Tom's question is really about path to impact and ball contact point as they relate to the laws of physics and physiology as they apply to impact itself.
Tom T says:
Surge, I really enjoy your teaching and have lowered my score by 6 or so shots using the Peak Performance. I would like to know more on the forward swing as far as the proper position of the club at impact in relation to the swing plane? Should the club be coming from inside and where exactly on the golf ball are you looking for that impact strike of the club? Is it 7:00 or 6:00 in relation to the golf ball..I believe that the reason you start the forward swing ahead of the club reaching the top of the backswing is to get the club to drop on the perfect line as it gets ready to approach the ball'¦I just wish you would talk more about what this should look/fell like so that we are sure to be striking the ball in the slot position. Is that mysterious slot position the same on the peak performance swing or doesn't it exist from what we all have been taught previously under the traditional instruction methods.
The Surge says:
Tom is basically asking about the path to impact in his term of the 'slot position' and the point of impact on the ball. Tom asks if the club should approach from inside the ball striking it at 7:00 or 6:00 o'clock. I will say it right here and be clear and to the point. If one swings inside to out as impact at 7:00 o'clock implies, your ball is going out to right field. Whether you hit a ball with a baseball bat, tennis racquet or ping pong paddle, or get down on the ground and slap a golf ball with your hand or your nose, if you are swinging inside to out hitting the ball at 7 o'clock, the ball is going out to the right. It cannot go straight down the aiming line. Period!
Let's start with examining what physics states about impact. Dr. Alastair Cochran, in his book 'The Search for the Perfect Swing,' described impact in a precise and simple way. He said his studies showed the club had to do three things to hit a good shot, which he described as a relatively straight shot.
- The club has to approach the ball on the aiming line.
- The club has to strike the ball solid and in the sweet spot while on the aiming line and be square to it. (Note: this means impact is at 6:00 o'clock).
- The club must leave on the aiming line accelerating.
I simplify Dr. Cochran's three points for optimum impact, terming them 'on-on-and-on, square, solid and accelerating.' Guess what? This also applies to putting, as the ball does not know what club the player is holding and physics does not allow for exemptions to the laws.
The path to impact, for a relatively straight shot, always comes from slightly inside the aiming line to on the line and square at impact and then leaves swinging slightly inside through the ball to the finish. The key is the club is on the aiming line for only an inch or less. That is all it takes to hit the ball in the dead center at 6:00 o'clock for a relatively straight shot. Dr. Cochran measured impact time as .0005th of a second and is about ½ to 1 inch of club movement on the aiming line. The path is thus an arc. It's the same as is the big topic in putting: Is the stroke straight back and thru or is the stroke really an arc? IT IS AN ARC!
The PPGS believes that physics must be followed as we want physics being our partner in the swing, not an adversary working against us. We know the human physiology as created by God is designed to function in accordance with the laws of physics. God did not hand out any exemptions to golfers to defy the law of physics and their body design.
The PPGS is the only swing that incorporates and blends both physics and physiology into the setup and swing. That is why we swing vertically, standing the club up to 12:00 o'clock, the light position, because it is in harmony with gravity and centrifugal force and is the way our arms are designed to swing. Our bodies are not designed for a lot of rotation. In fact, our spines turn less than 30 degrees, so that is why the PPGS is a limited turn swing. In the backswing the torso turns only enough to get the forward arm over the toe line and then we lift the arms and club straight up to 12:00 o'clock.
The toe line is inside the aiming line and thus, when the forward arm is over the toe line, the arms and club are also inside the aiming line. They are in a position that, when the transition begins with the lateral bump of the forward hip just prior to reaching the top of the back swing, the arms are pulled straight down, which in turn pulls the club down on a slight inside path to the ball.
This is where physiology plays a big part in squaring the club head up at impact. The arms, which rotated the club in the takeaway into the mitt toe up, now approach the ball and rotate the club back to the address position, squaring the clubface for a square and solid on-line impact. This rotation of the arms happens because the arms are connected to the shoulders in a ball and socket joint that is the source of the rotation. You can see this by stretching both arms out in front of you and turn them up and down. First you see they rotate only to a limited degree and that they rotate exactly opposite of each other. It is more easily seen and felt by putting them together in a prayer position and turning them, demonstrating their unified movement.
In the final piece of the puzzle Tom asks about the feel needed to produce a proper approach to impact and through the ball. I believe again, taking physics and physiology into the equation, that we do not focus on anything concerning down to the ball from the top of the back swing because gravity makes the down in the downswing FREE. What is not free is everything after impact going up to the finish. To help the 'FORWARD UPSWING,' as I call everything from the transition to the finish, we think and swing with the thought of 'SWINGING UP TO THE T ' Finish.' Swing up and stand up AFAP (as fast as possible) like a pot tart out of a toaster.
The Surge!