Basic body movement is essential in any sport. Of course it is
also essential for any type of physical activity we do.
As parents, we teach little children how to do the simplest of
things. This includes how to move and how to control movements
for precision and safety.
Basic body movement also means limiting movement to the essential
movement for what you want to do. We control the desired
movement. And, we prevent unwanted movement. We learn to keep our
movements just firm enough to be coordinated. We also learn to
allow just enough relaxation so the movements can flow through
their proper range with the most comfort.
For many golfers, if you think about your hands doing something
or even have much of your focus on your hands then, usually, you
will do something incorrect with your hands.
Basic body movement, under control, is to be your main focus.
When you become good at this part of your golf swing then can
you try advanced hand movements. But, any of these hand movements
should only be done in harmony with the dominant body and upper
arm movements.
Even your arm movements need more focus in the early learning
stages than any perceived hand movements. And, these arm
movements should focus on movements generated in the upper arms
which are as close to your body as possible.
A Special Lesson With A Good Golfer
A few years ago I did 2 golf lessons with a man who stood a
little over 6 feet tall. He was having trouble spraying his hits
with his mid-irons to his woods. I asked him to hit a ball with
a wedge. He chose his 64 degree lob wedge and promptly hit a
high, 95 yard hit.
What was he doing wanting a lesson from anyone?
Answer: He had one wrong move that he wasn't aware he was doing.
I used my interpretation of Fred Couples' looping swing to guide
him to the correct arm movement. When he tried my idea of Fred's
swing Andy hit the ball higher and 15 yards farther.
He did not want to develop that move but he understood how to
correct his error with the proper movement. He hit a lot of good
golf balls afterwards and knew why he did so.
Andy's other problem involved chipping. He had a good hand
movement in his chipping effort. He had no idea how to use that
good movement with the movements of his body. As well, he had no
idea of the importance of his body activity during his chipping.
A few minutes into the 2nd lesson he had learned how to time his
hand movements with his body movements. He also learned where
his hands should be in relation to his spine as he did the hand
movements that he wanted.
His chipping improved dramatically within the lesson. His
confidence was as high as possible that he could land a golf
ball where he wanted. And, all it took was understanding how his
arms and hands were to move in harmony with his body and also in
relationship to his body position.
How I Developed My Understanding Of Basic Body Movement
I taught physical education from Grades 1 to 9. In one short
span of time I could see the development of movement in all
stages of growth. I could also see the physical and mental effort
carried out by these children as they learned the skills and the
games which I taught.
I used to teach the various Grades a level of a game which they
could handle. I taught positional play in slow motion and then
introduced body movements which enabled the students to move
fluently up and down the playing surface. They quickly learned
this and asked for more. That is when I taught the various
skills. The game was taught first; and then came the skills.
In golf, there are a number of games played during a round.
* We try to get a better score than someone else.
* We try to get a personal best score during a round.
* We try to play against the golf course to get a par round
or better.
* We try to get a better score than par on each hole.
BUT, usually forgotten is the game of playing each golf shot as
good as we possibly can. It is this last "game" which I teach
in my golf lessons.
The free articles combined with the instruction modules will
teach you how to win "the game" of playing each hit during your
round of golf.
Relating this to teaching golf swing skills I emphasize basic
posture, alignment, control, and body movement. Arm and hand
activity do not get taught until my students learn basic
movements. Because of this, beginners and students who had never
hit the ball in the air soon hit draws with even their short
irons when they hit the ball over a fence.
You, The Ground, And The Golf Ball
We stand on the ground. The golf ball rests on the ground
(er, usually). Before we try to dislodge that golf ball from
its place on the ground we should learn a good method of relating
what we do from our "perch" on the ground.
Between our connection to the ground and the ball's position on
the ground we have a lot of body mass and joints along with
that "stick" thing. We need movement to make the golf ball move.
Therefore, we swing back and forth to make the golf club move
the ball. But, those joints want to do all sorts of contortions
during our golf swing efforts.
We need to develop an understanding of how to move at the fewest
possible joints and how to control or prevent movements of the
rest of our joints. This is basic to anything we do. It is very
important to this "confusing" skill called the golf swing.
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