Roller Coaster Golf Swing!

A picturesque description of the golf swing comes to us from one of our star students.

Bob T. (protecting identity) age 49, Quality Assurance Manger, Bristol, Rhode Island, sent some wise words we can all apply to our golf swings.

In describing my swing Bob writes, " . . . It only makes sense that a short swing will encourage a jerky move back to the ball. I was watching a roller coaster go over the top recently and thought of your swing. Slows to a crawl, then slooowwly speeds up and hits top speed at the bottom. When you get it right, it feels like your swing has been released from bondage!"

Bob nailed it and that's exactly what my swing feels like when it's firing to the MAX.

Another analogy I have used is the back swing is very slowly cocking the gun, the downswing is squeezing the trigger (not a quick pull) very g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y so the gun f-i-n-a-l-l-y fires at impact. For this reason, the swing looks effortless, yet there is explosive power as the ball takes off like a rocket.

Bob continues. ". . . My head was filled with tips, illustrations, diagrams, photos and text from any instructional material in sight, UNTIL NOW! Thanks for releasing my swing formerly held hostage by all of the above!"
"Also, your response to my email is appreciated, the part about 'following the hands to a nice high position' was a revelation. For me, hands high with a still head tended to make me lift my left arm and disconnect it from my body (like you showed in the video), but allowing my body to turn to "follow my hands" has me winding up nicely. I wasn't thinking about my left arm mind you, but I could FEEL that it wasn't "stretchy" as you say. I think that would have worked well in the video, unless that is too technical (we don't want THAT!)"

"My Dad born 1911, and long since gone, taught me how to swing, and his philosophy was 'don't swing nice and easy, swing nice and smooth.' After he was gone, I fell into the instructional trap and my swing looked like a spastic jumble of magazine pictorials pasted together. Frankenstein comes to mind, pieced together from old magazine instructions!"

" My roller coaster observation? That's just another way of saying what you say anyhow - 'Don't apply the power all at once.' I stole that from you, because you told me to steal your swing in the video."

"Keep on, 'not instructing' golfers Jim, because you don't instruct, you simply show us what a great swing looks like and let us copy it. I'll bet that's how the great swingers (Snead, Hogan, Jones) of yesteryear learned. They stole it!"

"My own thought on the golf swing is that it is a 2 part thing. Rhythm and Tempo. I know what tempo is (pace) and yours is great, but to me, rhythm is all the parts moving in sync, and after years of instruction, that was contradictory to this, I finally discovered that fluid and stretchy is the way to good rhythm. No more HIT THAT POSITION as the teachers say."

"Personal note: thanks for your prompt responses. I was away from golf for many years (after losing my Dad, Mom and 5 yr old son in a short time) and I am rediscovering the joys of the game. I taught myself an instrument also (guitar). That's where I got the tempo and rhythm thing from. Thanks Jim, "

Bob T.,

Partners with The Anti-Pro

Jim McLellan,

The AntiPro/The Maverick

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