TGM teachers usually recommend (often recommend) the RIGHT SHOULDER AS BEING THE SHOULDER THAT INITIATES THINGS ON THE DOWNSWING, NOT THE LEFT. The Right Shoulder, of course, must move properly, and on plane.
The PHYSICS part of golf is interesting, and can get tricky, especially when there are some FEEL vs. REAL factors.
Other comments?
Hi Lagster, i always thought it was just the intention of driving the right shoulder down plane but it didn't actually move first (at least for a swinger anyway), but the movement was initiated in the feet and hips. Seems like to me that his talk of "pulling with the left shoulder" is actually very TGMish cause is sounds like he's just describing #pp4.
The "pull" is from the Pivot Train that starts at base of the lower left limb aka the foot, then the shin, the thigh, the pelvis, etc..."pulling" from the Pivot is the result of sequential and segmental motion ....there is an acceleration of the segments and braking of the segments thus causing a built up of torques and the creation of angular momentum....Thus the myth of hitting into a frim left side..the firm left side feeling is the summation of torques created by the segments of the left side "blocking" much like that of a pitcher or quarterback who strides and then performes a sequential motion of the joints and segments to throw...this is the swingers transfer of momentum...Certain things are in motion and other things are stabilizing....
The Hammer Thrower is a great example of Sequential Motion
The Shot Putter is a great example of Simultaneous Motion...
Field Hockey is the closest I've seen to golf...
Last edited by annikan skywalker : 08-02-2006 at 10:13 PM.
Hi Lagster, i always thought it was just the intention of driving the right shoulder down plane but it didn't actually move first (at least for a swinger anyway), but the movement was initiated in the feet and hips. Seems like to me that his talk of "pulling with the left shoulder" is actually very TGMish cause is sounds like he's just describing #pp4.
Technically, you are correct that the first movements in the downswing are from the ground(feet). When talking about the role of the SHOULDERS, however, TGM rarely even mentions the left shoulder. Mr. Yoda has written many, many times about the role of the RIGHT SHOULDER, and how it's proper on plane motion accelerates the swinger's left arm.
Now, if a player likes to FEEL the left shoulder moving up and back instead of monitoring the RIGHT SHOULDER moving down towards the ball, and gets good results, it's OK.
Annikan's post here about sequencing etc., by the way, is very interesting.
When talking about the role of the SHOULDERS, however, TGM rarely even mentions the left shoulder. Mr. Yoda has written many, many times about the role of the RIGHT SHOULDER, and how it's proper on plane motion accelerates the swinger's left arm.
Now, if a player likes to FEEL the left shoulder moving up and back instead of monitoring the RIGHT SHOULDER moving down towards the ball, and gets good results, it's OK.
I’m a left-sided golfer, but I never hesitate to think in right-sided terms if my left-sided thoughts aren’t working.
For example, if I can’t get the correct hip turn going back by thinking “turn the Left hip”, I’ll think “pull the right hip out of the way”. The same sort of thing often applies with the shoulders on the forward swing. My preferred thought is “move the left shoulder up and the left hip around.” But if that doesn’t seem to be working, I’ll try "move the right shoulder down and the right hip around.”
So long as the desired effect is achieved, I don’t think it matters at all which side you think about. In fact, it’s probably good to switch patterns occasionally, for the sake of striking a balance. Thinking one side or the other all the time can easily lead to exaggeration of a particular move. Jack Nicklaus 1974
I’m a left-sided golfer, but I never hesitate to think in right-sided terms if my left-sided thoughts aren’t working.
For example, if I can’t get the correct hip turn going back by thinking “turn the Left hip”, I’ll think “pull the right hip out of the way”. The same sort of thing often applies with the shoulders on the forward swing. My preferred thought is “move the left shoulder up and the left hip around.” But if that doesn’t seem to be working, I’ll try "move the right shoulder down and the right hip around.”
So long as the desired effect is achieved, I don’t think it matters at all which side you think about. In fact, it’s probably good to switch patterns occasionally, for the sake of striking a balance. Thinking one side or the other all the time can easily lead to exaggeration of a particular move. Jack Nicklaus 1974
A swinger who fails to turn well can get great benefits by thinking of "hitting the ball with the back of the left shoulder" - as if you were breaking down a door with your left shoulder. A very good key to complete your backswing, a move which can overcome some errors in the backswing and allow for a proper on plane downswing. IMO - swinger - back of left shoulder - hitter - front of right shoulder.
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