Pause At the Top

[softconsult]

So I watch the Barclays. There's Marino, with the pause at the top. Ernie is interviewed and says, he went back to pausing at the top. Kind of old school, like I did for about 30 some odd years. So I went to the range. Thought about nothing but rhythm, setting the club at the top and waiting on it.

Played today. Almost no swing thoughts. Absolutely smoked it off the tee. The low hooks were gone and ball had that nice high penetrating look to it.
Irons dialed in and equally easy. I missed a few shots, but this was really fun.

So my near term analytical thought goal is to have no analytical thoughts!

 

[niblick1]

I forget which video it's in, but Brian mentions letting the momentum in the backswing finish the backswing rotation, and it's something he worked with me on before and I tend to forget about it and instead sometimes force my body to get to the backswing finish point. I hit it better when I don't forget about this - it feels like a pause when I do it right.

 

[jimmydean]

Pause at the top

I have always hit it better when I pause at the top. I think My left hip opens too quickly when I don't.
Jimmy

 

[TROYNYGOLFER]

I forget which video it's in, but Brian mentions letting the momentum in the backswing finish the backswing rotation, and it's something he worked with me on before and I tend to forget about it and instead sometimes force my body to get to the backswing finish point. I hit it better when I don't forget about this - it feels like a pause when I do it right.

I think I imitate your move by a slightly different mechanism. I begin my transition move with some slight pressure on my left heel before the backswing has ended. When I looked at the video, my hands and shoulders were still going back, but my left hip is beginning to slide left. It feels as though my hands are "pausing" at the top of the top of the swing.

 

[Kevin Shields]

What is pausing for you guys?

 

[softconsult]

For me, it isn't really a conscious pause. Maybe the way to say it is simply a backswing that is more relaxed, and a slower transition (the wait on it feel). I learned golf as a teenager and mimicked the swings of the day as depicted in the instruction books. I'm sure my ingrained swing motions are still there. Played that way through 1994, when I totally quit playing and thinking about golf, due to business time constraints.

When I returned to golf in or around 2004, it was the age of the internet,and the modern swing, X-Factor, coil, graphite shafts, huge driver heads and potential information overload!

The pause thing for me may simply be a recognition that if I get too into the lagging clubhead takeaway and create a change of direction that is too much for my wrist/hand strength, then I lose control. Too much coil, and the rebound throws me out, and over the top. Also that I hit it better as a swinger than I do as a hitter.

 

[Richie3Jack]

I think too fast of a startdown is a major problem for so many golfers and it's usually avoided by popular instruction. You'll see some talk about a backswing that's too fast and that's fine, but often times I see golfers mis-diagnose their problem as too fast of a backswing when their backswing tempo was fine, they just got very anxious at the top of the swing and started down too fast and threw everything out of whack. So I think that's why a 'pause' at the top works for you. Your startdown does't become so fast and you're able to sequence the downswing properly and get that maximum clubhead speed at impact instead of at the startdown.




3JACK

 

[golfball323]

I believe that trying to move two directions at once (club moving into transition, while trying to initiate downswing) is a recipe for disaster that usually results in some from of timing manipulation through impact. I think "feeling the club finish the backswing" is a great swing thought.

On another note, one may improve their ballstriking with this thought because they are overaccelerating to begin with and need to be reminded to let physics do its job.

Just my two cents.

 

[TROYNYGOLFER]

The Pause

What is pausing for you guys?

Sorry if I was obtuse, Kevin. What I was describing was similar to what 3Jack wrote far more eloquently. When I went to see John Graham, I knew that one of my problems was a premature release of the wrists. I was trying to avoid that by thinking acceleration through the ball with middling success.

John had me do practice swings where I deliberately either began a hip turn or pressured my left heel well before my backswing was finished to get the feel of beginning the transition with my body instead of the hands. After some subsequent sessions on the practice tee, it began to feel as though my hands were stopped for a tenth of a second or two, hence the "pause." When I went to the video, I saw that was not really happening, but rather I was beginning the downswing with my lower body just before the arms had reached the end of the backswing. I did not comprehend that the transition began well before the backswing ends. 3Jack must have been thinking of my swing when he posted because he described EXACTLY what I went through.

I had instructors slowing my backswing, which actually exacerbated the problem, because I eventually wanted to return to my normal rhythm. Combine a variety of tempos with existing swing flaws and no wonder most of August was spent in the damn trees.

 

[TROYNYGOLFER]

I believe that trying to move two directions at once (club moving into transition, while trying to initiate downswing) is a recipe for disaster that usually results in some from of timing manipulation through impact. I think "feeling the club finish the backswing" is a great swing thought.

On another note, one may improve their ballstriking with this thought because they are overaccelerating to begin with and need to be reminded to let physics do its job.

Just my two cents.

Golf, you posted this as I was composing my answer to Kevin regarding the pause.(This damn job I have is interfering with my essential golf research)

Your second paragraph describes me to a tee. However, I understand that moving in the opposite direction with different parts of the body is risky business for most of us, especially a marginally talented player such as me. As of now, the improved quality of my ballstriking is worth it.

 

[birdie_man]

Pause while the club is still loading (from momentum) and your body is counter-fallING. (as Troy describes)

Those two actions are somewhat auto at that point yes?

 

[TROYNYGOLFER]

I Wish

Pause while the club is still loading (from momentum) and your body is counter-fallING. (as Troy describes)

Those two actions are somewhat auto at that point yes?

Not if you have been to some of the instructors that I was using.

 

[birdie_man]

We'll fix you up.

If you make a bs though and stop at the top you should not be able to balance on your right foot.

There should be an automatic "rock" (like rocking chair) in the opp. direction. "Counterfall."

Brian has video on this maybe on YouTube.

There's maybe even another one on Jack Nicklaus and the club continuing to load while all this is going on. (may even be the same vid)

Brian stands in front of a red brick house I believe.

 

[TROYNYGOLFER]

Thanks

We'll fix you up.

If you make a bs though and stop at the top you should not be able to balance on your right foot.

There should be an automatic "rock" (like rocking chair) in the opp. direction. "Counterfall."

Brian has video on this maybe on YouTube.

There's maybe even another one on Jack Nicklaus and the club continuing to load while all this is going on. (may even be the same vid)

Brian stands in front of a red brick house I believe.

Went to the range last night, and I was already doing as you suggested. Damn this game is fun when things are going well. For me, I make good to excellent contact about 50% of the time. Where my improvement is most noticeable is on mishits. Hitting a heel shot and having it land about 240 about 10 yards left of center and rolling back to the middle is radically different from a 25 yard left yank or a flippy push/fade into the trees.