Overview of the modern, total body golf swing

 

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Introduction

There are many different ways of swinging a golf club, and I will not be discussing all the different ways of swinging a golf club in this review. In fact, I will only be discussing one way of swinging a golf club, and this entire critical review is totally devoted to an in-depth analysis of the modern golf swing, which has also been called a lower body golf swing or a total body golf swing.

Consider the mental image of a 10 year old boy swinging a golf club, and imagine that he has never hit a golf ball before or previously had golf lessons. It is very likely that the boy will actively swing the club with his arms and hands, while his body passively twists about in space in accomodation to movements of the arms and club across the front of the body. This type of golf swing has been labelled the "tail swings the dog" type of golf swing, because the central axial torso has to reactively respond to the active movements of the appendicular torso (arms and hands). A 10 year old boy usually has a light, lithe torso that is very flexible and pliant and it can easily move about in space in reactive, but passive, response to forces generated by the actively moving arms/hands/club. Leslie King offers a free 12-lesson online tutorial on this type of golf swing at http://www.golfpro-online.com/tuition/lking/index.html . It is a very insightful tutorial and I recommend that beginner golfers read his entire tutorial in order to obtain insights into an alternative method of swinging a golf club.

In contrast to a 10 year old boy, most adult males, especially overweight middle-aged males, have a heavy, non-pliant central torso, which cannot easily twist about in space in reactive response to arm movements across the front of the body. Therefore, a more suitable golf swing for adults has been labelled a "dog swings the tail" type of golf swing, because the central torso ("dog") actively powers this type of golf swing while the arms/clubshaft ("tail") are passively swung around the rotating torso in response to centrifugal forces generated by the large muscles of the central body.

When using a "dog swings the tail" type of golf swing, a golfer has to primarily move the central torso so that the shoulders rotate around the central torso's central axis. As the shoulders rotate, the arms are forced to move because they are attached to the central body at the shoulder joint, and the arms are passively flung around the body by the rotating shoulders. There are two general approaches to powering the shoulder turn in this type of golf swing. The one approach is called the upper body golf swing, because the golfer actively turns the upper torso (chest, upper back, shoulders) while keeping the lower body relatively passive and stable. The second approach is called the lower body golf swing, because the downswing starts with a rotation of the lower torso (hips) followed by a rotation of the upper torso (shoulders). In other words, the lower body downswing starts from the bottom-up (lower body first, upper body second) while the upper body downswing starts from the top-down (upper body first and lower body second). Most PGA tour players use the lower body golf swing, and I will describe some of its basic features in greater detail. However, I will first discuss some basic golf swing physics.

Golf swing physics

The best, simple description of golf swing power physics that I have read can be found at David Tutelman's website [1], and I am going to summarise his ideas on "what powers the golf swing".

David Tutelman states that one should think of the golf swing as a double pendulum swing action.

Double pendulum golf swing action - from reference number [1]

The double pendulum swing model has two hinge points for the double pendulum swing action - at the i) the central core, and at ii) the hands. In this model, the clubshaft is swung around the body by centrifugal forces set into play by torque forces applied at the central core hinge point. According to David Tutelman, very little torque is applied at the hand hinge point and the hands only act in such a manner that torque forces applied at the central hinge point are passively, and secondarily, transmitted to the clubshaft via the hand hinge joint. Although no/little torque forces are applied at the hand hinge point, approximately 50% of the clubhead speed is apparently generated at this hinge point - via centrifugal forces.

A body in motion (eg. clubhead) wants to move in a straight line, but a golfer obviously wants to swing the clubhead in a circle around the body, and a centrifugal force is needed to ensure that the clubhead follows a circular swingpath, rather than a straight swingpath. According to David Tutelman, the strength of the centrifugal force is established by the following formula-:

F = mv²/r 

m = mass of the club; v = velocity, which increases as body torque accelerates the arm-shoulder triangle; r = radius of the combination of the extended arms and wrist-cock angle.

The more acute the wrist cock angle (the closer the club is to the central hinge) => the smaller the radius.

To maximise centrifugal forces (F), and therefore clubhead speed, a golfer needs to keep the radius (r) as small as possible for as long as possible in the downswing. A golfer does this by maintaining the maximum amount of "wrist lag" for as long as possible. Professional golfers routinely achieve this feat, and beginner golfers need to mimic their "wrist lag" action if they want to maximise their clubhead speed.

