I Had an Amazing Practice today!!!! But I still have a quesetion.

[mrodock]

I've read both Ernie Els and Nick Faldo say the left shoulder is the primary driver of their downswing. I'm sure they've said and felt other things at times, but Faldo is in his book and Els is in a Golf Digest article. Whether they were being truthful or not. . .

Matt

I agree that, in practice and drill, players should be aware of the return of the Left Shoulder to its Impact Fix Location. But...

Do you drive the Left Arm (and Club) by pulling the Left Shoulder back to its Fix Location?

Or do you drive it by thrusting the Right Shoulder -- against the Left Arm and its #4 Pressure Point -- toward the Ball?

In my forty years of golf, I have never heard or read of a great Champion describing the Left Shoulder as his Driving Force into Impact.

Right Knee.

Yes.

Right Hip.

Yes.

Left Hip.

Yes.

Right Shoulder.

Yes.

Right Arm.

Yes.

Right Hand.

Yes.

But never...

Left Shoulder.

The Secret of Golf -- Clubhead Lag (6-C-2-0/A) -- is all about 'Dragging the Wet Mop' -- unrelenting, inert Clubhead Lag Pressure -- through Impact.

And despite the fact that the 'Wet Mop' -- the Left Arm, Club and its Dead Weight Inertia -- hangs off the Left Shoulder, you don't Drag it 'back-handed' with your Left Shoulder and Arm. Instead, the uncoiling Left Side is led by Hip Action (7-15) that "throws" the Right Shoulder Down Plane. This welds the Left Arm against the side of the chest -- the #4 Pressure Point -- and Delivers the Assembled and Loaded Power Package into Release.

Swingers use Centrifugal Force Body Power -- rotational Momentum Transfer -- to sustain this Clubhead Drive through Impact. Hitters use Right Triceps Muscle Power.

[Yoda]

I've read both Ernie Els and Nick Faldo say the left shoulder is the primary driver of their downswing. I'm sure they've said and felt other things at times, but Faldo is in his book and Els is in a Golf Digest article.

In my post you've quoted, I said that, in practice and drill, the player should be aware of the return of the Left Shoulder to its Impact Fix Location. In fact, establishing the Stroke's Radius and the precision Left Shoulder-to-Ball Location is the primary purpose of the Address Routine of 2-J-1. If the Feel of that return assists the player in his Expanded Translation (of precision Mechanics to Feel per 3-E) -- that is, if it becomes a "key factor" in producing a "simplified Feel" of his Total Motion -- then, by all means, he should use it. But...

Regardless of Feel, it is the Start-Down Thrust of the Lagging Right Shoulder -- the "fastest and farthest moving component of the Pivot" that "actually transmits the Pivot motion to the Arms" (7-13). It is the Lagging Right Shoulder that reconciles both Pivot and Power Package by "moving with great precision of thrust, speed, direction and distance (2-H). It is the Lagging Right Shoulder that is "thrown" by the Hip Action (7-15) and thus "supplies the initial acceleration of the Downstroke" and the drive of the Left Arm and Club toward Impact. This is the very basic #4 Power Accumulator of 6-B-4-0/A/B/C.

And its Maximum Power and Maximum Trigger Delay are produced by using the Hip Action (7-15) of either the Standard or Delayed Pivot. This Action increases the Right Shoulder Turn's Pivot Lag, thus enabling its Maximum Thrust against Pressure Point #4 (where the Left Arm contacts the side of the Chest).

It is this last #4 Pressure Point that the good player Feels as he unwinds into the Ball. You mention Nick Faldo. Just recently he was featured on The Golf Channel in their program Playing Lessons With the Pros. I heard him repeatedly talk of "turning his chest" through the Ball. Now, whether he felt he was actuating this Rotation (Body Power per 2-M-4) with his Left Shoulder or his Right -- or with his Feet or his Knees or his Hips -- matters little...as long as that Rotation is accomplished. But the last thing to move in that Pivot Train (6-M-1) is the Right Shoulder, and that is what is producing the Pressure he is 'Feeling' when its 'from behind' Thrust welds his Left Arm against his Chest.

