Paul It may be a small point but I find that when I throw a ball, swing a bat, hit a tennis ball etc. the first thing I do is shift my weight to the front foot (heel) which then provides stable pivot point to turn my lower body through towards the target. I can’t see how turning before the shift is more powerful. Is it just semantics?
Well, you have 1/4 of a second from the top to impact. As soon as you make your shift you have already hit the ball. So when are you going to turn? If you do my touch the legs position you will shift because you would end up on the very tip of the back toe. So I know you are going to shift. I don’t know you are going to turn. So I want you thinking turn. Plus, in a golf swing you have mass (the club) swinging around an axis (body). How do you get the mass to swing at 90 degrees to the axis 100% of the time? Answer: you turn the axis first. This means your body rotation need to be ahead of the mass.
Oh yeah, recently I calculated out how far right I hit it offline when I used to think of shifting. 90 yards right of target. I haven’t hit a ball that far right since I started turning not shifting. Need powerless arms too. Get than you will hit it amazingly straight.
1. I love the Checkpoints series. Snow just finally melted off here and courses/ranges set to re-open. Been doing 50 practice swings daily from a shoveled off area in my back yard so I’ve got at least 4,000 swings in since things closed down. It’s now part of my daily routine. Just like brushing ones teeth. Non-negotiable with myself. Can’t wait to get some new swing videos to see if I have progressed since last August. I plan to do a full Checkpoints frame-by-frame comparison to your swing.
2. One thought I haven’t heard in this release area is your statement “I let the club go wherever it wants to go.” This for me is a great thought to keep me from wanting to go back to old habits of arm and wrist manipulation and staying now with powerless arms and loose wrists.
3. Kind of ironic that you feel this is one of the most important points in the swing process yet it only spawned one prior question/comment. People need to listen to you.
Thanks for the great IG work! Can’t wait to see some additional progress in my game. I’ll have your guidance with me all the way through this unending journey.
1. I love hearing this. I keep telling everyone. I hope they are listening. The ball is the problem. No ball no distraction. Now you can buidl the swing.
2. The club is mass. Just let it go. If your arms were string and the club is mass wouldn’t the mass pull the string taught 100% of the time? If so, there would be no chicken wing. If you did a neutral grip the face would square consistently too. Simple physics.
3. I think outside the box so it is about getting people to follow along and understand it. It’s scary being out there but that is where the answers lie.
Thanks for the kind words and support. I truly appreciate it.
One more thing that had been lost on me – the importance of staying tilted all the way through. I tend to come up too early. I’m working on staying back and hanging onto the tilt. It improves my swing balance immensely. This Checkpoints series really brings it all together and allows you to make certain points of emphasis for us. Keep up the great work!
I really don’t teach it too much anymore as you need to know the reason you come out of it. Do you come out of it hitting easy shots? No. So coming out of it is a clue telling you that you are swinging too hard and possibly using arms.
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6 Responses to “Checkpoints – Release Point”
March 2, 2016
ThomasLoftusPaul It may be a small point but I find that when I throw a ball, swing a bat, hit a tennis ball etc. the first thing I do is shift my weight to the front foot (heel) which then provides stable pivot point to turn my lower body through towards the target. I can’t see how turning before the shift is more powerful. Is it just semantics?
Tim
March 3, 2016
Paul WilsonTim,
Well, you have 1/4 of a second from the top to impact. As soon as you make your shift you have already hit the ball. So when are you going to turn? If you do my touch the legs position you will shift because you would end up on the very tip of the back toe. So I know you are going to shift. I don’t know you are going to turn. So I want you thinking turn. Plus, in a golf swing you have mass (the club) swinging around an axis (body). How do you get the mass to swing at 90 degrees to the axis 100% of the time? Answer: you turn the axis first. This means your body rotation need to be ahead of the mass.
Watch:
What’s Faster … Turning or Shifting Laterally To Start Your Downswing?: https://ignitiongolf.com/turning-or-shifting/
2 Things Flatten the Plane: https://ignitiongolf.com/2-things-flatten-plane/
Flatten Plane 1: https://ignitiongolf.com/downswing-flatten-plane/
Flatten Plane 2: https://ignitiongolf.com/downswing-flatten-plane-2/
Oh yeah, recently I calculated out how far right I hit it offline when I used to think of shifting. 90 yards right of target. I haven’t hit a ball that far right since I started turning not shifting. Need powerless arms too. Get than you will hit it amazingly straight.
March 21, 2019
MichaelBarrettPaul,
A few things:
1. I love the Checkpoints series. Snow just finally melted off here and courses/ranges set to re-open. Been doing 50 practice swings daily from a shoveled off area in my back yard so I’ve got at least 4,000 swings in since things closed down. It’s now part of my daily routine. Just like brushing ones teeth. Non-negotiable with myself. Can’t wait to get some new swing videos to see if I have progressed since last August. I plan to do a full Checkpoints frame-by-frame comparison to your swing.
2. One thought I haven’t heard in this release area is your statement “I let the club go wherever it wants to go.” This for me is a great thought to keep me from wanting to go back to old habits of arm and wrist manipulation and staying now with powerless arms and loose wrists.
3. Kind of ironic that you feel this is one of the most important points in the swing process yet it only spawned one prior question/comment. People need to listen to you.
Thanks for the great IG work! Can’t wait to see some additional progress in my game. I’ll have your guidance with me all the way through this unending journey.
Mike
March 23, 2019
Paul WilsonMike,
1. I love hearing this. I keep telling everyone. I hope they are listening. The ball is the problem. No ball no distraction. Now you can buidl the swing.
2. The club is mass. Just let it go. If your arms were string and the club is mass wouldn’t the mass pull the string taught 100% of the time? If so, there would be no chicken wing. If you did a neutral grip the face would square consistently too. Simple physics.
3. I think outside the box so it is about getting people to follow along and understand it. It’s scary being out there but that is where the answers lie.
Thanks for the kind words and support. I truly appreciate it.
March 21, 2019
MichaelBarrettPaul,
One more thing that had been lost on me – the importance of staying tilted all the way through. I tend to come up too early. I’m working on staying back and hanging onto the tilt. It improves my swing balance immensely. This Checkpoints series really brings it all together and allows you to make certain points of emphasis for us. Keep up the great work!
Mike
March 23, 2019
Paul WilsonMike,
I have done a few tips on this:
Spine Angle Follow Through: https://ignitiongolf.com/follow-through-eyes-tilted/
I really don’t teach it too much anymore as you need to know the reason you come out of it. Do you come out of it hitting easy shots? No. So coming out of it is a clue telling you that you are swinging too hard and possibly using arms.
Push Fade: Looking Early Locks The Hinge: https://ignitiongolf.com/looking-early-locks-hinge/
Look For This Clue: https://ignitiongolf.com/thin-topped-clues/
Stop Thin and Topped Shots (pick out of the sky): https://ignitiongolf.com/stop-thin-and-topped/