The Correct Swing

Posted under The Correct Swing

However, in the correct swing, which is produced by the diagonal stretch action of the body, the club travels on a concave arc on the backswing. It comes in sharply, then goes up straight and arches out slightly, then on the downswing and follow through it again travels concavely. As the left side pulls the club into the ball it draws it inward so that the left and right hands can be applied squarely to the ball.

The club can be held in that square position until the ball has been dispatched, at which point the club turns over into the follow through. If a player deliberately followed the convex pattern of swinging, there would be an excessive turning action which would be constantly rolling the player onto his toes and off balance. On the other hand, if the player deliberately applied the concave pattern of swinging, there would be a controlled body action on the upswing as well as a similar controlled body action on the follow through.

The player would find himself solidly balanced on the right heel as the backswing was made and solidly balanced on the left heel as the downswing and follow through were made. Try this in practicing your swing-it is a helpful, relaxing routine.

To return to the subject originally discussed, if you are slicing don’t start to swing from the inside out, because that will only be a temporary cure for your slice. It is bound to lead you to more difficulties later. It is far better to correct that faulty backswing and that erroneous club position on the backswing, so that you can bring the club through naturally and squarely to the ball.

THE MENTAL SIDE OF GOLF
The game of golf is a perfectly natural one to play. Unfortunately, many people make golf difficult to learn, principally through their failure to understand the procedures used. Most often, the inability to succeed in golf stems from a lack of comprehension rather than from a lack of the proper physical equipment in the player.

For example, people who excel in other sports do not always perform well on the golf course. Perhaps the failure to understand golf can be blamed on the players, who may be unable to make the necessary effort to learn, or perhaps it can be that the game is presented to them in a confusing manner-but none of this will be discussed here. The author will simply try to clear away some of the cobwebs to help lead the reader to a more understandable and more enjoyable game.

Understanding the game
As a rule, men are inclined to create problems for themselves on the golf course. The average male becomes egotistical because of the success he has attained in mastering the complexities of life’s battle. He has had to work hard to attain his position, so when it comes to golf, he is inclined to want to take it in his stride.

Why should he stop to make a problem of the simple matter of playing a game, particularly something as simple as hitting a ball with a stick? Many a strong, virile, brilliant man has become fouled up on a golf course to a point where disappointment, irritation and confusion cause him to give up the game in disgust. This is one of the reasons for their failure to make good pupils. Knowledge of a few elementary facts could have prevented this situation.

Women players, on the other hand, are inclined to depend too much on others for guidance, and they fail to work out in their own minds an aggressive plan of action, so necessary in the game of golf. Because women are good pupils, however, they do develop good form and golf style, and they become comparatively better players than their male competitors. Because of its very nature, golf demands understanding on the part of the player. As we noted in an earlier chapter, golf is unlike most games in that it is played with a stationary ball.

The question of playing a fade was brought up-fade being the technical term for a shot in which the ball is deliberately curved to the right. A fade is employed to curve the ball around an obstacle such as a tree, and it is a shot that stops very quickly on landing.

The description this national champion gave on how to play a fade shot was interesting. “When I want to play a fade,” he wrote, “I simply think a fade. Furthermore,” he continued, “if I want to play a hook (curving the ball to the left), I simply think a hook. That proves to me,” he concluded, “that golf is entirely mental. So if you want to play a good game of golf, simply have confidence in yourself and go to it.”