It's been a long time. Work has kept me busy 24/7.
Above is a pre-impact photo of Jim Furyk. It serves to illustrate that one can build a respectable game and include almost any oddity one can imagine. JF drops his hands straight-down-vertically to the ground before finding the Elbow Plane. That’s not “Tracing the Plane Line” and it’s not clearing the Hips in the traditional sense. His Power Package looks ok, but his Hips are doing what? Is his Pivot supporting Delivery Alignments? Is his Pivot helping the #3 Pressure Point Trace the Plane Line?
Power comes from the Accumulators and not from flinging the Hips forward and toward the target like Elvis Presley in Jail House Rock. If a student starts acting like Elvis, then V.J. gives them the dowel drill to thwart other bad habits before they start creeping into the swing.
Consider what happens when planting the left heel initiates the downswing. The Hips move slightly toward the target, the left hip moves away from the plane line, the right hip doesn’t move much toward the plane line, the shoulders instantly begin their rotation as the right shoulder and Power Package are “driven” toward the plane line which helps/allows the #3 Pressure Point Trace the Plane Line . The Right Elbow will “clear” the Right Hip and the dowel drill will have served its purpose. The Purpose is to teach that the Pivot moves to support all of the delivery Alignments while the Accumulators create Power.
Hi Daryl,
I am new here. May I ask what the "dowel drill" is? I have been a long time hip thruster and this sounds like it may be helpful to me.
Thank you in advance.
Let’s start with a description of intentions and feel. I am likely wrong (obviously ) .
1. I turn back and arrive at top with the following feel. BOTH feet are flat , left knee in and forward a bit (points to about where right foot point on plane line), right knee slight flex, weight on inside of foot , tension on inside of leg all the way up. My right foot feels screwed into the ground and wants to rotate clockwise but can’t.
2. My shoulders arrive almost level , facing away from target, hips have rotated back about 30 degrees.
3. I stop my arms at the point either shoulder would start to move independently, so both shoulders feel forward and the right hand is “kind of” stretching the left. (I do this a little different – EXTENSOR ACTION)
4. I can stop here and contemplate my shot- It can get tiresome but I can hold the position.
5. Hula- Hula, I slide my hips parallel to the plane line, no rotation, spine is now tilted, shoulders-arms- hands-head-feet,all stay still. King of making my body a flying wedge pointing to the target NO rotation, hips slide in direction of left rear pocket- repeat- NO rotation only slide twords target, just middle of body. creating spine tilt only
6. NOW time to commit. I can either swing or hit from this position. No need to go through all the zone #2 alignments I am preparing for but they happen now.
7. Coming down , prior to release is much the same for either. I aim my right shoulder at the plane line and I START TO UNWIND. LEFT hip turning , torso under tension, EITHER- left arm PULLING #4 or RIGHT HAND DRIVING #1 Elbow leads more for swing and pitch less for punch and hit.
8. MY RIGHT HIP , TURNING WISE, REMAINS WAY AHEAD OF MY SHOULDERS, MY ARMS DON’T PASS THE BODY UNTIL DURING THE RELEASE INTERVAL and just get in front at follow through (both arms straight)
I can do the motions in slow motion and the result is still: I can not avoid hitting the dowel??
Let me add- I am doing some things wrong because I am not getting the results expected. I try t get the alignments available in TGM. And I can get -what I call- a little "Loosy-Goosy" ( a rubber man)and I am sure that does not help but power comes up through the hips and I need to keep the power and loose the motion- make sense?? How do I do that??
The Bear
Last edited by HungryBear : 04-15-2010 at 09:22 AM.
V.J's dowel drill is good for pointing out the extent of the problem but there may be a better drill to give you a solution.
Ben Doyle's drill: Cut a length of dowel so it can be used as a stick seat. Put the dowel in place and learn to swing the club and Pivot so that the dowel doesn't fall away from your butt until follow-through. Don't put a lot of weight on the dowel because it'll defeat the purpose.
You won't hit the dowel in V.J.'s drill if you learn to pivot using Ben Doyles Drill.
Bucket uses a drill involving a car battery and jumper cables but it's been banned in most States and Canada.
V.J's dowel drill is good for pointing out the extent of the problem but there may be a better drill to give you a solution.
Ben Doyle's drill: Cut a length of dowel so it can be used as a stick seat. Put the dowel in place and learn to swing the club and Pivot so that the dowel doesn't fall away from your butt until follow-through. Don't put a lot of weight on the dowel because it'll defeat the purpose.
You won't hit the dowel in V.J.'s drill if you learn to pivot using Ben Doyles Drill.
Bucket uses a drill involving a car battery and jumper cables but it's been banned in most States and Canada.
Thank you- I think?
The first things that came to mind were:
Snipe hunt
and
Something about my goat.
I will shorten my Hip shift first- I may even prefer the battery experiment to sitting on Ben's short dowel.
I do ralize this may be an honest drill and I am sorry for seeing any humor in an honest attempt to help.
V.J's dowel drill is good for pointing out the extent of the problem but there may be a better drill to give you a solution.
Ben Doyle's drill: Cut a length of dowel so it can be used as a stick seat. Put the dowel in place and learn to swing the club and Pivot so that the dowel doesn't fall away from your butt until follow-through. Don't put a lot of weight on the dowel because it'll defeat the purpose.
You won't hit the dowel in V.J.'s drill if you learn to pivot using Ben Doyles Drill.
Bucket uses a drill involving a car battery and jumper cables but it's been banned in most States and Canada.
Seen Benny's drill . . . . D is fo' reel . . . .
You're good on my drill North of the Mason Dixon . . . never been to the state of Canada before . . . so probably OK there too . . . .
I was actually born in Dixie, in the province of Virginia. Dad was working down there for a bit. I told Lynn that once and he was like "Virginia? Thats just about as north as you can get and still be in Dixie".
Elvis' American Trilogy gets me all teary eye'd to this day. Seriously.
This might be a good time to discuss Homer's impact being "comparatively squared away". Surely he saw Hogan's two cheeks in photographs. Phil Mick and Greg Norman dont two cheek it. It can be a sign of Thrusting for some folks or a rate of overtaking thing for a swinger Id imagine.
I think you should spin the Hips and then let em coast. So they do some initial work some pulling and then they subside into mere motion prior to the Shoulders overtaking them. Consider for a moment the 6-m-1 "Downstroke Sequence". There is no mention of degree of leading , Hips vs Shoulders. Only that they lead. It wouldnt be labelled a "Sequence" if the Hips were meant to keep working, pulling forever Im thinking. Homer talked about the Swinger "spinning the fly wheel". Having spun a fly wheel recently , its a spin it and let er go thing, not a continuous spinning. How 'bout Hogans' "quick initial hip acceleration"? Homer said it took his Hands from End to Top. Note he said "initial" as opposed to constant or continuous or something.
Some folks advocate a second firing of the Hips. Kinda weird and not flywheel like. Some advocate Pivot braking , less weird to my mind, but not a flywheel thing either.
How do baseball pitchers turn? Do they plant their lead foot , and then turn their whole body or do they spin their hips?
Why did Homer say "comparatively squared away"? Not that I dont like it or anything, being comparatively squared away at impact, myself