Of all the swing techniques I have played with, this is by far my favorite. This action was performed from the inside out. This action is the one that fits my body mechanics the best. Through tireless "Awe-ing," Eyes Closd and Slow Motion Training I found this action to be the most efficient, effortless, and powerful while being able to work my shots straight, draws, fades, high and low. It is the swing I played with on the mini-tours before I got hurt. When executing this technique I focused on centering my swing around my center of gravity. All rotation start from there. For draws I rotated more horizontally, or fades I rotated more vertically, and for straight shots I simply rotated as neutral as possible. Keep in mind that everything happens in a matter of degrees. So, though the differences might be slight, they were significant enough to make the difference. Keep in mind, changing the angle of rotation for working the ball is simply one method of working the ball. For me, it was the option that worked most efficiently with my "Awe-ing," Eyes Closed and Slow Motion Training.
what's the key in performing a nice smooth efficent awe?
ReplyDeleteThe key to "Awe-ing" is to be able to "Awe" as deep as possible. By that I mean feeling the exhale come from the diaphram. Most people "Awe" from the chest instead of with deep breathing. It takes constant training for a long time to achieve the deep breath "Awe."
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, the key to training past the hitches and inflections in the "Awe-ing" is to train in slow motion and "Awe" at the same time. When you get to a hitch or inflection listen to your body and move in what ever manner that allows the "Awe" to continue in a fluid and relaxed manner.
Thnx for clarifying on how to achieve a better awe! Great question to ask since that is one thing I need to improve on and was going to ask the same question.
ReplyDeleteLove this video, never get bored at looking at this!
Ed - Is this the swing you play with now? Just curious because it seems that your launch was much lower.
ReplyDeleteIs that conscious? Or is that the clubs that you were playing with?
I find that interesting u can work the ball by changing the angle of rotation
ReplyDeleteNick, as you know I have working on a lot of biomechanical patterns over that past couple of years so that I can write about them in the new Power-of-3 Golf Biomechanics book series I am writing. With all those other influences constantly changing I have just gone out and played with whatever was ready when playing.
ReplyDeleteThe closest I have come to playing with this exact technique has been leading into Q-School a couple of times over the past three years. I would commit to getting back to my best swing a couple of months before Q-School.
In reality, I played the ball very high with this swing, because I would generally play it straight to fade and only play draws when needed. The fades and straight shots launch in this video and the draws are low to medium in height. I can play draws higher with this swing, however at the time I was playing them low so we could see the movement in the background.
If I never had to coach anyone else, and if I had never gotten hurt, I would have never moved away from this technique.
That's what I thought. I was assuming that this was just a small sample of a practice session, but that being said the ball flight was distinctly different than I had ever seen from you in a practice session.
ReplyDeleteBut it does remind me of the time that you hit the flag (maybe you holed out I can't remember) on 14 at San juan Oaks with a 4 iron that never left the flag and didn't go much higher than 15 feet.
Well, that shot was into the wind as usual on 14 at San Juan. And yes, that training session was a couple hours long and I got a lot of footage that night. The video was clipped were it was because I transitioned through all the shots and it was a good place to edit the different shots.
ReplyDeletewhat is that technique called and do u hav to be 100% healthy to perform it?
ReplyDeleteIt is simply the "Tisch" swing, since it is my exact package. It still fits my biomechanics. If hurt, it simply impedes ones ability to maximum output. It is still my favorite and best move. However if I have been researchig and training other patterns I need to clear my mind of the other stuff and get the details fresh in the subconscious programming so I will be confident with it under pressure. Just like anything, maintaining the stroke in full working order requires regular training. And the inner golfer must be totally trusted to perform with the action.
ReplyDeleteEd - What do you think about using wrist set to work the ball. I noticed today that when I set my wrists early its easier to play a fade. When I set late, its more often a draw, and somewhere in between is a straight shot.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing its not the most efficient, but I did notice that I could play shots that way.
Actually, it is one of the 5 most effective ways of working the ball. For certain Swing Techniques it is better than changing the angle of rotation as I was doing in this video. I have used it with many swing techniques. My version is to simply change the angle of the set. However, if you are doing it in a more biomechanically manner you can adjust when you hinge it like you do and that will influence its attitude during the release.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see a post about the options for working the ball.
ReplyDeleteI discovered it through my biomechanic drill (preset wrists). Basically making a perfect preset swing I can play it straight to a slight fade. After making a standard swing with my normal wrist set its straight to a draw.
What's the technique way to set the wrists and work the ball?
The technique way is setting the clubface more square-to-the-arc or open in the preset position and then just swing. That involves your set moving away from its perfect biomechanical alignment with a hinge action that adjusts in a more vertical or horizontal direction than your ideal hinge. Another way to work the ball is to do what Jack Nicklaus did, open or close the clubface in the grip. You can change the angle of rotation like I was doing in the video, you can use forearm rotation (roll and reverse roll), the last way is more hand manipulation. Of course you can try combining techniques and there are other ways to describe these basic applications.
ReplyDeleteEA
EA,
ReplyDeleteSo glad you put together this blog. As you know I'm a big fan of New Horizons and your work. I'm looking forward to working with you someday. What type of wrist lever are you using in this pattern? Horizontal, Diagonal or Vertical? How do you choose which wrist set to use if you tend to hit (muscular move), throw (weight shift) or swing (rotate)?
When you compare a vertical wrist set to a horizontal wrist set, you tend to get more range of motion in a vertical lever, but it seems to me that you can create more leverage using the horizontal lever. It seems that the vertical lever is better suited for a throw out action, but the horizontal lever can put more compression between the ball and the ground. The Old Timers used a horizontal wrist set more often and you can see this by the way they waggled the club. Tour Pros today tend to use a vertical lever? Watch a Mike Weir and his waggle is preparing is swing for a vertical lever. How do you help people figure out which lever to use when helping people determine the biomechanics of the swing?
Thanks for your comments and questions Berkeley Rican.
ReplyDeleteMy hinge action is a diagonal hinge action. It is actually inbetween diagonal and horizontal. You can use any of the hinge options for any of the categories of golf actions. However, one golfer may find it easier to use one particular one for hitting, throwing, or swinging based on his or her physiology and athleticism. Biomechanically only one of the options fits you ideally. And to test that I now use the Orange whip training aid. I have the golfer hold the training and perform each hinge action. I then stress the orange whip in the direction of the hinge and test the golfers structural leverage in that direction. The golfer can actually feel which hinge action has the most structural leverage and which his weakest. The appplications of hitting, swinging and throwing have less to do with the hinge options than they do with the power application procedure. I believe it is best to understand your biomechanics and build a swing with them in mind. Doing so helps maximize efficiency, power output, effortlessness, and injury prevention. However, that is a choice. So, if you choose to use an action that mismatches your body mechanics, then you must incorporate swing mechanic techniques that match the chosen options.
EA
Such a cool video! I watch it daily! Just seems every swing and shots are mirrors of one another and looks like your swinging hard with out being hard! It's truly machine like! This is what I would like to strive to be. How do you achieve that? Just awwing a lot and efficiently? When I'm trianing hard it only seems I am able to play maybe 50-70% of my swings and shots consecutively with good feel, trajectory and on my target. Does my focus and awe and commitment to the process need to improve? Or a combination of stage 2 and 3 also?
ReplyDelete