Visit to the Swamp Part 4 (Friday 17th November 2006)
The third day at the Swamp started off with the famous Cracker Barrel breakfast with Yoda and Martee (there was supposed to be a Geometry lesson too but that came later on the journey back when Yoda gave me a lift back to the hotel) With the hotel being literally a stones throw away from it, Martee and I were becoming known regulars there (to the point where they would bring out a Diet Coke and a glass of water for me everytime I went in there!!)
Anyways after a hearty breakfast and a quick discussion/summary of what went on the day before, Yoda announced that we were going to focus on my pivot and my right wrist that day and that he also had something up his sleeve that would teach me the proper way the pivot should work on the swing. So off we went to the range.
Once we got to the range we saw Ted and had a quick chat with him as Yoda set up the thing that was going to sort out my pivot problems. Yoda said before that my pivot in the downswing (in fact probably the whole swing) looked a bit 'dainty' and that I could probably generate a bit more power if I used it properly.
So at the side of the car park, Yoda has set up his Speed Chain (where can I get one in the UK???) and then started doing a 5 min demo on it and explained how you cannot get 'dainty' using it. After he showed us how to use it, it was my turn and boy you can really feel that chain when you take the grip back and through. It taught you about tracing a straight planeline (drag it inside and the chain hits you….), lag pressure (again the weight of the chain makes you feel it lagging being you, also you can’t flip the dang thing either as the chain is behind you…) and teaches you to really power that pivot through the ball. After a few minutes I felt that I really put a lot of effort into it, it really shows you how hard your body works in a golf swing. Once I had really warmed up using it, I could feel that I could make that chain taught and come off the ground (warning, build it up slowly with small swings before taking it further) Great training aid…wished that I thought of it!!
After the Speed Chain, we went onto the mats for a while (the grass tees were still damp from Wednesday’s drenching)
To start off the morning session, Yoda had me go through the Basic Motions from the day before. Making a few swings with the Horizontal Hinge, Angled Hinge and then the Vertical Hinge. Once he was satisfied with it, we went onto a few Acquired Motions and made sure that I could do things correctly.
The day’s work was mostly concentrating on Total Motion swings. We initially worked on the setup and making sure that I was setting up to the ball properly and that I had the proper alignments even before the club went back (I was not setting up at Impact Fix anymore but Ted mentioned that when I practice I could always play around with it and make sure that I was getting the proper alignments needed to hit a good golf shot)
We then spent the next couple of hours hitting balls working on the start down (see my previous post on the Downstroke Waggle) and making sure that I executed the proper hinging and swivel action from impact to follow through to finish.
This is something that I had gotten lost in. I was letting my right wrist straighten and left wrist bend and then I would somehow do a funky compensation to get the left wrist back to a flat position after impact before having that 'blocked' look to the end of the swing.
Again, I was using the drill with the dowel where I would hold it in my left fist (see the Jeff Hull videos or Yoda’s videos on Hinging) making sure I was making a good solid and loud swoosh through impact and beyond, letting the dowel swivel back on plane. The check at the end was to make sure that I could cock the left wrist up and down. This is another one of those drills that covered a whole lot of things, it gave me a feeling that I could use my pivot a lot more in the swing and that I could finally experience that feeling of the left arm blasting off the chest.
A lot of the drill work that we did in the second session were from the day before and the one thing that Yoda drummed into me was 'Look, look, look…' and that you are forever monitoring the things that go on in your swing and that this constant monitoring is what will lead you to permanent improvement of your swing.
As we pieced my swing back slowly together, I could suddenly feel some lag pressure as I stuck the ball and feel that things were starting to finally work together. What we were building here is a more solid and structured G.O.L.F. stroke.
Finally, I began to understand things that were incubating in my head for all these past days, months and years. The fact that I was starting to strike the ball better than I ever had proved that the 10 hour flight was well worth it!
