losing balance
 

Hi

I find that sometimes i lose my balance when hitting out to right field ie after i do the hip bump and hit the ball my right leg (i'm right handed)wants to take a step forward and follow through as well. Is this supposed to happen? Any assistance/suggestion would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Milan

For most golfers, this is absolutely the direction to error in shifting your weight. Step through drills are some of the best IMO.

That said, you only want movement that is efficient - smooth and heavy - and of course, balanced.

Sounds like some setup and pivot work could be helpful to you.

Imagine you are going to break down a wall with your left shoulder, stay balanced, and hold your finish until the ball stops.

Practice without a club, or with a heavy club, just your hands - close your eyes, stay in balance.

Downplane force.

Per 7-17, when you setup, you need to have enough weight on the heels so that you can momentarily lift the toes.

Why? Per 2-K: Any rotational motion induces a throwout action, pulling the centers of gravity of every moveable component.

5-0, Elvis has left the building
 

I'm assuming that, when your balance is lost, you're stepping towards the ball with the right foot. One of the terms we use in TGM is Roundhouse. One of the many things that I have highlighted in my copy of TGM is found near the bottom of the page in 5-0: "That - failure to clear the Right Hip (Roundhouse) can initiate almost every alignment disruption, including SHANKING." That's a pretty bold statement!...almost every alignment disruption. Wow!

Simply from experience, when I see someone stepping towards the ball, you can take a look at the right hip. So many of us have been told to turn, turn, turn, in order to gain more power. Many look like Elvis doing a hip thrust towards the ball. I see many with their right foot completely on the toes before the hands have passed below the shoulder in the downstroke (another Elvis trait). I tell many that the right hip can either be a gateway or a roadblock. For most, it's the latter.

Your right shoulder isn't on plane until top. It's moved horizontally to get there and your right hip had to clear to do so. The right shoulder then starts a downward path on the inclined plane via the hip slide. The right shoulder does not return on the same horizontal path. If it does, you're over plane, you're hitting the back or the outside quadrant of the ball, and you'll have to steer as a result. :-&

If you look the way I think you look, I'd have you doing a Start Down waggle before every stroke.

Thank'u very much... :cool:

All Shook Up
 

Hall of Fame post, Ted. Thanks!

5-0 is the key for me
 

5-0 has really been the key for me lately and part of my recent success. If I don't properly get that right hip out of the way all kinds of bad things happen. Now there are a few reasons why my right hip gets in the way sometimes, but at least I now know what the heck is going on. And I even have a way to work on it.

Ted,

What did Homer mean exactly by "clearing the right hip?" Moving it parallel to the selected delivery line?

Thanks for the help guys
 

The advice has helped. I've been doing the start down waggle and focusing on maintaining my body alignment (try to keep head stationary rather than going forward).

FYI I was stepping through with my right foot.

Rgds
Milan

Yes, moving it parallel to the selected delivery line per 7-12 is what Mr. Kelley meant.

For hitters, that would be a slide of the hips to 1st base.

For swingers, that would be a slide to 2nd base, if in fact the plane line and target line are parallel to one another.

I would make sure the existence of "LAG" on the top and have it sustained coming down and through, which not only takes care of the "physics" (acceleration and thrust or speed and effective mass), but also the "geometry" (kind of holding it on-plane).

"Your right shoulder isn't on plane until top. It's moved horizontally to get there and your right hip had to clear to do so. The right shoulder then starts a downward path on the inclined plane via the hip slide. The right shoulder does not return on the same horizontal path. If it does, you're over plane, you're hitting the back or the outside quadrant of the ball, and you'll have to steer as a result."

THAT GOT ME!...thank you, (light bulb ON)

light bulbs
 

Trust me, we've all had those moments. Many of which have come from staying on this site till the wee hours of the morning. :) I've told people before that by becoming familiar with TGM, my brain looked like the Olympic Stadium during opening ceremonies. There were flashes everywhere...almost blinding.

One of the ways I describe the above quote to my students is to write the # 7 on the wall with your right shoulder. It would be as if you had a laser writing on the wall. The light doesn't go back and forth on a straight line. It's just a little visual that helps sometimes.

Figure 7
 

#7 is heaven! This is really a useful thought...I shall be teaching this to my students!

hip slide
 

Ted: If you start from impact fix and stay there throughout the hit (almost said swing!), do you still slide? Or is it more of a bump?

Channelback

Hard to differentiate using words. My bump may be your slide. But, it definitely moves.

where is the wall to write 7? is it at right angle to the golfer? (perpendicular to the targetline) or in his back? (parallel to line)

Ted,

7 on the wall. Very nice image.

ldeit

the wall
 

The wall would be to the right for a right hander or opposite the target.

Ole number 7
 

Dude! This may be the best "over the top" cure that has ever been. I have been tracing 7's all over the place. This rocks!

You are now my golf hero . . . replacing Silly Puddy. Sorry Comdpa.

I've gotta chime in on this one too....great stuff Ted. That's what it's all about....

thanks
 

Cool avatar...
I'm glad the visual helped. Most bring logic to the table when first learning golf. It would make too much sense to start in one position and return to it. Turn back and turn through, right? Uh...not exactly. My club points at my belly button and returns there, right? Uh...not exactly. I'm trying to hit the back of the ball to make it go straight, right? Uh...not exactly. I have to keep the clubface square as long as possible, right? OK...that's enough. Let's just trash everything that you've ever heard about golf and let's start over. There is a book that was first copyrighted in 1969.......

No worries Colonel...no worries! :D

when i do the 7, the feel is staying on the right side a long long time from the top...seeing im concentrating on drawing the 7 on a flat vertical surface to my right. does the long leg of seven point straight down too plane line of angles out too ball from top? just seeking clarification, thanks.

via the hip slide
 

The shoulder moves toward the ball, but the imaginary light would draw a straight line. The shoulder moving down plane is via the hip slide. Your weight moves to the left.