Learning TGM

[JesseV]

I started last March with a 21 hcp. and now am down to an 11.5. If I had it to do over again, I would have gone through the basic motion progressions, acquired motion and total motion with an exaggerated # 3 PP, and slowly increased the speed with which I sustained the feeling of the lag.

Every bit of information you gather here is in service to that one concept:sustain the lag. Being on this website is a little like having a bunch of uncles tell you how cool it is to "kiss a girl," (I'm using a metaphor for doing something else with a girl out of respect for the man that owns and operates this place) when you are a complete virgin (I'm not ripping Daryl here because some things are just over the top). Anyway...you don't understand love until you have experienced it, just like sustaining the lag until you have directed it through the ball and down to Australia or China.

YBGF

I'm brand new here and still trying to grasp any concepts , so, with that in mind - When you say exaggerated #3 PP what do you mean exactly?

I'm glad to hear that you started with Basic and Acquired motions. Thats where I am starting so I now know I'm on the right track!


Thanks!

[innercityteacher]

I'm brand new here and still trying to grasp any concepts , so, with that in mind - When you say exaggerated #3 PP what do you mean exactly?

I'm glad to hear that you started with Basic and Acquired motions. Thats where I am starting so I now know I'm on the right track!


Thanks!

Hi Jesse V!

If you are right handed, here is how you get your left hand bottom 3 fingers (# 2 PP), your right hand heel over your left thumb (# 1 PP), and your right index/trigger finger all aft of the club shaft at Standard Address (do you have a yellow book?).

Please find the videos Lynn posted on my thread and elsewhere. Make sure your grip is correct and you can see 2.5 knuckles looking down at your FLW. At Mid-Body Hands, you should be able to "drink water by bending both thumbs up as if they were the rims of cups.

All 3 PP's will be ready at Standard address and # 4 PP, left arm against left side will be loaded as you Right heel back lifting up on your left toes and then reverse. You should feel the LAG going back and in reverse.

When you are clear on all this let us know.

ICT

[JesseV]

Hi Jesse V!

If you are right handed, here is how you get your left hand bottom 3 fingers (# 2 PP), your right hand heel over your left thumb (# 1 PP), and your right index/trigger finger all aft of the club shaft at Standard Address (do you have a yellow book?).

Please find the videos Lynn posted on my thread and elsewhere. Make sure your grip is correct and you can see 2.5 knuckles looking down at your FLW. At Mid-Body Hands, you should be able to "drink water by bending both thumbs up as if they were the rims of cups.

All 3 PP's will be ready at Standard address and # 4 PP, left arm against left side will be loaded as you Right heel back lifting up on your left toes and then reverse. You should feel the LAG going back and in reverse.

When you are clear on all this let us know.

ICT

Yep, I'm right handed, don't have a yellow book yet, will order one pay day. LOL Durn economy!!!!!!

I understand a little about Power Points(?) Accumulators(?)I understand FLW, Flat Left Wrist, understand mid-body hands, understand the drink water. Learned that from yours and Cathy's vids.

I surmise right heel back is the start of back swing and pivot to right, so I should feel weight transfer back to right heel on start of back swing? Lifting on left toes, is a lifting of the left heel off the ground. Lifting the left heel on to my toes is Greek to me, I've never felt comfortable lifting my left heel off the ground. Is lifting left heel a must move? How much should I lift it?

I've tried it and think it would help me with weight transfer and start of down swing. Like I said I just never felt comfortable doing it, however, with bad back and lack of hip/shoulder rotation it may be something I should start doing.... What do you think?

Do I have everything correct so far?

[NCHamr]

Yep, I'm right handed, don't have a yellow book yet, will order one pay day. LOL Durn economy!!!!!!

I understand a little about Power Points(?) Accumulators(?)I understand FLW, Flat Left Wrist, understand mid-body hands, understand the drink water. Learned that from yours and Cathy's vids.

I surmise right heel back is the start of back swing and pivot to right, so I should feel weight transfer back to right heel on start of back swing? Lifting on left toes, is a lifting of the left heel off the ground. Lifting the left heel on to my toes is Greek to me, I've never felt comfortable lifting my left heel off the ground. Is lifting left heel a must move? How much should I lift it?

I've tried it and think it would help me with weight transfer and start of down swing. Like I said I just never felt comfortable doing it, however, with bad back and lack of hip/shoulder rotation it may be something I should start doing.... What do you think?

Do I have everything correct so far?

As far as lifting the left heel, I've always thought of it in the sense that it is lifted, not that you lift it. Allowing the left heel to be taken off the ground naturally by the Pivot, instead of lifting it intentionally, will leave you better off in your Motion IMHO. Personally, my heel doesn't lift, but I attribute that to flexibility instead of an effort to keep it grounded. If the Pivot wants to lift the heel, then let it be lifted. It works for me, but what do I know?

[KevCarter]

As far as lifting the left heel, I've always thought of it in the sense that it is lifted, not that you lift it. Allowing the left heel to be taken off the ground naturally by the Pivot, instead of lifting it intentionally, will leave you better off in your Motion IMHO. Personally, my heel doesn't lift, but I attribute that to flexibility instead of an effort to keep it grounded. If the Pivot wants to lift the heel, then let it be lifted. It works for me, but what do I know?

