Learning Golf
"Golf is no easy game, but I believe it is made much harder by all the 'laws' that have sprouted around it. In my method of swinging all these points are taken care of, with the utmost simplicity." Bobby Locke
Golden Greats of Golf 1859 to the Present Day Benson & Hedges
Golden Greats of Golf 1859 to 1990 Allan Robertson of St Andrews to Nick Faldo. By Golf writer Peter Dobereiner with Peter Alliss © 1986 VHS on Amazon. How Bobby Jones Grips from The American Golfer, October 4, 1924
Waggle (1911) By J. H. Taylor
"Prior to the act of sweeping the ball away toward the green that must be reached is the preliminary flourish with which the player addresses his ball.
"Waggle," if not so elegant, would perhaps best convey the meaning of this preliminary, the wielder of the club "waggling" it in order, not only to shake up and loosen his joints, shoulders, wrists, and elbows, but to assist him in getting into position at the most favourable distance from the tee.
But in doing this flourish care must be exercised that it is not carried to too great an extreme.
Mannerisms attach themselves very closely to different players, and it is very decidedly so in this case, for I have seen golfers of really first-class excellence shake the head of their club across and over the tee for at least a dozen times before they make up their minds to swing round for the stroke proper.
Such a procedure as this is nothing but a mistake.
Just a shake is quite sufficient to assist the arms to secure the necessary degree of freedom, but if such an exercise is carried too far it but defeats its own object.
The eye cannot stand the strain, small though it may appear at the time, the optic nerve becomes fatigued, and to succeed in keeping the eye unswervingly upon the ball is the one and only real secret of success in golf."
Reference : 'Taylor on Golf' Impressions, Comments and Hints by J. H. Taylor Chapter XXX. Driving: The Grip. Open Champion 1894, 1895, 1900 and 1909 With Forty-Eight Illustrations Fifth Edition London Hutchinson & Co. Paternoster Row 1911.
A Low Handicap - Say, 5 or 6 (1922) By Harry Vardon
"A great deal of unnecessarily bad golf is played in this world.
The people who go on playing it, year in and year out, with unquenchable hope and enthusiasm, constitute the game's mainstay, for their zeal is complete, and zeal that remains unabated in the face of long-sustained adversity is the most powerful constituent in the whole fabric of a prosperous pastime.
All the same, these chronic sufferers from foozling would like to play better than they do.
And they could play better.
There is no reason why a physically sound individual, who takes up the game before old age with the determination to succeed at it, should fail to develop from justifying a tolerably low handicap - say, 5 or 6.
After that, everything must depend upon the person's inborn faculties as a golfer.
As a rule, it is some very simple error of ways that retards progress; an error that becomes more or less perpetuated in the system."
Reference : Harry Vardon's book 'The Gist of Golf' by Harry Vardon Illustrated From The Photographs Posed by the Author' New York George H. Doran Company Copyright © 1922. Chapter I, The Driving Swing With Some Advice Concerning Clubs and The Grip, page 11.
Open Champion 1896, 1898, 1899, 1903. American Champion, 1900.
Source : 'The Gist of Golf' from the Internet Archive Universal Library
Or download here as PDF eBook
The Open Championship Official Site : www.opengolf.com
"The main object in the game of golf is to get the ball into the hole in the fewest possible number of strokes." Walter J. Travis
Michael Bannon guides you through the 6 Step Golf Lesson
Coach to Golf Superstar Rory McIlroy and National Player Victoria Bradshaw, Michael Bannon guides you through his 6 Step Golf Lesson. 2 DVD Video. Available on Amazon : Six Steps to Better Golf [DVD] [2009]
The Elements of The Game (1924) By Cecil Leitch
"The word "swing" implies an action that is smooth and regular, and calls to mind the movement to and fro of a pendulum.
This smooth, rhythmical movement, is what every beginner must try to acquire, and to do so, she must look upon the arms as an extension of the shaft of the club.
The club-head is going to do the actual hitting of the ball, and it is to be propelled by a twisting action of the body.
Cecil Leitch
In order to accomplish this action, the player must plant her feet firmly on the ground and feel that her weight is thrown on to her heels. Falling forward on to the toes at the beginning of the swing, throws the whole machine out of gear, and any mistake made at this stage of the shot cannot afterwards be rectified. "Well begun is half done" might well be applied to the act of playing a golf shot.
Now the player is ready to swing.
The first thing to move must be the club-head, and this is done by a slight tightening up of the wrists, chiefly the left.
The left arm must be kept as straight as possible, during the backward and downward swing. If this is done and the head is kept still, there will be small margin for error in the actual twisting of the body.
It is an impossibility for a player to jump at the ball without moving her head, a very common fault with beginners.
Throughout the whole of the swing the player must try to imagine that the club-head is travelling around the inside rim of a wheel, of which the body forms the axis.
It is often said the club-head should be taken back along an imaginary straight line at the back of the ball.
This remark has confused some beginners who, in trying to carry out this instruction, have made the stroke doubly difficult by stretching beyond their natural reach.
Every single action of the golfer must be free, and anything that feels uncomfortable cannot be right. This imaginary line which the club-head should follow is really a slightly convex curve on the ground.
Some players take the club-head along the ground in this way for about 8 or 10 inches, and are said to have a "flat" swing; those to whom it comes more natural to bring the club-head from the ground after the first 2 or 3 inches of its journey, are said to have an "upright" swing. I explain the meaning of these terms as they appear later on.