Just before we stopped for lunch, Ted stopped by to have a look to see how I was getting on and I think he was impressed as I was at the improvement that we (Yoda, Ted and I) had made. I think I managed to hit about 5 or 6 'frozen ropes' consecutively before we broke for lunch.
The 4 of us went for lunch together as Martee was heading back to NC that afternoon (we could not persuade him to stay longer) so off we went to get some Mexican food. Both Ted and Lynn can flat out teach but they could also flat out eat too Guess they need the fuel to feed their magnificent golfing brains
Martee, I just like to say thanks again for coming down to Marietta and meeting up with me (also for ferrying me around) it was good to see you and catch up. You are (along with Ted and Lynn) are always welcome to my place if you are ever in Glasgow. I hope that you got as much out of the lessons as I did and that spending time with Ted and Lynn helped further your journey with your swing.
After a hearty lunch, it was back to the range. By this time the grass tees were open so Lynn got a bucket of balls and off we headed down to the tees to work on some more things.
The afternoon session, we focussed on lag, more precisely lag pressure. I was still not quite getting the sensations of lag pressure. Yoda got me to hit a few shots with varying amounts of lag pressure and by the end of the day not only could I feel it but I could vary it enough to produce different length of shots.
Another experiment that we did was with the swing speed monitor. This was to show me that I could hit the ball just as far (or generate the same amount of swing speed) with a Total Motion 7 iron and an Acquired Motion 6 iron. I could not get it quite right but my results did show that I was not that far off (77 mph with the Total Motion 7 iron and then 74 with the Acquired Motion 6 iron) another shot that I could add to the shot-making repertoire.
We then went onto to hit more shots firstly with the 8 iron and then the 5 iron concentrating on what we worked on previously. A lot of downstroke waggles, drills focusing on making the Horizontal Hinge work, making sure that I had a solid and structured backstroke that stopped at the top (right shoulder high, this still needs worked on but its getting there!) and that I applied a good bit of extensor action on the swing.
Then it was time to get the driver out again
Setting up with 10-5-E again (I think I will just do this every time I have the driver or the 3 wood in my hands) we focussed on tracing the slightly closed planeline and focusing on the start down, I managed to hit a couple of draws with the driver and for someone who was a chronic slicer/blocker of the ball it’s a great sight to see. If I did those wrong the ball would just start right and stay right. Now if I applied the Horizontal Hinge Action Wrist Roll through Impact as well as a strong Swivel into the Finish along with 10-5-E, the end result I got was a consistent high Draw and because of this, I was driving the ball further than I had before (now if I lose about 2 stone and work out during the winter, I might hit it further….)
By this time Ted had popped down to the grass tees and watched me hit a few shots, after a few 'iffy' ones, he said 'I challenge you your manhood if you don’t hook this one…' Nothing like pressure huh? So I just thought about hooking it and I did, the ball started off right of the target and hooked all the way back to the left hand side of the range. Now if only I could do that more
By now it was getting late, and it was time to wrap up the lesson. I hope that I have done Lynn and Ted proud with the progress that I had made over the past 3 days and that they had as much fun as I did.
As we were leaving the range, we all had big smiles on our faces (me with the biggest probably…) Lynn said some really nice things and how he wished that I stayed closer to the Swamp so that they could monitor my progress as the winter went on (but with today's technology I am sure we can come up with something)
After a difficult start on the Thursday, I left the Swamp with more of clearer picture of what I need to do and what needs to be done on a proper G.O.L.F. stroke and the fact that I could hit the ball like a Tour Pro. That sound and feeling of proper compression is addictive I tell you.
But the best thing that I could take from the Swamp was that I felt I have made two lifelong friends as well as teachers in Lynn and Ted. They might be known as Golfing Machine Teachers on the site but to me they are my friends first and foremost.