Ben Hogan's downswing "wrist lag" action - from reference number [2]

In the above photo, one can see that Ben Hogan has a great deal of wrist lag action, and he is maintaining it throughout the first half of the downswing. It is only after the right elbow reaches the right hip area, and the hands reach waist level, that the hands will release the club thereby allowing the clubshaft to move in an arc down towards the ball.

According to David Tutelman, very little muscle swing power is normally produced by the arm/forearm/hands when the wrists finally uncock at waist level, and most of the swing power is the end-result of centrifugal forces set into play by torque forces applied at the central core hinge point. In fact, clubhead swing speed may be maximised if the arms/forearms/hands are totally passsive and very relaxed during the downswing, so that they do not interfere with the fluidity of the swing's centrifugal force action-evolution. In other words, one can think of the modern golf swing being actively powered by the central torso, while the arms/hands can be conceived to be passive agents that merely transmit the swing power to the clubshaft via a double-pendulum swing action. A golfer who swings in this manner is a "swinger" and I personally recommend that beginner golfers adopt the mental idea of becoming a "swinger". Some golfers who adopt the double pendulum swing action are known as "hitters" because they apply an additional amount of torque at the hand hinge point during the dowswing. A "hitter" applies forearm/hand muscle power during the downswing in order to increase the amount of hand hinge torque force, so that it supplements the torque force generated at the central hinge point, and hopefully results in even greater clubhead speed. A "hitter" can only successfully accomplish this feat if he applies hand torque force at the correct downswing moment (starting when the clubshaft is about 60 degrees from the vertical) and in perfect synchrony with the centrifugal forces already in play. If the "hitter" hits from the start of the downswing, he may cast the club (release the "wrist lag" prematurely) from the top, which will decrease centrifugal force "F" by increasing swing radius "r", and this will actually decrease clubhead speed. Therefore, perfect timing is critical if one wants to become a successful "hitter" and a beginner golfer should first think of becoming a perfect "swinger", before he thinks of increasing his clubhead speed by also becoming a perfect "hitter". To successfully learn how to become a perfect "swinger", a golfer needs to have an in-depth understanding of the modern, total body golf swing.

The modern, lower body golf swing   
 

Most PGA tour players use the modern, total body golf swing style, which is characterised by a downswing that is primarily powered by the large muscles of the body. Jim Suttie thinks that the modern golf swing is most suitable for the "golfer who is athletic, trim, muscular, and flexible" [3]. An inflexible, out-of-shape golfer may have difficulty executing this type of swing efficiently, and he may be better suited for another golf swing style. Tiger Woods is the classic exemplar of the modern golf swing, and one can sense the amount of power his body generates when he hits a driver. The modern swing is a body powered swing, and it can also be thought of as a resistance swing - resistance is built up in the central body as it coils during the backswing, and this coiling action becomes the major power source for the central body's torque generator. To maximally increase one's coiling power, a golfer needs to rotate the upper body against the resistance of the lower body during the backswing. A golfer achieves that goal by limiting rotation of the hips during the backswing while ensuring that he has made a complete shoulder turn. The greater the difference in the degree of rotation of the shoulders compared to the hips, the greater the amount of coiling power that is potentially stored in the central body. Jim McLean, a famous golf instructor, refers to this coiling power as the X-factor. In order to limit hip rotation during the backswing, the modern golfer must deliberately keeps the right knee slightly flexed throughout the backswing. A slightly flexed right knee prevents over-rotation of the hips during the backswing, and thereby increases the X-factor. Most PGA tour players, who use the modern golf swing, limit hip rotation to 20-45 degrees during the backswing, while rotating the shoulders >90 degrees.

Another characteristic feature of the modern, total body golf swing is the exact method of unleashing the central torque force during the downswing. Golfers, who use this swing style, traditionally start the downswing from the bottom-up (lower body moves first and upper body second), and their central body uncoils in a specific sequence starting with the hips, and then the shoulders. The hips rotate towards the target before the shoulders, and the shoulders only catch up to the hips during the mid-followthrough phase of the swing. The arms are swung passively around the body as the central torso rotates (double pendulum swing action), and the golfer has to "time" his downswing sequence of central body movements so that the arms are constantly in front of the rotating torso throughout the entire downswing and early followthrough period. "Timing" and "rhythm" is the essential glue that that holds the modern golf swing together, and the different body parts have to move in perfect synchrony for the double pendulum golf swing action to become mechnically efficient to the maximum possible degree. The central hinge joint must obviously move before the hand hinge joint, and the movement of the body, arms and hands must be ultrasmooth (optimally fluid) during the entire downswing, so that the clubshaft accelerates smoothly without any jerky disruptions. 

