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Key Movement.
--Master ( Changed - 28/04/2008)
The Key Movement
is an interaction of the arms
that actually begins as soon as the club
head makes contact with the ball, therefore this is a technique
that you must be familiar with in order
to play consistent golf.
Most golfers do not know
about this technique, therefore perform this movement
correctly and you will have the ability to hit the ball long and
straight.
Key Movement Technique.
Therefore to take you one step backwards
in the golf swing movement.
As soon as the left foot is pressed to the ground in order to begin
the down swing movement, the hips are simultaneously forced to quickly
rotate/pivot/sway towards the target area and almost immediately
the whole twisted body unit begins to rotate about its axis, thus
causing the shoulder/arms-unit begin to rotate into the down swing
movement.
However, regardless of how firmly you
hold the shoulder/arms-unit together, due to the inertia
effect, the passive arms/golf club are unable to immediately
follow the movement of the shoulders - ( this delay is minuscule
but nevertheless it occurs)
Therefore the passive arms/golf club begin to lag slightly further
behind the movement of the shoulders thus storing up a large amount
of torsion/energy within the upper body which will be used to good
effect during the later stages of the down swing and the follow
through movement.
( I use the description "passive" to describe the
condition of the arms, but it should not be read that the arms are
all loose and floppy as the shoulders/arms-unit rotates into the
down swing movement.
In fact the arms should be considered as an integral part of the
shoulder/arms-unit in so much that the arms will immediately respond
to any movement of the shoulders regardless of how small this movement
may be.
The description"passive" means that the muscles of the
arms are completely dormant except to hold the elbows as close together
as is physically possible.)
However as the shoulders get very close
to the original address position, the golfer must begin to slow
down the rotational movement of the hips, which automatically slows
the movement of the whole twisted body unit so that the energy that
was built up within the muscles of the shoulder region can be released,
thus allowing the passive arms/golf club to begin to spring back
to the original address position and therefore catch up with the
shoulders at the impact position.
Therefore it is the skill of the golfer
to judge the movement of the shoulder/arms-unit so that the club
head makes contact with the ball at the precise moment the shoulders
return to the original address position.
However at the precise moment the shoulders
return to the original address position and simultaneously the club
head makes contact with the ball, the shoulders must then slow down
considerably whilst the arms interact, an action that will force
the right arm into the fully straightened position, however as soon
as the both arms are straight, the shoulders resume its normal rotational
movement.
Therefore whilst the arms interact, the
club face remains square to the target line
for a distance of 12" beyond the original ball position, however
this action will only be effective as long as you keep the head
firmly positioned so that the left eye remains slightly behind
the ball and that you also maintain the upper
body angles.
However the important point to make is that you must not make
any special effort to force the arms to interact, simply allow the
momentum of the arms to cause the interaction whilst the shoulders
continue to rotate at a very slow rate. The only exception to this
rule is that as you become more familiar with the movement, you
can begin to experiment with assisting in the straightening of the
right arm, but this action must be carefully timed and performed
without any rapid movement of the right arm.
Any attempt to force the arms to interact will cause the muscles
of the arms to tighten and therefore cause a sliced shot.
Practice Routine.
Here is a practice routine that you can carry
out whilst in your own home:-
The purpose of this exercise is to slowly repeat
the movement of the arms from the moment the club head makes contact
with the ball, to just after the ball has been struck.
Place a golf ball on the ground to the left
of centre of your stance and then adopt your normal
address position.
Form the shoulders and the arms in to the familiar
upper body unit by holding the arms so that the elbows are as close
together as is physically possible.
As you stand at this moment the shoulders and
the arms have been formed in to a compact, one piece, triangular
shape unit, with the left shoulder slightly higher than the right
shoulder and with the left arm straight, but with the right
arm slightly bent.
Hold the shoulders very firmly in the address
position (and by that I mean that the shoulders must remain
firmly held Parallel to the Target Line) -- In addition, the
head must be positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind
the ball and the head remains firmly held in the Fixed
Frontal condition.
Place the club head about three inches behind
the ball position, and whilst continuing to hold the shoulders firmly
on the parallel to the target line and with the head positioned
so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball, simply straighten
the right arm so that the right arm pushes club head through the
contact area and continue until the right arm is fully straightened,
but importantly whilst the elbows remain held as close together
as possible and with the left arm in a perfectly straight condition.
During the actual golf swing the momentum of the
arms cause the passive arms to interact whilst the shoulders remain
stationary, so this is just to show what happens as the arms interact.
However in order
to perform this exercise correctly, the head must remain firmly
positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball throughout
the movement and the shoulders must remain parallel to the target
line until the both arms are straight.
Obviously there will be a point when the club
face no longer remains Square to the Target Line, but this exercise
shows that it is possible to extend the distance that the club face
remains square to the target line as the club head swing
through the contact area.
This is the very basic movements of what I call
the Key Movement and once you are aware of this movement and how
it works, you can begin to expand the movement -- but I must point
out that during the full golf swing movement you do not physically
force the arms to swing through the contact area.
As long as you judge the movement so that the club head makes contact
with the ball at the precise moment the shoulders return to the
original address position, but importantly, then immediately slow
the movement of the shoulders to a situation where they practically
stop rotating, the momentum of the arms created during the down
swing movement will ensure that they will complete the interaction
during the time it takes for the shoulders to only rotate a short
distance beyond the original address position,
However I must point out again that
it is absolutely vital to the success of this movement that you
keep the head
positioned so that the left eye is slightly behind the ball position
and maintain the upper
body angles as you carry out the Key Movement.
But remember, you must judge the movement so
that the club head makes contact with the ball whilst the shoulders
are parallel to the target line and the hands
are in the original address position --- but importantly, at the
precise moment the two components coincide, the passive arms must
interact.
But importantly, you must keep the elbows
as close together as possible and also the head
must be positioned so that the left eye remains slightly behind
the ball with "pin point accuracy" and the head is held
in the Fixed Frontal position until well after the ball has been
struck.
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Please Note.
If you have any comments relating to this website,
or if you want anything clarified about the golf swing as described,
please contact me:- Here
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