It is Like A Throwing Motion

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Paul Wilson is the creator of Swing Machine Golf and founder of Ignition Golf. Paul's golf swing technique is based on the Iron Byron swing machine. YouTube Channels: Paul Wilson Golf and Ignition Golf Tips. Please Join me on Google+

42 Responses to “It is Like A Throwing Motion”

  1. November 18, 2013

    DonaldCorby

    Paul
    I am getting tired of Stevens like “just take the tee away”if it was that easy how is it that I and most of amateur golfers can hit irons off a tee and then hit fat or thin or topped shots when they hit the ball off the ground? I know that there are no “magic”secrets but, please, address this either here or by tip, or ,personally, at my email address, I have been following before you moved to the Broadmoor, have all of your DVD’s, the book, and following you at Revolution Golf and as a member of Ifnitions Golf. Never have you addressed this problem. You are not alone. All you golf gurus seem to think that us amateurs can with no problem just decide that we can “hit at ball first and then the turf at the bottom of our swing” I await your response.
    Donald G Corby Md
    P.S. SOMEONE HAD TO SPEAK

    • November 18, 2013

      Ben

      G’day Donald,
      I feel your frustration. I have been following Paul for a couple of years now, initially I just did what he said, Powerless arms, free hinging wrists, Maintain constant forward tilt and power the swing with the legs and hip turn.
      Then my ego got bigger than my ability, I went back to my old habits of trying to HIT the ball, with my arms – guess what, the improvements evaporated.
      As it happens, I referred to the lesson/tip above : Signs You Are Hitting With Your Arms which mentions the shots you mention.

      I got addicted to this game, about 35 years ago. My father-in-law said to me one day “I’m going out to play golf. I don’t like to play on my own”. He loaned me the clubs he took to India in 1926. I had a couple of lessons. My next contract was in Iran (The Shah was in power). There was a desert golf course with rolled sand fairways and oiled sand patches for greens. The bad habits I learnt there blighted my game for years.
      Stick with it, you will improve, and you will meet and enjoy the company of so many people.

      • November 19, 2013

        Paul Wilson

        Ben,

        Everyone goes through this. It is human nature to hit harder. I am fine with getting more power just do so with the legs not the arms. Stay loose.

      • November 19, 2013

        DonaldCorby

        I learned to play this game 66 years ago in North Dakota as you on on SAND GREENS. IT IS TOO BAD THAT THEY DO NOT EXIST ANYMORE.
        JUNIORS WOULD QUICKLY LEARN THE REASON THAT ACCURACY BEATS DISTANCE
        our greens in that little old course were about the same size as 100 large pizzas laid out in a imperfect circle
        Thanks for your comments. Today, I went to the range, tried to remember what Paul teaches.
        Hit much better irons ( 6 and 8), but still never took turf

    • November 19, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Donald,

      Who is saying that when you get rid of the tee you will hit it perfectly? You need to get rid of the tee because you need to hit it off the ground. No one hits makes perfect contact all the time. I hit a ton of shots fat and thin. Contact will vary for everyone on a daily basis. What I am more concerned with other than the contact is, are you hitting it down the line from a square stance? If so, you have the right fundamentals because serious flaws will see your ball go offline from square. So be more concerned with where the ball is going as opposed to contact. Get it on line and you are developing a good swing. At this point, you can start thinking more about contact.

      Knowing my method as well as you do you should know that as soon as you are topping it or hitting it thin you are swinging too hard so slow down. If you are hitting it fat your arms are outpacing your lower body thus keeping too much weight on your back foot at contact. In doing so, the arc won’t clear causing you to hit it fat. So if any of these shots are occurring in the future you instantly know the cure. This also holds true to every other flaw in golf. The cures are all listed on this site and in my book and Faults and Fixes video series. There is no guess-work doing my method. I hate guess-work. I want the sudent to know exactly what to work on by watching the shot and instantly apply the correct fix.

      You may or may not realize that many of the best golfer’s in the world tee it up when they are working on their swing. Why? Because when you are working on things you are not making perfect swings. If you are not hitting it perfectly, teeing it up reduces the degree of mis-hit. Why hit the ball poorly if you don’t have to? Giving yourself a little room for error allows you to stay somewhat confident while making swing changes.

      So in the future keep teeing it up when you are working on things. Gradually lower the tee as you start to gain confidence. Then get rid of the tee.

      P.S> – I HAVE NOW SPOKEN.

