Other analogies can be useful as well. Although I’ve never done it, I

can identify with the process of ski jumping. A jumper builds momentum

down an arc-like ramp, then is slung outward, helped by his own explosive

spring at the moment of “takeoff.” The same principle is at work.

In performing the fingertip pendulum swing, most right-handed players

instinctively choose to use their right hand, perhaps because the right hand

is their dominant hand (and is also the hand known to be “trigger happy”

at the top). So it’s important to feel a swinging action from this isolated,

right-handed standpoint. The left hand, however, is the swing’s guiding

hand (since it is in full contact with the grip). So a golfer might find it

helpful to practice this exercise from the left hand feeling perspective as

well. Finally, I practice a third way, and that is with both hands. This twohanded,

or “four fingertip” approach can be especially helpful to someone

who has difficulty maintaining a hold with the two fingertips of one hand.

A note of caution: If you employ both hands, make sure to place the

two sets of fingertips very close together on the grip, if not touching. If

you are right-handed, you want your right hand fingers on top. Vice versa

for lefties. These positions― which are my own concoction― are opposite

from the normal hand placement. Their purpose is to discourage what

Ernest Jones called “levering,” or using hand/finger leverage to force the

club’s motion back and forth.

2) One arm swing

Ouch. This is the harder one. Or, more accurately, this exercise appears

to be much harder. I have to admit, when I first tried hitting balls with

one arm I found the practice tremendously humbling (and discouraging).

Indeed, most golfers who attempt such an endeavor give up immediately

and never try it again. Almost all of us fail to understand what our failed

action is telling us, loud and clear. We fail because we fail to swing the

golf club!

Think about it. If you have successfully performed exercise #1 (the

fingertip held pendulum swing with one hand) and have allowed the

26 Goodbye Hit, Hello Swing, Part II

clubhead to swing as far it will naturally swing in this mode (somewhere

around hip high), you’ve already made about half of the full motion. To go

full, all you need is to do is take a normal grip and free up your arm and

body to accommodate a longer motion. The swing action is the same.

So there I was on the practice tee addressing the ball with the club in

my right hand. My mind was churning. How in the heck am I going to hit

this thing with one arm? After one or two shanks, I was almost a basket

case. Talk about feeling a right hand “hitting” problem. With no left arm

aid, believe me, I felt the faulty action in no uncertain terms! I also noticed

that the people to the right of me were starting to inch farther away.

Fortunately I never had to utter a cowering rendition of, Sorry I Almost

Took Your Head Off.

I can joke about that day now, but it was a little embarrassing at the

time. I realized that my problem was completely mental in nature. I

was focused on hitting the ball, instead of allowing the clubhead to

swing. A full one arm swing is not a great deal more difficult to achieve

than a fingertip pendulum version― once you are fully attuned to a

swinging motion. In my view, the great benefit of using one arm is that the

feeling of your errors are more acute, just like when you feel that blatant

exertion of effort to make the pendulum move faster. Total exposure of

your faults can be disheartening, but should it happen to you, you will

welcome it, because you will have learned a way to turn something

that appears really bad into something really good… really fast. A true

swinging motion, personalized with your unique signature, wants to

repeat itself.

One quick tip: If you are right-handed and are using your right arm, a

full right hand grip on the club may feel strange (since a portion of your

right hand normally covers the left). However you choose to feel the

contact, grip the club lightly. There is a definite tendency to perceive the

need for a tighter single-handed connection on the club. I fell into this

tension trap, and I paid the price. So go lighter than you think you need to.

The club will not fly out of your hand, and you will swing it beautifully.

Gravity is your never failing friend, so let the clubhead free fall from

the top. Squeezing on the grip will hinder its natural motion.