Lynn, Ted….thank you for everything and for taking this mad Scotsman under your wing for 3 days. I enjoyed every minute of it and am secretly planning on a return trip (just need to be nice to the Bank Manager )
If you ever plan a Scottish or even a UK Golf School, I will be there!!
Thank you again,
Alex
Last edited by alex_chung : 11-25-2006 at 04:13 PM.
Visit to the Swamp Part 4 (Friday 17th November 2006)
The third day at the Swamp started off with the famous Cracker Barrel breakfast with Yoda and Martee (there was supposed to be a Geometry lesson too but that came later on the journey back when Yoda gave me a lift back to the hotel) With the hotel being literally a stones throw away from it, Martee and I were becoming known regulars there (to the point where they would bring out a Diet Coke and a glass of water for me everytime I went in there!!)
Anyways after a hearty breakfast and a quick discussion/summary of what went on the day before, Yoda announced that we were going to focus on my pivot and my right wrist that day and that he also had something up his sleeve that would teach me the proper way the pivot should work on the swing. So off we went to the range.
Once we got to the range we saw Ted and had a quick chat with him as Yoda set up the thing that was going to sort out my pivot problems. Yoda said before that my pivot in the downswing (in fact probably the whole swing) looked a bit 'dainty' and that I could probably generate a bit more power if I used it properly.
So at the side of the car park, Yoda has set up his Speed Chain (where can I get one in the UK???) and then started doing a 5 min demo on it and explained how you cannot get 'dainty' using it. After he showed us how to use it, it was my turn and boy you can really feel that chain when you take the grip back and through. It taught you about tracing a straight planeline (drag it inside and the chain hits you….), lag pressure (again the weight of the chain makes you feel it lagging being you, also you can’t flip the dang thing either as the chain is behind you…) and teaches you to really power that pivot through the ball. After a few minutes I felt that I really put a lot of effort into it, it really shows you how hard your body works in a golf swing. Once I had really warmed up using it, I could feel that I could make that chain taught and come off the ground (warning, build it up slowly with small swings before taking it further) Great training aid…wished that I thought of it!!
After the Speed Chain, we went onto the mats for a while (the grass tees were still damp from Wednesday’s drenching)
To start off the morning session, Yoda had me go through the Basic Motions from the day before. Making a few swings with the Horizontal Hinge, Angled Hinge and then the Vertical Hinge. Once he was satisfied with it, we went onto a few Acquired Motions and made sure that I could do things correctly.
The day’s work was mostly concentrating on Total Motion swings. We initially worked on the setup and making sure that I was setting up to the ball properly and that I had the proper alignments even before the club went back (I was not setting up at Impact Fix anymore but Ted mentioned that when I practice I could always play around with it and make sure that I was getting the proper alignments needed to hit a good golf shot)
We then spent the next couple of hours hitting balls working on the start down (see my previous post on the Downstroke Waggle) and making sure that I executed the proper hinging and swivel action from impact to follow through to finish.
This is something that I had gotten lost in. I was letting my right wrist straighten and left wrist bend and then I would somehow do a funky compensation to get the left wrist back to a flat position after impact before having that 'blocked' look to the end of the swing.
Again, I was using the drill with the dowel where I would hold it in my left fist (see the Jeff Hull videos or Yoda’s videos on Hinging) making sure I was making a good solid and loud swoosh through impact and beyond, letting the dowel swivel back on plane. The check at the end was to make sure that I could cock the left wrist up and down. This is another one of those drills that covered a whole lot of things, it gave me a feeling that I could use my pivot a lot more in the swing and that I could finally experience that feeling of the left arm blasting off the chest.
A lot of the drill work that we did in the second session were from the day before and the one thing that Yoda drummed into me was 'Look, look, look…' and that you are forever monitoring the things that go on in your swing and that this constant monitoring is what will lead you to permanent improvement of your swing.
As we pieced my swing back slowly together, I could suddenly feel some lag pressure as I stuck the ball and feel that things were starting to finally work together. What we were building here is a more solid and structured G.O.L.F. stroke.