      • November 19, 2013

        DonaldCorby

        Paul
        Last Thursday, I hit 14 fairways, and 2 greens in regulation. Never missed the center of the fairway or my target in the fairway by more than 10yards. So I guess my fundamentals, path, and club face seem to be better than most PGA TOUR PROS.
        At almost 80 years, I have lost about 70 yards.
        Today, I went back to your book, the went to the range and hit about50 balls with the 6and8iron(2or3 swing w/o as you suggest)
        Some good contact, some horrible, but no divots in the good ones.
        Again , what am I doing wrong, and how do I correct. Give me a concrete answer, online instruction, exact references on website, DVD or book. I have each.
        Or a prayer to St Jude
        Thanks
        Donald G Corby MD

        • November 20, 2013

          Paul Wilson

          Donald,

          As we discussed, every single person in over 22 years of teaching golf that has not taken a divot because they are hitting with their arms. Once I loosen them up and get them fully extending through and past impact magically the divot appears. Unfortunately, people keep wanting to hit. The harder they hit, the more they look to see what they hit. The harder they hit, the more the forearm muscles contract thus pulling the club off the ground through impact. Just got to turn them off and use the the lower body to hit your shots.

  2. November 18, 2013

    RaymondCHASTEL

    This message is addressed to the two commentators above(BEN and DONALD ):PAUL is a great teacher ,but he cannot substitute himself to you:you have to go the hard way and as said BEN HOGAN ,”dig your own truth from the dirt “,that is ,practise and practise again .
    To cure the issue raised by DONALD ,I would advise him to read two excellent golf instruction manuals ;one from PAUL RUNYAN (THE SHORTER WAY to LOWER SCORING ),the other one from GEORGE KNUDSON(THE NATURAL GOLF SWING) (KNUDSON=the marvelous CANADIAN Pro ,with the “Million Dollar swing “asJACK NICKLAUS described him ,alas he is now dead ).They teach the weight transfer (KNUDSON )and the “Suspension point “(RUNYAN ).You won’t top your irons anymore if you move your weight forward (Or keep it forward )and if your “suspension point=the top of your spine”is forward .
    It’s like CHRISTOPHER COLOMBUS ‘s egg :evident !
    What PAULdemonstrates in this excellent video on “throwing the ball “is exactly the weight shift from a 50%/50% weight distribution at address :you move in the swing from the trailing leg to the front legand at the end of the through swing ,100% of your weight imust be on the front leg and you cannot top the ball if you swing this way !

  3. November 18, 2013

    JAMESHUNT

    This tip about throwing is a pretty good analogy of weight transfer. Another that works for me is the action in casting a lure with a spinning rod., or surf fishing. I also have followed a little of the tips of “Rotary Golf Swing”, supposedly also based on the physics of the Iron Byron. Although Paul’s teaching methods are much easier to relate to, the other has some good points as well but just in more bio/swing mechanics lingo. A few subtle differences also. Things like, pulling vs pushing, feeling pressure on right heel and glutes on the back swing, keeping arms more in front of the torso during the downswing, but from what I can understand both methods are using the same principles, albeit with a few differences. I can say that using Paul’s tips regarding leg touching, it feels almost impossible NOT to have a weight transfer and not having to even think about it. I now just have to practice executing it a little quicker and better BUT being careful not to let arms take over. As mentioned above, practice (preferably without a ball).

    as far as hitting thin, more often than not, is caused by your arms pulling in (chicken wing), and as Paul relates in other tips, caused by arms getting tensed up and “drawing in:. This can be overcome by making sure you maintain extension and the best way to get the proper “feel”, is with practice swings without a ball, getting used to freely hinging and unhinging the wrists and feeling the weight of the club head. In any event, these “thoughts” are what works for me. i am confident that there are many of the other of Paul’s most excellent tips will work for you.

    • November 19, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Jim,

      Glad you like it and understand it. I appreciate the feedback.

      I didn’t realize that about Rotary Golf. I have talked to Chuck Quinton in the past on a different subject. I really don’t know his method.

      • November 19, 2013

        JAMESHUNT

        Yes, interesting comparison, begs the question “which came first, cart or the horse”, but I did notice he did not produce any direct references to Iron Byron from an inventor as you did. Some of his drills are identical to yours. He seems to be taking credit for a lot of things, citing his collection finding and forming of a medical board regarding bio mechanics. He is also being accused of plegarism from Allison Theatle (sp) who says she taught him all he knows in 2008. All in all, a lot of unnecessary nonsense. His method may be very like yours, but his presentation is quite different. All the claims and counter claims can be googled, but again, not really worth the trouble. They were business partners, but parted company since he revised his original book and came out with one called Rotary Golf Tour edition. (I have read neither, and do not intend to). No matter, people will gravitate towards what they think works for them, perception etc not unlike “solder to flux.

        • November 19, 2013

          JAMESHUNT

          Upon closer observation, I have learned that Chuck Quinton did NOT claim his method is based on Iron Bryon, but that was the conclusion of a poster on a golf forum. I have no first hand knowledge of any of this, only what I have read about.

        • November 20, 2013

          Paul Wilson

          Jim,

          Just keep it simple.

