Most overlooked aspect of the swing?

[mrodock]

What do you think is the most important aspect of the swing that is not commonly emphasized? The 3 imperatives are not eligible for nomination.

I think footwork and dynamic balance (I think they go hand-in-hand) are often overlooked. I don't think there is any reason for a player not to have excellent, professional quality footwork in their swing. It's easy, just a matter of practice.

Two of the best as far as footwork go in my opinion are Mac O'Grady (look at historicgolf.com) and Steve Elkington.

By the way, if your heel doesn't lead your toes (face-on view) in the first part of the downswing, you probably don't have professional quality footwork. If you are off your heel during the transition of your swing, again, you probably have some room for improvement.

I found out I had an ankle mobility issue that led to coming off my right heel almost immediately. Solution? Practice rolling onto the inside of the right foot, just as Nicklaus did with Jack Grout, hitting balls while not coming off the right heel.

Matt

[bambam]

I think setting up properly so you can get where you want to be at impact is commonly overlooked (outside TGM circles). In particular, getting one's alignments, radius, and head set correctly. You see a lot of people setup too close/too far from the ball, and you'll also see head positions too high or low because players just haven't been taught to go to impact fix. The compensation moves to get to the ball, whether it's bobbing, swaying, OTT, bending the left arm, etc... are killer. The reason I think this is the most overlooked is because you see quite a few really good players, even tour pros with this problem, and it takes no coordination, talent, or physical ability to get right.

[6bmike]

What do you think is the most important aspect of the swing that is not commonly emphasized? The 3 imperatives are not eligible for nomination.

I think footwork and dynamic balance (I think they go hand-in-hand) are often overlooked. I don't think there is any reason for a player not to have excellent, professional quality footwork in their swing. It's easy, just a matter of practice.

Two of the best as far as footwork go in my opinion are Mac O'Grady (look at historicgolf.com) and Steve Elkington.

By the way, if your heel doesn't lead your toes (face-on view) in the first part of the downswing, you probably don't have professional quality footwork. If you are off your heel during the transition of your swing, again, you probably have some room for improvement.

Matt

I always felt balance was a by-product of good mechanics. Important, yes indeed. Most over looked- Start Down.

[cometgolfer]

Discounting the imperatives AND the essentials (of which balance is included), I think it might be the finish swivel. I know I've overlooked it since I started playing and even since studying TGM. My focus was on the FLW and more recently on rhythm.

At my last range session I tried to make sure I "did it" and the results were incredible. Shots went from solid and straight to incredibly solid and straight (and quite a bit longer).

But it's easy "not to do" (for me anyway).

CG

[golfbulldog]

I always felt balance was a by-product of good mechanics. Important, yes indeed. Most over looked- Start Down.

Hi Mike, if you read my old threads about balance then it probably comes as no surprise that I think that one can and should consciously use balance to improve mechanics...."balance drives, not balances is..." is what I said then and still believe...

Balance is the body's ability to maintain COG in an appropriate position relative to stance, in the context of forces acting upon the body (forces which may vary), so that the body as a whole can maintain a desired position. - my definition. Websters does theirs:-

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/balance

If G.O.L.F. is about force management and maintaining stability of "stationary post" then balance in the very heart of G.O.L.F.. Adults have forgotten how to use balance to learn motor tasks - IMO.

Children ( and grandchildren - like Yoda's Annie ) I suspect are more used to learning motor tasks with their balance at the core... I think of kids learning to ski and then compare that to adults learning to ski... the subtle movements of the body are too refined to be learnt purely through "seeing" and copying them -ie. imitation...but they spent the first 2-4 years of their lives struggling and playing with gravity and the way their body reacts to gravity makes them experts in force management...maybe not consciously but experts none the less.

I also think waiters carrying trays...dashing through crowded restaurants, tray held above their heads... nobody would teach that through consciously telling an apprentice waiter how to move their body to counteract the wobbly glasses full of wine and beer...instead they use their hands controlled pivot technique....remember the sensor homunculus.... enormous hands....teach the young waiter to appreciate the varible forces through the pressure receptors in his/her fingertips and trust in balance is a more refined method.

I agree with Mrodoch, dynamic balance and footwork...my footwork improved alot when i consciously worked on balance...and the mechanics improved ... but , for me, balance was the first egg and mechanics my chicken.

Balance, being conscious of ones balance and improving balance are key to so many life techniques...gets alot worse with age sadly...

[Yoda]

If you read my old threads about balance then it probably comes as no surprise that I think that one can and should consciously use balance to improve mechanics...."balance drives, not balances is..." is what I said then and still believe...

I agree with Mrodoch, dynamic balance and footwork...my footwork improved alot when i consciously worked on balance...and the mechanics improved ... but , for me, balance was the first egg and mechanics my chicken.

Balance, being conscious of ones balance and improving balance are key to so many life techniques...

The Mechanical Checklist For All Strokes (12-3) starts with Balance (Item #1) and ends with Balance (Item #45). So, from Preliminary Address to the Finish, the entire operation depends on Balance. This, in turn, demands mastery of Zone #1 (the Body and its Pivot Components).

Balance . . .

It is an Essential (2-0).

[Uppndownn]

Does anyone out here think Annie has a decent chance to get good at this game?

One aspect of the swing I have overlooked is the overtaking of the hands by the club through impact. In good swings the hands slow way down at impact. Then the club takes over. If done well, the centrifugal force of the club is what pulls on you through and post impact. I may have been aware of this before, but I have forgotten it for about ten years or so. Hogan said it. Lynn said it. Homer laid out the three lane freeway in Chapter Nine. I just didn't get it. Till this week.


UPP in snowy Ohio

[okie]

I have noticed that most people do not have even the foggiest clue that address and impact are two seperate things...and are a combination of alignments not positions.

[12 piece bucket]

I have noticed that most people do not have even the foggiest clue that address and impact are two seperate things...and are a combination of alignments not positions.

I've only given two people lessons. This one dude who is like a 4. He can play. I go show me address . . . .

Show me IMPACT.

Nothing changed . . . I was like Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuude!!!!!

Concepts . . . .ARE . . . HUGE.

[12 piece bucket]

My pops tried that milkshake deal with me . . . didn't work . . . . so I played hoops of all things until I got to college (that's right . . . COLLEGE . . . I went and got out). I think if Dad had a pocket full of potted meat and crackers that day . . . I coulda been Tiger Woods y'all.

You'll remember that forever PoppyMachinusMagnus. Good story.

I got Lil' Bucket Parfait clubs and we went to the putting green. He hit one putt . . . saw a mudpuddle . . . dove in . . .