This article was created by Steve Thomas and featured in Today's Golfer magazine for their Summer 2024 (June 13th - July 10th) edition - Issue number 453.
The article content:
TOP 50 TEACHER Steve Thomas
www.stevethomasgolf.com, Head of Instruction & Fellow PGA Coach at Three Hammers Golf Academy, Wolverhampton.
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CRIMEWATCH
‘STRAIGHT LINE’ SWINGING
When we were learning golf, one of the first concepts we were introduced to was the ball-to-target line.
Soon after, we probably graduated to the notion of railway lines – ball-target line on the far rail, feet/knees/hips/ shoulders parallel to it on the near line. While both have their merits, these ideas have unquestionably encouraged golfers to think in terms of straight lines when they are swinging the club. As we will see, this can lead to a world of pain…
When we were learning golf, one of the first concepts we were introduced to was the ball-to-target line.
Soon after, we probably graduated to the notion of railway lines – ball-target line on the far rail, feet/knees/hips/ shoulders parallel to it on the near line. While both have their merits, these ideas have unquestionably encouraged golfers to think in terms of straight lines when they are swinging the club. As we will see, this can lead to a world of pain…
Perhaps one of the best ways to grasp the straight line problem for golfers
is to think of two well-known field events: the javelin and the hammer. In the javelin, the thrower is in line with the object being propelled and the target… and because of this, the delivery works in a straight line.
In contrast, the hammer thrower is of course to the side of the hammer and because of this the delivery must work around the body, in a more circular pattern. Straight lines only work when we are in line with our tool and our target – think of a darts player’s hand, or a snooker player’s cue. But when we are standing to the side of the object we are propelling – as we do in golf – we must move more like the hammer thrower and think in terms of a rounded, circular motion.
The two images on this page show the problems of trying to swing in a straight line. Fundamentally, the golf club needs to swing on a tilted circle, the club swinging ‘inside’ the ball-target line on both sides of the ball and only touching it briefly at impact. But if we move away from that in a quest to swing straight up and down the target line, our arms become disconnected from our body and our swing steepens out and above the ideal, circular tilt. This brings pulls, slices, limited power and general inconsistency.
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Whether you are guilty of pursuing that straight delivery – or simply want to train a better swing path – create an arc-promoting swing station for yourself. You can do this at the range by sticking two alignment sticks into range baskets, placed ahead and behind the ball and a few inches outside it. Angle the sticks to match your address shaft angle, then take your stance.
In this constraints-led exercise, your clear goal is to swing the club under the sticks. Swing back on that old, straight path and your arms and club will crash straight into the rear stick; but in swinging under it, your club cannot help but chart the titled circle that represents the ideal plane for the golf swing. Start with slow half-swings to get used to the new backswing path.
Keep the same goal for the throughswing and just swing down and through, under the forward stick. For the chronic straight-swinger this will feel like pulling the club inside; in fact is it simply the ideal, arcing delivery we need to make when standing to the side of the ball. Feel how, on this path, your elbows stay closer to your sides and your arms and body sync up better.
Finally, let’s turn to a simpler visualisation that you can take to the course. Place a ball in your regular ball position and arrange six more in a gentle arc, three balls on either side. Check the object ball is at the apex of the curve. Take your address and picture an impact path that delivers the club along this arcing curve. Burn the image into your mind’s eye… and take it to the course.
Written by Fellow PGA Coach Steve Thomas
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