Golf can be an easy game - Chapter 5 THE CRUX OF THE GOLF STROKE

With the presentation of the double 4 outline of the golf stroke, it is hoped:

(a) that a positive and definite method of establishing a uniform starting position from which to make the golf shot was learned from following the first 4 steps.

 (b) that the second 4 steps provided a definite procedure of weight shift, so that the body could be established and utilized as the basis and means of motivating the club on the upswing as well as on the down swing and follow through.

 (c) that a clear understanding has been reached that this combination of weight shift and "body action" is and should be present in each and every shot in golf, from the drive down to and including the putt.

The above matter of body control and body influence in a golf shot constitutes Lesson 1.

We now come to Lesson 2, the part of the golf stroke we purposely omitted so that we could give it the emphasis it deserves. This lesson concerns the part that the hands play in a golf shot.

Upon the hands devolves the all important task of not only putting the club in the right position, but keeping it in that right position throughout the swing.

It does happen, however, that only if and when a player has established his body as the motivating factor and control of his swing, are his hands free to execute over the club the proper positional control.

To further explain w7hy this important matter of hand action was deferred until this time, let me state that in all fields of learning there is a certain sequence or procedure and in this respect a golf stroke is no exception. In golf the learning process is as follows:

First, one learns the correct starting position;

Next, one learns to handle one's weight;

Then, one learns to use and establish the body as the medium of swinging the club;

Finally, one learns to use the hands to put and keep the club in position as it is swung.

As important as it is, the matter of positioning the club in golf is a simple and positive procedure. It can be likened to the technique employed by the billiard player.

For example, the billiard player can make the cue ball travel forward after impact, through the simple process of tilting his cue up, so that the cue contacts the upper part of the cue ball. Such a contact will produce an overspin on the cue ball, a "follow run" or "follow English," so that the cue ball will travel forward after impact.

By reversing the position of the cue, by tilting the cue down so that it contacts the lower part of the ball, a reverse spin or "reverse English" is produced, and after impact the cue ball reverses itself or travels backwards.

In a like manner, a golfer can produce similar results with a golf ball.

Through the simple process of putting the club in an open position, the golfer can make the ball slice, or curve to the right. By reversing the club position, putting the club in a closed position, the golfer can make the ball hook, or curve to the left.

Obviously, by putting the club into a square position, the golfer can make the ball fly absolutely straight.

And yet, on many occasions when I have made this simple explanation of how to hook and slice, I have had pupils throw their hands up in the air, as if in horror, and many have come forth with the same statement. "I don't want to be a tournament player. I don't want to hook or slice. I just want to hit a straight ball."

Well, the truth of the situation is that in all games where a ball is used, the basis and the measure of control that is developed is the amount and type of spin or English applied to the ball.

Of course, the object, the goal, the desire in golf is to drive the straight ball, but that perfect club position, the one that drives the ball straight, is the in-between position that is incapable of description, because it is neither open nor is it closed.

To express it another way, unless a player can distinguish between the open and the closed position he will never learn to steer that middle course, the square position.

One more comment before going into the detail of how and when the hands work in a golf shot. In some circles, the matter of hooking and slicing is taught as being a matter of foot position or stance, and it won't be denied that if a player takes an open stance, advancing the right foot to the forward position, there is a tendency to slice the ball.

On the other hand, if the player assumes a closed stance, moving the right foot back, then a tendency to hook the ball is developed.

This change of stance is by no means a positive method of hooking or slicing. It is only a means of creating a change of movement in the body which might influence the hands to bring the club into position to produce the desired result or effect. But if the hands do not respond, or if they act contrarily, then a hook can result from an open stance, and a slice might result from a closed stance. All of which proves that the positive control of the direction of a golf shot is entirely within the province of the hands.

This leads us further to some interesting facts about the correct golf shot:

(a) there is only one purpose to footwork and that is to create a point of balance so that the body can be properly used.

(b) there is only one objective to body action and that is to create and supply the power or energy to swing the club. True, this power or energy can be increased or decreased as the shot requires, but the body is only used to produce power (and this is true whether the shot be a drive or whether it be a putt), so body action is also a constant factor.