The modern golf swing is a very connected swing in the sense that the arms remain very connected to the rotating torso during the downswing. One can sense that the arms are moving around the rotating torso of a modern swing golfer at the optimum speed, and the arms always appear to be in front of the body during the backswing, downswing and most of the followthrough. The swing of a modern swing golfer should look very compact, and there should be a paucity of "loose connections", which is why a modern swing golfer generally avoids any overswinging during the backswing. During the downswing, the modern swing golfer adopts the maximum amount of "wrist lag", which makes his early downswing movement look compact, powerful, and efficient. The clubshaft is fully released during the later part of the downswing and this type of clubshaft release is referred to as a body release. It is not a hand release, which is a characteristic of some arm swingers, and the forearms do not roll over, and the hands do not flip, during a body release. The optimum body release of the clubshaft is the end-result of a sequentially unlinking, double pendulum swing action involving the total body (first feet, then knees, then hips, then torso, then shoulders, then arms, then hands, then clubshaft) that should temporally evolve in perfect harmony, in perfect sequential synchrony.

In my chapter-by-chapter review of the modern, total body golf swing, I have decided to use Aaron Baddeley's golf swing as an ideal role model. My reasons for choosing his swing are twofold. First of all, the swing video of his driver swing is freely available to interested readers at the V1 Home Swing Analyser's website [4], which will enable interested readers to download and view his swing in "real-time" motion (including slow motion and frame-by-frame motion). Secondly, Aaron Baddeley has a very consistent clubhead swingpath during both the backswing and downswing, and his backswing clubhead swingpath closely matches his downswing clubhead swingpath. I think that beginner golfers would benefit by trying to learn how to swing a golf club on a consistent swingpath, like Aaron Baddeley, instead of having to learn how to re-route the club onto a shallower swingpath during the downswing (eg like Jim Furyk or Bubba Watson). There are a large number of PGA tour players (eg, Adam Scott, Luke Donald, Stuart Appleby, Justin Rose, Trevor Immelman, Tiger Woods, Vijah Singh, Chad Campbell) who swing on a consistent swingpath during both the backswing and downswing, and interested readers could therefore also use those professional golfers as ideal role models for the modern, total body golf swing.
 

Perfecting the modern, total body golf swing

What is a perfect golf swing?

Jim Suttie thinks that a pefect golf swing has to be a mechnically sound swing, which he defines as follows-: "A mechanically sound golf swing delivers the clubface through the ball perfectly square to the target line, perfectly vertical, so that only the loft of the club affects the trajectory of the shot, on the correct path, with maximum velocity at the bottom of the swingarc every single time" [3].

Jim Suttie also quotes the famous golfer Bobby Jones as stating "that the only reason we bother with the form and the correct swing is to find the best way of consistently bringing about the proper conditions at impact" [3].

In other words, to achieve a perfect golf swing, a golfer has to learn how to achieve the "correct form" that will allow him to square the clubface at impact on a consistent basis. Golfers, who adopt the modern golf swing style, will therefore need to learn how to perform the modern golf swing correctly from a mechanical perspective (learn the "correct form"). This critical review contains an inordinate amount of factual detail regarding the requisite body positions and body movements ("correct form") that must first be learned if a beginner golfer hopes to discover how to perfectly execute a modern, total body golf swing. However, specific details on body positions/movements are only the fundamental building blocks that underlie a perfect golf swing. A beginner golfer also needs to learn how to put it all together with perfect rhythm and perfect tempo. This review doesn't deal with the critical issues of coordination, rhythm, and tempo, but the beginner golfer obviously needs to acquire those skills if he hopes to perfect his golf swing. Some beginner golfers may discover a practical method of acquiring good coordination, rhythm and tempo through endless practice, while other beginner golfers may best perfect their golf swing through the intervention of a personal golf instructor. This free, online review should merely be thought of as an elementary first step, that may help a few beginner golfers learn how to improve their golf swings. However, a beginner golfer must also understand that this free, online review is only the first step, and it certainly cannot replace the need for personal committment, personalised instruction and persistent practice!

 

References:  

 

1.  David Tutelman's Golf Design Notes website: Applying physics to golf.

Available at http://www.tutelman.com/golf/design/swing1.php?ref=

 

2. Redgoat at smugmug.com. Available at http://redgoat.smugmug.com

 

3. Your Perfect Swing. Jim Suttie.

 

 

4. V1 Home Swing Analyser website. http://v2.v1home.com