Over correction re-connection

In principle, connection is a valuable concept, particularly in relation to maintaining a controlled, compact, repeatable golf swing. However, overdoing the actual physical connection can cause problems.

Connection is in part to do with making sure the leading upper arm is kept close to the leading shoulder and upper chest, forming what could be described as a connected shoulder unit. This is where the stability, consistency and repeatability is created. The arms do not separate from the body, so that the big muscles in the shoulder and chest work WITH the smaller muscles in the arms.

Problems arise, however, if in keeping that unit intact too much freedom, flexibility and speed is lost. It's fine to keep that sense of connection on the backswing, but on the downswing, the right side, arm, hands and wrists need to be freed up to generate clubhead speed. As I failed to mention before, hitting (hopefully swinging with rhythm) with the trailing, generally stronger side (arm and shoulder) is important if decent clubhead speed is to be achieved.

Essentially it is a balance between control and out-of-control, free-flowing speed in the full golf swing. With short shots, chips, less than full pitches, where speed is less important than control, maintaining connection and using arms and body together is more important. The lower body, legs and hips, are also important. Players who don't use there legs when chipping, for example, are making life more difficult. Even these short shots are a whole body exercise. Putting is another story.

There is a lot to be said for coordinating the use of upper body, arms and lower body, legs, in the golf swing. Connection is a useful concept and practice in achieving this. But overdoing it, causing rigidity or restriction, is counterproductive, as I found recently. It's a balancing act - freedom versus control. Good days on the course happen when you stay on the high wire.

Something interesting did emerge late in a recent round. It goes back to one of the first things many beginners are told - 'watch the ball'. It is one of those first principles that we ignore or forget as we progress. In fact, there are plenty of golf coaches who actively discourage watching the ball, often because they say it encourages the 'hit at the ball complex', a failure to 'swing through the ball' to the 'real target'. Some teachers also nominate other points of focus, for example, a spot just ahead of the ball. Let's consider this issue.

True, focusing hard on the ball can, much like telling someone not to lift their head, restrict or compromise a golf swing in some way: causing slouching, rounded shoulders, poor posture or balance. But one of the essentials of good golf is creating a consistent swing arc, that is, maintaining the distance from the shoulder unit, upper spine, etc. to the ground and the ball during the swing. Dipping or lifting will generally make it more difficult to achieve this consistent swing arc - distance to the ground. Players who hit thousands of golf balls might be able to groove their dip or lift. Most average players are average because they can't do that and they don't make consistent centre clubface contact with the ball, losing accuracy and distance.

Watching the ball, and I don't mean staring fixedly at it, is an very good way of keeping your head from lifting or dipping. Turning or tilting or allowing a slight lateral move of the head is generally fine, but concentrating on keeping sight of the ball right up till contact helps a player to keep their body angle constant, avoiding in particular the very common temptation to lift up to admire the result of a shot.

Not everyone will agree with this idea of watching the ball, but I found that the only really good shots I hit in that recent round were when I kept my eye on the ball right up till contact. It helped me make solid, centre clubface contact. By the way, you don't necessarily have to see the contact; it's the attempt that matters, together with the resultant postural stability.

In a way, this is a different type of connection (eyes to ball). Again, it is a practice that can be overdone, but it definitely has its place in my current thinking about the golf swing.

Re-connection

What goes around comes around. Forgetting is one of my weaknesses, although sometimes it can be a strength. But forgetting to connect, which I'll clarify, has been a definite mistake and has led to some inconsistent ball striking over the past year.

Firstly, the connection I refer to is in the left shoulder area (for right-handers). This includes the shoulder joint itself and also the upper arm and chest. This is the 'unit' that Jimmy Ballard, author of 'How to perfect your golf swing' says should be in control in the golf swing. He also makes some important points about other areas of connection, bracing, grip, etc., etc. But for me this shoulder connection principle is the most crucial.

Connection is both a feeling and the reality of the left upper arm remaining close to the upper chest in the backswing and all the way through the hitting zone until the ball has gone and the club has been fully released in the follow through. The advantage of it is several-fold. One is retention of a consistent arc, shoulder to ground. There is no need to steer the club or focus hard on the ball - it's just back and through. Another advantage, perhaps the most important, is that with connection you are using the big muscles of the chest (amongst other muscles) to power the ball. The shortening of the swing that will occur for the less flexible player is compensated for by this connected muscle use.

The other benefits are less tangible, things like the simplification of the swing, but these often translate to more centre clubface strikes, better distance control and, as a result, more confidence.

I can't quite understand why I ever stopped thinking about and using connection, but I'm glad I've re-connected. Updates will follow.