Right Arm

[nicklin]

Am I right in saying from the top the right arm traces a straight line through the ball for a hitter action?
So if I painted a straight line placed the ball somewhere on the line my right arm would look to trace down that line?

P.S Well done in the Presidents Cup totally out played us..
Like to congratulate all invovled in this website it is something else.

Regards

Nick.....all the way from Australia.

[Yoda]

Am I right in saying from the top the right arm traces a straight line through the ball for a hitter action? So if I painted a straight line placed the ball somewhere on the line my right arm would look to trace down that line?

In order to insure a precision Delivery of the Clubhead into Impact, both Hitters and Swingers use the Right Forearm and #3 Pressure Point to Trace a Straight Line path through the Ball (5-0; Glossary/Right Forearm).

For Swingers, this Straight Line Delivery Line is almost always the true geometric Plane Line -- the Baseline of the Inclined Plane -- which is usually the Target Line as well. Tracing the Plane Line automatically produces a Clubhead Path that orbits in a curve through the Impact Point and Low Point. Thus, the Plane Line has a curved Visual Equivalent, the Arc of Approach (2-J-3-A), and the Clubhead covers this curved path through Impact. Since the Plane Line (or its curved Visual Equivalent) is an 'On Line' procedure, the eye directs the Clubhead through that point on the back of the Ball where the Plane Line passes, i.e., the middle of the back of the Ball. In this instance, the 'painted line on the ball' you referenced would be aligned along the Target Line.

Hitters, however, often use an alternative Delivery Line; namely, the Straight Line Angle of Approach drawn through the Impact Point and Low Point (that exist on their respective parallel Plane Lines). This is the linear Visual Equivalent of the Plane Line, the Angle of Approach (2-J-3-B), and the Clubhead covers this straight line path through Impact. This a 'Cross Line' procedure, and the eye directs the Clubhead through the inside-aft quadrant of the Ball (and thus across the Plane Line). In this instance, the 'painted line on the ball' would be aligned across the Target Line. [Note: Swingers monitoring the Down Plane Delivery Path of the Hands -- not the Delivery Line of the Clubhead -- would also align the 'painted line' cross-line.]

So, the Right Forearm and #3 Pressure Point -- the Right Forearm Flying Wedge -- always Traces either the Plane Line or the Angle of Approach Line. With the Plane Line procedure, this causes the Clubhead itself to likewise Trace the Plane Line and at the same time, to Cover the Plane Line's curved Visual Equivalent, the Arc of Approach. In contrast, as stated above, when utilizing the Plane Line's linear Visual Equivalent -- the Angle of Approach -- the Clubhead does not Trace the Angle of Approach. Instead, it Covers it (2-J-3-B) (and, in so doing, steepens the Plane Angle). Otherwise, there would be an 'Angle of Approach to the Angle Approach', and this is a geometric impossibility.

A player who Traces (not Covers) the Angle of Approach with the Clubhead will actually have Closed (per 10-5-E) his original Plane Line. And this will have destroyed that true Geometric Plane Line (2-J-3) that was the very basis of the Angle of Approach procedure itself. The same would be true for a Swinger attempting to approach the Arc of Approach from the 'inside' -- there is no 'arc of approach' to the Arc of Approach. In other words, there is no 'visual equivalent' of the Visual Equivalent.

Bottom line: For a precision Clubhead Delivery into Impact, Hitting or Swinging, the player can always choose to Trace with the Forearm, Pressure Point and Clubhead the true geometric Plane Line. Alternatively, he can choose to Trace with the Forearm and Pressure Point and Cover with the Clubhead one of its two Visual Equivalent Lines, the curved Arc of Approach (usually Swinging) or the linear Angle of Approach (usually Hitting).

[golfbulldog]

So, the Right Forearm and #3 Pressure Point -- the Right Forearm Flying Wedge -- always Traces either the Plane Line or the Angle of Approach Line. With the Plane Line procedure, this causes the Clubhead itself to likewise Trace the Plane Line and at the same time, to Cover the Plane Line's curved Visual Equivalent, the Arc of Approach. In contrast, as stated above, when utilizing the Plane Line's linear Visual Equivalent -- the Angle of Approach -- the Clubhead does not Trace the Angle of Approach. Instead, it Covers it (2-J-3-B) (and, in so doing, steepens the Plane Angle). Otherwise, there would be an 'Angle of Approach to the Angle Approach', and this is a geometric impossibility.

A player who Traces (not Covers) the Angle of Approach with the Clubhead will actually have Closed (per 10-5-E) his original Plane Line. And this will have destroyed that true Geometric Plane Line (2-J-3) that was the very basis of the Angle of Approach procedure itself. The same would be true for a Swinger attempting to approach the Arc of Approach from the 'inside' -- there is no 'arc of approach' to the Arc of Approach. In other words, there is no 'visual equivalent' of the Visual Equivalent.

Bottom line: For a precision Clubhead Delivery into Impact, Hitting or Swinging, the player can always choose to Trace with the Forearm, Pressure Point and Clubhead the true geometric Plane Line. Alternatively, he can choose to Trace with the Forearm and Pressure Point and Cover with the Clubhead one of its two Visual Equivalent Lines, the curved Arc of Approach (usually Swinging) or the linear Angle of Approach (usually Hitting).