  4. November 19, 2013

    JuleHerbert

    I believe there is no way Paul Wilson’s system won’t work if practiced. Similar to Jimmy Ballard and David Lee, with more detail of the actual stroke and easier to get the (technical) hand of.

    • November 20, 2013

      Paul Wilson

      Jule,

      That’s right it will work (incredibly well) if you just do it (the way I explain).

  5. November 19, 2013

    DonaldCorby

    James

    Chuck Quinton`s developed 2separate systems. One the Rotary Swing, which he has literally abandoned except for beginning golfers. He now for the past 3or4years has taught RST OR Rotary Swing tour, which based on a hitter not swing system, which Paul Wilson teaches. I just thought that should understand before you put erroneous info on the forum

    Shylo835@gmail

  6. February 28, 2014

    barrybower

    hi Paul question on angle of the spine as the downswing starts (if watching yourself in mirror). still have some over top move at start of downswing,working on your tips. the question is, if i make a strong baseball throw while watching in mirror i notice that after the wind up, at the start of forward motion the spine angles back as lower body drives forward. what i see in mirror looks like a significant backward tilt as i drive forward. the completion of the throw is as your tip finish weight forward and on tip of back toe. when i swing the golf club and try to duplicate the positions looking in mirror,i feel like my spine tips way back as downswing starts but in the mirror its not tipped as much as in the baseball throw. question is should i be trying to get similar tilt in my golfswing as whats in the throwing motion. cant hit balls out side yet up here(canada). this is quite diff feeling than my normal swing,should this help or hinder swing.

    • Barry,

      You definitely need this backwards tilt. It allows the club to swing out at the ball. Most people hit with the arms causing them to come over the top so I like the fact you understand this tilt and are working towards mastering it.

      I would think the tilt would be comparable to throwing a ball although I have never actually matched it up (I should do a tip on this). They way you can check it is by watching your ball (when the season starts). This tilt allows the club to attach slightly from the inside. If you tilt too much you will hit the ball too far right of target. If you are doing practice swings just watch the blur of the club as it swings through impact. If you see the blur going way right you are too tilted so back it off a little. If you don’t you will be hitting pushes, push fades and duck hooks.

      Watch:

      How to Cure the Direction: https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-direction/
      Slide: https://ignitiongolf.com/cure-slide

      Impact Head Behind Ball: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-head

  7. Avatar photo

    October 31, 2014

    RichardBourke

    Paul

    This was a great tip for me to learn the touch the legs position but I find that although I can do the motion perfectly when throwing I tend to spin out of control when swinging a club. It’s as though the extra width of the club throws me out of balance at the end of my swing.
    Whst should I work on to improve my balance

    • November 4, 2014

      Paul Wilson

      Richard,

      Glad you liked it. Just do it slow until you master it then go faster. Everyone wants to do this stuff at top speed. Crawl before you can run. No sense going to fast and spinning out. If you at least do it you can then get good at it. If you can’t do it at the speed you are doing it at it’s going to be a problem.

      Do this drill too:

      Lean On Club to Touch Legs: https://ignitiongolf.com/drill-lean-on-club

  8. November 2, 2014

    JamesChapleau

    Solid advice that you present here Paul. And in such a simple, straightforward and encouraging presentation. I’ll do that on each uncoiling, or figure out why not.

  9. November 7, 2015

    Waltreyer

    When you do the touch leg drills it looks like your knees touch?
    When watching slow motion pros swing, it looks like their thighs touch?
    Which is correct?

    Thanks,
    Walt

    • November 7, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Walt,

      I want you to touch all the way down to your knees so you can do exactly the same position every time.

      There are tons pros that touch all the way to the knees. I show my students pictures of them when they come for lessons. Keep in mind driver is a wider stance. I still want you touching although the back leg is dropped one ball width behind. If you are not touching as I show you will have to look down at it every time to make sure you are doing it exactly right. Why would you want to do that? Why not just feel them touching?

      Pros I show are:

      Tiger
      Rory
      Luke Donald
      Gary Player
      Mark O’Meara
      Faldo
      Couples

  10. November 7, 2015

    RaymondCHASTEL

    TOUCH THE LEGS And POWERLESS ARMS go hand in hand together.To perform both MOVES correctly ,it’s indispensible to stay loose .When I play on the golf course ( I never practise on the range ) ,I do a simple wiggle OF m’y entire body ,just if I was a worm ,as I DID a long Time before as a champion free stroke swimmer before diving off from the starting block.
    If you stay really loose And concentrate on rotating the hips ,you sweep the ball away smoothly And it goes without effort a long ,long way .
    Ot takes a lot OF Time And humility to forgo YOUR strength And play PAUL WILSON’s way !

