THE QATSPY GOLFER’S PAGE
By: Charles W. Boatright
You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it will GO!
One of the best golf interviews that I had the pleasure of listening to was conducted by Lisa Cornwell, former All-American golfer and host and reporter on Golf Channel. She interviewed Ken Duke, PGA Member, at the Alotian Golf Course in Roland, Arkansas. Both Lisa and Ken are Arkansans, as well as myself.
The Alotian Golf Course is a course overlooking Lake Maumelle, that is just west of Little Rock, Arkansas on U.S. Highway 10.
During Lisa’s interview with Ken Duke, Ken mentioned a key component of his golf swing was by presetting his wrists. This technique is also used by Angela Stanford and Marco Dawson, both professional golfers, and also discussed by late Ben Hogan and Bobby Jones in their books. Presetting the wrists was also used by P.J. Boatwright, former rules official with the U.S.G.A. and distant cousin. I refer to this preset technique in my book, The ESPY Golf Swing Coach, as presetting the wrists by CAMMING and CAMMING-OVER. This synchs and locks the elbow with the shoulders and also locks my left thumb onto the swing plane.
WHAT to do in the golf swing is important, but WHY and HOW to set up the golf swing are essential. DO NOT accept any substitute for this important technique of presetting the golf swing. This takes a lot of frustration out of the golfer’s game. The mental advantage of locking the wristbands and the left thumb is equivalent to setting 80 percent of the golf swing with two simple wrist elements, Sync and Preset. Yogi Berra had a great quote about hitting a home run in baseball, You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the timing, it will GO! I would revise the quote to add word TECHNIQUE to Yogi’s phrase. This revised quote would read: You don’t have to swing hard to hit a home run. If you got the technique and timing, it will GO!
There is one important note to make here; and that is properly identifying the golfer’s wrists. The wrists are not where a person would wear a wristwatch. This would be the lower forearm. The wrists are actually made up of eight small bones called Carpals as noted in the figure below. The two key carpals to key on are the Hamate, the pivot point, and the Capitate Carpal the initiator in the lead wrist. The natural resultant reaction is the presetting of the trail wrists at the Radial Styloid. Styloid is not an household word, but is a nodular just above the trail thumb.
Muscle memory and mental images are important to properly preset your wristbands. I always like to use a key phrase to start my golf swing, instead of swing thoughts. I use a key phrase, “JEEP-TECH OIIIIIO.” This is what I refer to as my CAM and CAM-OVER technique. This key phrase allows me to properly set my wristbands, as noted in the illustration above. I even mentally picture a JEEP grill in my mind, with the headlights on the JEEP representing the right Hypothenar and right Thenar. The fins are my fingers on my right hand and the bumper is the left thumb and handle of the golf club.
In my book, I use the baseball-type swing and boxing gloves as references to help me set up the CAM and CAM-OVER maneuvers to synch my elbows with my shoulders and preset my wrists. This allows me to use my elbows and shoulders as sprockets, similar to how a ten-speed bicycle functions. This was a technique that Mr. Arnold Palmer was trying to work with President Eisenhower to help him keep his elbow tucked to his side during the initial and right before impact. You will see more consistent golf shots, with more power and control with this technique!
The ten-speed bicycle model allows the golfer to coil the shoulders to produce power by allowing the elbows (small gears) to turn the shoulders (the large gear) during the takeaway swing. For speed through impact, the golfer reverses this process automatically by allowing the shoulders (large gear) to turn the elbows (the small gears). The golf swing does not get any easier than this by using the carpals in the lead wrist to set the trail or right Thenars (Hypothenar and Thenar). This provides the confidence for the golfer to make a consistent golf swing. This is because the golfer is setting up the same simple (Sync, Preset, and Yaw) elements the same way every time. The guess work is removed from the golf swing. The Radial Styloid Process represents the right elbow that Syncs with the shoulders.
Another great workout you can use, especially not being able to practice or play your golf swing, is The Overload/Under-load Technique using a golf baton to increase the golfer’s Power and club-head Speed. This is a similar technique used by baseball players in the On-deck circle swinging the bats with weighs. You can make your own golf baton from an old discarded club and purchasing an attachment weight called IGOTCHA®, detachable club weight. Please refer to my Golf Baton Blogs for specification and how to use: http://goo.gl/qHDq2E, http://goo.gl/t190rm, http://goo.gl/4hBMAv and http://goo.gl/D7iQcg.The main objective to keep in mind is not to exceed 20 percent over the weight of a normal golf club. These blogs go into the theory of The Overload/Under-load process.
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)
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 to 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.
Until next time– Be Synched, Tee-to-Green, with The ESPY Golf Swing!