(c) there is only one time and one way in which the hands work in creating the club position for the shot—and that is the prime purpose of the hand action. However, the club position may be varied to change or shift the direc tion of the shot, or it may be changed or varied to produce a certain type of a shot, such as a high pitch shot, or a low run shot, and herein lies the true artistry of golf.

To conclude this discussion, a golfer cannot produce various results or effects with a shift of weight because he is considering only balance, nor can he or should he produce various effects with his body because here again he is only considering power. With his hands he is called upon to produce various effects or results in his shots, and he does this by changing the position of the club in the shot, so that the desired effect is produced.

Erroneous Theories and Suggestions About the Hands

I am attaching added importance to the matter of hand action in a golf shot because many experts have ignored it, and others have made harmful and detrimental suggestions.

The most common suggestion made in regard to the hands is that one should lock the club tightly in the back of the left hand, not permitting it to get away. Yet in actual practice the contrary prevails. For years the most commonly used grip in golf has been the overlapping grip, which properly takes all the tension and locked effect out of the back of both hands, so that there can be a natural sense of manipulation and maneuvering of the club.

To further substantiate this needed freedom of movement in the hands, let me quote some golfers. Bobby Jones said: "This may not be the proper procedure for all players, but I find it necessary to relax my hands at the top of the swing. Failure to do this causes bad shots through too much tension." Bobby Locke, the great South African, stated: "I make certain not to grip too tightly because it will cause tension."

Another detrimental effect in golf has been the theory and insistence that there should be no wrist action on the backswing, until an above the waist-high position was reached. If this were true, how could anyone play a short shot just off the edge of the green? It would be impossible to play a chip shot if the club had to be raised to a waist-high position before there was any hand or wrist action.

Only in recent years has the true concept of correct hand action been recognized, to wit, that the wrist action or wrist break occurs at the very outset of the backswing.

In this regard, I want to give credit to Claude Harmon, professional at the Thunderbird Golf Club in Palm Springs, California; Jerry Barber, once P.G.A. champion and professional at the Wilshire Golf Club in Los Angeles, and to my friend, Joe Dante, the New Jersey professional.

I emphasized this theory in both my previous books on golf, and I am sure that the explanations to follow demonstrate the efficiency, the value and the logic of hand or wrist action early on the backswing.

The Golf Sequence—When the Hands Work

In every golf shot there are three basic operations.

When a player assumes the correct position to make the shot, he will find himself balanced on his left foot. While in this position, he is actually prevented from taking the club to the top of the swing until he shifts his balance to his right foot. As previously stated, all good golfers shift their weight from the left to the right foot with that distinctive one-two movement. Through the medium of a forward press which is Step 1 of the golf stroke, and the subsequent reverse press, which is Step 2 of the golf swing, they transfer their weight from their left to their right foot with these two movements. This is universally done by all good golfers.

They thus become balanced on their right foot so that their body is in a proper position to raise the club to the top of the swing in the easiest and most effective way, that is, by using the right side (and thus raising the club to the top of the swing is Step 3).

In a perfectly natural manner, with the same movement one would use if he were preparing to throw something, he raises the club to the top of the swing in a full, free and controlled motion.

However, at the very outset of this Step 3 movement, the hands must go to work.

As the movement starts in the right side, it naturally begins to contract the right arm. As a consequence there is an immediate upward, pickup action of the club. The club is actually picked up with the right hand, but, simultaneously there is a natural, automatic resistance on the part of the left hand which counteracts the right hand's pickup action. It is this interwoven, combined action of the hands, whereby and with which the club is immediately flipped and cocked into position for the shot.

This pickup action on the part of the right hand and the simultaneous downward thrust on the part of the left hand gives to the correct golf shot the powerful one-two hand action that all golf swings must have. The golf swing acquires a natural pull and push action that continues up into the backswing. This leverage action is reversible because the pickup action on the part of the right hand and arm cocks the right arm so that it can apply a powerful thrust on the downswing and follow through.