It Seems Easy Enough. Get The Feel Of The Club by Robert T. "Bobby" Jones
Robert T. "Bobby Jones" lessons. Volume 2 The Short Game. Presented by Jack Nicklaus
Available on Amazon : Bobby Jones - How I Play Golf Collection, The - Vol. 2 - The Short Game [VHS]
'How Bobby Jones Got Started' By O. B. Keeler The American Golfer LA84 Foundation
"Many a scratch player golfer and professional has struggled away to cure a fault which he assumed to be in the swing, when all the time the answer lay in the fundamentals of the grip. Perhaps as few as 5 per cent of club golfers grip the club correctly and as few as 1 per cent really understand the intricacies of the grip." Vivien Saunders
What 90 Per Cent of Slicers Do (1931) By Henry Cotton
"I am writing this chapter at home after having spent every day of this week in the company of a young golfer who plays for his university and who wished to cure a slice before the beginning of the term.
I will take you along with this player, although his experience may be greater than yours because he has a handicap of scratch. This, however, will only make it the more difficult to cure his fault. He started five days ago with the most wicked slice I have ever seen.
It was tremendous, the ball travelling almost like a boomerang, and he never failed to slice - it was absolutely consistent. Added to that, he drove the ball low. One always associates a slice with a high shot, but this was no ordinary slice, so that our friend had another fault to overcome.
We started on the practice tee with fifty balls. What a slice! Ball after ball went sliding away into the rough on the right with great regularity.
I looked at his grip. It was what is known as the "hooker's variety" - that is, he had put his right hand under the shaft, probably with the idea of preventing the slice.
He had tried to make two things wrong into a right. His back swing was flat, but there was something wrong with his body work.
He turned his right shoulder through before his club came anywhere near the ball and thus threw the club head "miles" outside the ball from the very start. That was the root of his trouble.
He was doing what 90 per cent. of slicers do.
it is no use swinging flat if you do not keep inside all the time, and this player was swinging outside in the most pronounced manner. Now how to cure that.
Keep your left shoulder high, use a flat back-swing, keeping the right elbow underneath the shaft and close to the body.
Pivot well, and as you bring the club down hit late - and hold back.
It is so easy to sway forward when trying to hit the ball a long way, but you must hold the body back as the club meets the ball.
It has taken four days to teach my pupil to swing properly, and he has achieved a certain amount of success, but he is still unreliable because he will sway.
You cannot all expect to cure a slice in half an hour.
Your error may be easily cured if you are a beginner ; but if you have had a slice for some time take a lesson to be sure that you have a method of curing it, and then work it out for yourself.
It may take longer that way, but you will learn a great deal by doing this."
Reference : T. Henry Cotton's book 'Golf Being a short treatise for the use of young people who aspire to proficiency in the Royal and Ancient Game' by T. Henry Cotton. Part II. Chapter VI Faults and their remedies, page 135. The Aldin Series, Eyre & Spottiswoode (Publishers) Ltd. First published 1931.
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How Should We Learn Our Golf (1933) By Joyce Wethered
"It is purely a matter for individual taste whether the technical side of golf interests us or merely bores the player by the difficulties and problems it presents.
If it happens to possess some attractions, then all the better, because it is scarcely possible to become a really skilled player unless some effort is made to investigate the more serious side of the game.
Broadly speaking, there are three ways of learning to play golf -
- By professional tuition,
- By personal observation and imitation, and lastly,
- By reading books of instruction.
Many professionals claim that book instruction is their best ally, as learners from this source are compelled to apply to them to get them out of their difficulties.
That may be true in some instances."
Reference : 'Golfing Memories and Methods' by Joyce Wethered Open Champion 1922, 1924, 1925, 1929 English Champion 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924. With 54 Illustrations London Hutchinson & CO. (Publishers) LTD. Made and Printed in Great Britain at the Mayflower Press, Plymouth 1933.
By Personal Observation And Imitation
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In this way, the eye can see the movements of the golf swing that otherwise it would not: the true motion of a swing; the true order and sequence of the body during a swing.
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Learn YOUR golf from Sir Nick Faldo in Sir Nick Faldo's 'Shot Savers' video, The third of Nick Faldo's coaching series. Running time 63 minutes approximately. On location at Worldwoods in Florida and the world's most famous links course at St Andrews in Scotland, the home of golf. Sir Nick Faldo takes you through the differences between the extremes of playing a typical American resort course at Worldwoods in Florida and the world's most famous links course at St Andrews in Scotland, the home of golf where he won his second Open in 1990. Buy on Amazon : Faldo - Shot Savers [VHS] |
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The Concept Of The Golf Swing by Donna White
1976 U.S. Amateur Champion, T2 1982 U.S. Open, 20 year LPGA tour player, in 'The Long Game' DVD, available on Amazon. The Mental Picture from 'The Golf Swing The Ernest Jones Method' by Daryn Hammond, 1920
Avoid Two Devastatingly False Impressions (1946)
Lifting The Club Up-Down-Up
From the first time we see golf played to the first time we take a club in our hands, we have instinctively formed a false conception of the movement.
We visualize the club head going up and over our shoulder and down onto the ball.
You need only take any neophyte to see how he immediately takes the club up and down.
His conviction that this is the correct movement is strengthened by the fact he sees the ball soaring into the air and concludes that it must have been hit with an upward motion.
To Use The Hands To Lift The Ball
So to make matters worse, he brings his hands into play also to assist the up-down-up movement - and is fully equipped for a career of scooping.
Now here are two devastatingly false impressions, and it is astonishing how long in many golfers' lives they remain.
"We must not try to lift either the club head or the ball, and we shall never be good golfers until we can feel that we pull the club head along as we swing, along and not up and down." Percy Boomer
The Most Common Fault In The Grip (1952)
"Normally, these faults result from a bad grip, an incorrect stance, an improper pivot, or some other fundamental of the game which already has been discussed.
However, here is your opportunity to check your faults, with the cause followed by the cure.
If the following discussion does not cure your common faults of the game, then by all means see your professional. He is the man best qualified to speak on your own individual golf problems.
