Golf can be an easy game - Chapter 6 THE NEW CONCEPT OF BODY ACTION IN A GOLF SHOT

The material in this chapter is one of the real reasons that this golf book is being written.

When golf was first introduced in America, and this was less than 100 years ago, emphasis was placed on the pronation method of play. Under this method, the left hand pronated * the club away from the ball on the backswing. In the pronation type of golf swing, there was no place for any body action—in fact, the slightest sway with the body took the player out of position and a very stern "hold your head still, don't use your body" policy was established as the correct procedure in golf.

As time went on, there was a letup on this strict rule of

Pronation is a medical term which explains the movement of one's hand. If the left hand is turned towards the thumb so that the palm of the left hand is facing down, the left hand is in a prone position, just as a person lying face down would be lying prone.

By comparison, if the left hand were turned in the opposite direction, away from the thumb, away from one's body, so that the hand is facing up, then the left hand would be on its back, so to speak. If one were lying on one's back, his position would be supine, hence such a movement of the hand is supination. The same movements can likewise be done with the right hand.

As time went on, there was a letup on this strict rule of no body action in a golf shot. It was suggested that on longer shots with the wood clubs there could be a certain amount of body action, but there was a prevailing contention, which still exists in some quarters, that when it came to playing iron shots there was to be no body action. Definitely there was to be no body action on the very short pitch shots (and this, incidentally, is the prime cause of shanking).

When it came to putting there was to be no body action whatsoever. This to my way of thinking is the greatest contributing cause to the difficulties encountered on the putting green. Why a player should lock and freeze himself into a rigor mortis position when he is negotiating the most delicate shot in the game has always disturbed me, but more of putting later.

In recent years, to a very large degree, the above attitudes toward golf have changed, and it is being recognized that there is such a thing as a pivot action of the body. If power is to be developed in a golf shot, it can only be secured through a larger and bigger use of the body. However, in practically all references to using the body in a golf shot, it has always been suggested that there must be a bigger turn. I myself have been guilty of the same error, and in many of the lessons I have given, and in much of my writings on golf, I too have referred to the action of the body as being a turn.

I HEREBY APOLOGIZE FOR THIS MISINFORMATION, AND I'D LIKE TO STATE THAT THE ACTION OF THE BODY IN A GOLF SHOT IS NOT A TURN, IT IS A STRETCH, A DOUBLE-HANDED, TWO-WAY STRETCH ACTION.

The New Concept of Body Action in a Golf Shot  

What actually happens in the properly executed golf shot is that the body produces or goes into a distinctive, diagonal stretch action—on the upswing and again on the downswing and follow through. This stretch action keeps the player centered on the ball at all times, whereas, a turning action takes the player off the ball on the upswing and throws him out and over the ball on the downswing. No wonder there are so many balls struck with the neck of the club (causing bad shots and broken clubs).

I think I can make myself clear on this subject of stretching versus turning by utilizing a comment made by one of my pupils. The pupil in question had a pretty good sense of footwork, but he had an excessive action with his left side on the upswing—in fact, he turned so much that he actually turned his back on the ball as he took the club away on the backswing. Such an action tended to swing the club low and around his waistline leaving him in a very difficult position from which to hit the ball.

I call his attention to this excessive turn. I pointed out the very low around the waistline position to which he was taking the club, and I also indicated his inclination to swing out and over the ball as he came through. I suggested that instead of turning he should use his body in a diagonal stretch action, which would come quite naturally on the backswing if he would learn to use his right, rather than his left, side. If he did this, the club would travel to a much more upright position and would then be higher and over and around his neck rather than low and around his hips.

Almost before I had completed my explanation, he said, "I see, I see—you want me to get off the merry-go-round and get on the ferris wheel."

"Yes," I answered, "that is a very good way to explain the difiEerence between a turning action of the body as compared to a stretching action."

Note in Illustrations 5A and 5B how the turning action throws the player forward onto his toes to an unbalanced position, while the stretch action automatically keeps him back on his heels in a steady, strongly balanced position.

