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A comment was made this week in response to a golfers shot going left of his intended target. It was said that, in his downswing, his body stopped turning, resulting in over active arms, wrapping, closing the face. This implies that the arms are doing more than they are supposed to and that they are at fault here in the shot going left, evil and in need of disciple. Such is NOT the case. The role of the arms in the golf swing is to swing the club and when they do this they close the face in the downswing. Closing the face in the downswing IS their job. It is not their fault if the body stops turning. The body’s job, (lower), is to bring the club forward and to OPEN the face in the downswing. This now becomes …

I was watching “On the Range” with Phil Mickelson. Apparently the reason for his great play in the Phoenix Open was due to slight swing adjustments. He was made to turn his shoulders more level in the backswing. By doing this he could capture more width and, in his downswing, post up more easily on his left side. (remember he is left handed.) Ok, as correct as this is, this really doesn’t tell me anything. Let’s look at this more closely. The shoulders can only turn at a right angle to the spine. This means that if the posture is correct, (for the individual and club,) so are the shoulders. However if Phil’s right knee collapses in the backswing he will over swing, for Phil, which will give the appearance of a shoulder tilt due to a shorting of the …

Thank you for visiting! If you'd like check out my book: The Journey of Golf. See how the ball club and the individual have determined the golf swing. Here is a quick synopsis: 

Throughout its long history the golf swing has always been influenced by the technologies of the day. In the 19th century with the feathery golf ball and longnose clubs old Tom Morris played shots on the ground using a flat roundhouse swing. With the advent of the Gutta Percha ball and more upright clubs, Harry Vardon played shots in the air using a new grip and posture. Tiger Woods superb power swing of today is made possible by the modern golf ball and clubs.   The journey of golf traces the history of the interaction between the golf swing, technology and course design and shows how …