All the imperatives get alot of "column inches" ...so too does the stationary head.... but very little seems to be written about balance.
I was reading Percy Boomer's book again and liked the following passages. He stresses that balance is not just a side-to-side matter but an up-and -down matter.... you need to be balanced in 3 dimensions.
Percy Boomer “On Learning Golf” page numbers refer to my copy of the book (Classics of Golf 1988 edition)
- Pg 204
All golf is opposition. We are in a state of opposing in every phase of our swing, even in the waggle. The very feel of the club head is only sensed when we are in a state of opposition to it.
… At the bottom of the swing the forces and positions will be reversed. The body comes down when the club head is up and goes up as the club head comes down. Opposition again. These up and down movements are not something we do consciously, they are automatic adjustments of balance in opposition.
- Page90
“As the club-head arrives in the region of the ball our body (because of its comparatively short degree of action) has already got back into its ‘opposing’ position, with left heal back on the turf, left side straight and firm and right hip twisted into the left one – the whole giving a sense of secure brace to the whole body.”
- Pg 202 -203 ( rearranged paragraph order )
… The first thing to get clear in your mind is the difference between pulling up your body and stretching up through your body. This latter is essential to one of the most important feels in golf – the feel of down through the ball. And it is relevant to note… that the higher you want to pitch the ball the more essential is this down feeling, a feeling which is the opposite of scooping the club head up.
Now let me explain the difference between lifting up the shoulders and head and stretching up through the body from the feet and legs. …It is an established feel in all good golfers that they stretch down through their arms as they come into contact with the ball, but you cannot stretch against nothing so they have to stretch up from the feet to set up the necessary resistance in the shoulders. We have to fix the top of our swing by giving it something to pull against, otherwise we cannot stretch tautly down from it. We fix the top and by bracing and stretching up to hold our shoulders firmly in place.
- Pg 204
There is a clear difference between lifting the shoulders and holding them up. If we lift our shoulders we lift our arms out of position, but if we push up from our feet we may be using an equal or greater muscular force simply to hold our shoulder in position against the terrific down-pull of the club-head. Consequently we may even feel that we are rising up when actually we are doing no more than resisting in an upward direction the force of the club-head which is pulling down. That is why you may find if you study a whole film with an up-on-the-toes finish, that in spite of the up-on-the-toes movement the head and shoulders have not been raised even a fraction of an inch.
Percy does a great job of describing the sensations one might feel in 3D balance. Very much to do with the physics/dynamics of golf... just add in the geometric alignments and looks good!
Thanks for taking the time out to type what Percy Boomer wrote.
The setup sets the stage for balance.
Typically, I find that if a student is in a balanced position at adjusted address, he will have an easier time staying in balance throughout the swing which means it will be easier for him to keep the clubshaft on plane etc.
Care to define what goes in a good setup? This is hardly a topic that ever gets discussed, but is sooo important.
Originally Posted by golfbulldog
Opposition and Sense of Balance
All the imperatives get alot of "column inches" ...so too does the stationary head.... but very little seems to be written about balance.
I was reading Percy Boomer's book again and liked the following passages. He stresses that balance is not just a side-to-side matter but an up-and -down matter.... you need to be balanced in 3 dimensions.
Percy Boomer “On Learning Golf” page numbers refer to my copy of the book (Classics of Golf 1988 edition)
- Pg 204
All golf is opposition. We are in a state of opposing in every phase of our swing, even in the waggle. The very feel of the club head is only sensed when we are in a state of opposition to it.
… At the bottom of the swing the forces and positions will be reversed. The body comes down when the club head is up and goes up as the club head comes down. Opposition again. These up and down movements are not something we do consciously, they are automatic adjustments of balance in opposition.
- Page90
“As the club-head arrives in the region of the ball our body (because of its comparatively short degree of action) has already got back into its ‘opposing’ position, with left heal back on the turf, left side straight and firm and right hip twisted into the left one – the whole giving a sense of secure brace to the whole body.”
- Pg 202 -203 ( rearranged paragraph order )
… The first thing to get clear in your mind is the difference between pulling up your body and stretching up through your body. This latter is essential to one of the most important feels in golf – the feel of down through the ball. And it is relevant to note… that the higher you want to pitch the ball the more essential is this down feeling, a feeling which is the opposite of scooping the club head up.
Now let me explain the difference between lifting up the shoulders and head and stretching up through the body from the feet and legs. …It is an established feel in all good golfers that they stretch down through their arms as they come into contact with the ball, but you cannot stretch against nothing so they have to stretch up from the feet to set up the necessary resistance in the shoulders. We have to fix the top of our swing by giving it something to pull against, otherwise we cannot stretch tautly down from it. We fix the top and by bracing and stretching up to hold our shoulders firmly in place.