The first place any professional looks for a golf fault is in the grip, your only contact with the club. The most common fault in the grip is having the right hand too far over on the shaft.
If this is the situation, then you are undoubtedly slicing almost very shot.
We told you in the chapter on intentional slicing and hooking that changing your grip can bring these about for you deliberately. So, if that can be done intentionally by changing the grip, then you can be sure that the same will result from doing it accidentally.
So, check that grip.
If the right hand should be too far under the shaft, then that will cause a hook.
The hands should be close together so that they can perform as a single unit, and the "V's" formed by the thumbs and index fingers should point to the right shoulder.
One other problem you may encounter at the top of your swing is having the right elbow pointing out, instead of down. This is a point you should check if you are having trouble 
"Just grip with such firmness, more especially with the thumbs and forefingers, as to prevent the club from twisting in the hands. If you remember the thumbs and forefingers, the other fingers will generally supply of their own accord the desired amount of pressure." Harry Vardon
THE PGA OF AMERICA First Swing Golfer's Guide
"The mental picture suggested by the idea of sweeping the ball away may be instinct with rhythm, but it does not suggest that dash, that speed, that crispness, that "pinch," that "nip," which is of the essence of the modern professional's action." Ernest Jones
Learn To Put Cause Before Effect (1969) By John Jacobs
"Ask a hundred golfers what are their faults, and ninety-nine will produce clichés of swing technique: 'Head up", 'I sway', 'My right elbow isn't in the right position', and so on, ad infinitum.
The one who doesn't will usually be a good player, or potentially a good player. Through experience or study - or the help of a competent professional - he will have learned to put cause before effect.
He will know that, fundamentally, a golfer can only commit three faults singly or in combination: that every bad shot he hits happens, at root, because at impact:
- The club face is open or closed,
- The line of swing is out-to-in or in-to-out, and,
- The angle of club head approach is too steep or too shallow.
This one-in-a-hundred will not need to consume millions of words of printed swing theory, take endless lessons from thirty different teachers, hit five hundred experimental shots a day.
He will be able to tell from the flight of the ball what is going wrong at impact, and from that will know exactly what adjustments he must make to produce his best golf."
Reference : John Jacobs' book 'Play Better Golf with John Jacobs. Chapter 12. Faults, Causes and cures reviewed'. Cover design by Chris Evans. Based on the Yorkshire Television Series written in collaboration with Ken Bowden. Stanley Paul & Co Ltd, Copyright © Yorkshire Television 1969.
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"The only way in which you can properly feel what you are doing with the various parts of your body during the swing - keep yourself "oriented," in other words - is by holding your chin entirely independent of the action." Alex J. Morrison
Mental And Emotional Approach (1989) By Ray Floyd
"I'm going to dwell on the mental aspects of this game.
Once you have a swing or a stroke that works reasonably well, your mental and emotional approach becomes about 95 percent of the package that determines how well and how consistently you score.
That's a well known, often-published, often-discussed fact, but too many amateurs, as well as a few professionals, don't pay attention.
At least they seem to forget it as soon as they hit the first tee.
Then they resume worrying about their setups, their grips, their backswings, and all the other facets of the swing.
Know Your Golf Understanding The Rules With Peter Alliss
Also featuring Gary Alliss "One of the U.K. top 25 golf coaches" - Golf Monthly
Over 100 examples of situations you could encounter in both match and stroke play golf.
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Know Your Golf (2004) By Peter Alliss
"Improve your game or impress your fellow golfers.
Packed with over two hours of golfing excellence, 'Know Your Golf' was filmed at some of the finest courses in Europe.
If you are a proficient golfer, this in-depth collection will take your game to new levels.
If you are a beginner, you will discover from the experts, everything you need to know about how to resolve complicated and simple rule problems.
With the 'Voice of Golf' Peter Alliss."
Reference : 'Know Your Golf with Peter Alliss' DVD, also featuring Gary Alliss, "One of the UK's top 25 golf coaches" - Golf Monthly. Copyright © 2004 Classic Pictures Holdings Limited. Directed by Robert Garofalo. Produced by Lyn Beardsall. Associate Producer Jo Garofalo. Running Time 135 mins approx.
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"I must emphasize that unless a player gets his or her grip correct trouble begins immediately. If the hands are not placed correctly on the club the club-face will be either 'open' or 'closed' at impact and the ball will go off line." Bobby Locke
Golf Misconception 13.
"Misconception 13: The golfer should try to consciously release the club. This definition of release means to pronate and supinate the hands and arms and to consciously try to turn the club over through the impact area.
Reasons: Correct body (shoulder and hip) rotation will automatically create hand and arm rotation. Any conscious effort to open or close the clubhead, either on the backswing or downswing, will most likely create an inconsistency in your ball striking. Any conscious effort to try to release the clubhead is a compensation for poor body rotation. If the golf swing is a circular motion in which centrifugal force is produced, the inertia and the weight of the swinging clubhead will automatically create the release."
Reference : 'Appendix 3 Golf Swing Misconceptions by Dr. Jim Suttie, PGA Professional Cog Hill Golf Course Lemont, Illinois, The PGA Manual of Golf by Gary Wiren PGA Master Professional, Ph.D. MacMillan USA Copyright © 1991 by The Professional Golfer's Association of America.
Henry Cotton explains it this way: "The secret of the good player is here - how to square up the club-face from open at this point in the fraction of a second it takes to reach the ball. The back of the left hand must be twisted or turned down, while the club still stays on this arc, inside to out. Playing as I do with a two-knuckle grip with the left hand, it is essential to use the hands to hit past the body, because not only is the club-face brought up square at impact this way, but the full play of the flexibility of the left wrist is available. The left hand and arm must be taught their roles, then they can help the powerful right to make the timed blow, so sought after and yet rarely found."