So, it is this #4 Pressure Point (10-11-0-4) that constitutes the Active Direct Drive of the Left Arm and Club, and it is Loaded by the Right Shoulder Turn's Thrust -- not the Left's -- per 6-B-4 and 7-19-3. In fact, in earlier editions, Homer Kelley specifically advised players seeking Maximum Power and Trigger Delay (of the #4 Accumulator) to "discourage any tendency toward an Arm Swing by either inactivating the muscles of the Left Shoulder or by temporarily overpowering them with the Thrust of the [right] Shoulder Turn." [Bold emphasis added.]

Now, Matt, you have stated that both Faldo (in his book) and Els (in a Golf Digest article) "say the left shoulder is the primary driver of their downswing." I am always interested in what the great players Feel in their Golf Strokes, and I would very much appreciate it if you would supply those specific references.

[dkerby]

Don't get me wrong. I certainly do not disagree with what
has been said. What I would like to present is a lesson that
I once took from a leading Instructor with TGM insight.

We were trying to determine which would be better for me,
Hitting or Swinging. The idea was that in either Hitting or
Swinging, that the right shoulder should be closer to the
target than the left shoulder at follow through. First, I was
to try hitting and see if I could get the right shoulder
closer to the target. I had trouble. Then the second step
was to try and get the right shoulder closer to the target
by pulling the left shoulder back to pull the right shoulder
through. This worked and I hit the ball 20 yards further.
Interest lesson.

[Yoda]

Don't get me wrong. I certainly do not disagree with what
has been said. What I would like to present is a lesson that
I once took from a leading Instructor with TGM insight:

We were trying to determine which would be better for me,
Hitting or Swinging. The idea was that in either Hitting or
Swinging, that the right shoulder should be closer to the
target than the left shoulder at follow through. First, I was
to try hitting and see if I could get the right shoulder
closer to the target. I had trouble. Then the second step
was to try and get the right shoulder closer to the target
by pulling the left shoulder back to pull the right shoulder
through. This worked and I hit the ball 20 yards further.
Interest lesson.

Donn and I exchanged PMs on this subject. I asked him to give me more detail about his experience with this remarkable instructor. With his express permission, I am reprinting here what he had to say:

"Lynn, the instructor was Fran Deschaine. I have been trying to get him on line with your website. Fran was one of Anikan Skywalker's first instructors. Fran was the head of the Ben Sutton Golf School in Sun City, Florida, where he introduced the concept of differences in Hitting and Swinging. Fran also gave many PGA Instructor clinics to PGA Instructors. He would separate the group into Hitters and Swingers.

Before the lesson that I took, Fran asked me how familiar was I with Homer Kelley. The lesson was after a round we played years ago on a mini-tour. Fran won the Florida Open at age 50 and played some on the tour and Senior tour. Sure would be interesting to get him involved in your forums. Anikan probably more about Fran than I do.

My favorite quote is when the guy with you on the audio tape said to Homer Kelley, "Lynn just doesn't read The Golfing Machine, he lives it." I feel that I do the same with your website."

****************************

Thank you, Donn, for sharing your experience with us. There are many different ways of skinning the TGM cat. With regards to 'Body Power,' the key is sustaining Pivot Lag -- from the left little toe nail to the tip of the Right Shoulder! Together, you and Fran accomplished exactly that, a testament to your respective skills.