- Pg 204
There is a clear difference between lifting the shoulders and holding them up. If we lift our shoulders we lift our arms out of position, but if we push up from our feet we may be using an equal or greater muscular force simply to hold our shoulder in position against the terrific down-pull of the club-head. Consequently we may even feel that we are rising up when actually we are doing no more than resisting in an upward direction the force of the club-head which is pulling down. That is why you may find if you study a whole film with an up-on-the-toes finish, that in spite of the up-on-the-toes movement the head and shoulders have not been raised even a fraction of an inch.
Percy does a great job of describing the sensations one might feel in 3D balance. Very much to do with the physics/dynamics of golf... just add in the geometric alignments and looks good!
I agree with - set up establishes balance....the brain is phenomenally good at maintaining balance on autopilot...trouble is our swings often get in the way of balance !
I was watching Ernie Els on TV this weekend at World Matchplay whilst I was reading Percy Boomer and inevitably I saw his sense of balance at set-up.
What struck me was his gentle movement in all 3 dimensions as he set up. Looked like he was (perhaps unconsciously) moving his body and feeling his COG. I think that you might have to move something to feel its COG... I am imagining seeing a box and trying to pick it up.... if the box is asymmetrically packed then the COG is not in the visual centre of the box....but we can only tell that when we move the box.... I liked his gentle movement of the body - easy rhythm to it... like a body waggle...Boomer liked to think that the body waggled the club too...
But back to set up....if I list some of the components that contribute to set up then maybe further discussion can flow....
Ball Position
Relative to Left shoulder or feet
Feet
Width apart
Weight distribution - "toe to heel" and "left to right"
Feet alignment relative to target
Knees
Knee Flex
Where the knees point ( inwards, like Hogan recommends, or Outwards)
Hips
Hip Bend
Hip alignment relative to target
Spine
Spine angle
Degree of straightness
Shoulders
Shoulder slant ( how much left shoulder is higher than right)
Shoulder alignment relative to target
Head/Chin
Relative to feet
Pointing of chin (central/left/right)
Height of Chin ( on chest/ chin up(look down nose)/ in between)
Arms
Arms hang ( vertically / slight stretch forward / stretched forward like Moe Norman)
Right elbow bend ?( like Hogan described in power golf)?
Those are the variables that I can think of...lots of options...so for purpose of initial discussion - assume for standrad 6 iron shot - straight to green from a level lie . Some of the variables effect others....
"Address Position loading of the Feet is even distribution between both Feet but with enough on the heels to allow the toes to be lifted up momentarily without altering the distribution between the toe and heel."
Good starting point!
Ball position should be relative to Low point - I think care needs to be taken if always playing the ball in the same position relative to the left foot because altering the weight distribution between the left and right feet alters the position of the left shoulder and hence low point.
Driver needs ball just back of low point and irons 2-3 inches back - maybe?? Does the degree of "hookface" come into the equation??
Feet , hips and shoulders can all have their own alignments it seems (relative to ball/target line) but usually they all point in the same direction ... at least for general play purposes. so that puts me down as 10-5-A...
10-5-0. GENERAL
"These classifications are based on the combinations of positions described by the identifying dual-term names. The first term in each combination refers to the Plane Line - the second term refers to the Stance Line (Feet only) and denotes the relation of each Line to the Line Of Flight. Three possible Plane Lines are presented but the three possible Stance Lines for each are discussed with the Square Plane Line only, because parallel Stance and Plane Lines are the basic Variation of each group of positions. Any "Line" rotated - even slightly - to the left of parallel to the Target Line (CCW), is in its "Open" position - rotated to the right (CW), it is in its "Closed" position. Use the appropriate dual-term names in the Stroke Pattern for Variations not listed herein. No Plane Line Combination is restricted to Clubs of any length. (Study 2-F, 2-N, 7-2, 7-10 and 8-3.)
The relations among Plane Line, Angle of Approach and Ball Location are constant per 2-N. Changing one changes all three and usually, Plane Angle as well, but not necessarily the Clubface alignment (2-J-1). All can be synchronized by "Laying the Clubshaft on the Line" (the selected Plane Line) during the "Parallel to the Ground" (2-F) portions of the Stroke. For additional information, see 2-G for Basic Clubface Action, 2-F for Basic Clubshaft Action and 2-N for Basic Clubhead Action."
Interesting that Homer uses plane line and feet line. Does plane line mean shoulder alignment... I think it does.... Hip alignment has more to do with hip turn (10-14) maybe...so square shoulders/square feet / open hips just limits the extent of hip turn rather than plane line...or so it seems....
would be grateful for some more expert opinions...thanks
Thanks golfbulldog for the topic. I wonder why most of the TV or magazine teach us we should feel the pressure under the balls of the feet and most of the time end up lost of balance falling outward.
Weight toward the heel, throw out, good balance! And most importantly, good looking!
BTW, how about the Mission Hill trip?
__________________
If you cannot take the shoulder down the clubshaft plane, you must take along some other path and add compensations - now, instead of one motion to remember, you wind up with at least two!
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