Reference : 'Study the GOLF GAME with HENRY COTTON' Published in 1964 by Country Life Limited Tavistock St. London WC2 © HENRY COTTON 1964 Points To Study, page 20. You Must Learn To Do This, page 74.
Key Learning Point
Know Exactly How To Grip the Club
"Having satisfied himself that he knows exactly how the club should be gripped, the player should practise the movement, preliminary to the swing, inelegantly described as the "waggle".
Get the Feel of the Club
Much is to be gained from the waggle treated as an exercise. The waggle should be performed, not aimlessly, but by the conscious application of power by the fingers.
The golfer should move the club-head backward, and then move it forward, thinking only of producing the movement by finger.
He will soon become at ease with his grip and on good terms with his club ; he will get the "feel" of the club, and become conscious of an increasing demand over its movements.
In doing this exercise he must determine -
(1) to grip the club firmly in the forefingers and thumbs.
(2) to keep every other part of the body relaxed, notably the wrists, arms and shoulders.
(3) to apply the motive power continuously, persistently by the fingers.
If these points are observed, then -
(a) the body can never lead ; and
(b) the body will always follow.
Extend the Waggle Until it Becomes a Complete Swing
The player will quickly become an expert waggler, and he can then extend the waggle until it becomes a complete backward and forward swing.
If the same principles be always borne in mind, the shoulders will turn and the knees will bend in due time and place.
Observe The Three Fundamental Principles
This backward and forward swinging rapidly promotes that sense of balance and that feeling of control over the club which hundred of rounds of golf often fail to give ; and no matter how much he may be "on his game", he cannot fail to derive advantage from the exercise, provided that it is performed, never perfunctorily or carelessly, but always with the resolve that the three fundamental principles of grip, relaxation and finger work shall be consciously and conscientiously carried out.
The exercise so practised will produce not only freedom and certainty of movement, but that habit of mental concentration which golf demands as much as anything else in life, whether work or play.
Be Cured By Due Observation of The Three Principles
If the body and mind are constantly trained in this manner, the actual hitting of the ball is not likely to present any grave difficulty. Naturally, the very presence of the ball will tempt the golfer to forget one or more of the three articles of faith, and he will often fall before the temptation ; but so long as he realizes that the failure of the shot must be due to failure to observe one or more of the three articles of faith, and to nothing else, and is to be cured by due observation of those articles and by nothing else, his progress in the game will not be long delayed."
Reference : Daryn Hammond's book 'The Golf Swing The Ernest Jones Method by Daryn Hammond', London, Chatto & Windus 1920, First Published, April, 29, 1920 Second Impression, July, 30, 1920, CHAPTER III The Swing.
Insights
"Chui wan (strike pellet), one of a number of colorful ball games of ancient China, is believed to be a precursor of the modern outdoor game of golf.
Chui wan was originally called bu da (walk and hit), a game in which the player scored points by hitting the pellet into a hole in the ground.
Tang Dynasty women playing the ball game bu da.
In a painting from the Song Dynasty two children are shown playing chui wan, and in the Yuan Dynasty, Wan Jing (Classic of Chui Wan) was published.
This book says Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty and Emperor Zhangzong of the Jin Dynasty were both enthusiastic players of chui wan.
A Ming painting, Ming Xuanzong Xingle Tu (Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty on a Pleasure Ride), shows the Emperor, in plain clothes, striking the pellet in the field.
The painting also shows the course, the cup, and colourful banners. The club, ball, course, and rules of chui wan were similar to those of modern golf."
Reference : 'Ancient Chinese Inventions' by Deng Yinke. Translated from the original Chinese by Wang Pingxing. Golf, page 141. Cambridge University Press. Copyright © China Intercontinental Press 2010. © Cambridge University Press 2011.
"The skiing connection is about a theory known as the "fall line."
Translated, that's the point-to-point direct way down the hill. If you rolled a ball down a mountain, it would automatically follow gravity, wouldn't it?
You may have heard teaching professionals say recently, "All putts are straight."
Well, obviously putts are not always straight because they follow gravity and they break.
The point is that when you've figured out the break on a putt, you putt straight for the spot to the right or left of the cup, disregarding the cup. Then just let the fall line take it from there."
Reference : Patty Sheehan's book 'Patty Sheehan on Golf', Patty Sheehan and Betty Hicks. 'Patty Sheehan Talks Putting', page 21. Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas. Copyright © 1996 Patty Sheehan and Betty Hicks.
"The European Golf Teachers Federation (EGTF) was established in 1992 to provide individuals interested in a career teaching golf to be trained to teach the game and to gain a Qualification.
The EGTF is now an internationally recognised teaching organisation with members all over the world within the golf industry.
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Source : The European Golf Teachers Federation, Bromley, Kent, United Kingdom
"Another point I now emphasize with all my students is this:
At all times you must feel you are striking down at the ball. The back of the left hand is facing the hole - striking down.
Why do I stress this point? Too many golfers scuff, top, or hack at the ball, because they are trying to lift the ball toward the hole.
The loft of the club will take care of that.
If you find the ball going high, going off to one side, or hitting and rolling, then you are scooping at the ball. It's just as if you tossed the ball into the air with your hand. It has no bite, no backspin.
When my students fall into this error, I have them try this exercise: Hit down and stop the club just ahead of the ball.
Don't give me an artificial follow-through - the correct follow-through comes form centrifugal force. See that your club is hitting through the ball.
We pros sometimes talk about staying with the ball. By this we mean that the club head should sweep low through the hitting area; not just a slap at the ball.
With a driver, for instance, I feel I am hitting about two feet along the ground, not just catching the ball on the upswing. With the shorter clubs, of course, the hitting area is smaller.
