"Every man and every woman is a star."
It has been stated that the game of golf is 90% mental and 10% physical. (or shall we say 90% preparation and 10% action) Come to think of it, what gets me out of bed in the morning is the idea to get up. What initiates the action is an idea which through the golfer's nervous system acts upon the body. The more we think something through, the more the chance of succeeding. We've all heard someone say, "I have absolutely no idea what I did" after a good golf shot. The chances of repeating another good shot are very slim indeed. Ideas form an anchor or frame of reference around which a sense of permanence or continuity is created. When working according to an idea, we are able to refine our abilities rather than refind them. An idea grows and develops in much the same manner that the physical body develops and grows.
The ideas and ideals we learn in this series will serve as tools and guideposts to better understand and play the game of golf. With that in mind, let us proceed to get an idea of what we're learning to do.
Through It All
"Golf is an
applied understanding"
An understanding of what we're actually doing. So What are we doing? and how do we start defining it?
Objective: Moving the golf ball from Point A to Point Z. (taking the fewest strokes possible)
Problem: How to do it?
Solution: Developing a consistent way of moving or projecting a ball through space and time to its intended destination.
Devise and develop a simple mechanism to direct the ball and the brains to control the physical motion.
| First Of All |  |
"Hands Up!"
The hands connect the club to the body. The club responds to the hands which respond to the body. The fact is, when we want to control the clubface we simply have to control the movement of the hand. The hand is "in motion while not moving". When the body is still, the hand in motion describes a line. When the body is turning, the hand in motion describes a circle.
In order to get the ball airborne, we need to maximize the hand speed which in turn is transmitted to the club head. We utilize the body turning to MOMENTUMIZE the hand. To control the speed of the hand in motion, we capture the seed or rhythm in a phrase or word. Once we have captured the rhythm we simply GO with it.
Get A Grip
"Wherever the palm of the hand goes,
so goes the face of the club"
NOW, Get on the ball, get on target and GO, get outta here!! Close the space UP!
Next Chapter: Rules of Thumb