Just wondering if there are any "anti-chicken wing" drills?
bts,
The dreaded 'chicken wing' simply disappears once the student learns the correct Release Motion Through the Ball per 7-24. In other words, he must learn to correctly allow the Clubhead to Overtake the Hands. In turn, this means learning to Roll the #3 Accumulator (the In-Line Left Arm and Club) through Impact and Follow-Through and into the Finish Swivel. At our Secrets of The Golfing Machine Workshop last August, a student and I met the monster and tamed it with a drill that now bears his name. From a post I wrote last August, here is...
The Nowotny Drill
Always remember that the express purpose of this drill -- done without a Club -- is to isolate and coordinate the respective functions of the two Hands: Right Hand...Clubhead. Left Hand...Clubface.
The Left Wrist is positioned in its Flat, Level and Vertical Impact Alignment. It remains at all times within a few inches of this location. Its only function is to Turn a bit to the right on the Backstroke and Roll a bit to the left on the Downstroke. Meanwhile, the Right Forearm is 'brushing' by the Left Hand with the Right Forefinger Tracing the Plane Line. Do not slap the Left Hand with the Right or in any way interfere with the Right Hand's passage by the Left. The Feel of the Right Hand Overtaking the Left (and of the Clubhead Overtaking the Hands) -- all without breaking down the Flat Left Wrist -- is the whole point of this drill.
As the Right Forearm and Right Forefinger #3 Pressure Point brush above the Left Hand through 'Impact,' the Left Hand simply 'Closes the door' with a Roll. This 'Closing' Motion of the Flat Left Wrist is felt in the Left Forearm. It can be practiced as both a Hinge Action -- the Left Arm moves forward a few inches as the Right Forearm brushes by -- and as a Swivel Action -- the Left Arm doesn't move. Until the 'chen-winging' student gets the Feel of the Overtaking, I recommend the focus remain on the Swivel Action.
The drill should be executed in continuous motion, i.e., the Right Forearm swings back and through and back and through continuously. Again, for the Swivel Action version, the Left Arm simply remains in its Impact Location as the Left Wrist Turns and Rolls (from the 'swivel' in the Left Forearm) in sync with the passing Right Forearm.
The benefit of this drill is that it trains independently but coordinately:
(1) The Right Hand and Forearm to sense Clubhead Lag Pressure and Trace the Plane Line, thus controlling the Clubhead and its Line of Flight through the Ball;
(2) The Left Hand to Hinge and Swivel, thus controlling the Clubface and the Rhythm of the Stroke, i.e., the Clubhead Overtaking of the Hands during the Impact Interval (from Release to Finish Swivel).
Do not allow the simplicity of this drill to cause you to underestimate its importance. It has the potential to do nothing less than revolutionize your Golf Stroke and with it, your entire Game.
Think Dorothy and her full-color entrance into the Land of Oz!
Relating the Nowotny Drill to the Endless Belt Effect:
Remember, the Belt Speed, i.e, the Hand Speed, does not change. The Surface Speed of the Clubhead increases dramatically, but only because of the Pulley Wheel Encounter, i.e., the Release Point (Study 2-K #6 and 10-24-A/B/C/D/E).
For the 'Pulley Wheel Effect' to occur, the Right Hand must Overtake the Left and the Clubhead must Overtake the Hands. So...
Keep 'brushing the Plane Line with the Right Forearm and #3 Pressure Point and 'Closing the Door' with the Left Hand as the Right Forearm brushes by. Feel the Swivel (Sketch 2-K #4/#5) in the Left Forearm.
A third and final post relates to any drill emphasizing the Overtaking of the Hands by the Club. For example: Swinging with the Left Arm only; or with the Right Arm only; or with a Club in both hands (and keeping them parallel throughout the Stroke).
Training For Results
When the training emphasizes the correct alignments, drills can yield valuable results.
Each Hand has its respective function and should be trained independently to perform it. Left Wrist Action controls the Clubhead position (See the subheading of 10-18 ) on the face of the Inclined Plane. The Left Hand Hinge Action controls the Clubface alignment in relation to its selected Plane of Motion -- Horizontal, Angled or Vertical -- through Impact. The Right Hand (through Pressure Points #1 and #3) provides the Active Drive of the Clubhead -- actually the entire Primary Lever Assembly -- for Hitters and the Acceleration Control of the Clubhead for both Hitters and Swingers. When combined with the Right Forearm Tracing of the Plane Line, it also controls the essential geometry of the Clubhead's Line of Flight through Impact (2-N-0).
In doing drills that emphasize the Clubhead Overtaking understand these three things:
1. The Shaft Rotates around the Sweet Spot (and not the other way around);
2. The Hands Rotate about each other; and
3. There is a definite Clubhead (Sweet Spot) Overtaking of the Hands during the Impact Interval.
An intellectual understanding of these points is one thing. Knowing them is another.
Their Clarion Call is Rhythm (See The Glossary and 6-B-3-0).
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