A Realisation

I started my round yesterday determined to try to adopt one of Paul Wilson's key moves to start the transition into the downswing. It took me about six or seven holes to realise that I don't need that kind of move. Any sort of key thought, other than the one I will outline below, seems to stop me from swing freely and, as it turns out, well.

It's not that I don't agree with Wilson about keeping the wrists free and flexible and maintaining a constant forward bend, I do, but I can't seem to adapt to any of the three methods he suggests for the transition - bring the knees together, straighten the front leg or turn the front hip.

My key thought, the one that seems to work best for me anyway, is even simpler than the Wilson ones. It is, in fact, in line with my previously discussed fundamentals - get the weight onto the front foot at impact.

This action - shifting the weight onto the front foot - is a natural, athletic, logical move for any action that involves propulsion of any object; a ball, a javelin, a skimming stone, or a golf club. The thing about it is that it is natural and automatic, there is no thought about what moves first or how the move is initiated - it just happens.

When I concentrate on making sure my weight shifts onto my front foot during the transition from backswing to downswing, I have absolutely no idea what sequence of moves is taking place. Did I move my front hip first, my knees or ? Did I push off my back foot? Did my shoulders move? Did my hands drop? No ... no idea. I do know, however, that it is not an 'over the top' move (shoulders and arms above the swing plane).

For me, this is the secret, to ignore technique, ignore mechanics, concentrate on the goal - get the weight on the front foot at impact. When I can do it, the club seems to accelerate sufficiently and find the plane consistently. When I do try to think about technique, or my arms, knees, shoulders, hands, whatever, my swing suffers.

Having said that this weight shifting is natural and a guaranteed swing fixer, I should say that I must stand by (and utilise) my two other keys, which are, I believe true fundamentals, as follows:

The weight shift cannot come at the expense of balance and stability over the ball; that is, you cannot afford to sway so much that the swing arc no longer coincides with the position of the ball. Swaying changes the bottom of the arc - so that the hit is too early or too late - causing fat or thin shots. In a way, this also relates to Wilson's constant forward bend, which is about not disrupting the vertical (angled) swing plane. If you notice most pros do not sway off the ball and, with a few exceptions, do not dip or lift up significantly during their swing. In any case, pros mould their swings hitting thousands of golf balls. The average golfer cannot afford the gross movements of the body that pros can get away with.

My other fundamental is about not trying to hit too hard. This is almost the first thing we are told as juniors or adults when learning the game, despite the occasional pro who says they were told to hit the ball hard first, then learn to control the ball. Trying to hit hard is almost always, for the average player, a recipe for disaster. Trying to swing freely and with good acceleration is a different thing. Swinging freely will not necessarily cause the lunging and swaying (and inconsistency) that is almost inevitable when average players try to hit too hard.

So my realisation this week has been that I should stick to my fundamentals of weight transfer, no sway and no over-hitting. I've abandoned the straight left arm and wrist as a fundamental; it is one of those mechanical / technical thoughts that might be OK for the practice tee, but is not worth the distraction when trying to play a round of golf.

Incidentally, when on Saturday I abandoned technical thinking and concentrated on the above fundamentals, I hit the ball beautifully, albeit a bit too late to save my score. Roll on the next game - high in hope, low in expectations. Hey, perhaps that's another fundamental?