Get the feeling of a broad swing. Sweep down and through the ball.
Get the full width of your swing by practising the 1-2-3 swing (Ed. The Revolta Formula). Take all your distance from right to left. Feel that you are hitting through a broad area, not just a tiny round ball.
It will mean a sharp, clean stroke at the ball with plenty of biting backspin for your short shots and distance on your long irons."
Reference : Johnny Revolta's 'Johnny Revolta's 'Short Cuts To Better Golf', Revised Edition, by Johnny Revolta and Charles B. Cleveland. Illustrated by Jerry Gibbons. Copyright © 1949, 1956 by Johnny Revolta and Charles B. Cleveland. Designed by Maurice Serle Kaplan.
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"I believe that in the execution of the golf swing there are 4 major moving parts: the body, the arms, the hands and the clubhead.
Their Proper Sequence
These travel at different speeds and develop different degrees of acceleration. Each travels in its own more or less circular path. The clubhead, in its outer circle, of course travels farther and faster than the arms, hands and body.
Obviously the body, like the hub of a wheel, moves the slowest. It must therefore be started first in the downswing.
The arms follow next in the sequence because they are the next slowest major moving part; then the hands, and, last of all, the clubhead.
Their Proper Order
In my opinion, practically every error in the full swing, and sometimes in other shots, is lack of order in the moving parts.
Any good instructor, when examining a player who is off his game, will take note of the four fundamental movements, to see if they are following the true sequence of the swing.
Usually he will find that the arrangement has been changed. For example, the player's arms may be in motion before his body starts to unwind. The club head may be leading the player's hands, long before it gets to the ball.
The instructor sets about it to put the movements back in their proper order.
Bothered With a Slice
A player comes to me for help; he's bothered with a slice. I go right back to fundamentals.
I find that in his swing the fastest moving part (the club head) has been crossing the line of flight from outside to inside. It does this because it has been allowed - or forced - to start first in the down swing.
As a result, it blocks the slower moving parts and obliges the player to draw the club head across the ball. This creates a left-to-right spin, or slice.
When the proper sequence of the moving parts is restored, the slicing disappears.
Hitting the Ground Back of the Ball
Another player may complain of hitting the ground back of the ball - "sclaffing", it used to be called. I find that the player's slowest moving part (his body) is quitting on its job.
It is not taking the lead it should at key position "HEEL", as pictured in this book.
Again, my problem is to help the player rearrange the moving parts of his swing - to "put the horse before the cart."
The Rhythm Record
I feel that the average player will be helped in developing a good sequence of these moving parts by practicing with the Rhythm Record until he can blend his moves with the music.
There are other moves involved. These I feel are minor and will be completed without further thought if the sequence is followed in a smooth, flowing manner. Practice with the record will definitely improve your ability to time the four major moving parts in their proper order.
Eventually, you will be able to increase the speed of your swing without disarranging the all-important sequence.
Have Some Notion of Rhythm
These and many other golfing ills can be corrected if the player can be taught to order the moving parts of his swing in their proper sequence.
The professional's task would be simpler if his pupil already had some notion of rhythm, for the proper sequence of the moving parts is part and parcel of the rhythmic swing.
I start a beginner with the full shot with a short iron, then work up to the driver.
You swing all clubs in the same sequence, so the good (or bad) arrangement of the moving parts affects any club you may be swinging.
The more rhythm you can work into your swing the better will be all your shots, from drive to putt."
Reference : Contribution By Tom Mahan, President, New England Section, The Professional Golfers' Association of America, in 'Watch Those Moving Parts!', in Robert Winthrop Adams' book 'Timing Your Golf Swing With a 45 R.P.M. Adams Golf Swing Rhythm Record' Introduction by Francis Ouimet Jacket Design by Larry Lurin The Citadel Press 222 Fourth Avenue New York 3, N.Y. Copyright © 1957 by Robert Winthrop Adams.
About Tom Mahan : President New England Section P.G.A. Rhode Island Open Champion (twice) Former Champion New England P.G.A.
About The Author : Robert Winthrop Adams of Waban, Massachusetts, is a registered engineer who has an unusual hobby, the kinematics of the golf swing. He is the inventor of the Adam 'loRYTHMic Swinging Weight Scale', 'Golf Swing-O-Scope', and Adams 'Golf Timer'. The author of numerous articles on the golf swing in Golfing and Golf Illustrated, Bob Adams has lectured on this subject at various country clubs and annual meetings of the PGA (Professional Golfer's Association of America) Source : 'Timing Your Golf Swing With a 45 R.P.M. Adams Golf Swing Rhythm Record' by Robert Winthrop Adams.
"Our programme for immediate improvement outlines the most crucial areas of our swing model - what we term its essential 'DNA'.
It addresses the areas where 9 out of 10 golfers make the same mistakes and must be learnt, understood and executed by all standards of golfers.
The Hand Line Takeaway -'The Master Key'
Learning the correct takeaway hand movement dictates everything that follows, and is the area where 9 out 10 golfers destroy the swing plane within the first few feet of the takeaway.
We call this takeaway to hip height movement 'the master key to good golf' (see page 44) and it is, without question, the most important part of the swing.
If you play to a good or average standard, cleaning up the backswing hand line could well provide the breakthrough to a higher level. With good, talented golfers we find that once the hand line has been learnt, everything else just falls into place as their natural talent allows their hands to naturally find their way into impact and beyond.
We have seen proof of this many times, especially when working with tour and club professionals. They find it easy to execute and understand.
Often they are amazed that no one has ever taught them, in detail, this most crucial area of the swing.
Pre-Impact
It is vital that the clubface is square by the time it reaches a point six inches before the ball. To do this the club, body and hands must be moving in unison.
