Webster's dictionary defines path as 'a line of movement.' When hitting a golf ball this line of movement must be in the direction of the target to hit a relatively straight shot and have the ball end up at or close to the target. Edward really understands this principle and asks if one's hands play a part in awareness of swinging on path.
Edward Parnell says:
Just wanted to say thanks for the info on the camera and for all of your 'giving back' to the game. There is no doubting your belief in the golf swing and your willingness to help golfers of all levels.
I was mentored by Harvie Ward for nearly 20 years and he stressed simplicity and focused on club head path thru impact. What are your thoughts on feel thru impact and how aware of the path are you with your hands? It seems today that the focus on turn thru the ball is eliminating some of the club head awareness.
The Surge says:
Path is critical for accurately hitting the ball where one intends it to go. Naturally we must first have proper setup and, most importantly, correct parallel alignment. With correct setup the important issue is now swinging the club on the correct path to the target.
Edward bases his question relative to the 'thru the ball path' and asks how aware of the 'thru path' I am with my hands in the swing. The answer is I am aware of the path with my hands and my MIND. Both are very important. There is one critical point to state here that cannot be left to assumption. The approach path to the ball creates the thru path. They are one and the same. This creates the concept of the club head approaching the ball on the aiming line path and leaving on it in a principle I call on-on and-on, which I explained in The Foundation Manual on Page 17 as follows.
'Why is On 'On ' On (I call them the 3 O's) so important? Well, only because it is the #1 key to hitting a golf ball consistently solid and straight. And hitting a ball more solid and straight always equates to longer.
Looking at the physics of the 3 O's, Dr. Alastair Cochran, in his book, 'The Search for the Perfect Swing,' published in 1962, studied it and detailed it right in Chapter 1 on the first page. I think this shows how important it is. Simply paraphrasing, Dr. Cochran stated that if you want to hit a good golf shot, (he defined a good shot as a relatively straight shot) you had to do just 4 things.
1.Your club had to approach the ball on a straight line or path.
2. Your club has to hit the ball while still on this line/path with a
'SQUARE CLUBFACE' accelerating.
3. Your club has to leave on this line/path.
4. You must hit the ball solid or on the sweet spot while doing the
above 3 points.
As an added note to lend more value and importance to Dr.
Cochran's 3 O's finding, Dr. David Pelz, the NASA physicist turned golf
professional and one of the leading experts on short game, emphatically states the same importance of the 4 points of 3 O's in his first Book, 'Putting Like the Pros.'
The approach and thru path awareness of swinging the hands and club head are critical to successfully striking the ball solidly and square because that awareness is needed to hit a relatively straight shot at and to the target. This starts with good alignment and a good mental picture and awareness of the aiming line to the target path. This takes practice and is part of what the sports psychologists and instructors mean when they talk about 'target awareness and mental visualization.'
I have a test I give students to check their target and path awareness. I ask them to setup and take a good look at their target then return to looking at the ball. I then ask them to let go of the club with their forward hand and then raise their arm and point to the target. Next I ask them to turn their head and see where their pointer finger is pointing. It is scary how many are not pointing even close enough to hit the target with a hand grenade. I have a Surgism that states, 'Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and atomic warfare.
Right handers are usually way right and lefties are usually way left. In both cases they are visually aimed closed to their target. I am sure this poor visualization and target awareness plays a big part in golfers continually having aiming problems.
It seems that in every sport involving a throwing or hitting motion we develop great sensory perception to the target. Baseball players catching a ball and spinning to throw to first or a basketball player spinning to make a turn around jumper are usually pretty close to being on target.
As golfers, since we have to setup properly and then swing, it should be easier to home in on and set our target and path in our mind. I guess maybe the longer distance of our targets plays a part in our poor orientation.
And maybe, just maybe, it is because we just don't put enough emphasis and importance on target orientation in burning the picture on our minds of our target and the path we have to swing on to hit the ball. Maybe there is just too much grip it and rip it!
Take the target pointing test and keep working on your painting a good mental picture of your path to target. You will see your shots starting closer to your aiming line and finishing closer to your target. They will be flying straighter, like playing in a bowling alley rather than in a baseball park.
The Surge!