Hi Bobby,
It's great to have you finally posting! I'm a big fan of yours. I have admired your pattern since I was a kid. When you step up to the ball, I can feel the "All Systems Go" (14-0) attitude radiating from you like no other player. Absolute commitment to mash the ball. And the way you just leave your hands at the top of the stroke to let the pivot start the gear train effect. No inclination to 'help' with the hands. The way your shaft stress during the change in direction. The way your hands are always aiming and sensing. The way your feet drills into the ground when you're at the sit down position. The way how your finish looks so smooth and unrushed. Just hold and rest and never bounce back. So casual, yet so positive and deliberate (3-F-6) at the same time.
"Regardless of the amount of technical know-how and practice, uneducated hands can nullify it all and never be suspected".
That's one of my favourite 'hidden' gems in The Golfing Machine.
While we are on this topic, also note the following:
"Learn to SWING THE HANDS, MONITOR THE HANDS...until the Hands no longer consiously Monitor the Clubhead or the Body -- only themselves, and automatically dictate total Component compliance with Delivery Path and Delivery Line requirements."
"All motion is focused on driving the Hands -- NOT THE CLUB -- toward the BALL."
Now, this is, in my opinion, one of the biggest problem that teachers face -- How can you teach a student Educated Hands and use the Pivot effectively to wallop the Ball at the same time?
Simply put, for the beginner (and even the regular golfer), it's hard to learn Educated Hands without the Hands being too tense and wanting to hit the ball using the Hands. But we know that over-active Hands is the major cause for Clubhead Throaway (6-D) and a host of other problems such as lack of Rhythm, and Steering (3-F-7-A).
So the instructor asks the student to concentrate on the Pivot. The Pivot does all the work. Make a big, free-flowing turn in both directions. Use your big back mucles to move the club. Practice the sit down position. Practice the Axis Tilt of the spine. And so on. And obviously, the student has to Monitor the Pivot in order to learn the above.
And now we have the antithesis to The Golfing Machine's Hand Controlled Pivot system -- Pivot Controlled Hands -- a procedure considered to be "so inferior" by Homer Kelly that "detailed consideration does not appear warranted except in transitional undertaking."
Now the last part of that sentence is the key!
Golfers will go through a stage where they use Pivot Controlled Hands. That's inevitable when one is learning how to use the Pivot effectively. I hear a lot of people saying stuff like, "oh my god, that instructor doesn't know what he's doing, he's teaching pivot controlled hands, etc..." They think anything associated with Pivot Controlled Hands is bad. Well, you gotta have a good Pivot before you Hands can be educated! Remember that Educated Hands can only compensate for faulty Pivot motion , but only up to a point.
In fact, I make a few swings everyday using Pivot Controlled Hands to make sure all my Zone #1 components are operating properly.
Bottom line...here's what I think. For 95% of weekend golfers, you have to teach them the Pivot first. But, at the end of the day, attention must be returned to the Hands (their Clubhead Lag Pressure Point sensing, Plane Line Tracing, etc). That's the only way to be precise enough to maintain the necessary geometry needed in a good Golf Stroke.
So, what can we do to Educate our Hands?
Be back later...
