Key in the lock, cue in the rack

I've now tried every theory, every method, every thought about the golf swing that was ever tried and tested, and to be honest, most have failed. It's time to take stock.

Here is what I know is needed for a decent golf swing - for me at least:

1. A neutral grip is ideal so I can neutralise my shot pattern (gentle fades and draws only). A light grip (especially at set up) can also help with all shots and is very important in putting;

2. It's extremely important to stay centred; weight must stay on the front foot with no sway, critical for chips and pitch shots. It also helps to stay connected; to have the arms in sync with the body;

3. It's crucial to avoid hurrying the start of the downswing; hard to do under pressure, but hurrying the swing is a recipe for failure.

There are lots of personal keys that might also work for some golfers - or more likely work only for a short time. But if the above stop working for me, I might as well put my cue in the rack.

Magpie golf

Magpies are an amazing Australian bird, smart, multi-talented, self-confident and at times quite funny. They can also be fiercely protective of their nest, aggressive and feisty. It's an excellent model for a golfer.

Magpies are also excellent mimics, even to the point of thievery, which is where I'm coming from. Recently, I've watched some videos from a young guy in the US who is a Stack and Tilt 'supporter' and teacher of many of the S&T concepts. His name is Tom Saguto (TS).

S&T itself has gone through a rough time over the past decade, ridiculed by many golf writers and commentators, and failing to gain widespread acceptance, with very few advocates. This, I suspect, has been because like much in the golf instruction world the system has seemed way to complicated.

So now this is where TS (not S&T) comes in. He has taken the great ideas from Stack and Tilt and built a teaching method that is quite a bit simpler, much more accessible to the average and below average golfer. He has youth and charm working for him, but he also has good communication skills.

I'm not going to try to comprehensively describe his method, but roughly speaking he teaches a golf swing that is connected, tilted, circular, and uses the dominant arm, with the weight staying forward in search of a consistent contact point. He opposes the traditional high hands, weight loading, swing flattening, two-plane. brand of teaching.

In my view, TS has taken elements of S&T, Jimmy Ballard connection theory, Hogan theory, Hardy one-plane swing, Wilson machine golf, and combined them with some conventional ideas about for example the grip, and created his teaching approach. But, as I said above, he has done it in a simple and accessible way.

When I wrote about grip pressure recently, I was aiming to correct my own tendency to grip the club too tightly. My grip was causing me to shorten my swing, lose fluency, upset my relationship with the ball and thus find the low point of my swing consistently. I think grip pressure is a common problem.

However, I probably overstated the grip issue. With the kind of swing the TS recommends there are more important considerations. Of course, he actually does advocate a lighter grip than most average golfers use, that is, he says 4 out of 10 is probably about right. But because he suggests using force with the dominant arm and hand (right for righties) he is probably less worried about grip tightness.

What I like about the TS finished product is that it is quite close to what I have been trying to get to in my golf swing. I've tried to incorporate many of the Ballard, Hogan, Hardy, Wilson and S&T concepts in my swing, but not with the same clarity and certainty the TS has in his approach. He does have youth and flexibility going for him, but he seems well aware of the injury and pain issues facing the older golfer. I believe his approach is well worth following, at least the essence of his approach, particularly in keeping the weight forward, lead shoulder down and connected. Check it out.

So, let's all give a 'beaudy mate' to the magpie golfer and golf instructor.

Light in the right is right

Further to the grip issue, I have just re-read Tommy Armour's take on the grip. He was a pretty sharp operator and his grip comments are priceless.

In essence, he says that since the left hand's role (for right-handers) is to control the clubface, that grip should be firm. The right hand's role, however, is to apply speed into the impact zone. This means that the right hand grip should be somewhat lighter so that it has more opportunity to initiate the whipping action he advocates.

This all presupposes that one's grip structure is sound, including that the club is held more in the fingers of the left hand, not in the palm (although there's more to that instruction of course). He also advocates the Vardon grip, but that is optional. Fundamentally, he advocates a neutral grip, not tricked up grips, like ultra-strong grips that supposedly eliminate slices.

Having reviewed this grip commentary, I know that I need to work on the balance of grip pressure between the two hands. I need to decide how firm is just right for the left, and how light is right for the right.

By the way, I also need to make sure I get my swing path sorted (too many pull shots) and I know I need lots more work on my short chipping and pitching game.

However, overall I think I'm at least on the right (and left) grip path.