WOW - the whole passage was great but this is the first time my brain has had a glipse of what this section was all about - thanks - can't say I have "got it" 100% yet but this has been a hammer blow to this particular egg in my incubator! ( hopefully not scambled egg but encouragement enough for the little chick to get going!)

thank you, Yoda.

[ndwolfe81]

It certainly seems that many people have the problem with trying to cover the plane line with the clubhead. What are some ways to explain to people that the clubhead points at the plane line and does not cover it?

How can someone practice there Arc of Approach with knowing that they are doing it correctly?

[Yoda]

It certainly seems that many people have the problem with trying to cover the plane line with the clubhead. What are some ways to explain to people that the clubhead points at the plane line and does not cover it?

How can someone practice there Arc of Approach with knowing that they are doing it correctly?

Here's a photo of me doing my best to deliver exactly that message in a classroom setting way back in 1983. I was using an improvised 'low bench' (two chairs and a rod), a double-headed flashlight, a dowel, a golf club, a handful of golf balls and an impassioned explanation.

Today I would add a couple of dowel drills, particularly one using my Right Forearm Flying Wedge (with a dowel, not a Club) to trace a Straight Plane Line, with a second dowel 'clamped' (by my left hand) onto the Right Forearm (to indicate its simultaneous Tracing. It is the same setup I demonstrate in the video demonstrating Delivery Path alignments and dynamics (see The Gallery/Free Video/Lynn Blake/Dowels and Wedges http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/gallery...els_wedges.wmv). Many thanks to LBG member Doug for contributing this video clip from his lesson.

By the way, that's Dr. Gary Wiren, then Director of Instruction for the PGA of America, in the background wearing the tie and black, crested blazer. Also, with his back to the camera in a white sweater is Tim Rash. Tim was a 5-handicap when he attended that school in late winter. He would go on to win the Richmond City Amateur in the summer.

[Uppndownn]

Even back then Yoda was in green.

UPP in stunning Ohio

[ndwolfe81]

Here's a photo of me doing my best to deliver exactly that message in a classroom setting way back in 1983. I was using an improvised 'low bench' (two chairs and a rod), a double-headed flashlight, a dowel, a golf club, a handful of golf balls and an impassioned explanation.

Today I would add a couple of dowel drills, particularly one using my Right Forearm Flying Wedge (with a dowel, not a Club) to trace a Straight Plane Line, with a second dowel 'clamped' (by my left hand) onto the Right Forearm (to indicate its simultaneous Tracing. It is the same setup I demonstrate in the video demonstrating Delivery Path alignments and dynamics (see The Gallery/Free Video/Lynn Blake/Dowels and Wedges http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/gallery...els_wedges.wmv). Many thanks to LBG member Doug for contributing this video clip from his lesson.

By the way, that's Dr. Gary Wiren, then Director of Instruction for the PGA of America, in the background wearing the black, crested blazer. Also, with his back to the camera in a white sweater is Tim Rash. Tim was a 5-handicap when he attended that school in late winter. He would go on to win the Richmond City Amateur in the summer.

Wow! The path of those balls in the photo is very curved so the clubhead will be covering those, but the sweet spot will be pointed at the plane line.

Boy that is sure something!

Thanks Yoda!

[Yoda]

Wow! The path of those balls in the photo is very curved so the clubhead will be covering those, but the sweet spot will be pointed at the plane line.

Boy that is sure something!

Right you are, Nathan. In the photo, note that the Sweetspot -- not the Clubshaft -- is pointed directly at the Plane Line (as indicated by the dowel). Yet, if I dropped the Club, it would fall directly on top of the second ball in the Arc. So, the Sweetspot is pointing at the Plane Line, but is clearly inside it. In other words...

It is On Plane.

And that Plane is the Plane of the orbiting Sweetspot, not the Clubshaft. The Clubshaft begins its journey pointing at its unique Baseline, the Baseline of the Clubshaft Plane, i.e., the Clubshaft's original Angle of Inclination. Then, assuming other than the shortest Strokes, it leaves that Plane in the Backstroke and moves to the Sweetspot Plane (which has its own unique Baseline -- usually the Target Line). During Release, the Clubshaft returns to its own Plane and remains there through Impact. Finally, from Follow-Through to Finish, it moves once again to the Sweetspot Plane. The important thing to realize is that the Clubshaft rotates about the Sweetspot, not vice versa. Said another way, the Sweetspot is always 'On Plane'...the Clubshaft is not.

Also, the curved Arc of Approach -- as represented by the golf balls -- is seen by the golfer as being on the ground. However, this is an illusion because it is actually occurring on the face of the Plane (as the clubhead orbits Down Plane through Low Point and Up Plane thereafter). The curved Path as seen on the Plane itself is known as the Arc of Attack. Thus, the Attack Arc is three-dimensional (Downward, Outward and Forward) whereas the Approach Arc is only two-dimensional (Outward and Forward).

Once these facts are understood, the illusions can be utilized for a lifetime of better golf.

[nicklin]

That video is really worth a look...it has lifted the fog and really shown me the
importance of the right arm paddle wheel motion tracing down the line.

[Yoda]

I have added a new paragraph (#3) to Post #8 above. Interested readers should take a look.