The Natural Golf Swing (18 page)

The natural swing motion is not a new tip or a quick fix. It is an overall view of the swing that is based on fundamental laws of motion and on fundamental considerations in any physical activity. While I don’t believe there’s a hole in the theory, that doesn’t mean I have all the answers. But I will say that I have talked with golf professionals all across North America and quizzed biomechanics experts and physicists about the theory. As yet I haven’t found any reason to believe the theory is lacking in any way.

Now that I’ve taken you through the general theory and the segments into which we can break it up, I’d like to describe it as concisely as I can. What I have to say might not have been clear to you at the beginning of the book. But it will now.

The golf swing motion is a natural happening based on a logical sequence of events according to physical laws of centrifugal force and inertia, and performed under the condition and protection of balance. We pre-set in the starting form the circumstances that will allow us to make a pure swing motion toward a target
.

The objective is to create a swing motion that has a maximum arc and a true plane. Centrifugal force creates a maximum arc while inertia creates a true plane
.

Arc is the perimeter of the swing motion, as defined by the path of the clubhead. In order to maximize the arc and therefore ensure that we can repeat it every time, we maintain elevation and posture throughout the motion. At the same time, centrifugal force creates extension. The result is a maximum arc
.

We put the mass – hands, arms, and club – in motion through a weight transfer to our right foot. We allow ourselves to rotate around the trunk of the body to load and then reverse the process to unload and take us to the finishing form
.

When we put the mass in motion, it flows on the same path unless disturbed by an outside force. The golfer is in balance from the start and is holding the club – he is really caressing the grip rather than holding it – with a natural extension. Inertia takes over so that the mass travels a pure path, or plane. The flow of the mass changes direction as a result of a weight transfer to the finish. Again it is uninterrupted. We arrive at the finishing position in immaculate balance, facing the target
.

The swing motion is a whole-body motion. You can now appreciate that every aspect of the motion is related to every other aspect. I could describe the motion from the point of view of the arc, for example, and show that by arranging for a maximum arc we also design the conditions for weight transfer. That is, we could not produce a maximum arc unless weight transfer were the means of moving the club. If we initiated the motion by picking up the club instead of transferring weight, we would compromise the integrity of the arc. It would shrivel, become smaller and choppier, not a genuine arc at all.

Similarly, I could describe the motion from the perspective of good posture. If we allow ourselves to get out of posture, we change the arc; and of course we also alter the plane. The natural swing motion, then, operates as a feedback loop. Every element can be the central point from which we discuss the motion. Balance is
the
central fundamental.

For interest’s sake, let’s examine the motion from the point of view of clubhead control. It’s fair to say that if we are confident that the clubhead is moving properly, then we will allow ourselves to make the motion. Golfers who try to control the clubhead by manipulating it destroy all other components of the motion. We want to set up a situation so that we need not worry about the clubhead because we know it is flowing properly.

The best swing is one that is uninhibited while under the control that ensues naturally from balance. It is set in motion from a starting position that gives the golfer the best chance to make
his
best motion, considering his physical make-up. The golfer’s starting form is one in which he is standing tall. His head rests comfortably – neither up nor down – as he stands proud. His shoulders will have room to move under his chin during the loading motion. He is in good balance, meaning that he is in place, weight evenly distributed between his feet.

Having bent slightly to complete his starting form, he will find that his spine is in its natural state. He is now in a position to swing without restriction. The energy is beginning to flow through his body because he is in a form where he feels free and directed.

The golfer feels directed, of course, because he is aligned to his target properly. His clubface points to the target while his right foot is placed at right angles to it. The left foot is set at least twenty-five degrees open relative to his target, and outside his left shoulder. He intends to transfer his weight during the unloading motion to his left foot, stopping his body directly on the target.

The golfer grips the club lightly, with his arms hanging naturally from his body; they form a spoke or paddle with the club when fully relaxed and extended. The palms of his hands oppose one another.

The relationship of the golfer’s arms and hands to the club does not change during the motion. This is “passive hands” and is
further achieved through maximum extension of the arms; relaxed arms are extended arms. If the hands are passive (no conscious activity during the motion), then the clubhead can neither flutter nor waver. And if the golfer makes his motion while maintaining the relationship set up in the starting form, always extended naturally, he will achieve his best, maximum arc. He will generate tremendous power through centrifugal force. All parts will be unified and all parts will respond to the force.

The path of the clubhead relative to the target creates the flight of the ball. The path is set up by the golfer’s alignment at address. When a golfer wishes to play a straight shot, he aligns himself square to his target – or as square as he can, given his physical make-up., Should he wish to fade the ball, he will set up open, moving the right foot forward, or toward a line drawn from the ball to the target. And if he wishes to draw the ball, he will set up closed, drawing the right foot back, away from a line drawn from the ball to the target. The tilt of his body will still describe a straight line. The club, swung under conditions of maximum extension, will merely follow that line.

The golfer is now prepared to initiate the motion. His posture is good and will remain so,
tall
, with his spine straight. He is alert and ready. He is full of purpose and is thinking of his objective: to make a swing motion so that he will reach the finishing form he visualizes in his mind’s eye.

The golfer initiates the swing motion by transferring weight back to his right foot as his body turns. His left arm and club form a straight line as they extend naturally under the guidance of the transfer and rotation, stretched also by centrifugal force. The clubhead is in perfect control – without the golfer doing anything consciously to make it so – because of inertia. As the golfer reaches his maximum extension during the loading motion, his right arm folds at the elbow. These are all natural happenings.

As the golfer reaches the conclusion of his loading motion, he feels secure. He is swinging without restriction. He knows where the clubhead is because he is aware that he has maintained the blade angle throughout. The natural swing has done it for him. He intends to let the clubhead flow as it will during the unloading motion. His only commitment is to transfer his weight to his left foot and to flow on through to face the target in his finishing form.

The golfer begins the unloading motion by transferring weight to his left foot. This weight shift or reverse sets up clubhead delay and ensures maximum extension at impact as centrifugal force pulls the clubhead outward and downward. This reverse is often mistaken as hand action. It’s not. The clubhead is being pulled through the ball by the centrifugal force that has been set up by the weight transfer.

Throughout the unloading motion the golfer is maintaining the posture that he started with. His right arm straightens naturally through impact and his left arm folds beyond impact and on the way to the finish. His hands and wrists remain passive.

This fully coordinated, natural swing motion allows the knees, hips, shoulders, and head to flow through to the finish. They are all facing the target as the golfer arrives in his finishing form. The weight is one hundred per cent on the left foot. The golfer feels an exhilarating sensation of release because the energy he loaded up on when he initiated the motion has now been fully unloaded. He has made a swing motion in balance from start to finish, and has arrived in balance, staring at the target. He has made a natural swing motion.

G
EORGE KNUDSON
and I started writing this book in June 1987. George’s objective was to help people enjoy golf. He wanted to present them with a logical approach to the swing, so that they could improve their game in the long run. He wanted people to realize their potential.