The Golf Swing is Just Not That Complicated

December 20, 2007

The golf swing is just not that complicated. It’s the closest thing to a circle that our bodies will allow us, although its never going to be perfectly “one plane” because our bodies are not built like the mechanical golfer. And basically, at the point of impact on that circle, the tangent to that point should be pointing down the target line. Now, that is just in theory, because in practice, we don’t hit the ball with most of our clubs at the bottom of the swing arc. But the horizontal aspect of the tangent line should be pointing down the target line.

We do the same thing when we throw a ball, even overhand. We don’t think about where exactly we are going to release it so that the tangent to the point on the arc that our hand travels on is pointing directly at our target. But we do it, because that’s the only way to get it there. We are subconsciously aware of it, but we don’t need to be consciously aware of it to learn how to do it successfully.

When we scratch an itch on our skin, it is like a golf swing. Every time we move our fingers back in preparation for the next scratch, it is like we are making a backswing. We don’t think about where our fingers need to be to set up the perfect approach into the itchy spot. We don’t think about our transition technique going from the fingers back to the dive into the skin. All we are thinking about is the itchy spot, and how we want to dig our fingers into it. The way we coil back our fingers is just a reaction to how we want them to attack the itchy spot.

Certainly, if we are unable to physically wield a club, or wield a hammer, or use a shovel, or throw a ball, then there is no amount of technical knowledge that would ever allow us to actually produce the results we desire.

Written by John at 12:16 am. Theory