Swingpath ~ (Lesson 4)
(There is only one "Path" to better Golf)
Like so many other things in Golf, the proper “Swingpath”, in the end, turned out to be exactly the opposite of what I had always thought. Not because it wasn’t obvious from the very beginning; but because my brain had been programmed through wrong information to never see it for how it truly was.
When I finally realized the only “Path” my arms, and subsequently the club itself could Swing on was ‘Outside—Square—Outside’, at once the rest of the pieces I had been working on my entire life started to fit together in rapid succession. It resolved once and for all “A Square Clubface” Here, “The Mythical Plane of Glass” Here, and “Aim” Here, which could never be achieved without knowing the one “Swingpath” of ‘Outside—Square—Outside’.
It turned out to be the only “Path” the arms and club can take at all, if they are to Swing or otherwise moved. It makes no difference. Even if you are totally committed to thinking about the “Inside” and determined to Swing “Inside”, you won’t be able. The arms and club are still only going to go back and through on an ‘Outside—Square—Outside’ Swingpath. This principle not only applies to the game of Golf , but every other game as well. (Baseball, Tennis, Hockey and so on)
All my life I had just assumed the Backswing was “Inside”. Everybody had been saying it was for at least 100 years. It’s safe to say everybody was wrong about that, and as a result of this mistaken belief, a great many other things as well. Even after I finish explaining in this Lesson, most will not believe me. This is to be expected. They will still continue to try and make the ruinous thought of “Inside” work. It is a futile endeavor, and doomed to failure. It’s an impossibility for the club to Swing “Inside” ever in either direction, back or through.
So now that we know the one “Swingpath” is ‘Outside—Square—Outside’ lets think about what this does for us. (Whether you choose to believe me or not, won’t make it any less true.)
It replaces the stress-ridden, tension-filled thought of “Inside” with the comfortable, calm, fluid ease of thinking “Outside”. What a relief !
There are only two Swing thoughts you really have at your disposal in the brief moment right before you start the Backswing. You can wrongly and ruinously think “IN” or you can correctly think “OUT” to determine a path. There is not enough time to have more than one Swing thought now. In this moment the set-up is complete and all your other Swing thoughts should have been used getting everything in order prior. The trigger move, which is the initial “Backswing’ “OUT” takes a good bit of conviction and fortitude to create the width we desire.
The Backswing is triggered by ‘Pointing the Chin’ from the target to just back of the ball, lightly grounding the club just behind the ball by lowering the hands and arms, and finally thinking “OUT”. It all happens at once in unison. I’ve found it’s more preferable to simply think “Out” and not “Outside”. After you’ve gotten in the habit of thinking “Out” and hopefully eliminated any thoughts of the “Inside” anywhere and for all-times, the thought of “Out” will not need to be dwelled upon for every Swing. You will just always be consciously aware of it’s great worth, and take it as automatic, but will not need to give it your full undivided attention, like you would when you’re just learning it. Unless, of course, you still have not given up the hopeless and wishful thinking of one day finally being able to Swing “Inside”. It will never work, and the sooner you accept this fact, the better off you’ll be as a golfer.
Even if you still insist on thinking “Inside”, the arms and club will still only work in an ‘Outside—Square—Outside’ fashion every single time. When you think “Inside” instead of correctly “OUT”, the club still takes the one and only path available to it regardless; only now you will find yourself even further “OUT” with the right side working over top of the ‘Mythical Plane of Glass’ Here , instead of under throughout as required. All is ruined when this happens. If you break the glass it’s over.
One of the many great things thinking “OUT” does it automatically activates the front side each and every time without fail. The front side is what we want to lead the entire movement. The left arm is the “Spoke” and the “Chin”Here , is the hub it works under. As soon as any thought of “Inside” is entertained, even in the slightest during set-up or worse yet right before you take the club back, it will activate the dominant right rear side without fail. And like thinking “OUT” activates the front side every single time, the opposite is true if you insist on thinking “IN”.
The wrong Swing wrecking dominant right rear is what you must figure out how to control, not the front side as many in history have wrongly suggested. We don’t want left side control or to control the front side in any way. It should be in charge of the entire movement always and forever.
Tip: The horizontal hands will still feel equal and the front side shouldn’t feel overly dominant even when it’s controlling the movement. We’re still ultimately seeking comfort, ease, and harmony between all parts. The great Swing wrecker the right shoulder must not get involved must not be allowed to ever get involved consciously. Like the toe of the club it stays on “Plane” Here from start to finish. They never leave.
I’ve found the way to always control the dominant side, so it doesn’t get involved when it shouldn’t, is by giving it it’s say right off the bat during set-up. By starting with the club in the right hand alone while turning the “Clubface” into the “Square” position Here , it’s the one click “Open” from it’s initial unusable “Shut” position. Doing this and getting the right shoulder on “Plane” before you add the front lead side, makes the rear dominant side feel strong and in charge at the very start, and then in conjunction with the new way of thinking “OUT” to activate the left arm and front side every single time, you’ll find the dominant side will stay out of it and go along for the ride time after time.
The “Mythical Plane of Glass” Here , I explained in a previous Lesson, will only work if you think “OUT” with the front side leading the proceedings.
You can’t Swing from the initial “Shut” position every club will be found in when you first take it from the bag or just pick it up. The golfer is responsible for opening it. The club must Swing “OUT” and it can only do so with the clubface being “Open. One click “Open” for “Square” and two clicks “Open” Here , or if you prefer the turning of the right hand and wrist clockwise either one turn or two. I don’t know any other way to describe it. Perhaps you will come up with a clearer way of describing how to find the only two usable clubface positions. I’ve yet to come up with a better way of saying it.
Besides the clubface having to be “Open” from the initial “Shut” position in order for it to Swing correctly “OUT”, naturally the front side must be “Open” and off “Plane” on every Swing as well. The entire point basically is Swinging the “Open” front left side onto “Plane.” The clubface still has to travel down the path directly behind the ball it will be taking at the start. The “Open” clubface and the “Open” front side in tandem make this happening possible of course.
TIP: The lead, front side will always follow the lead of the clubface when it is clicked/turned into the two usable “Open” positions by the right hand alone. If you “Open” the clubface the front side will “Open” to accommodate you doing so every single time. What I’m trying to say is the clubface dictates to the body it’s arrangement not the other way around.
If you only start thinking about “OUT” instead of “Inside” you are well on your way to rapid improvement. Especially, since I already gave Lessons on how the “Square Clubface”, “Mythical Plane of Glass”, and “Aim” should also work. LINKS: Sq. Clubface, Plane, Aim
Before I bring this Lesson to a close, there’s one more quick point I’d like to touch on, and one I’ve often thought about. Many golfers in history have won Championships slightly exaggerating the “Outward” Swing of the club, but not a single one has ever won anything but misery and pain trying to exaggerate it in the opposite direction. This is simply because of what this Lesson should have hopefully of taught. The club will only Swing ‘Outside—Square—Outside’. The club under no circumstances can ever be swung “Inside”. It’s an impossibility and will never be achievable.
A few recent examples of Champion golfers who slightly exaggerated the “Outward” Swing to great effect are: Lee Trevino, Fred Couples, and Jim Furyk
They are not re-routing the club from the “OUT” to “Inside” like many have always said they were. They are simply re-routing the club from “OUT” to less “OUT” not “Inside”, which is not possible ever. Those three players are just a few of many who have slightly exaggerated the “Outward” Swing to great effect in the game’s long history. There are two many others to even count, but there is not a single example of a golfer who did it with any success in the opposite direction.
Get in the habit of thinking “OUT” and never think about the “Inside” again, and you’ll be on your way to experiencing the game in a relatively stress-free way for probably the first time in your life. At least the least stressful it’s been since you first picked up a club, and had yet to hear of the “Inside” or the hideous “Vardon Grip”. Once those two things were suggested it was the beginning of the end for any hopes of stress-free Golf ever again. Until Now !!
Upcoming: Lesson 5 ~ (“Stance and Ball Position”) and Lesson 6 ~ (“Holding the Club”)
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