From the Inside Out. I. B. Nobody

      Hitting Through in One Cohesive Movement

      “The ordinary golfer is an unrepentant end-gainer. When he sees the ball, he becomes obsessed with the idea of hitting it; the ball is made the climax or the end of his activity.” Percy Boomer.

      “Because it is no use trying to write an intelligent book on golf and leaving rhythm out, for rhythm is the very soul of golf . . . and the best definition I know of it is, co-ordination of mind and muscle which enables the player to do exactly the right thing at the proper moment. So you must find your own rhythm.” Percy Boomer.

      “Timing, then, is (1) The gathering of speed through the ball from correct mechanical movement and (2) a correct conception of the location of the swing center. These two can only be blended into a whole which can be faithfully repeated time after time by our sense of rhythm.” Percy Boomer.

      “Golf rhythm is a delayed dragging feel of the clubhead, developed from the power of the legs, kept under control by the braced turning of the hips, and finally loosened into a free, untrammeled movement of the arms outward and around the left side. We lose rhythm as soon as we hurry, and we hurry as soon as we are afraid.” Percy Boomer.

      “As I have said before, the swing is a continuous unbroken movement that cannot be cut into sections for analysis.” Percy Boomer.

      “Always remember that your swing does not end at clubhead impact with the ball. You must hit completely through. The ball is hit from impact on through, and not to the ball. This holds true for all clubs. My hands are still firmly in control of the club at the finish of the swing. The supposition that the eyes must remain fixed throughout the follow through on the spot from which the ball was hit is completely erroneous. This is unnatural and retards the free and full turn of the shoulders.” Byron Nelson.

      When I started bugging my dad for instruction, he was teaching 24 hours a day, so he would just tell me two things: on the backswing point the club to what I was shooting at and finish with the shaft of the club on the back of my neck—just bang it against your neck. In essence what he told me to do, was develop the golf turn and then finish the swing.” Jackie Burke, Jr.

      “The difference between swinging hard and over swinging was a big one for me. At 100 percent of powers, hitches appeared in the transference of weight from left to right and back again. The only time I dared hit flat out—with everything I had—came on the unusual occasion when I felt perfectly balanced and my timing was exact. Experimenting again with shoes off, I found that I naturally cut down until I was using just the right medium of swing, or about 85 or 90 percent of full power, without thinking twice about it. The reason was that a man won’t over swing if he doesn’t have spikes gripping the turf for him. Barefoot, your nerves are exposed to the ground. You’re able to ‘feel’ balance, to judge how big a turn and windup is possible without disturbing the leverage of your body. You get that shade of restraint that counts.” Sam Snead.

      Slowing it down . . . “your problem is a swing that’s too fast and jerky to be effective, there are a couple of things you can do to slow yourself down. First, slow down your breathing. Breathe a little deeper. You’ll catch yourself breathing particularly fast during moments of pressure on the course, and you’ll have trouble making a good swing if that’s happening. Calm down your breathing and you’ll calm down your body. Another good antidote to quickness is to move your feet more slowly during the address and waggle. Make a deliberate effort to do this, and you’ll find it one of the easiest and best ways in the world to slow your swing down.” Byron Nelson.

      “The movement of the hips inaugurates a whole chain of actions. Tied in with the hips, the left leg begins to break back to the left and the left knee turns a bit toward the target. Starting the hips back also takes the pressure off the right leg, and as this happens, the weight flows to the left leg. The right knee breaks in, definitely, toward the target, boosting the mounting velocity of the swing. This is, in truth, what each element does as it joins in the downswing. It adds its contribution to the multiplying speed generated by this cohesive movement of the body, legs and arms toward the target. This speed multiplies the golfer’s power 10 times over. In the chain action of the swing, the shoulders and upper part of the body conduct this multiplying power into the arms . . . the arms multiply it again and pass it on to the hands . . . The hands multiply it in turn tearing through the air at an incredible speed as it drives through the ball. All this happens so quickly, of course, that you can’t see it to appreciate it. But this is what happens. The hips lead the shoulders all the way on the downswing. The shoulders finally catch up with the hips at the end of the swing.” Ben Hogan.