The impact position is a key area for the tennis player as well as the golfer to focus on. The impact point is shown in the time-lapsed photograph labeled (E), on the far right. This (E) position also represents the ergonomic address position in golf. The tennis player, in their backswing sequences, is trying to maximize the point of impact, much like the golfer. The right thumb, at impact, is in the 11:00 position in photograph (E). The right thumb represents the head and strings of the racket.
In every sport, the athlete is trying to achieve three basic objectives– to synch, protract or retract, and to coil in order to throw, swing, or punch. This can be detected in the photograph sequence, from left to right, of the tennis player who is returning a serve.
In applying the tennis swing analyses to the golf swing, the analysis would be like viewing these photographs from right to left, in reverse order, from the impact position. The sequence would be:
FIRST– the tennis player synchronizes his/her swing. In the Synch (S) photograph, the right thumb shifts backward, from the 11:00 ergonomic address position into the 12:00 synch position. This allows the hand and forearm to synchronize the elbow with the shoulders to set up the mechanics of the swing.
SECOND– the tennis player presets the right thumb in photograph (P). This presets the thumb, hand, forearm, and the racket, allowing the right elbow to lock with the shoulders. In the Preset photograph (P), the right thumb rotates backwards to the 2:30 Lock position.
THIRD– the tennis player completes his/her backswing by moving the forearm backwards to rotate or coil the shoulders with the elbow. This is the Yaw (Y) movement. This places the right thumb into the 3:00 position.
Unlike the golfer, the tennis player actually starts the swing from the backswing, or the top position in golf, photograph (Y), not from the impact or ergonomic address (E) position. But upon analyzing the time-lapsed photography of the tennis player, from right to left, you’ll see some revealing similarities in the sequence that can also be applied to the takeaway swing in golf. Look closely at the tennis player’s right thumb joint. It is called the thumb metacarpal phalanx bone that includes the Trapezium bone and the radial styloid process. This is the complex of bones from the knuckle joint up to the bottom of the wristband on the boxing gloves, as seen in the thumb figure below. The tennis player is gripping the racket with a continental-type grip, similar to a moderate to strong golf grip.
Presetting your wrists gives the golfer the biggest edge to improve the golfer’s handicap with distance, and control http://goo.gl/P2TIHY.
David Leadbetter wrote an article in Golf Digest’s January 2002 issue, on page 54. This article was entitled, Your New Swing Starts Here, the swing of the future. In his article, he describes how the golfer could eliminate the mistakes from a static-type takeaway and multiple swing thoughts the golfer has at address. In his article, he describes how the golfer should start the swing with the lead arm parallel to the ground with the end of the club pointing toward the golf ball. This is similar to the tennis player shown in photograph (P), then the golfer just completes a quarter of a turn with the forearms and shoulders.
David has a great theory, but there is one issue to address. It is difficult to allow the body to properly coil. But we should not throw away David’s concept completely. In actuality, David’s swing of the future is a great concept for presetting the wrists, forearms, and handle of the club, shown in the diagram above. In The ESPY Golf Swing Coach, I have analyzed both the tennis and the baseball swings to see how I could apply a similar concept to the first part of the ESPY takeaway swing.
In the ESPY Golf Swing, I also want to eliminate the static-type start and the swing thoughts at address. This allows the golfer to start from more of a dramatic position, with tempo using the smaller muscles. The ESPY Golf Swing allows the golfer to simply preset their golf swing by using two simple and short maneuvers, SYNCH and PROTRACT. By setting the SYNCH and PROTRACT, or preset elements, 80 percent of the golfer’s swing is completed, with the proper tempo needed. From the preset position, the golfer only has to slowly lift the forearms up, to turn the shoulders and coil the massive muscles in the upper and lower body. This is working your way down to the ground with setting up your golf swing. Then, the only thing left for the golfer to do is gradually drop the forearms. In The ESPY Golf Swing Coach, this is like gradually pulling down on a rope to start the downswing.
This is similar to the motion that David Leadbetter was describing in his article. But the ESPY Golf Swing sequence allows the golfer to properly uncoil the body, from the ground up, with the hands and forearms. This is similar to the tennis player returning his/her opponent’s serve in photograph (E).
The ESPY Golf Swing takes a tremendous burden off the golfer’s mind by building muscle memory and confidence in the smaller muscles. If the golfer can set 80 percent of their golf swing with two simple, short maneuvers, shown in photographs (S) and (P), the golfer can properly set the tempo and the handle of the club onto the proper swing plane. This maximizes the body’s natural mechanics, like using the elbows and shoulders as sprockets.
David Leadbetter’s article was perfectly describing sprocket mechanics where:
- The small gear (elbows) rotates the large gear (shoulders) for power to coil the massive muscles in the upper and lower body (Takeaway Swing).
Then, the process is reversed where:
- The larger, more massive muscles are uncoiled, from the ground up, to turn the large gear (shoulders) to rotate the elbows for speed through impact (Downswing).
By: QATSPY GOLF Approach
Charles W. Boatright
Madison, MS
1-888-514-1228
www.espygolfapp.com
The ESPY Golf Swing Coach– Price for Paperback $15.75 and E-Book $8.99, Hardback is also available on my website: www.espygolfapp.com/store OR your local bookstore and also:
Amazon.com www.amazon.com/The-Espy-Golf-Swing-Coach/product-reviews/1483416356
Barnes & Noble.com http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-espy-golf-swing-coach-charles-w-boatright/1120604749
Check out my full library of BLOGS @ www.espygolfapp.com/blog or purchase your copy of “The ESPY Golf Swing Coach” @ www.espygolfapp.com/store.
Facebook – The QATSPY Golf Approach
Twitter – @cwboatright
Google+ – ESPY Golf Swing Coach
YouTube – ESPY Golf Swing Coach
Once you learn WHY, you don’t forget HOW!
YouTube Videos:
https://youtu.be/ZGVNrIw_wlo (Cam & Cam-over elements)
https://youtu.be/K2FDHZ3AX9w (Figuring your proper swing plane)
https://youtu.be/TO82PMO6G8M (Developing muscle memory)
Two decisions that you can make for yourself and your kids are to get a copy of my book and place the book and a golf club into their hands. You will never look back, but only forward. You will not miss with this for yourself and/or your kids.
A Recommendation for your Golf Game:
I would like to recommend a wonderful radio program that I regularly listen to on my I-Heart Radio app on KARN 102.9 FM station, out of Little Rock, AR. They air a golf show called “Arkansas Fairways and Greens,” at 7:00 AM CT each Saturday morning, hosted by Bob Steel and Jay Fox. Bob occasionally has on his show a guest named Shawn Humphries, a Professional Golf Instructor from Dallas, Texas. One thing that Mr. Humphries stresses is the mental part of golf, not focusing on the results but the process.