An Ode to lag pressure
 

Percy Boomer wrote some wonderful words which describe the powerful sensation of a swinger loading PP3.

"So I analysed it out to this conclusion...what we are waiting for is the return power, the forward pull of the body that pulls the right hand and throws the clubshaft back onto the trigger finger.

We must not intentionally pull with the right hand, we must wait for the body to pull it. We take up the feel of this pull mainly with our trigger finger, in a strong player the resistance may be so terrific as to burst the finger open.

So we delay while all the time we are going forward. We are waiting in movement."

Written before PP3 was called PP3 but at a time when the role of the hands was fully appreciated. A beautiful description of the drag loading sensation!

Why this has been written about by so few others i will never know. Percy Boomer wrote these words in his book " On learning Golf" in 1942!

I've been thinking about that too. In Swinging #3 should feel a PULL (or maybe better RECEIVE a Pull). Where as in Hitting #3 is receiving a Push.

In either case the #3 Pressure Point is RECEIVING/Feeling/Sensing the inertia of the Sweetspot resisting a change in direction.

One thing that I would take issue with Mr. Boomer on is the amount of pressure sensed. Homer Kelley measured the pressure in ounces not pounds. He said a pound of pressure is all you need. Hence the message you receive from #3 is more like a wisper than a holla.
Nice post Dawg!

Thanks Bucket

I know what you mean about the degree of force he describes... i think that you should only load as much lag as your pivot ( for swingers) is able to sustain.

But like most golfers who have never experienced much lag pressure... you sometimes need to turn the volume up for them to hear the message ( i bet Percy's amp "goes up to 11... " have you have seen "This is Spinal Tap" .... classic line from classic film)... and then when they can hear it... just turn the volume down to a useable/sustainable amount.

The problem with the basic motion curriculum is that your lag pressure in 2 feet back ... 2 feet forward is just too quiet for new TGM people to hear ( at least it was for me!!)... the float loading of a chip -pitch ( like Ben Doyle and others use) allows a little more volume so us deaf-folk can hear it! Lag pressure comes on with greater force and quicker ! Ie form no lag pressure to loads of pressure... then you can hear it!! You can't sustain something you can not hear... but equally most weak pivots can't sustain too much lag...maybe

Did Homer ever discuss the chip=pitch with Ben? Is it on any of Lynn's recordings? I'm sure it would have been discussed between them at some stage... just did not seem to make it into the book as part of basic motion curriculum. I guess because it is actually a form of acquired (ie you have acquired accumulator 2 a bit...)

I can see your point . . . and maybe the next step from there would be to turn down the volume a bit with some Basic Motions. Lag is there too more than just a Careless Whisper but not no Megadeath ever.

Try them Basic Motions with your eyes shut . . . Hell I hit full shots in my net with my eyes shut. Your hands speak a beautiful language if you tune in and learn it.

Yes - i think that is good point - eyes closed quietens the background noise and allows you to pick up the subtle pp3 feel in basic motion.

Personal Pidgeonholes
 

Homer Kelley never used the term "Chip-Pitch" in any of his three recorded Master Classes. He never used it personally with me, and I doubt he ever used it with Ben.

My guess is that Ben came up with this term on his own to describe a Chip Shot with a bit of Wristcock (for a modest amount of additional Power). He uses it to bridge the gap between his "Chip" (a short Stroke with Zero Wristcock) and his full-fledged "Pitch" (a longer Stroke with Wristcock that is clearly out of the 'Chip' category). His "Punch" adds a strong Right Arm Thrust to the Stroke. With the exception of his chip-pitch hybrid, these terms have been in the golfing lexicon for centuries and create no conflict with TGM.

Ben controls the length of the Stroke by varying the amount of "swivel" ("1/3 swivel, 2/3 swivel, full swivel"). Here, until Ben's meaning is understood, things can get a bit confusing for students of The Golfing Machine. His term "swivel" refers the amount of Hip Turn one would experience if sitting on a "swivel" chair from the end of the Follow-Through ("1/3 swivel"), into what he calls "Transfer Follow-Through" ("2/3 swivel") -- this is the Finish Swivel (of the Wrists) as defined in TGM -- and the Finish ("full swivel").

Now, TGM defines the Pivot Motion in terms of Zero, Partial and Full, but there is certainly nothing wrong with Ben's terms. As I've said, there is only a potential for confusion if the student does not know he is referring to Hip Swivel, not Forearm Swivel (which he is also markedly doing as he demonstrates). His term does not relate to the term as defined in the book, i.e., the independent "Roll" of the Hands and Wrists from Release to Impact and also, from the end of the Follow-Through into the Finish (2-G; 4-D-0).

In other words, the Swivel Action defined in TGM is a true rotation of the Hands (not the Body) into and out of the Impact Interval. It is thus differentiated from the Hinge Action that occurs during the Impact Interval (wherein the Flat Left Wrist simply remains perpendicular to one of the Three Basic Planes of Motion, i.e., Horizontal, Angled or Vertical). Swivel Action is made possible by the Swivel 'joint' in the Left Forearm (Sketch 2-K #4).

Before I knew ya
 

Yes sir...Before I met you I visited Ben for a lesson. I had a difficult time going through his swivel exercises because I interpreted them (correctly) as being hand motions.

I was getting a wee bit uncomfortable when Ben kept grabbing my belt loop and jerking my left hip around on those 2/3 swivels while I was trying my best to execute an angled hinge.
:redface: :laughing9

Thanks for your advice, Yoda. I see where the precision of Homer's work may have become confused. As Ben was the first authorised instructor , how much control did Homer want to exert over Ben's interpretation of the text? I guess we will never know... except that Homer was keen on precision!

I can see what Bagger means about the term "swivel" too...

The King's English
 

Homer Kelley always admired the creativity of Authorized Instructors. That was one of the reasons he put so few drills in the book. Said he:

"I want you guys to have a 'free hand.'"

However, when it came to the terminology, he was adamant:

"Interpret it and expand on it all you want. But don't replace it."

The problem, as he saw it, was that AIs would begin to substitute their own terms -- this is NOT the same thing as interpreting, expanding, demonstrating, using analogies, etc. -- for the ones he so carefully defined in TGM. For example, they would substitute the word "'this'" for the applicable TGM term. And then another AI would say, "'Well, 'this' means 'that,' so I'll just use my own term, 'that,' instead."' And it's downhill from there. Quoting Homer: "Pretty soon you've got the Tower of Babel again."

He held that view to the end. From the revisions to the 7th edition (1-H):

"...this book provides a complete, unified golfing terminology. Even if a term offends, use it as indicated, anyway. It has ample justification, and probably much more than the term you've been applying."

'Nuff said! :salut: