Lag, lightbulb moments and videotape

[Styles]

interesting the chat about long grass as I have long been a devotee of swinging through long grass.

it stems from advice Fred Daly - the first Irishman and only other one apart from Padraig to win The Open - gave me. Fred was the Pro at our club and I used to follow him about. He told me to change my grip slightly. When I told him it felt weird he said "Go into that long grass for ten minutes, when you come out it'll feel normal" Those old guys knew what they were talking about!

In latter years, if I have little time to warm up, rather than swing two clubs, I like to fire one hard through long grass, that gets me ready quick!

[aiguille]

not a word you want to hear!!

It's another word for shank! Yikes
he feels like he is leading the shank/hosel into the ball with his hands which probably makes his pivot move faster through the ball to avoid that shank/hosel/socket and is bringing about good results

That keeps in tune with what aguille was mentioning about Lag saying to try and keep the pivot ahead of the club and ball- the leading of the hosel/shank into the ball tricks the body into speeding up and being where he wants it through impact and beyond

Does that sound right? That's what I would think it would do.

Bradley,

Thanks for your reply. I really don't understand why it should be that the shots are cleaner and crisper, all I know is that it works.

I think you may be right about the reasons why. I don't even know why I tried it, I was just messing about...certainly the pivot seems more aggressive this way.

Interesting post from Styles too about Fred Daly and the long grass.

[1teebox]

twomasters,

Thanks for your description of "socketing".

As I understand it, in the Mod#1 drill Lag wants us to have the blade wide open at P3.

If I understand your description of socketing and aiguille's experience with it, socketing during a swing seems about equivalent to the Mod#1 two-handed drill.

For whatever it may be worth, one lightbulb moment concerning increased feel came for me while learning the two-handed part of the Mod#1 drill. I could wait to crank up the pressure in PP3 toward 4:30 on the ball until about the last two-thirds of the path from P3 to the bag. Put another way, I was learning to wait to close the very open clubface until very late (compared to anything I had done previously). This late closing of a very open clubface vastly INCREASED the FEEL in the last two-thirds of the trip from P3 into impact, much greater than anything I ever felt into impact in over a dozen years of golf. Lag told us increased feel is one of the benefits of the Mod#1 drills, but the intensity of the increased feel was surprising. Increased feel should lead, sooner or later, to cleaner and crisper shots like aigille experienced from socketing.

Does this sound about right?

[twomasters]

I'll let Lag explain it better...he knows the ins and outs better than me, but it sounds on a par with what is trying to be achieved

[lagpressure]

This is all M#1 stuff, yes...

twomasters is correct that this "open" encourages the pivot to get busy or else!
In conjunction with this, we are training our hands to fire actively and take control
of the impact situation.. rather than leaving it to chance. The hands and the pivot need to
work in unison with one another... and this is why I have you all starting the M#1 where you do
with the pivot on the 4:30 line. We do this over and over, week after week, month after month,
year after year!

In TGM this is the essence of what Homer called the velocity accumulator, and this is exactly what it is..
We put the gear effect on our side, which I'll be discussing later in more detail..

[1teebox]

Lag,
This is very helpful and clear.
It concentrates the essence of Mod#1.
It's a great tool.
I am going to print this out to re-read it and think about it before and after the drills and between sets.
I believe it can magnify the drill.
Thanks.

[aiguille]

Lag and Bradley,

Thank you for your replies.There is certainly the sensation of a 'busier' pivot and a pronounced feeling of toe dip, feels like by 'presenting' the hosel first, the club lengthens and the toe dips.

Clearly, all the elements of module 1 have to work well here, maybe by getting better at module 1, one can delay the closing of the clubface until it almost feels like it 'never closes'.

Would be interested to see if any fellow students have felt something similar.

[lagpressure]

I think you are into some very good feelings there..

Once you learn the sequence, it's hard to imagine hitting a golf ball any other way.
I never feel like the clubface is rolling over post impact. I used to feel that.. now that sensation
wakes me up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat!

[welshdentist]

I'm obviously very early into module 1 but I had a strange moment for a few balls at the range. I'm not sure if this feels correct but I felt as if my grip pressure and stayed firm but with soft arms going back and coming down then it felt as if I gripped tight with hand and fired the muscles in my arms at around P3 and released my body hard. It felt like I had to increase my grip pressure to get ready for what I can only describe as "ripping the sh*t out of the ball"

I've not hit it that hard for a long time.....

It was very difficult to hit it very far left or right, very neutral ballflight too.....

Guessing this was all be revealed as I progress

[lagpressure]

There are so many things that are being cross trained in module #1.. many things I don't mention because I simply rarely need to.
For example, the grip and grip pressure as you have described. As we do our bag work, the hands really do find their way
into the correct position, because of the forces involved. Your not going to swing a sledgehammer holding it between two fingers.
There is only one way to grip it.. firm and straight across the fingers. Every single student has moved their right thumb to the right
on the shaft, even if they don't know it.. why? because it has to be there. As far as grip pressure, it changes too. These light dainty
grips quickly go by the wayside. As hitters, our wrist are not passive hinges, they are motors.. therefore this creates a completely
different sensation.. one that is active, and taking control of the situation.. not passively acting as oily hinges.