Finally, I began to understand things that were incubating in my head for all these past days, months and years. The fact that I was starting to strike the ball better than I ever had proved that the 10 hour flight was well worth it!
Just before we stopped for lunch, Ted stopped by to have a look to see how I was getting on and I think he was impressed as I was at the improvement that we (Yoda, Ted and I) had made. I think I managed to hit about 5 or 6 'frozen ropes' consecutively before we broke for lunch.
The 4 of us went for lunch together as Martee was heading back to NC that afternoon (we could not persuade him to stay longer) so off we went to get some Mexican food. Both Ted and Lynn can flat out teach but they could also flat out eat too Guess they need the fuel to feed their magnificent golfing brains
Martee, I just like to say thanks again for coming down to Marietta and meeting up with me (also for ferrying me around) it was good to see you and catch up. You are (along with Ted and Lynn) are always welcome to my place if you are ever in Glasgow. I hope that you got as much out of the lessons as I did and that spending time with Ted and Lynn helped further your journey with your swing.
After a hearty lunch, it was back to the range. By this time the grass tees were open so Lynn got a bucket of balls and off we headed down to the tees to work on some more things.
The afternoon session, we focussed on lag, more precisely lag pressure. I was still not quite getting the sensations of lag pressure. Yoda got me to hit a few shots with varying amounts of lag pressure and by the end of the day not only could I feel it but I could vary it enough to produce different length of shots.
Another experiment that we did was with the swing speed monitor. This was to show me that I could hit the ball just as far (or generate the same amount of swing speed) with a Total Motion 7 iron and an Acquired Motion 6 iron. I could not get it quite right but my results did show that I was not that far off (77 mph with the Total Motion 7 iron and then 74 with the Acquired Motion 6 iron) another shot that I could add to the shot-making repertoire.
We then went onto to hit more shots firstly with the 8 iron and then the 5 iron concentrating on what we worked on previously. A lot of downstroke waggles, drills focusing on making the Horizontal Hinge work, making sure that I had a solid and structured backstroke that stopped at the top (right shoulder high, this still needs worked on but its getting there!) and that I applied a good bit of extensor action on the swing.
Then it was time to get the driver out again
Setting up with 10-5-E again (I think I will just do this every time I have the driver or the 3 wood in my hands) we focussed on tracing the slightly closed planeline and focusing on the start down, I managed to hit a couple of draws with the driver and for someone who was a chronic slicer/blocker of the ball it’s a great sight to see. If I did those wrong the ball would just start right and stay right. Now if I applied the Horizontal Hinge Action Wrist Roll through Impact as well as a strong Swivel into the Finish along with 10-5-E, the end result I got was a consistent high Draw and because of this, I was driving the ball further than I had before (now if I lose about 2 stone and work out during the winter, I might hit it further….)
By this time Ted had popped down to the grass tees and watched me hit a few shots, after a few 'iffy' ones, he said 'I challenge you your manhood if you don’t hook this one…' Nothing like pressure huh? So I just thought about hooking it and I did, the ball started off right of the target and hooked all the way back to the left hand side of the range. Now if only I could do that more
By now it was getting late, and it was time to wrap up the lesson. I hope that I have done Lynn and Ted proud with the progress that I had made over the past 3 days and that they had as much fun as I did.
As we were leaving the range, we all had big smiles on our faces (me with the biggest probably…) Lynn said some really nice things and how he wished that I stayed closer to the Swamp so that they could monitor my progress as the winter went on (but with today's technology I am sure we can come up with something)
After a difficult start on the Thursday, I left the Swamp with more of clearer picture of what I need to do and what needs to be done on a proper G.O.L.F. stroke and the fact that I could hit the ball like a Tour Pro. That sound and feeling of proper compression is addictive I tell you.