Pre-impact, the hips must have turned 45 degrees to allow the club to swing freely into the swing's apex, the long straight line through the impact area.
Finish
The finish must also be learnt in great detail - it won't just happen.
The clubhead must maintain a sustained contact with the ball. The arms must retain their radius from the centre point of the body through to hip height.
These three factors are the essential requirements of the swing model - always hold them uppermost in your mind.
Each aspect is covered in different parts of this book in detail."
Reference : 'The Golf Delusion Why 9 out of 10 golfers make the same mistakes.' Introduced by Hugh Grant. Lessons and stories from the Knightsbridge Golf School by Steve Gould and D.J. Wilkinson'. First published 2009 by Elliott and Thomson Limited. Copyright © Steve Gould and D.J. Wilkinson. www.knightsbridgegolfschool.com
The Knightsbridge Golf School, London, was founded in 1951 by Leslie King who "originally built his swing model on the actions of Ted Ray and Harry Vardon." Page 171.
Buy on Amazon : The Golf Delusion: Why 9 Out of 10 Golfers Make The Same Mistakes
"Golf shots sometimes meet with strange fates, and I think that the queerest I ever played was at St. Andrews.
I was doing a good round until I came to the last hole. On the right of the course at this hole there is a row of houses, but they are so far away as usually to be safe.
On this occasion, however, I imparted so terrific a slice to my ball that it landed on top of one of the buildings, bounced down, and finished its career in a drain- pipe."
Reference : 'The Gist of Golf' by Harry Vardon. Illustrated From Photographs Posed By The Author. New York George H. Doran Company, 1922.
"Ten years ago I became a professional.
The other night I got out my pencil and started figuring. Estimating that I have instructed and played with an average of two hundred golfers each year means that I have watched and observed over two thousand golfers, ranging from the new beginner to the best players in the country, both in the amateur and professional ranks.
I am not setting this up as a record or an unusual figure. Many professionals, longer in the game than I, could truthfully quote much larger numbers. But the thing that I do want to emphasize is that I have really watched every golfer I have come in contact with and as a result of this study have learned some things which I believe are really worthwhile...
There are two major things that make a golfer - they have been present in every golfer I have ever observed and lacking in every man who failed to play the game.
Now you may say "I hook" - "I slice" - "I top" - but those things are results, not causes, and my experience shows that if causes are removed proper results follow...
The two big "causes" that my observation leads me to believe are responsible for the majority of golfing ills are a) lack of control of the club; b) hitting outside the line before reaching the ball on the downswing.
Control of the club simply means that the "feel" of the shaft and the clubhead is in the fingers of both hands all through the swing - every second during the shot I know where my club face is - back - up - impact - through a finish - every second. So does every other professional and a great many good amateurs.
Balance takes care of itself when you have the feel of the club. This control the club - or the "feel" of it - is almost impossible to convey to a man who has never had it in golf.
But there is another method, by direct description, of imparting it which I will deal with later (Ed. read PDF version).
Control of the club is the thing which gives sureness to the shot - which gives mastery of the length and strength of the swing. It ensures timing - crispness- balance - most of the things which good golfers have and poor golfers lack.
So much for control - and you must have control - "feel" - before you can hit on the correct line.
The second thing is hitting outside the line before the club head reaches the ball.
This means you are hitting towards yourself instead of away from you - it makes you struggle to hold your balance at the finish - it may be the result of "looping" - body in too soon or any one of a dozen different things - but it prevents your getting full power into the shot - absolutely excludes the possibility of your hitting on that straight line, "the correct flight path" before and after reaching the ball.
For - this should be explained and understood - the man who has the feeling of "hitting away from himself" does nothing of the kind - he makes his club travel on a straight line at the vital part of the swing - the bottom.
These are the two big things in golf - control of the club - hitting inside the line."
Reference : 'What 2,000 Golfers Have Taught Me' The Young Ravisloe Professional Propounds Some Novel Ideas About the Game' By Eddie Loos, Golf Illustrated, April 1921. Courtesy LA84 Foundation, Digital Library, www.LA84Foundation.org
Find out more about Eddie Loos : Philadelphia PGA Section
"Aleck (Alex) Smith was one of five brothers from Carnoustie. Alex started the migration in 1898 and his brother Willie followed him a year later, followed by George and Jimmy. Finally, Mr. and Mrs. John Smith came over bringing with them the baby of the family Macdonald. They were a redoubtable golfing family.
Willie was the first to win the national opening in 1899; Alex won in 1906 and 1910, when he edged out little brother Macdonald; Macdonald went on to become the best player who never won a major. Quite a record for a single family!
Alex was the club pro at Nassau Country Club when the Travers joined.
The story goes that the fifteen year old Jerome Travers Jr. had just lost a match to a lad of his own age. Something about the young Travers struck a cord with Alex, perhaps his fire and competitiveness.
Alex was later to call Travers "the greatest competitor I have ever known."
"Do you want to become a real golfer, kid, or are you just going to dub around at this game?" Alex asked.
When told the young Travers wanted to become a real golfer Alex replied "All right, now that we understand each other let's see what you can do!"
Reference : www.hickorygolfers.com Scottish Exiles The Great Teachers, by Frank Boumphrey Copyright ©F. B. Dec. 2006 © Society of Hickory Golfers 2005-2010
"In the 1920's after winning the U.S. Open, I was having a lot of trouble with my swing.
As you all have no doubt done, I started experimenting with my swing.
I would pivot differently, try a more upright swing, shift the weight or keep it up front, make a larger shoulder turn. I even changed from the interlocking to the overlapping grip.
Nothing worked, and the different grip only resulted in a loss of yardage.
I studied other golfers who had streaks of wildness and noted that we all had one thing in common: we were prone to losing the club at the top.