Yes, the action of the body in a golf shot is a stretch, not a turn. The action of the body on the backs wing (Step 3) originates in the right hip. As that hip is drawn back, it involves the entire right side from hip to shoulder and it bends and contracts the right arm. At the same

The New Concept of Body Action in a Golf Shot      67

time it kicks and throws the left knee straight forward towards the ball. Much instruction has suggested bending the left knee sideways so that it points sideways toward a spot in front of the right toe, but that is an error and is what happens when one turns too much.

Note again, the correct action of the left knee is a straight forward bend.

On the down swing, Step 4 of the golf swing, the action of the body starts in the left hip. Again there is a backward pull of the left hip which involves the entire left side from hip to shoulder. This creates a diagonal stretch in the body which contracts and bends the left arm very sharply. As this is done, the right knee kicks straight forward again.

This diagonal stretch of the body on the backswing, which gets the right arm and left knee synchronized into a perfectly centered, controlled action, and the reverse stretch of the body which synchronizes the action of the left arm and the right knee on the downswing and follow through can be readily portrayed in the following diagrams. It is this gyroscopic pattern under which all golfers work when they execute the perfect golf swing. Through this gyroscopic action they are centered on the ball at all times. (Illustration 9)

This discussion of the right arm and left knee working together on the backswing and the left arm and right knee working together on the downswing and follow through reminds us again of the comments made earlier about the footwork in the forward press and the reverse press. In that discussion (Chapter Four) we mentioned lefthandedness and righthandedness—and all I want to emphasize now is that if a player does not have the footwork whereby he can balance himself on his right foot for the backswing, then the ability to make this diagonal stretch is not present. Likewise, if the player does not have the footwork to rebalance himself on the left foot for the downswing, then the diagonal stretch cannot be done.

In other words, if the player does not establish and develop footwork he can never stretch but must always turn —and if he turns he will always be out of position.

But if he will follow the simple routine of the double 4, he will always be a balanced player, able to use his body correctly. If that is being accomplished correctly, the hands will come along easily, naturally and strongly to give the golf club that essential guidance which is so important in all golf shots. (See Chapter Five)

I cannot leave this subject of body action in a golf shot without making a few added remarks. It was the recognition that all good players used their body in executing a shot that prompted me to write my first book on golf. In every fine American golfer's style there was that definite body action which was so decried and inhibited on the lesson tees and in the books written on the subject.

But while I recognized the presence of this body action, I myself was not able to portray properly how one should use his body, until I could point out the difference between turning and stretching. I hope I have made this distinction adequately, because it is the difference between inconsistency and accuracy in golf.

I would like to conclude this chapter by pointing out that the stretching action prescribed is a perfectly natural action—muscularly, it is possible to do but two things:

(a) one can contract one's muscles, or,

(b) one can relax one's muscles.

Contracting your muscles can be a measured, controlled action. For example, you can contract your arm to a certain point and then hold the position at that point, but when you relax your muscles it is generally a complete release.

It becomes apparent then that when one learns to regulate the swing of a golf club with the perfectly natural diagonal stretch action, the club can be controlled and regulated for a full swing, a 3/4 swing, a 1/2 swing or even to a lesser degree as the shot requires.

One final comment on body action in a golf swing, and again I must give credit to an unknown ten-year-old girl for a very interesting but most truthful observation, to wit, that the action of the body in a golf shot is always reflected in the knees—in other words, as the body operates so the knees reflect.

In my first position as a golf professional (many, many years ago in Helena, Montana), at the dedication ceremonies to commemorate the introduction of golf in this far western community, I was prevailed upon to give a driving exhibition. Everybody crowded around the first tee in a semi-circle and the youngsters, of course, took first row seats on the ground. This was quite an occasion for the community. For many people and certainly for the youngsters it was their first glimpse of someone driving a golf ball.

As I let go on the first shot, from this little ten-year-old girl came a surprising remark, "Oh, look, he does it all with his knees."

The remark was not directed to me—it was simply thrown out into the open air, but it was a remark that I have always remembered—and the more I studied golf and golfers, the more I realized that the knees do play an important part in the correct golf swing. They always indicate exactly how the body is being used. If the body action is correct, then the knees travel straight forward on both the up and the downswing, but if one goes into a body turn then the knees start going sideways.