BULLET HOLE THROUGH A BASEBALL
 

"Principles are simple-their applications get complicated. The principle of Golf is the "line of compression." The Mechanics of Golf is the production and manipulation of the "line of compression."

The example Homer gives is a bullet hole through a baseball.

What about that for putting? What about visualization of the bullet hole starting exactly where you want the putt to start? What about the visualization of your sweet spot covering the bullet hole in the rear of the ball to compress it right down your line. That is the line of compression on the putting green.

What a great visualiztion!!!!

For you that really struggle with your putting. I want to introduce a concept that is not on tv much. Begin taking your practice strokes above the ball, seeing the line of compression, visualizing the bullet hole through the baseball and your putter face covering that back hole. Remember in G.O.L.F. the waggle means something.

Re: BULLET HOLE THROUGH A BASEBALL
 

Fantastic !

I may just get this tattoed on the underside of my left forearm. 8)

:D

6bmike,

Is not all this "visualization" of the ball what Homer is talking about here. Why is it that 30 years later everyone on the planet is not talking about this "line of compression" and the visual equivalents of it?

Lynn explained that 'compression" was the starting point for the whole machine.
The planet will catch up soon.
The marriage of the Internet and The Golfing Machine will catapult Mr. Kelley’s genius deep into mainstream golf faster than ever. But I feel Homer’s greatest contribution to golf instruction (and there are many) will be recognized as his ambiguity busting terminology, so when instructions and students talk about “line of compression,” “hinge,” “rhythm,” “pivot,” etc, it will have a precise exact meaning.
And that can only be good for sound machine building.

:D

Worked with a tour player yesterday at the tournament that completely understood this concept. He was mixing a wrist stroke, an arm stroke and a shoulder stroke.

I explianed how hitting different parts of the ball would change the speed (bullet hole through different parts of the base ball) and then led into not mixing the arm only stroke with the shoulder stroke.

A few drills later and he was ready.

Pros make putting look so simply. Speed before line and set the ball on its way.

My strange "seems to be" when I putt is that my elbows move my fingers.

:D

"ELBOWS MOVING FINGERS" is a little scary to me. You may use either an arm stroke, wrist stroke, or shoulder stroke. Don't mix or you scores will end up in the blender.

Well it is a "seems to be." I "feel" as if my left elbow moves the club on the backswing and my right elbow moves the putter onto the ball. I hold the putter more in my fingers, tightly and locked solid, like Horton Smith, than in the hands. My left index finger is down on the shaft- this is where I feel the elbow pushing the club back. I don’t feel as if my shoulders do anything but I know they do.

What does Tiger do in his stroke? I didn’t copy his but it looks the same. My elbows are close to the hips and have the slight release of the putter head. It feels like “triangle” is smaller- closer to the hands with a line across the elbows rather than the shoulders. Again just seems to bes.

Another “seems to be” is although I have a natural arc in my backstroke, just like your training aid proved to me, I ‘feel’ as if I am taking it back straight and through.

Enough foot and the mouth, VJ. Something I do works, I never feel as if my putting is off and Lynn fixed my chipping so I’m closer to the pin than ever and that is sweet.

I enjoy reading your posts. Happy Memorial Day!

6bmike,

It seems to me you are using an arm only stroke. You a close to the ball for alignment and also so that you can possilbly feel your elbow moving (possibly it rubs your shirt) and you have no use for the shoulders. It may "feel" like your right elbow is bending in the backstroke, straightening in the downstroke, and the left elbow is bending while the right arm goes to finish.

"If it ain't broken. Don't fix it."

Question:

Would this bullet hole be exactly on the BACK of the ball for a putt?

Or would it be towards the inside-aft corner?

-Paul

At THE point that the target line would emerge at the BACK of the ball - Dead centre. All putts are straight putts as far as the stroke goes, mother earth takes care of the rest.:)

Vikram

The bullet hole direction would need to match impact fix and the considered variables (hinge action, etc), no? Wouldnt it need to compensate (directionally) for the amount of time the ball is on the clubface?

Personally, I prefer a shoulder stroke - better now as pivot controlled hands - uh oh...am I in trouble now??? :)

Philly,
You can't have pivot controlled hands in putting because your pivot is zeroed out. I have seen you putt, remember the shoulders are double agents, part pivot, part power package!!!


Todd

Interesting point.

Even if you zero out the Pivot, if you maintain Lag Pressure (which you should have even in putting!) relative to the Body rather than the Plane Line, that will be symptomatic of a Pivot Controlled Hands procedure.

The Arc of Compression?
 

Hey Tongz
If the club is against the ball on an arc, isn't it theoretically possible that the bullet-hole should also be
an arc? STAOC..hmmm.
Bill:)

Wildbillmckinney,

"This third direction is the direction of the compressing force. The momentum of the violent return flow after impact also distorts the ball by exceeding the the normal dimension of the compressed point." Compressed Point here. Page 13 TGM.

So the bullet hole throught the baseball deals with force vectors. Page 17 2-c-1 #2B. Take this picture and turn it upside down. Now take a pencil and draw from compression point on the first ball to the next. There lies the angle of approach. You can also visualize the "curved blur" of the arc of approach. You can also see the LINE OF COMpression.

By the way- that tour player that was mixing arm only and shoulder only stroke---He was Danny Ellis. So THE Golfing Machine is definitely making a impact on tour.

Interesting response.
My thinking has the point of impact still slightly inside aft quarter...even when putting. Video shows this produces an end over end roll. Trying to stroke through the back center of the ball creates a slight cut stroke spin. This is because we stand astride the ball, not behind it.
Video was done in 2001, and not uploadable. It would be interesting to hear a more sophisticated analysis of this question.
UPP in snowy Ohio

I have to think the same way.....I'm not sure how much towards the inside though.....prolly pretty small.....but there anyway...

....what do you guys think.

the line of compression bends? moves?

good lord....

VJ, would you mind explaining what he was doing in a little more detail. Also, I assume all of these strokes are what they are named; wrist is all wrist, arm all arm, shoulder all shoulder. correct?

Nope......