Closing in

Having been enclosed, in one sense, for many weeks now, I have not been able to fully test my latest effortless hypothesis. However, the more I think about it, the more I am convinced that I am on the right track, closing in on a theory.

In my previous post I stated that clubhead awareness is extremely important and discussed the main way this can be achieved - basically through establishing a very light grip. It's been so long since I wrote that blog that I can't recall the details of the argument put forward, but I'll restate here what I understand to be true. I will also talk about alignment and aim in relation to clubface - also a very important factor.

One of the main purposes of a light grip - established at set up, during the waggle and early stages or the backswing - is to increase one's awareness of the weight of the clubhead and through this a sense of its location in space. Gripping more tightly limits the ability of the golfer to achieve this awareness, along with some other disadvantages outlined below.

By the way, what I mean by a light grip is a grip strength of something like 2 out of 10 (where 1 is almost letting go of the club and 10 is a white-knuckle super-firm grip). Typically, average golfers will grip the club at around 6 out of 10, although for better golfers it will be lighter. Of course, everyone's grip will automatically tighten somewhat just prior to impact in anticipation of contact, especially for example when playing from deep rough. But by then, a golfer will have reaped the rewards of having a light grip - or compromised their swing with an overly tight grip.

Here are some of the advantages of a light grip:

Already mentioned, a light grip gives the golfer a greater awareness of the location of the clubhead during and at the top of the backswing. Top golfers mention this as being important because it is during this part of the swing that you have time to make corrections, to feel or sense the positions you are after, and set up your downswing. Once the downswing starts there is no time to correct or re-direct the swing.

Possibly even more important, a light grip ensures that the wrists are not locked up, so that the golfer can swing more freely and a little longer without cupping the top wrist too much. or bending or tilting the body excessively. A light grip is particularly important for older golfers who have lost flexibility, whose backswings are becoming shorter, and who are tempted to take some of those non-athletic short-cuts.

A light grip has another important advantage: as with the wrists, it ensures that the arm muscles are not tight and do not cause one of the most annoying and pervasive problems of the  - typically uptight golfer - topped and mishit shots. Tight muscles in the arms will almost always affect the arc of the swing - most likely shortening that arc. Golfers will usually try to compensate for this in a variety of ways, but often the golfer will becoming too ball focused, and lose the freedom and consequently the overall speed and acceleration in their golf swing.

There is a great deal more one could say about grip strength and the dynamics of the golf swing, an area that I think has been too little discussed and much too little understood. That will have to wait. Meanwhile, there is one other matter highly relevant to the development of a 'complete' theory of the golf swing that needs to be addressed - alignment and aim. In brief, here is my take on this.

As I understand it, Jack Nicklaus always used to align his clubface to his target at set up and swing in the direction he wanted the ball to start. The ball would thus take off left or right (as desired) and curve towards the target. The ball-flight laws (now proven thanks to recent technologies) show that a golf ball's direction is approximately 85 percent determined by the angle of the clubface and 15 percent by the swing path. This validates this approach to alignment. So, here is my current approach to hitting a gentle draw with a driver.

I align my clubface to the target, for example the centre of the fairway (call it 12 o'clock), and swing to about 12.30 or 1 o'clock or the right edge of the fairway, depending on the fairway width. This swing path of roughly 15 percent to the right produces the shape required to get the ball moving towards the target. But, wait, there is a major caveat: it is crucial that whatever alignment or aim is desired, one's grip strength must not change. It must be light, and stay light until just prior to contact, so that release outcomes are consistent, because premature grip pressure changes will affect swing direction and release patterns.

This can be illustrated when one tries to hit a fade using this alignment technique. When I try to hit a deliberate fade the ball almost always goes straight, except that I often mishit the shot anyway for reasons mentioned above. This 'accidental' straight shot happens because I have tensed up, tightened my grip at set up and early in the swing, and therefore actually closed the face of the club at impact - whereas I had intended the face to be open to the swing path. The ball is not just pulled - it often even hooks - resulting in the famous double-cross shots they describe in pro tournaments.

This premature grip tightening also affects draws of course. Push shots have a similar cause. And sometimes people talk about steering as the cause of push shots (and double-crosses), but steering comes with grip tightening; they work together to mess up lots of shots.

The bottom line: I'm very happy with my grip hypothesis. There's more testing to be done, but I think I'm closing in on a theory.

Postscript: it is best to use a neutral grip because a significantly weak or strong (i.e. rotated) grip will necessitate swing adjustments that will be more difficult for less athletic players to control without a lot of practice. The goal is to develop an uncomplicated, efficient, effortless swing.