On the other hand, greats like Hagen and Jones kept their hands firmly in place all the time.
This explained the inconsistent golf I was playing. But what could I do about it?
Then one day, after playing a round of golf with Ty Cobb, the great major league baseball player, at the Augusta Country Club, I asked him if he had any special training regimen to help him stay on top in baseball. "Gene," he said, "I carry a leaded bat around with me when I play. And during practice sessions, I run around with shoes that are weighted too. I practice swinging the bat in my room every day."
After talking to Ty, I decided the idea could be transferred to golf by means of a weighted club. I put lead pieces in the head of one of my clubs until it weighed 22 ounces. Every chance I had I would swing the club back and forth forty or fifty times, until I felt I could move it without losing my grip.
I had similar clubs all over my farm, in different rooms in various places where I was staying, and I would swing them whenever I got a chance. Gradually I developed hand action.
In a couple of years I saw a tremendous change in my game. I started to get full control of the club from start to finish, and I began to cut out the disastrous 7's and 8's that would ruin a tournament for me.
During a tournament in 1931, I noticed that my hands were in the same position at the top as they were when I was addressing the ball. I knew I had solved the problem by using the heavy club. That' s why the weighted trainer has become a regimen with me. It is the only thing that could have cured this fault.
I am very strongly in favor of this 22-ounce club for golfers who play only on week ends. A lot of these golfers play a very fine game, but the layoff from Sunday to the following Saturday would hurt even a pro's game.
Probably the heaviest thing these golfers have in their hands during the week is a cigar or a martini glass. But if they had a heavy club, they could go out on the lawn, or in the garage, and swing it back and forth. When they returned to the club the following week end, they would have a better swing than when they left the previous Sunday.
There is no doubt that the weighted club is a great training aid for the golfer who wants to stay in the groove and increase his power.
You see, you have to cure faults in a natural way.
One of the troubles with today's hurry-up golfer is that he thinks he or his pro can cure a fault in five minutes. Well, a great player can't cure a fault for weeks and weeks.
Then to make certain the correction stays with him, he has to test it under the stress of competition and the pressure of the score card and pencil. Then if it will live through that stress, he has mastered it and achieved his goal.
My career has spanned some forty-five years, and I get a great kick out of watching the modern players, the terrific power hitters, powder the ball long and straight. But it is better to get some naturalness into your swing. Mechanize it, instead of trying for the long ball as the young fellows do.
The correct grip will put this naturalness into the right groove.
And if you learn to grip the club correctly, your swing will begin to grow around your hands.
Reference : Gene Sarazen with Roger Ganem's book 'Better Golf After Fifty', Copyright © 1967 by Gene Sarazen. Harper & Row, Publishers, New York.
Gene Sarazen made his first major breakthrough in golf by winning the 1922 U.S. Open at the age of twenty. By 1935 the Old Squire became the first golfer to win the four most important events in golf: the U.S. Open, P.G.A., Masters and British Open. Almost twenty years later, Sarazen was again winning tournaments. This time it was the 1954 P.G.A. Seniors. He repeated in 1958.
"How long does it take to learn golf? Well I am still learning after forty-five years!
I have known pupils who hit the ball very well after only four lessons and others who have taken a year or more to do even moderately well, but time is apt to level things out a lot.
Golf is a curious game in being easy of comprehension but (sometimes) very long in realization.
There is much darkness in the early stages, and it is only after a few years at the game that we really come out into full daylight and can assess our own possibilities...
So do not despair if you are trying to learn golf, and getting no results. It may be that you have been trying to learn too many things (like juggling with too many balls) and when you have tried to add just one more, your whole game has broken down on you.
We will simplify the things you have to learn by stringing them together into cycles of sensation because they are easier to remember and easier to add to.
If you work in this way your golf will be progressive.
You will still (being human) get bad patches, but each bad patch will tend to be less bad and each good patch will tend to be better, because you are building up your game. The foundation upon which it must be built up is the feel of the swing."
Reference : 'On Learning Golf' by Percy Boomer. Copyright © 1946 by Percy Boomer. First published in the USA by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
"Marley Harris, who died on August 19 aged 83, was, as Marley Spearman, one of the leading amateur lady golfers of the 1960s, having begun her career as a dancer on the West End stage.
Born Marley Joan Baker on January 11, 1928, she was the daughter of a businessman and was brought up at Wimbledon, south-west London. Marley left school early to embark on a career on the stage, joining a dance troupe which performed with The Crazy Gang at the Windmill Theatre in the West End of London.
When she was in her early 20s she married Tony Spearman, who worked in the car trade, and left the stage. The role of housewife, however, did not suit her, and she was on the lookout for a new interest when one afternoon, while she was shopping at Harrods, she saw a notice advertising free golf lessons.
She decided to give it a try, and became hooked.
Having had her lessons, she took to practising in the garage of her mews house in London, striking balls against a carpet hung on the wall.
She also joined Sudbury golf club in Middlesex, and within two years had reduced her handicap to 4.
She persevered and in 1961 and 1962 won the Ladies' British Open Amateur Championship.
She was New Zealand champion in 1963, and English Champion in 1964.
In 1960, 1962 and 1964 she was a member of the Curtis Cup Team. She also played in the Vagliano Trophy matches in 1959 and 1961, and in the Commonwealth Tournament - now the Astor Trophy - in 1959 and 1963. Between 1955 and 1965 she was Middlesex champion eight times.
She reached the semi-finals of the Canadian championships in 1959, and of the French in 1964.
In 1962, after she had won the British title for the second year in succession, Madame Tussauds commissioned a waxwork of her".