But the best thing that I could take from the Swamp was that I felt I have made two lifelong friends as well as teachers in Lynn and Ted. They might be known as Golfing Machine Teachers on the site but to me they are my friends first and foremost.
Lynn, Ted….thank you for everything and for taking this mad Scotsman under your wing for 3 days. I enjoyed every minute of it and am secretly planning on a return trip (just need to be nice to the Bank Manager )
If you ever plan a Scottish or even a UK Golf School, I will be there!!
Thank you again,
Alex
Thanks Alex, most enjoyable. Almost a book's worth of text so far and all of it very illuminating.
I think I have now got as much information out of your visit as you did and almost had as much fun too.
Lang may yer lum reek! Wi' ither folks coal!
Which, literally translated from your native tongue into TGM terms means
"Long may your game be on fire with fuel from the Swamp"
"Adding extensor action just added a lot of precision and structure to the backswing (Ted showed me how it is supposed to be applied the day before and I could not believe how much pressure it was!!) "
Do you mean you were stretching so hard it created tension or are you referring to lag pressure?
"Adding extensor action just added a lot of precision and structure to the backswing (Ted showed me how it is supposed to be applied the day before and I could not believe how much pressure it was!!) "
Do you mean you were stretching so hard it created tension or are you referring to lag pressure?
Thanks
Its not tension, as everyone knows tension is not a good thing in a good swing. Its more of a taughtness, I could feel that downward/outward pull of the right hand against the left at address and all the way to the backstroke and all the way through the downstroke.
A little drill that you could do is to put on a jumper (sweater for the Stateside guys) but leave the left sleeve out. Now grab the left sleeve at the cuff area with your right hand and pull it taught. Make a backswing with the left sleeve taught. That is the feel that you want with extensor action and you maintain it all the way to top and then all the way down on the downstroke.
Lag pressure for me is felt on the right index finger/knuckle (PP#3) and I feel it most on the downstroke and at impact when I have that feeling of 'dragging the wet mop' You have to remember that the clubhead trails the hands and the pressure that you feel is lag pressure.
Alex
Speed Chains are pretty cool eh? I have em' and love em'.
Can someone post the best demonstrations of the downstroke waggle from the gallery?
Thanks,
Glad that you are enjoying the posts. I would have a Speed Chain in a second if the shipping wasn't so prohibitive......
For demo's on the Downstroke Waggle, have a look at the Jeff Hull series of videos and the Address Routine videos (if you are a swinger looking at Jeff's swing for the DS waggle is a fog lifter)
Alex
Thanks for sharing your experience, I've come to the party late so have just read the whole thing in one go !
Could you explain what you mean by additional right wrist bend, is it simply bending the wrist too much ?
Hi Doug,
Yes, that is basically it. Your right wrist should bend just enough to flatten or keep you left wrist flat (you can't have one without the other) and I was doing this and then adding even more bend to the right wrist. To the untrained eye it looks as if my swing is wristy yea?
If you look at say Ted's Hitter swing, you note that he freezes the alignments at address and he does not add any more or take away any of the right wrist bend during the swing. For the swinger its almost the same apart from the fact that we start from a more Classical Address and then load the club on the way back. Its trying to do this without the addtional or excess right wrist bend that is the problem for me.
Alex
Does too much right wrist bend cause the left wrist to arch ?
Sorry for the interuption but I have a similar problem to the one Alex is experiencing.
However, in my case, maybe his too, once the right wrist starts to involuntarily "over-bend" an element of cocking creeps in also. This is the real swing killer, causing problems common to both of us.
Sorry for the interuption but I have a similar problem to the one Alex is experiencing.
However, in my case, maybe his too, once the right wrist starts to involuntarily "over-bend" an element of cocking creeps in also. This is the real swing killer, causing problems common to both of us.
You hit the nail on the head my friend. That is exactly the problem. Too much right wrist bend leads to cocking of the right wrist and as we all know right wrist cocking is a no no!!!
Alex
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