Another year another theory

In my end of 2011 review, I outlined three key elements of the golf swing: basically to do with grip, plane and rhythm. A lot has happened since then - despite some success with the swing I was using.

I've decided to go back to 'Swing Machine Golf', the baby of US teaching pro Paul Wilson, who bases his theories on Iron Byron, the mechanical device now copied and used widely to test golf balls and clubs.

Wilson cites three elements of this machine's construction as the reason for its incredible consistency when hitting golf balls - core rotation. flexible joints and constant forward tilt (in a nutshell). Wilson acknowledges that human anatomy (and psychology!) differs from the machine's, but develops his ideas from the three elements.

The reason I've gone back to Wilson is because he has convinced me that many of the so called keys or fundamentals taught or adopted in golf are 'quick fixes' or 'band-aids' that require the golfer to make compensations or corrections, which then fail under pressure or only have a limited life.

The principles Wilson teaches are basically very simple and conventional, particularly in relation to the grip, stance, alignment, etc. But where his teaching is different is in the way he applies the above-mentioned swing machine principles to the golf swing itself.

Wilson points out that Iron Byron has an arm (as against our two) that is completely powerless. The power in the swing he advocates comes entirely from the rotation of the core (leg, hip and torso). The arm or arms are completely powerless - they are merely extensions of the golf club.

The idea is to create tension (spring like) through the winding up of the shoulders and the resistance of the core when taking the club back in the backswing. This is then released by rotating the core (in one of three ways as preferred) and allowing the freely hinging wrists to deliver the club via powerless arms to the ball.

The constant forward tilt is established at set up and maintained throughout the swing so that the clubhead sweet-spot meets the ball with great consistency - as it does with Iron Byron. Not so easy is the creation of the free or loose wrists - a hangover from years of holding off or attempting to steer the golf ball. It will take time for me to free up my wrists so that they release correctly.

The powerless arms concept is not unique, but Wilson's emphasis on it is contrary to most golf teaching. It is also a very difficult thing to ingrain in one's swing because of years of using arm muscles to try to 'hit' the ball. Wilson wants the arms to move towards the correct swing plane without manipulation and he explains the physics in a very convincing way.

Anyway, I like Wilson' ideas and I am (again) working my way through his book and trying to adopt his principles. I am up to round 4 using them, with another five or sis to go before (Wilson says) the new swing will start to take effect and my ball striking will start to become more consistent. We shall see.