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Pro Shop Golf Tips Articles by Jay Perkins, PGA Professional  •ON THE GREEN• Article Two Breaking down those old myths makes golf journey a little easier It is truly amazing how many different myths there are surrounding the golf swing. It is of legendary proportions. I hear them everyday repeated over and over on the lesson tee and from golfers stalking the pro shop. Swing concepts I thought had vanished years ago are resurfacing right here in Harford County. When golfers repeat them they even speak with conviction like it's the only way to swing the club and play golf. One thing I have learned is to stay loose and flexible and be willing to learn new concepts and embrace change. If you don't you are not doing your job as a teacher and you certainly won't go far in this fast paced life we now live. I recently attended a seminar sponsored by the PGA of America. The seminar was on the subject of teaching and the new concepts surrounding the physical aspects of making a proper golf swing. The seminar really enlightened me on what is making the young Tigers, no pun intended, on the tour play golf at the level they are playing. Don't get me wrong; a lot of the basics are still there and the fundamentals still hold true, but understanding from anatomical and physiological standpoints where the real energy and power sources are in the swing brings to light a whole new understanding of the swing motion. I'm not referring to magic or voodoo here, but rather physics, engineering and science as it applies to the swing. The good news is that once understood at least you know what to start working on and how to set realistic goals for yourself and in my case my students. So we have to be open to new ideas and new ways of looking at things. We have to be willing to experiment and try new things and accept the fact that there may be a better way to swing the club. Below are a few myths about the swing that may give you a different view and maybe relieve some pressure in your own swing. Keep in mind if you are left-handed it will be the opposite for you when there are descriptions of left and right side. Let's take the left arm or lead arm , for example. Years ago teachers, magazines and instruction books were espousing the theory that the left arm must be kept straight throughout the swing to hit the golf ball on line and long. That if the left arm broke down at the elbow or bowed it was the sign of a weak swing and one that would not stand up. It is true that if you keep your left arm extended in the takeaway initially it helps to create a wider arc and better path, but if the arm breaks down as it moves further into the backswing you can still play good golf and hit the ball a good distance. The centrifugal force created by the unwinding of the body in the downswing will help extend the left arm back out as it re-enters the downswing and still enable the player to strike the ball solidly and consistently. The golf swing should be thought of as a two-sided game where both left and right arms play important roles in the feel of a correct swing. The left arm playing the major role is not the only requisite to playing good golf. Do we have to keep the head still when swinging the golf club? We heard it for years but no you don't have to keep your head still or even steady. Your head should be allowed to move slightly back or swivel as you start your backswing so you can get your weight fully loaded into your right side. This will free you up to turn your shoulders and swing your arms better. If you try and keep your head still in your backswing it often results in a reverse pivot, tension and a host of other problems. Remember, however, that as you come into impact the head must stay behind the ball and then come up as the shoulder rotation dictates. Johnny Miller described the head as having its own swing. In other words, if you allow the chin to swivel back in the backswing, return to the ball at impact and swivel through to the finish it has its own swing motion. It allows the swing to free up and for weight to get shifted properly during the swing. Is a parallel clubshaft position at the top of the swing the perfect position? Really there is no perfect club position at the top of the swing. It depends on an individual's strengths and weaknesses or what he or she is comfortable with. You can look at many players on the tour and see that there is a host of players who don't get the club to parallel at the top of their backswing. You can also see many players who go past parallel with their clubshaft at the top of swing. John Daly is an example that most people have seen and there are others. So there is no perfect at the top position in your swing as long as you can store the power as you swing back and you can return the club to square at impact coming down. Do you have to grip the club handle as if holding a baby bird? The answer to that question is no. There must be some amount of grip pressure to enable control of the club during the swing. You do want to hold the club as tension free as possible but maintain a good hold on the club especially in the last three fingers of the left hand and middle two fingers of the right. This activates the forearm muscles that are necessary for stability and strength during the swinging motion. If you practice your grip regularly and think about the pressure being more equal in both hands and relaxed as possible it will help you to feel more comfortable over the ball instead of tight. Keeping a club around the house and practicing your grip. Just feeling the club in your hands will help you know the difference in the grip pressure so you will know the difference between a tight and relaxed pressure. I can't recall the exact story but I believe Gary Player was in contention for the British Open Championship some years ago and his good friend Jack Nicklaus walked up behind in on the practice range before the tournament started and uttered two words of advice to him "grip pressure" and then walked away. That tells you the importance of grip pressure. As time moves on we are learning more and more about the golf swing and what makes it tick. We as golfers have to be open to new ideas and be willing to put them into practice to better our games. That in itself is what makes golf fun and exciting. Keep plugging away and keep learning and you’ll get better. These articles were previously written for The Sporting Times. Jay Perkins is the golf columnist for The Sporting Times, a Harford County based sports magazine. Jay's columns can be found twice monthly in that publication. Harford County resident Jay Perkins is the PGA Professional at Bel Air Golf Center in Kingsville. Read more about Jay Perkins. More articles |
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