balance, is everything to me because of my life long theory (and Ben Hogan agreed) that the more you minimize hand, wrist and arm action, the better. I believe the body pivot launched by the feet is the big factor.” Sam Snead.

“If your feet transfer all your weight to the right side easily, your hips turn, and your shoulders will follow. Don’t ever separate the action of your hands, arms, and shoulders. It’s easy to do without realizing it: Hands and shoulders must work together, but the shoulders take the lead.” Sam Snead.

“Then from about 1937 on through the rest of my career, I didn’t think about much while making a shot. I had developed a style of play which I used all through this period. It became pretty automatic and effortless. I had a target in mind and I just visualized the line on which I wanted to take the club away from the ball, and the line on which I wanted to return it. That was the thought the triggered my swing.” Sam Snead.

“If he executes his backswing properly, as his arms are approaching hip level, they should be parallel with the plane and they should remain parallel with the plane, just beneath the glass….” Ben Hogan.

“To accomplish an efficient swing we have to build a mental picture of the path we want the clubhead to follow, from address to the top of the backswing and down again—sort of a road map of the swing. And to put the clubhead on this path we have to start by taking it back low and along a perfectly straight line for at least a full foot. Why? Because you want to bring the clubhead back along the same track when you hit the ball. Remember those two points above all: Picture the path of the swing in your mind, and start the club back along that path. These are the keystones in the structure of the swing. Start the club back smooth and silky.” Tony Lema.

One-piece takeaway versus angle setting . . . in these three photos the shoulders have turned about the same, the hands are slightly above hip level; however, the shaft angle to the ground is different.

Staying on Plane throughout the Backswing

“Timing and hesitation at the top of the swing.” Walter Hagen.

“When your forward shoulder hits your chin, you’re pretty much done with the backswing. Don’t try for more than this. It’s been said that Ben Hogan used to wear out his shirt at the point of the left shoulder because his backswing was so consistent that the same spot always hit his chin. He must have had a tough beard! Of course, he hit an awful lot of balls, too. The trigger for me was pinning that left shoulder up against the chin. Once I got there, I knew I was done with my backswing. Anything else after that was a wasted motion that bred inconsistency.” Johnny Miller.

“Turning the left shoulder underneath your chin on the backswing. Get a feel of getting your left shoulder underneath your chin. Once your shoulders stop—your hands stop.” John McMullen.

“Visualize the backswing plane as a large pane of glass that rests on the shoulders as it inclines upward for the ball. As the arms approach hip level on the backswing, they should be moving parallel with the plane and should remain parallel with the plane (just below the glass) to the top of the backswing. It would be ideal if the arms could be swung back parallel to the plane from the very start of the swing, but because of the way we human beings are constructed, a man gripping a club can’t get his arm onto the plane until they are nearly hip high.” Ben Hogan.

“The center of gravity of the body must stay in one place throughout the swing. That is, if a line is drawn through the nose or head to the ground, the head must stay in that position throughout the swing.” Ben Hogan.

“By simply trying to turn the top of my left shoulder underneath my chin on the backswing I was finally able to achieve a sensation at the top of my backswing.” I. B. Nobody.

A checkpoint for a proper shoulder turn is that you should feel the left shoulder brushing your chin at the top of the backswing.

Initiating the Downswing

“The trunk muscles are the most powerful muscles of the body.” Bobby Jones.

“The only one who has a chance to achieve a rhythmic, well-timed stroke is the man who, in spite of all else, yet swings his clubhead, and the crucial area is where the swing changes direction at the top. If the backswing can be made to flow back leisurely, and to an ample length, from where the start downward can be made without the feeling that there may not be enough time left, there is a good chance of success.” Bobby Jones.

“It is the leisurely start downward which provides for a gradual increase of speed without disturbing the balance and the timing of the swing.” Bobby Jones.

“As the downswing begins, one should have the feeling of leaving the clubhead at the top.” Bobby Jones.

“I should say the most important movement of the swing would be to start the downswing by beginning the unwinding of the hips. . . there can be no power, and very little accuracy or reliability, in a swing in which the left hip does not lead the down stroke.” Bobby Jones.

“No matter how perfect the backswing may have been, if the hands, or the arms, or the shoulders start the downward movement, the club immediately loses the guidance of the body movement, and the benefit of the power the muscles of the waist and back could have contributed. When this happens, the turn of the body during the backswing becomes entirely useless, and the club finds itself in midair, actuated by a pair of hands and arms having no effective connection with anything solid. I think we may well call this the most important movement of the swing.” Bobby Jones.

“And we will fail to drive the ball far and straight as soon as we fail to take control of the club from the top of the swing with feet, calves, and thighs.” Percy Boomer.

“So we must incorporate into our swings a hip movement which we can recognize and control by a definite feel, so that by feel we may control the degree and direction of power in our swings. The clutch in the golfer’s mechanism is the hips . . . .” Percy Boomer.

“The power is largely produced by the feet and legs, but it is the force-center (somewhere in the pit of the back), which collects it and is responsible for its transfer to the arms and then out to the clubhead.” Percy Boomer.

“The left hip, with the right immediately joining it, leads me into the downswing.” Sam Snead.

“It slowed me down, and this time I remembered, on my downswing, to let my left side and hips lead my arms into the ball—rather than rushing out of my pivot with a fast arm action—and to uncock my wrists smoothly.” Sam Snead.

“It is important that this be a well-timed sequence. You should have the feeling that the left foot, left knee, left hip and left shoulder all start the downswing together. This leading left side then carries the left arm and hands down into the hitting area. The clubhead is being returned to its original position, ready to be released by the hands and wrists at the proper time.” Byron Nelson.