At the same time the thrust of the left hand and arm in this cocking of the club naturally puts the left arm in an extended position, from which it can automatically produce a pull action into the downswing. It is this pull with the left and thrust with the right on the downswing that really makes for a powerful swing through the ball.

This pickup pull and the downward push of the hands flips or carries the clubhead to a 45° point. It is within this 45° area that the club is set or cocked for the shot. Any flip or movement of the clubhead beyond this 45° point indicates that action of the hands is not balanced. In such a case the hands are not working together in a perfectly even manner. One hand or the other will prove to be too strong during the swing, and the club will go out of position and the shot astray.

As these actions occur at the outset of Step 3, there should be an immediate and perceptible separation between the hands. Don't resist this separation but keep it constant on the backswing. On the downswing the action will be reversed; there will be a contraction on the part of both hands, which will come together and create a strong powerful formation of the hands as the ball is met.

The upward pickup pull will be felt and accomplished with the first two fingers and thumb of the right hand, and the downward thrust with the left hand will be accomplished by using the left thumb and the knuckle at the base of the left forefinger. The action is accomplished with the first two fingers and thumb, or the front or fore part of both hands. Do not create a push or downward thrust with the heel of the left hand, nor should you lock the back part of the right hand for then there can be no free movement of the club.

This perfectly natural pull and push action of the hands, which for years has been referred to erroneously as wrist action, permits the power from the body to travel to the club in a perfectly straight line. This incidentally is the only way power or force can be applied—one cannot shoot a gun around the corner. The straight line pull and push just naturally blends and synchronizes with what the body is doing in the swing.

Mannerisms and Antics Prior to a Golf Shot

Before describing and illustrating the basic positions into which a golf club can be set or positioned, let me comment on some mannerisms I have seen made before a golf shot.

Many experienced golfers make numerous movements prior to going into the swing. They will move the club back and forth, wiggling and waggling to a point where their movements become disturbing not only to themselves but to their playing partners and opponents as well.

These preliminary maneuvers, on some occasions done many times before each shot, are an effort on the part of the player to find himself. First of all, he is seeking the proper sense of balance, so he starts lifting one foot, then the other foot; as he goes through these maneuvers he seeks to orient the club in his hands.

Between these two efforts, he develops an uncertainty which necessitates more wiggles and waggles before he can finally find that happy combination of balance on his feet plus proper club control.

I mention this very common practice among golfers to point out this fact—that before a golfer can go into the swing he must be right on his feet and he must have the club in the right position. Experienced golfers develop an instinctive sense that they can't swing unless they are properly balanced on their feet, and that it does no good to swing the club if it is not in the correct position.

A good friend of mine practically wiggled and waggled himself out of golf. He had such a very successful career as an amateur golfer that he turned professional and sought fame and fortune on the golf circuit. During his first professional year, he just missed winning two major events.

Conscious of the narrow margins by which he lost the two major tournaments, our player was determined that there were to be no careless shots during his second season. With painstaking care and preparation prior to each swing, he broke the course record in the first round of play in the first tournament. In the second round, he came within a stroke of repeating this first-round record score, and at the halfway point in the tournament, our hero had an unbelievable lead of seven strokes over the field.

However, to do this, he had everybody annoyed and upset by the manner of his play. As he took his position to play a shot, he began to wiggle and waggle his club, not once, not twice, not four times; he wiggled and waggled his club from twenty-two to twenty-four times before he played each shot. On short chip shots, this procedure was most disturbing. His playing partners could not stand it, so complaints were filed as to his method of play.

On top of this, our player was taking so long to play that the entire field of players were held back, so the committee called him in to request that he speed up his play. Being a sportsman and a gentleman, he went out for the third round of play with such speed that he gave the appearance of a fireman rushing to put out the flames. With no delay our player hit his shots from what was almost a running start.

The results were tragic. From the opening round score of 67 and the second round score of 68, our player shot a third round of 81—almost a stroke a hole more. He concluded the tournament with a 77 and finished in seventh place.

If a professional golfer cannot play well without having his balance and his club right before making the swing, how can the average player hope for any success if he overlooks these important preliminary maneuvers?

