Retraining instincts - hip turn vs hip slide

[Bonesy]

Picture this, you've made a near perfect backswing and you are at "top". From here, most will tell you that you want to slide laterally a touch and then turn your knees, hips, and then shoulders toward the target in order to "swing left". What if your instinct is to slide laterally and try to bring the hands down (create fake lag)? Instead of a well struck shot, you swing inside out and either flip hook it or fat fade. Your hips never rotate. Your weight shifts way left. Your left ankle hurts. Your left hip hurts. Your post "finish" is non existant.

What would you do to get your hips moving first? Is that the answer?

I can do the carry drill all day long, but as soon as I get that egg in front of me, my hips don't turn and my carry doesn't carry.

 

[Ringer]

Walk through your swings just like Gary Player did. You can even take it to the course.

 

[SteveT]

^^^ Bonesy .... It's all in your head ... deep down inside you fear the violence of the golfswing ... you fear that spherical unhittable ball ... you fear imperfection at the moment of truth ... YOU'RE TRYING TO THINK YOUR WAY THROUGH THE DOWNSWING AND YOU GO INTO PANIC MODE ...!!!!

Once you are approaching top of swing reversal, you must switch to autopilot and just let it happen. Of course, if you haven't practiced enough and your results are inconsistent if not incompetent, you will never resolve your mental problems because you will be anticipating failure before it happens ... and then your brain just tries to make up some kind of downswing.

It's almost as if you're a split personality between the backswing and downswing.

(Tell me if you concur with my 'couchless' psychoanalysis of your dilemma and then we can continue the session.)

 

[drewyallop]

For me, counter falling as the pivot is still going back helped a lot. Gets everything going in the right direction and loads the muscles. Plus helps timing. Instead of thinking about hands, plane, yack, yack, you make a very natural and simple move to the left foot. Everything else unfolds (with practice).

Drew

 

[scorekeeper]

POINT

For me, counter falling as the pivot is still going back helped a lot. Gets everything going in the right direction and loads the muscles. Plus helps timing. Instead of thinking about hands, plane, yack, yack, you make a very natural and simple move to the left foot. Everything else unfolds (with practice).

Drew[/QU


Counterfall? try Gravity Golf

 

[ScottRob]

Along similar lines...when I am out of sequence...a fix for me is to feel like I am increasing my shoulder turn to the degree that will pull the left heel off the ground slightly...then I crush the soda can under the left heel to start the downswing sequence. It also helps to picture Big Jack!

Something else that has helped me is to follow George Knudsen's advice on how the left foot is placed in realtionship to the the left shoulder (no claims of an absolute low point here, please!) By placing my left foot outside the left shoulder at address three things happen for me.

1. My hands are more centered (without actively moving to mid-body)
2. My left foot is in a better position to take the load.
3. Finishing the swing with the weight on a flat (not rolled) left foot ala Hogan is a nice goal.

 

[SteveT]

^^^ ScottRob says: "...when I am out of sequence...a fix for me is to feel like I am increasing my shoulder turn ..."

But that's all done consciously. How do you convert that 'feel' to a non-conscious automatic state?

How much practice .. how much time .. how do you know you are actually doing what you 'feel'??

 

[lia41985]

Counterfall? try Gravity Golf

Is this David Lee of Gravity Golf?

 

[islandgolf629]

Humans don't have instincts.

 

[lia41985]

A good book that discusses what Steve is talking about is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.

 

[matt kluck]

Blink

Lia,
No better book about "rapid cognition" and the "2 seconds" of thought.
MK

 

[SteveT]

A good book that discusses what Steve is talking about is Blink by Malcolm Gladwell.

Read the book ... on Wikisummaries.com ... blinks and slices ... perfect analysis of the golfswing and the conflict between the conscious and non-conscious parts of the mind.

I still prefer the Freudian "id, ego & superego" as guidelines for assessment of situations ... sexier ...

 

[ScottRob]

^^^ ScottRob says: "...when I am out of sequence...a fix for me is to feel like I am increasing my shoulder turn ..."

But that's all done consciously. How do you convert that 'feel' to a non-conscious automatic state?

How much practice .. how much time .. how do you know you are actually doing what you 'feel'??

The ball tells me! In reality I have no answers for your questions. Sometimes, just a flashing image of Nickaus' footwork does the job for me. The goal is to get the weight to the left side. Allowing the left heel to raise (by turning as fully as I can) allows me to crush the can on the way down. Very subjective, I know, but images can be very powerful. Nicklaus writes that throughout his career the prompt he relied on most was "completing" his backswing. So, even for the greatest ever a conscious prompt proved useful.