Of course, what we do from here is the big question of the day. A hitter would be inclined to grab the grip tightly and thrust the clubhead at the ball with his arms and hands, as well as his upper body. A swinger would be in no such hurry to get the clubhead to impact. Let’s find out why…
The “Swing” Down
No doubt you’ve been waiting for this section since page one. This
is the part which the hitter has the most difficulty believing. How in the
world does one not exert hitting effort at the ball?
Herein lies the hitter’s first problem. The hitter is focused on the ball.
A swinger, in contrast, is focused on swing motion. To a swinger, the
ball happens to be in the direct path of the motion, and consequently it is
struck.
Okay okay, I see the point, says the hitter, but that still doesn’t explain
what I’m supposed to do. I can’t just not hit at the ball. You mean I’m
supposed to drop all the effort at the start of my downswing and expect
some miracle to happen to hit the shot?
Actually, in a manner of speaking…..YES. Except for the miracle part,
that’s a good way to think of it.
Let’s rewind for a moment and think about our state of mind at the
top of the backswing. If we have done it correctly, we’ve coiled up to a
nice tension-free position. So far so good. The hitter, however, tends to
get stuck at this point because he can’t conceive of a downswing which
contains no hitting effort. In his reasoning mind, no effort equals no
golf shot. The best image he can muster is an “easier” hit, which might
indeed benefit him, except he can’t seem to execute an easier hit with any
consistency.
The hitter must discover for himself or herself what it feels like, as
well as what happens, when the golf club is allowed to swing down
from the top, free of the constraints of the effort inherent in the hitting
from the top, free of the constraints of the effort inherent in the hitting
mentality. A golfer can try like crazy, but all the trying in the world is
going to end up in failure unless the mental barrier is removed.
Alright, so let’s get down to brass tacks. You really want to change your
ways? Here’s what to do, and you can get on the bandwagon right now.
Grab something to swing (if available). Work with your backswing for a
few moments until you’re swinging back in a totally relaxed, tension-free
mode. Remember, zero grip pressure (or a level very close to zero) is key,
especially if you’re having trouble.
Now for the moment of truth. Start the downswing with a bump
forward of your lower body, and let your hands and arms drop down.
Do not try to pull them down or make them go forward toward the
ball. Let them drop down― which is the direction in which gravity
naturally takes them, as in a free fall. You need no increase in grip
pressure to accomplish this action. Gravity never fails. Letting the
hands and arms drop implies relinquishing all effort to hit at the ball. I’ll
confess… it took decades for me to discover the mystery of how to get my
downswing into the elusive “slot.” Who would have ever thought that the
way to get it done was to give up the hitting effort. All that time I’d been
fighting a futile battle (one effort after another) which didn’t need to be
fought.
Alright, we’ve taken care of the arms and hands, but what about the
upper body? Like most hitters, I had the tendency to move my right
shoulder around at the ball as well. This creates a problem, because the
arms and hands can’t drop straight down if they are being pulled outward
by the shoulder. Therefore, a hitter might be advised to keep one additional
idea in mind, and that is to allow the right shoulder to momentarily
stay back as the arms and hands drop down. In fact, a number of
great teachers tell us that the shoulders should be the last to move in the
downswing.
Now, here are some of the new feelings you will likely experience as
you move in this new way:
-Your arms and hands will feel close to your body as they drop.