By no means do I suggest that one should wiggle and waggle to a point of annoyance, but I do contend that a golfer must know how to establish his balance and he must know how to maneuver the club into the right position before the swing is made. I further contend that it is a perfectly simple natural procedure.

Personally, I like to make one preliminary waggle of the club to sense the position of the club. I like to waggle it a second time to confirm the position, and then on the third time I take off into the swing.

Watch Sam Snead play a shot—this shouldn't be difficult, he is on TV almost every week. You will notice that after Sam assumes his position to the ball, he will do a forward press, a reverse press and then he will cock or flip the club to a 45° point just once. He then returns to his original position, repeats the forward press and the reverse press, and then as the club is cocked into position he sails off smoothly into the swing. It is this simultaneous cocking of the club as the player swings the club up with his body that has eluded the the golf analysts, nor will the camera show what is happening. When two actions are being done simultaneously the camera will show the net result, it will not and cannot separate the actions. The only one who can separate these actions is the player that is aware of them. Let me say further that if the player can't separate these two movements, he may find it difficult to synchronize them.

One more aspect. It is possible to acquire a good golf swing without formal instruction, entirely through imitation. Many of our fine players gained their swings that way. When a new golf champion was asked after a big tournament win what he did to hook or slice, he said: "If I want to hook a ball, I simply think a hook. If I want to slice a ball, I simply think a slice. Golf is entirely mental, and if you want to be a good golfer simply think good golf."

I do not agree with his reasoning, but I must admit that if one acquired the knack of doing a thing as a youngster, constant repetition would give to that person a certain instinctive ability whereby the performance could be repeated without thinking. However, doing a thing is one matter, and explaining, describing or teaching a thing is something else again.

So regardless of whether one has acquired the sense of playing through imitation and subsequently plays by ear or by instinct, or whether one has learned to play via a system or a plan as presented in this book, the fact remains that there are certain maneuvers that must be done, and one of the most important things in golf is that the club must be properly positioned or cocked before it is applied to the ball.

One final illustration in this regard. A pupil of mine had lost all his distance and golf wasn't fun to him any more, so off to the lesson tee we went. After watching him play a few shots, I pointed out that instead of using his body to motivate the club, he was doing it all with his arms. I had him take a very narrow stance and without going into any numbered routine, I did get the player to roll his weight onto his right foot at the outset of the back-swing. This helped him get some body action into his swing. He started to hit the ball quite well, but every shot curved off to the right. In short order he complained about this by saying, "I'm sure hitting them better, but what is causing that slice?"

I answered, "Your club is out of position."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well," I responded, "your club is open. The face is turned to the sky. This is caused by the fact that you are taking the club back with a very stiff-armed movement. Now, if at the very outset of the backswing you will break your wrists—."

He broke into the conversation with this remark, "What do you mean telling me to break my wrists at the start of the backswing. I've been playing golf for years—I always broke my wrist at the top of the backswing—."

I replied, "I understand your situation, but let me advance an argument. You hunt ducks, don't you?"

"Of course," he replied. "You know very well that I hunt ducks."

"Well, when you hunt ducks," I asked, "do you pull the trigger and then aim, or do you aim and then pull the trigger?"

Almost vehemently, he replied, "Just what has that got to do with playing golf?"

And so ended one lesson where I could not prove that a golfer should know what position the club is in before he swings it, rather than swinging it without knowing where it is.

So much for the examples. Let's get down to the business of learning the three positions that a golf club can be set or cocked into at the outset of the backswing, and learning just what results can be expected from each of these three positions.

The Three Positions Into Which a Club Can Be Set or Cocked—and the Results Produced Thereby

There are three things that a golfer can do with a golf ball:

(a) the golfer can curve the ball to the right—this is called a slice or a fade.

(b) the golfer can curve the ball to the left—this is called a hook or a pull.

(c) the golfer can drive the ball perfectly straight.

Whether the ball slices to the right or hooks to the left or flies absolutely straight depends, of course, on the position of the club at impact.