    • November 8, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Raymond,

      It sure does. The hero is the one who writes the lowest score on their card not the one who hits it 300 yards.

  11. Avatar photo

    November 7, 2015

    KennthBova

    Paul, I have all hybrids in my bag and am very confident with them. I only have the pitching wedge and sand wedge left. I still have to think about moving my hips before my arms (hips swinging them) and the shot is decent.

    • November 8, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Ken,

      I am totally fine with hybrid clubs. They are easier to hit.

      You should be thinking about moving the hips before the arms. This is for the thought for life!

  12. November 7, 2015

    Gary Meyers

    That tip was fabulous! It really enabled meto see how easy it is, and exactly what I had to do to duplicate your swing. With that tip, and a decision to turn back a little more fully when I am coiling my upper body on my backswing, I am now swinging my driver over 100 mph about two out of three times! That is a goal I have been trying to reach for the last couple of weeks, since I discovered your website, and it is already coming together. At 69, I have learned more about the golf swing in the few weeks since I discovered Ignitiongolf.com than in the more than fifty years before that I have been trying to play this game! Thank you, Paul! Looking forward to actually having fun playing golf, over at least the next ten years!

    Gary Meyers

    • November 8, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Gary,

      Glad you liked the tip. Thanks.

      That’s great you are increasing swing speed. It can be done. Just got to use the legs and hip and keep the arms relaxed and wrists loose.

      I was in the same boat many years ago not getting my questions answered. This is why I explain it how I do. People need to get it.

  13. November 8, 2015

    Waltreyer

    Paul,

    It seems when I keep my club head low on the takeaway that my swing speed increases 10-12 Mph.(I have the radar you promote) Any feedback on this? it happens consistently. It also promotes an easier transition to turning my legs together with good follow through?

    Thanks,
    Walt

    • November 8, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Walt,

      Not sure why. Maybe it is getting you to load the weight better on right back foot. Not sure if you have seen my takeaway tips but if your takeaway is little putting wouldn’t you be taking it back somewhat low anyway. With that much difference keep doing it.

      Watch:

      One Piece Takeaway: https://ignitiongolf.com/master-one-piece-takeaway

  14. November 10, 2015

    IanHenry

    Paul, somewhere in your tips you tell us to swing the club off the ground, your favourite drill. I was always trying to do this drill but thought in my wisdom that I would start with the club on the ground and try to hit the ground so that I would take a divot. Oh how wrong was I ! Although I was not trying to hit a ball all I did was replace that thought with hitting the ground and so consequently I was still trying to hit something instead of thinking about driving my leg to touch my knee. I too can’t take a divot but am fine when the ball is teed up, now I realise that I need to train the mind to not think about hitting. In order to do this I have coiled up my shoulders on the back swing, hinged my wrists, and at the moment I then try to completely block out of my senses any feeling of having arms or even a club, and just think about the weight on my back instep and firing that leg to the touch the knee position. It is amazing how difficult it is to train the mind out of what it has been doing (wrongly) for the last 45 years. But I’m still persevering as I am a complete convert to your teachings, thanks for all the tips kind regards Ian Henry.

    • November 11, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Ian,

      You need to be swinging off the ground. You are swinging at the ground and still not taking a divot so when does the divot magically happen? Never! You need to swing off the ground to take the arms out of the swing and power it with your body. Once you turn the arms off the mass (club) will start making it’s widest arc.

      Just do nightly practice swings off the ground. As the arms relax the club should be feeling very heavy. You should also feel the club swinging with your legs and hips not your hands and arms. You need to do this nightly until you are used to using your legs and hips. It is a new, different feeling that takes time to get used to. You really can do it.

      How To Take A Divot: https://ignitiongolf.com/how-to-take-a-divot/

  15. Hi Paul,

    This comparison to throwing a ball really hit home with me. I was a pitcher (right-handed) in high school and I remember now how I wore a “pitcher’s toe” on my right baseball cleat. This was a protective pad that covered the toe area to keep the cleat from wearing out there when throwing pitches. Pitchers end up on the toe and actually drag it ahead further during the follow-through. This tip going to really help me with my full swing now that I can relate it to my pitching motion. Thanks!

    Mike

  16. December 18, 2017

    johnemmanuel

    I understand this method but you didn’t focus ob the element that that we as amateurs swing our buds too quickly to get ahead of our hands and loose power. shouldn’t we try to time our lower body turn into the hitting area?

  17. Paul,

    What do you think of the golf swing as like a sidearm base ball throw.

    jay

  18. thank you

  19. June 9, 2021

    ihmpadre

    Amazing. I just bring the club to the top where the butt is facing the target, relax my arms, and touch my legs and do the release with the wrists and rehinge. I asked an early question about whether its helpful to think about the butt of the club facing the ball on the downswing, and the answer is no. Just touch your legs!

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