IMHO, lifting the left heel is a great drill for learning the "feel" of a proper pivot. I am re-learning, and using the lift the left heel, Right-Left-Right-Left, drills all the time until I re-learn getting my weight shifted while staying centered. WONDERFUL drill that I now use for every student. Once you have it, I agree, just let it happen...



Kevin

[JesseV]

IMHO, lifting the left heel is a great drill for learning the "feel" of a proper pivot. I am re-learning, and using the lift the left heel, Right-Left-Right-Left, drills all the time until I re-learn getting my weight shifted while staying centered. WONDERFUL drill that I now use for every student. Once you have it, I agree, just let it happen...



Kevin

Great answer!

[JesseV]

As far as lifting the left heel, I've always thought of it in the sense that it is lifted, not that you lift it. Allowing the left heel to be taken off the ground naturally by the Pivot, instead of lifting it intentionally, will leave you better off in your Motion IMHO. Personally, my heel doesn't lift, but I attribute that to flexibility instead of an effort to keep it grounded. If the Pivot wants to lift the heel, then let it be lifted. It works for me, but what do I know?

Thanks man. I appreciate an honest reply to my question about lifting the left heel.

[Yoda]

As far as lifting the left heel, I've always thought of it in the sense that it is lifted, not that you lift it. Allowing the left heel to be taken off the ground naturally by the Pivot, instead of lifting it intentionally, will leave you better off in your Motion IMHO. Personally, my heel doesn't lift, but I attribute that to flexibility instead of an effort to keep it grounded. If the Pivot wants to lift the heel, then let it be lifted.

Agreed on all points, NCHamr. A proper pivot will, in almost all cases (especially with the longer clubs and the necessity of the right shoulder to turn to the flatter planes), pull the left heel off the ground.

Problem is . . .

Few golfers have a proper pivot. And they won't have one until that left heel (and the accompanying knee bend) starts accommodating the necessary Hip Turn (and with it, the necessary Shoulder Turn).

The reality is that the average guy's lower body doesn't move very well. Soon, the various pivot Components -- especially the Hips, Knees, and Feet -- get used to that limited dynamic and simply shut down. They're no longer active; instead, they merely accommodate, to a limited extent, the required Golf Motion.

To all golfers, I say this:

Virtually every great player in history has lifted his (or her) left heel and fully-cleared their right hip, especially with the longer clubs. Off the top of my head, let's make a list over the last century:

Early on:

Anderson
Vardon
Braid
Ray
Ouimet
Barnes
Jones
Vare
Hagen
Sarazen

And almost everyone else.

Next gen:

Hogan
Snead
Nelson
Picard
Demaret
Zaharias
Guldahl
Jameson
Mangrum
Bell
Toski
Locke
Cotton
Suggs
Burke
Berg
DiVencenzo

And almost everyone else.

Next gen:

Wright
Palmer
Nicklaus
Jacklin
Whitworth
Rawls
Player
Trevino
Casper
Watson
Miller
Nelson
Norman
Kite
Crenshaw
Langer
Price
Haas (gotta put him in here; all-time PGA TOUR leader in Cuts Made!)
Watkins

And almost everyone else.

Next gen:

Stewart
Lopez
Azinger
Woosnam
King
Montgomerie
Mickelson
Harrington
Love

And a ton of new (but not yet great) players too numerous to mention. Many of whom will no doubt learn from their new age instructors to keep their heel down in the coming years (risking both their backs and their careers).

Woods? No, but then, he's not exactly the straightest driver out there, and at age 35, has already had his 4th left knee operation.

Here's my question, to all players, instructors, biomechanists, broadcasters, magazine experts, et. al:

If virtually ALL of the great champions in history -- male and female -- have had sufficient pivots to pull their left heel off the ground, why is the average golfer inhibiting his own by leaving the left heel down?



Here's an interesting tidbit:

Years ago, marine biologists put a test group of sharks in a pool and let them get used to swimming the perimeter. Then, they put a plexiglass wall across the middle of the pool. Boom. Boom. Boom! The sharks soon got used to swimming in the plexiglass defined half-pool.

Then, the biologists lifted the plexiglass wall.

What happened? The sharks, having learned their constraints, continued to swim in their limited half-pool.

And so it is with almost every left heel/right hip-bound golfer. The pivot lacking, they compensate. Usually with an under plane backswing around their frozen right hip, accompanied by an overswing of their collapsing arms, and the inevitable over-the-top move in the Start Down.

Here's the real deal: Power is not the problem. The Arm Swing is Power, not the body. And the problem is that the Arms cannot swing freely On Plane (and past the body) while the right hip is in the way. Either back or down.

So, get reckless: Lift your left heel. Clear your right hip. Let your left knee be pulled inward and point at or just behind the ball. With that action, you'll create a path for your HANDS to swing, back and down. Follow the lead of virtually every great champion in history . . .

Just do it.

[paspilot]

Yoda, does the lifting of the left heel have to be full blown as in Jack's Golf My Way video where he portrays active feet and seems to be picking up the heels on purpose? I've always thought that the left heel is just allowed to rise up as much or as little as it does as a reaction to the pivot action and not consciously picked up in the back swing.

[JesseV]

Thanks Yoda, very informative and helpful! Just what I was looking for!