quote:Originally posted by Ringer
Perfect doesn't happen in 5 minutes. So he straightens up... not too tough to fix that... Hands ahead, flat left/bent right... there's no loss of lag... weight transfer is far superior... and he quits during his original swing where as he goes all the way through on the club throwing drill.
Ringer, I think the club-throwing drill may have merit, but, in my opinion, does not comply with the underlying geometries of GOLF And I believe the merits could be better gained from other drills which do.
Certainly it helped your student relax and swing through the ball, and seemed to improve his hand orientation (flat left, bent right), but basically, any swing drill without a ball tends to do that. It is only when we put that damn ball in front of us that we try to scoop, steer and overaccelerate.
I actualy tried the drill today in my backyard. I found that if I released the club at or before impact, the clubhead went directly into the ground somewhere between my feet. The butt end of the clubshaft was leading the club and went towards the target until the clubhead halted its momentum.
If I released the club near or after impact the club flew left. This comforms with the law of the plane. After impact the club will go up, back and in.
I WAS able to get the club to fly down-field, but only by bending my plane-line and releasing the club-head straight down the target line.
The reason your student is able to throw his club down-field is because he is standing up through the shot, essentialy swinging on a near horizontal plane. The same geometries do not apply to the angled plane of the GOLF swing.
It seems to me that anyone, swinging on a horizontal plane without a ball, is likely to experience less left wrist breakdown than they might experience while swinging on an angled plane with a ball.
You teach for a living, so I won't tell you your job, but what if you set up the impact bag and let the student release the club as their hands passed the bag (on-plane)? Just a thought.
Triad