Instruction

Several years ago I wrote an article titled, Is Your Golf Swing A Train Wreck? I consider it one of my better golf swing articles.

I’m hoping some of you still remember your train sets when you were young so I am going to use this as an analogy. Let’s compare an electric train traveling on a circular track to the golf swing through several experiments. I personally had a train set that could either be pulled by the engine or pushed by the caboose, and the passenger cars were linked together by metal clasps.

1	When the engine pulls the train the links holding the cars together are pulled taut. When your body and left side in the golf swing unwinds your golf swing remains taut and controlled.
2	When the caboose pushes the train the links holding the cars together get jammed together. When your right shoulder pushes your golf club into the ball your swing becomes jammed, often causing a chicken wing left elbow through impact as well as causing your golf ball to push slice to the right.
3	When the engine pulls the train around the curve the cars have a tendency to lean outward with the last car wanting to whip. When your body unwinds the golf club has a tendency to pull outward with the trailing club head smashing through the ball.
4	If the train hits and obstacle in the track regardless if it is being pushed by the caboose or pulled by the engine the cars will pile up in a train wreck. If you stop your body from unwinding to hit at the golf ball with the right shoulder your golf swing will also result in a train wreck.
5	I believe the golf swing is powered by a pivoting rotary action with a stable base of support provided by the feet and legs. This action is similar to a hammer throw in track and field events. The hammer is pulling as the thrower is turning and opposing the hammer until its release.

Rick Bradshaw
2004/2006 North Florida Section PGA Teacher of the Year
Director of Instruction, Dent/Bradshaw School of Golf
Heritage Isles Golf Club

Tour Experience

I like the phrase coined by the great golfer Bobby Jones: “Freewheeling through impact”, however this does not mean that you want to wave your arms over your head during the golf swing so that a plane lands on you.

The golf swing’s engine is powered by a rotating pivot of your shoulders and hips into a resisting base (knees, legs, and feet). The responsibility of the arms is to secure width at address, and contain the flow of energy from the feet up through the torso and then out through them to the club head during the swing motion. This does not mean that the arms should be stiff while swinging but taut like when you tie your shoe lace. The laces are pulled together like your arms should be as a result of the momentum of the club head swinging. If these laces or arms are free to flap around as a result of independent lifting of the club during the swing the result will be unpredictable and inconsistent at best.

The towel drill for years has been used by tour professionals and amateurs alike as a way to tie your shoe lace arms together during the golf swing. I realize at first when you place a towel under both arms on your chest and try to swing you will feel like a walker in the walking dead however this exaggerated containment of the arms will teach them to react to the pivot rather that act independent of it. Try the towel drill with an 8 iron teed up and hit half to three quarter shots to feel the unity of arms and body working together. Once you feel this oneness you can allow your arms to gain some reactionary freedom so they can free wheel up and around your body and swing. Sensing the pulling force of the club head when swinging free is a great thought when allowing your shoe lace arms to whip the club head into and through the ball.

To test this theory take one sneaker and hold both shoe laces and swing the shoe in a circle. The momentum will pull your shoe laces taut and tighten them the same way a golf club does during the swing. Many tour professionals do this drill in the locker room before they tee off. Just Kidding!

Remember do not swing like an untied shoe lace or else a plane may think you are waving at them and land on you.

Rick Bradshaw
2004/2006 North Florida Section PGA Teacher of the Year
Director of Instruction, Dent/Bradshaw School of Golf
Heritage Isles Golf Club

Tour Experience

Many years ago when I started teaching golf in the 1970’s the belief was that ladies pros’ had better swings than the men. As an instructor to thousands of golfer’s men and women alike I will address this belief as tactically and honestly as I can.

My goal as a young PGA Professional Instructor was to discover the most efficient way to swing a golf club. The physiological fact that women have 1/3 less muscle mass than men puts them at a power disadvantage immediately. I always use the analogy of someone shooting a rubber band as a comparison of how the muscles are stretched in a golf swing. The thicker rubber band will have more elastic strength than a thinner one, and may hurt more if it hits you. Flexibility is a key factor in elasticity and women may have an advantage in this area over most men, especially in body rotation and maintaining a wide swing arc.

Men, however because of their physical strength can use various muscles groups to power the club, sometimes contrary to the laws of circular motion. In other words their strength can sometimes make up for flaws in their swing and muscle the club into the golf ball. Women on the other hand do not as a general rule use extraneous force to swing the golf club and adhere to the laws of physics and allow the club to do the work. This is a main factor in starting golfers when they are young, around ages 5, 6 or 7, before their arms and hands are strong enough to muscle the club. As a result they learn the swing principles at an early age and it stays with them virtually forever.

The modern golf swings on the PGA Tour have many great swings, and studies have grouped the different players in categories. It’s interesting that the pro’s swings that golfers seem to gravitate to are the effortless swingers like Freddie Couples, Ernie Els, and Luke Donald. These easy swingers have learned to accelerate the club with great velocity accompanied by the look of no effort. Most all lady golfers, because of physiology, have to swing with these principals that result in effortless power to become a good golfer.

It’s not that lady golfers swing better than men, because many PGA male golfers swing with the perfect technique resulting in effortless power. However, for ladies to excel in golf they have no choice but to swing with perfect technique and let the club do the work.

Rick Bradshaw
2004/2006 North Florida Section PGA Teacher of the Year
Director of Instruction, Dent/Bradshaw School of Golf
Heritage Isles Golf Club

Tour Experience

During these desperate times of world turmoil it’s important to remain patriotic and cherish our freedom even in our golf swing. Teaching legend Percy Boomer was quoted as saying “the golf swing is one and indivisible.” The reasoning behind Percy’s statement is that the golf swing should have a constant momentum and swing throughout. The golfer’s hands, arms and shoulders should not attempt to manipulate, redirect, or steer the club into positions contrary to the club heads natural momentous swing arc. That’s why many golf swing training aids are weighted so that the golfer will not be able to fight the swing movement. The hands, fingers, and arms should learn to work with the momentum and not against it. That is why I am not a position teacher. I am very aware of the positions that the club travels on during a technically perfect golf swing, but mechanically forcing the club to positions with the hands, arms and shoulders is not how these positions are achieved! The mechanical manipulating and steering of the club head to inappropriate positions during the golf swing are a power thief and dictator that will ultimately destroy any chance of freedom of swing.

P.G.A. tour professional Brandt Snedeker’s golf swing is a perfect example of freedom of swing. Next professional tournament watch how Snedeker steps up to the ball, bangs the club head on the ground to free up his grip pressure, and whips the club back creating enough momentum for his arms to swing up and wrists to hinge automatically. That’s why he is such a great ball striker! Percy Boomer stated that “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.” There is no compensatory action of the hands to manipulate the club head in a great golf swing; they must react to the momentum of the club head, not act independently in an attempt to control it. A few weeks ago I was watching Jeff Leonard, a very good player and P.G.A. Professional from the First Tee of Tampa Bay demonstrate a drill at Heritage Isles during their weekly junior program. He would step far enough away from the ball and start taking practice swings. With each practice swing he would step closer to the golf ball until by the third swing he let the club automatically strike through the ball with the same movement of all his practice swings. It’s a tough drill but in my opinion an excellent one for swing freedom.

Next time you play or practice golf be a patriot and remember “the golf swing is one and indivisible” with might I add liberty and justice for all.

Rick Bradshaw
2004/2006 North Florida Section PGA Teacher of the Year
Director of Instruction, Dent/Bradshaw School of Golf
Heritage Isles Golf Club

Tour Experience

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