Source : The Telegraph - Copyright © Telegraph Media Group Limited 2011
"Edgar Jones, head golf professional of Reno, Nevada's, Hidden Valley Country Club, introduced Patty and I in 1971. She was a sturdily-built 13-year old Hidden Valley junior golf star.
As a member of the Wilson Sporting Goods Company's Advisory Staff, I was at Hidden Valley to present a golf clinic and to play nine holes with Ed Jones. "Betty," Ed said on the practice tee as I was warming up for my clinic, "I'd like you to meet Patty Sheehan."
I recognized immediately that the kid possessed the consummate motivation, the "B.D." as Betsy Rawls and I called it, borrowing a phrase from former Notre Dame football coach Frank Leahy. The Burning Desire.
This B.D. is the foundation upon which an athlete's achievements are built. This 13-year-old girl had the B.D.; she exuded it.
Thus, I was not surprised as I stepped into the grand ballroom of Reno's Hilton Hotel on November 13, 1993, to attend with 500 other friends and fans of Patty Sheehan her induction into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
The influences, the events, the inspirations, the traumatic disappointments that Patricia Leslie Sheehan experienced between 1971 and 1993 are described in Patty Sheehan on Golf."
- Betty Hicks.
Reference : Patty Sheehan's book 'Patty Sheehan on Golf', Patty Sheehan and Betty Hicks. Taylor Publishing Company, Dallas, Texas. Copyright © 1996 Patty Sheehan and Betty Hicks.
"Understanding the swing itself as it applies to golf would be useful in attempting to perform this action.
Dictionary definitions of swing use descriptive phrases like "back and forth with a regular motion", "to hang or suspend", "to cause to turn in alternate directions", "cause to move in a curve", "to move freely", all quite applicable to a golf swing.
Whether the player attempts to get results with a "hitting swing" (a more right-sided, leverage dominated action) or a "swinging hit" (more left-sided with a centrifugal force emphasis) is of no concern to the ball.
The important point to grasp is that in order to get the best results, some type of swinging action must take place...
So whatever style the player prefers, the idea of "making a swing" should be part of any instructional plan."
Reference : Gary Wiren's book 'The PGA Manual Of Golf', The Professional's Way to Play Better Golf, Gary Wiren PGA Master Professional, Ph.D. Macmillan USA. A Simon & Schuster Macmillan Company Copyright © 1991 by The Professional Golfer's Association of America.
On Amazon : The PGA Manual of Golf: The Professional's Way to Play Better Golf
"Lastly, let me remind you of the ballistics of impact. You know, the ball, that's the best instructor of all. It can't lie. Whatever this does, it gives you an absolute, steadfast reflection as to what your club is doing when it hits it...
Wherever the ball starts its flight, is a direct reflection on your swing path. Let the ball be the greatest help to you."
Reference :John Jacobs's Doctor Golf John Jacobs, The Full Swing DVD video. Introduced by Sean Connery. Written and presented by John Jacobs. Edited by David Hankin. Produced and Directed by Michael Seligman. Copyright © 2005 Green Umbrella Sport and Leisure.
"The PGA is a members' organization for golf professionals.
It has been at the heart of the game since 1901, when professionals of the day, led by the Great Triumvirate of J.H. Taylor, Harry Vardon and James Braid, formed an organization to protect the professionals' interests and promote the game of golf.
Now based at Centenary House at the famous Belfry, scene of four Ryder Cups, the Association is flourishing with more than 7,000 members.
Most are club professionals specializing in the core subjects of coaching and retailing, but increasing numbers are occupying managerial roles within golf clubs and resorts, both at home and overseas.
The PGA is dedicated to training and serving golf professionals whose principal aim is to offer a highly professional service to amateur golfers at a club, driving range or other golf establishment.
The PGA aims to gain the highest possible standards of employment for its members and therefore members must be highly trained, extremely competent and able to take on the complete role of professional or director of golf at any golf establishment.
The PGA also plays a significant role at different levels, from junior coaching through to government level, where it is helping formulate and determine policy for the sport.
This includes active involvement with the England Golf Partnership's Whole Sport Plan, Club Golf Scotland, Golf Development Wales, Junior Golf Ireland and the implementation of the UK Coaching Certificate for golf.
The PGA still retains close ties with the Tour and is a Ryder Cup partner as the trustee of the actual Ryder Cup trophy donated by Sam Ryder.
Its European links are further strengthened through another Ryder Cup partner, the PGA's of Europe.
Reference : http://www.pga.info/
"Having played golf almost constantly for more than 30 years, I think the fact that I no longer carry a 2-iron in my bag says something about the difficulty of hitting long irons well.
Not that I can't hit a long iron shot well when I have to - I clinched the 1994 Nissan Los Angeles Open thanks to a nice 2-iron approach to the last green. But the occasions when I needed to hit a 2-iron were so rare, and the club itself is so demanding to hit, I removed it from my bag prior to the 1995 season.
Today I use my 4-wood in most cases where a 2-iron is required. Using lofted fairway woods in lieu of long irons is a trend that's catching on at all levels of the game, particularly among handicappers.
The addition of 4- and 5-woods to the set (and I see a lot of 7-woods in place of 4-irons, too) is the most significant equipment development in years.
The middle irons - which I define as the 5- and 6-irons - are no piece of cake, either.
They present problems of a similar nature, though not as pronounced.
I see very few amateurs who are good middle-iron players.
When I refer to long irons in this chapter, the principles I discuss usually apply to the middle irons, too."
Reference : 'Corey Pavin's SHOTMAKING' with Guy Yocom, Golf Digest Pocket Books Published by NYT Special Services, Inc. and Pocket Books, a division of Simon & Schuster Inc. New York. Copyright © 1996 by Corey Pavin Foreword copyright © by Tom Watson Photography by Jim Moriarty Book Design by Laura Hammond Hough.
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