“Feeling leisurely is a thought that worked. In my earlier days, I developed what felt like a complete hesitation. It was very brief, and I probably never did come to a full stop at the top. So the smoother and slower you can be at the very top of the swing, and then starting down, the better you’ll strike the ball.” Byron Nelson.

“The hips initiate the downswing. They are the pivotal element in the chain action. Starting them first and moving them correctly—this action practically makes the downswing. It creates early speed. It transfers the weight from the right foot to the left foot. It takes the hips out of the way and gives your arms plenty of room to pass. It funnels your force forward toward your objective. It puts you in a strong hitting position where the big muscles in the back and the muscles in the shoulders, arms and hands are properly delayed that they can produce their maximum performance at the right time and place. To begin the downswing, Turn your hips back to the left. there must be enough lateral motion forward to transfer the weight to the left foot.” Ben Hogan.

“If you clear the left hip early.” Hogan once assured Claude Harmon, “you can hit it as hard as you like with the right hand.”

“To start the downswing the left hip bumps the target, then turns through the shot.” Claude Harmon.

“You start the downswing by unwinding from the ground up.” Jack Nicklaus…shades of Alex Morrison!

Check out the position of the knees and right foot in the photos on left vs. the photos on right. The hands are being led into impact by the lower body. Shades of MacDonald Smith: “Hit it with the butt end of the club.”

Hitting Through in One Cohesive Movement

“The ordinary golfer is an unrepentant end-gainer. When he sees the ball, he becomes obsessed with the idea of hitting it; the ball is made the climax or the end of his activity.” Percy Boomer.

“Because it is no use trying to write an intelligent book on golf and leaving rhythm out, for rhythm is the very soul of golf . . . and the best definition I know of it is, co-ordination of mind and muscle which enables the player to do exactly the right thing at the proper moment. So you must find your own rhythm.” Percy Boomer.

“Timing, then, is (1) The gathering of speed through the ball from correct mechanical movement and (2) a correct conception of the location of the swing center. These two can only be blended into a whole which can be faithfully repeated time after time by our sense of rhythm.” Percy Boomer.

“Golf rhythm is a delayed dragging feel of the clubhead, developed from the power of the legs, kept under control by the braced turning of the hips, and finally loosened into a free, untrammeled movement of the arms outward and around the left side. We lose rhythm as soon as we hurry, and we hurry as soon as we are afraid.” Percy Boomer.

“As I have said before, the swing is a continuous unbroken movement that cannot be cut into sections for analysis.” Percy Boomer.

“Always remember that your swing does not end at clubhead impact with the ball. You must hit completely through. The ball is hit from impact on through, and not to the ball. This holds true for all clubs. My hands are still firmly in control of the club at the finish of the swing. The supposition that the eyes must remain fixed throughout the follow through on the spot from which the ball was hit is completely erroneous. This is unnatural and retards the free and full turn of the shoulders.” Byron Nelson.

When I started bugging my dad for instruction, he was teaching 24 hours a day, so he would just tell me two things: on the backswing point the club to what I was shooting at and finish with the shaft of the club on the back of my neck—just bang it against your neck. In essence what he told me to do, was develop the golf turn and then finish the swing.” Jackie Burke, Jr.

“The difference between swinging hard and over swinging was a big one for me. At 100 percent of powers, hitches appeared in the transference of weight from left to right and back again. The only time I dared hit flat out—with everything I had—came on the unusual occasion when I felt perfectly balanced and my timing was exact. Experimenting again with shoes off, I found that I naturally cut down until I was using just the right medium of swing, or about 85 or 90 percent of full power, without thinking twice about it. The reason was that a man won’t over swing if he doesn’t have spikes gripping the turf for him. Barefoot, your nerves are exposed to the ground. You’re able to ‘feel’ balance, to judge how big a turn and windup is possible without disturbing the leverage of your body. You get that shade of restraint that counts.” Sam Snead.

Slowing it down . . . “your problem is a swing that’s too fast and jerky to be effective, there are a couple of things you can do to slow yourself down. First, slow down your breathing. Breathe a little deeper. You’ll catch yourself breathing particularly fast during moments of pressure on the course, and you’ll have trouble making a good swing if that’s happening. Calm down your breathing and you’ll calm down your body. Another good antidote to quickness is to move your feet more slowly during the address and waggle. Make a deliberate effort to do this, and you’ll find it one of the easiest and best ways in the world to slow your swing down.” Byron Nelson.

“The movement of the hips inaugurates a whole chain of actions. Tied in with the hips, the left leg begins to break back to the left and the left knee turns a bit toward the target. Starting the hips back also takes the pressure off the right leg, and as this happens, the weight flows to the left leg. The right knee breaks in, definitely, toward the target, boosting the mounting velocity of the swing. This is, in truth, what each element does as it joins in the downswing. It adds its contribution to the multiplying speed generated by this cohesive movement of the body, legs and arms toward the target. This speed multiplies the golfer’s power 10 times over. In the chain action of the swing, the shoulders and upper part of the body conduct this multiplying power into the arms . . . the arms multiply it again and pass it on to the hands . . . The hands multiply it in turn tearing through the air at an incredible speed as it drives through the ball. All this happens so quickly, of course, that you can’t see it to appreciate it. But this is what happens. The hips lead the shoulders all the way on the downswing. The shoulders finally catch up with the hips at the end of the swing.” Ben Hogan.