[mrodock]

In Faldo: A Swing for Life he states, "Having turned my upper body and shifted my weight on to my right side in the backswing, it is that subtle moment of separation as the left knee and left shoulder re-rotate towards the target that sets the downswing sequence in motion. . . My reward is then the freedom to rotate my body hard through the ball as I release the clubhead towards the target" (124-125). "In all my years studying the swing, the one solid conclusion to draw is that every great player starts his downswing with a subtle reflexive action in his lower body - usually the left foot or left knee. My own feeling is that my left knee and left shoulder move toger, and that signals the move towards the target. In that split-second my body is actually moving in two directions at once. . . I get a great sense of freedom as I rotate my body through the shot. My body is the engine generating the power, while my arms and hands transmit that energy down through the clubshaft to the ball. At the very last second, my right shoulder, right hip and right knee fire and add thrust through impact - where speed matters the most. When I practice I often say to myself: left side clears, right side drives. On a good day I feel that I punish the back of the ball with my right shoulder - that's my power source" (133). WOW, I stand corrected on Faldo (shows what I can forget in 9 years), now I'll find that Golf Digest.

Golf Digest September 1997, Ernie Els: On the first move down, separate the left shoulder from the chin. This swing thought will help you fire the right side through the shot, transferring your weight while staying quiet with your lefts. More important, separating the left shoulder from the chin allows you to sling the arms down in front of the body, with the club traveling at the greatest speed possible and on the proper plane" (63).

I apologize for my earlier inaccurate comments, I have always had a difficult time thinking of more than one thing in the downswing, so I must have read about the left shoulder playing the role of initiator and thought it drove the downswing. In any case, this is the way I used the instruction years ago.

[Bold Emphasis by Yoda]

Thanks, Matt. I appreciate the time you took to research these quotes and to type them out for us all. This is the kind of dedication and sharing that takes everybody to a new level of understanding.

[mrodock]

Thanks, Matt. I appreciate the time you took to research these quotes and to type them out for us all. This is the kind of dedication and sharing that takes everybody to a new level of understanding.

Your welcome Yoda, I apologize for the mix-up.

[Yoda]

Your welcome Yoda, I apologize for the mix-up.

Matt,

Again I thank you for your contribution. At a very young age, your initiative has led you to the principles and procedures of the great Champions of our time...and of all time.

I only wish I had been so fortunate (or so innovative) when I was your age. Back in my own 20s and 30s, the rage was to 'drive the Legs' from the Top. And to keep the Head way back 'behind the ball' through Impact. And to end up in a big 'Reverse C' at the Finish.

Well, it didn't work. At least not for me. And not for many others, either. Look at the photographs from that time. Most of the guys either left the Game hurt or else radically changed their procedure (view Tom Kite as the Poster Boy here). Many had a lot of very personal stuff replaced as they struggled to compete in their 40s. And those without a superior short game never had much of a chance anyway, because the procedure I've described rarely results in a superior GIR stat.

It was all so sad...and so very unnecessary.

By my early-30s, not only was a worse player than in my early-20s...

I was a virtual cripple on Mondays.

I can't tell you how much business I conducted from the floor of my office on Monday through Thursday because of my golfing activities on Friday through Sunday.

And now, as I approach my 60th birthday next month, there is no pain. It's all gone. Not only do I hit balls as long as I like...and teach as long as I like...and shop (as long as my wife likes )...I do so without pain.

I cannot tell everybody enough just how important it is to know exactly WHAT drives WHAT in the Golf Stroke. And how important it is to know just what are the true relationships among the various Components. You simply cannot rely on FEEL as articulated by the great players. You MUST know the precise Mechanic involved and then be able to reproduce it with your own Feel.

I write all this so that you don't spend precious years -- as I did -- chasing the wil-'o-the-wisp of conventional golf instruction (though it's much better now) -- and forego, in that selfsame moment, The Truth.

Life is short...

Play hard.

But also play smart.

The information is there.

Don't run from it.

Embrace it.

[mrodock]

And with access to such great knowledge comes great responsibility! Just 5 years ago, shortly after high school graduation I set out to transform my 4 handicap game into something I might be able to take on the road. Turns out I didn't have a back that could handle the strain and I lacked the proper information. Now I have access to the information I need, I merely have to develop a pattern with it. And what a fine journey it will turn out to be afterall. Because a blind struggle just isn't fun.

Matt