Pause at the top

[ThomasTheTank]

Does Brian teach a pause at the top of the backswing?

I've been hitting pushes or pulls lately and I thought it might be because from the top I push my hips too agressively and too quickly trying to get more tilt from the top

When I started pausing at the top, or a feeling like I kept the club where it was and nothing else I could see on tape my lower body going forward and my arms dropping - just happening without me forcing it to. From that feeling of a seconds pause I could turn hard throuhg the ball and hit it straight

Is this what they mean by 'waiting' for the hit? To literally do nothing in the transition but pause and let the weight settle naturally? I started counting 1-2-3 and paused on the 2. It felt like forever! But on tape everything was still moving

 

[curtisj76]

Not Brian, but I would think that he would not like a pause. He likes to use the fisherman analogy and the pause goes against that. He talks about stressing the shaft which I believe is created by change of motion. My 2 cents...

 

[ThomasTheTank]

I think in my swing though everything is still moving but I feel there is a pause with holding the shaft at the top - that is im not trying to yank or snatch it down - im just letting everything fall gently, keeping the wrists bent and then turning aggressively

 

[hcw]

Also not Brian...

...but my guess is that he would say if the thought/feel makes you hit it more like you want to, then use it...he would caveat that this might work for some folks, but be bad for others...

 

[fronesis]

It will be fun if Brian chimes in to this thread to rate how well we've reconstructed his logic!

But I agree, my sense of Brian's teachings is that he would say this:

1. An actual stop in motion at the top of the swing is probably not a good thing - prevents any sort of float loading and good stressing of the shaft in transition.

2. But for certain swings and for certain people it *might* be the case that *feeling* like you are pausing is what actually helps you to get a bit of float load and to have a better transition.

I do think that there is something about a good transition done with a really good pivot that seems to slow the club down at the top of the swing. The only pro I ever work with regularly (20 years ago) taught a pause at the top of the swing, but again, I don't think he ever wanted his students to really STOP; I think he was teaching a form of float loading, where the hands slow down and the turn of the left hip lets them float and stress the shaft. In my current swing I never thing about pausing at all, bit I do think about a proper weight shift and pivot, and I think this gives me some float load.

 

[holeout]

Brian's thoughts (one of them, at least) on tempo:

http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7297&highlight=tempo

Sounds like feeling a bit of a "pause" at the top ain't so bad .

 

[Bill Miracle]

In my last lesson with BM...

he did work with me on a FEEL of a pause at the top. It was something I definitely needed. Might not be the case for most but it was something we worked on.

In the video of our lesson, he was demonstrating that in the video, it would not look like he was pausing at the top but that was definitely a feel he had. It was enough pause to plant the left foot and get the slack out of the assembly before the drop and pivot.

 

[Jim Kobylinski]

I think in my swing though everything is still moving but I feel there is a pause with holding the shaft at the top - that is im not trying to yank or snatch it down - im just letting everything fall gently, keeping the wrists bent and then turning aggressively

That's pretty much what you want, you are changing directions and using your pivot effectively and loading the shaft.

 

[ThomasTheTank]

he did work with me on a FEEL of a pause at the top. It was something I definitely needed. Might not be the case for most but it was something we worked on.

In the video of our lesson, he was demonstrating that in the video, it would not look like he was pausing at the top but that was definitely a feel he had. It was enough pause to plant the left foot and get the slack out of the assembly before the drop and pivot.

Can you tell me about "get the slack out of the assembly" - is that the feeling that the left arm gets very straight/left behind as you start to tilt back? Like it goes taut and then the pivot whips it through? I think thats what im doing with that pause but im not sure !

 

[Bill Miracle]

With me, my hands....

were adding too much to the delivery of power. By thinking about holding the hands at the top while the the left foot plants (feels like a pause), you will feel the slack taken out of the left arm and everything will be nice and taught. From there it's drop and catch and pivot.

 

[curtisj76]

were adding too much to the delivery of power. By thinking about holding the hands at the top while the the left foot plants (feels like a pause), you will feel the slack taken out of the left arm and everything will be nice and taught. From there it's drop and catch and pivot.

I like that! Gonna have to try it. Thanks Bill

 

[ThomasTheTank]

were adding too much to the delivery of power. By thinking about holding the hands at the top while the the left foot plants (feels like a pause), you will feel the slack taken out of the left arm and everything will be nice and taught. From there it's drop and catch and pivot.

I think thats whay my hands were doing too - which was leading to a 'yank' down from the top which would sometimes pull me OTT. That pause seems to let eveything gather and then I can just turn back as hard as I want - my thought is 'wait for the hit'