It is possible, by using the hands at the outset of the backswing, to consciously set or cock the club into a certain position so that it will automatically be in the desired position at impact. The position into which a golfer sets or cocks his club on the backswing determines just what position the club will be at impact.

The three positions into which the club can be set or cocked are these:

(a) the open position (this produces a slice)—the face of the club (the part that meets the ball) is turned towards the sky while the shaft of the club is tilted to the outside of the line of flight, away from the right toe.

(b) the closed position (this produces a hook)—the face of the club is turned towards the ground, while the shaft is tilted to the inside of the line of flight towards the right toe. This closed face technique is used for playing low shots that run—low shots that bore into a head wind. If this position is exaggerated, a hook or curve to the left will occur. This is also used for pitch and run.

(c) the square position (produces straight flying shots)—the face of the club is kept practically square or at right angles to the line of the shot. However, it is best to keep the shaft of the club tilted slightly to the inside of the line of flight to offset the tremendous inward pull of the left side as the club is brought through the ball. 

When a player has taken a position to make a golf shot, he will find himself balanced on his left foot. It therefore becomes necessary for the player to shift his weight to the right foot and this is done through that distinctive one-two movement, the forward press, Step 1, and the reverse press, Step 2. With these two moves, the weight is shifted to the right foot, and the player is set to raise the club to the top of the swing by using his right side— Step 3. At this precise moment the hands must be ready to flip or cock the club into the desired position.

As the right hand applies to the club that sharp pickup action, the left hand must be equally alert to perform its crucial function—that of tilting or setting the club into the desired position. It is the left hand that determines just how the club is going to be set.

(a) If the left hand turns inward, towards the body, if the left hand pronates, the player can with this pronating move ment cock the club open. He can turn the face of the club to the sky and at the same time tilt the club shaft to the outside of the line of flight. It is this combination that produces the slices, the high flying shots, etc.

  (b) If the left hand is turned away from the body—if the left hand supinates, then quite naturally the club face will be closed and turned towards the ground. At the same time the club shaft will be tilted to the inside of the line of flight towards the right toe. It is this combination that produces the hooks, the shots that fly low, the shots that run.

 (c) If the left hand steers a middle course and neither pro-nates nor supinates, then the club face can be squared to the line of the flight, and straight flying shots will result. Note now that in all these positionings of the club that both hands are active. However, the action of the right hand is exactly the same in all three positions, a sharp pickup action of the club. On the other hand, the action of the left hand can be varied: the downward thrust can be an inward move (pro-nation ) or it can be an outward move (supination) or it can be the straight in-between position.

 So the crux of the shot, the position of the club, depends entirely on what the left hand does.

It is a failure to understand or utilize the left hand properly that makes golf a difficult game for so many. The left hand can work no better or stronger than the right hand allows it. This business of cocking the club into position is definitely a two-handed action, one that really originates in the right hand, but actually depends on the left hand for the final result. It is no wonder then that so much advice and so many suggestions are given in regard to the left hand, but as previously stated it is not a tense, tight position of the left hand that does the job, it is just the opposite—a free, mobile, expansive action.

Summary

Let me conclude this discussion on club position by repeating that it is the crux of playing golf. The finesse of making a ball run or stop, making a ball fly low or high, making a shot hook or slice, are all dependent on club position.

To use an old expression, "as the twig is bent, so will the tree incline," and in golf "as the club is set, so will the ball fly/* I repeat a favorite comment of mine: a runner runs with his feet but it takes a lot of arm and shoulder movement to get those feet going. Likewise, a golfer golfs with his hands—not locked or frozen on the club, but facile, live, mobile, expansive and expressive. But it takes a lot of footwork and body action to keep those hands working all the time.

  However, don't deviate from the sequence or routine of action:

(a) Learn to handle your weight so that

(b) You can utilize your body to motivate the club and then

(c) Your hands will be free and ready to fall in line, and they will naturally work together to put and keep that club in line.

And once you get the ability of cocking the club into position at the outset of the backswing you will find that your hands will become so involved, so interrelated with their job, that the only way to swing the club will be to swing it with your body and that is the only kind of a golf swing that can be powerful or delicate, as required, but at all times consistent.