Hand Delivery paths

[Jeff]

HB - you asked-: "So, for a given degree of axis tilt, you think it is more healthy to move your head back than your hips forward?"

Are you talking about the address position or impact position?

I think that the outer border of the left pelvis should never get outside the outer border of the left foot at impact.

I think that if one positions the outer border of the left pelvis just inside the left foot at address (by shifting the pelvis slightly leftwards at address), then one can adopt an anticipated impact alignment position with the desired degree of axis tilt that one wants to achieve at impact. Then one should keep one's head in that position at address and start from there - keeping the head stationary throughout the remainder of the swing. For irons, the head will likely end up being in the center of the stance and for a driver just right-of-center - if one adopts that practice-pattern.

Jeff.

[Hennybogan]

HB - you asked-: "So, for a given degree of axis tilt, you think it is more healthy to move your head back than your hips forward?"

Are you talking about the address position or impact position?

I think that the outer border of the left pelvis should never get outside the outer border of the left foot at impact.

I think that if one positions the outer border of the left pelvis just inside the left foot at address (by shifting the pelvis slightly leftwards at address), then one can adopt an anticipated impact alignment position with the desired degree of axis tilt that one wants to achieve at impact. Then one should keep one's head in that position at address and start from there - keeping the head stationary throughout the remainder of the swing. For irons, the head will likely end up being in the center of the stance and for a driver just right-of-center - if one adopts that practice-pattern.

Jeff.

Jeff,

If you set up like that with hips at fix and don't move your hip forward in downswing, how are you going to get your straight line delivery path?

[Jeff]

HB

You asked-: "If you set up like that with hips at fix and don't move your hip forward in downswing, how are you going to get your straight line delivery path?"

The answer - like Aaron Baddeley. Note that Badds, like other S&T golfers, has very little left-lateral pelvic shift in the early downswing. It is more of a hip bump - as one replants weight on the left foot. He still has a straight section at the start of his hand delivery path. However, it is not as pronounced as Hogan's straight section - possibly because Hogan had more hip slide in his early downswing. Badds hand arc is more rounded than Hogan's and predisposes to a slower random release.

I used to set up with my pelvis centralised at address, and I then acquired secondary axis tilt at address by tilting my upper torso, which caused my head to move behind the center of the stance. I now prefer Yoda's recommendation for my iron shots, where he recommends keeping the head centralised and then shifting the pelvis left laterally to acquire a rightwards tilted spine. I still perform that pelvic shift action action when setting up for a driver. However, I anticipate the need for more secondary axis tilt with a driver at impact, so I allow my head to be positioned slightly right-of-center at address by having more rightwards tilt at address.

I have noted that many professional golfers prefer to have their pelvis centralised at address, and they therefore have their head further back when using a driver - sometimes closer to the right foot than to the center of the stance. They will presumably have a slightly different "straightish" section in their 10-23-A hand delivery path as a consequence of that choice. I have no "evidence" that their choice is biomechanically disadvantageous. Tiger Woods and Ben Hogan play superlative golf using that address position style for their driver shots.

Jeff.