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The Free Swing
Every golf player knows
it from experience. Tensing up during play
courts disaster. Your golf swing should be
easy and fluid. But just how do you develop
that kind of free swing?
The real pivotal center
of the stroke isn’t the hands wrist or head.
It’s the point exactly between the two
shoulders. All of the muscles of the body
are below that pivotal center in action and
putting energy in propelling the club
forward.
Now let’s address the
muscles that are controlling the head. If
you keep your head still, you can preserve
the pivotal center constant in relation to
the ball. Balance is paramount and if your
arms are straight, the elbows are bent and
you hit the ball at the toe of the club
instead of the center of the face, this will
give you the correct distance.
When you come back to
the ball, there’s more power transferred to
the arms by the shoulders and back when the
arms are extended than when they are bent.
So you have more narrowly a fixed guide for
guiding the club and the club shaft when the
club shaft and the left arm are in line.
When making the swing
most players spend too much time on their
address thinking about this angle and that
angle. What results is they move their
heads and stiffen their muscles. Where’s
the freedom in this swing? You will be a
better golf player the second you find the
muscles getting tense at any point in the
stroke find a way to loosen up because the
tension will destroy your accuracy and
reduce the power of your swing.
It’s an advantage to
you to keep your arms well in toward the
body, because it’s easier to control the
amount of play you will allow the arms in
the downward stroke if you’re
coming down inside the
ball than if you’re going beyond it. So
you’ll only have to yield a little to reach
the ball. But if you’re going beyond the
ball you have to overcome the centrifugal
force) (force which tends to pull the club
outward) when pulling in the hands. So it’s
a good idea to keep your arms in toward the
body.
Let the centrifugal
force carry your club out in the downward
swing until it reaches the ball. Then you
can put all your energy in to propelling the
club. You won’t need much effort to guide
it.
Also, make sure that
you don’t reach for the ball in the address
because that will stiffen your muscles.
Beginners usually swing
too short. Because the amount of
centrifugal force is so great, the beginner
will involuntarily pull in his hands because
he’s scared he’ll go beyond the ball.
If your hands and arms
were in motion in the address it would be
necessary to have them reaching for the
ball. But since they’re still, the idea
should be to obtain the easiest and most
comfortable position so that as the player
reaches the top of his swing his muscles
won’t be tired from holding a set position.
The angles at which you address the ball
have little influence. It’s the way you take
your gauge at the top of the swing that
counts.
I also advise my
students to keep their arms close to the
body and both of them straight. The club
shaft and left arm should be in line and
kept parallel to the right leg. This will
give you firmer control of the club with
your left arm or guiding arm than if your
left arm was bent.
If you practice these
tips, your swing should become more fluid
and free. Above all, relax. Breathe
deeply. Approaching the game with a fun
spirit encourages freedom of movement!
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