How Human Nature Wants to Make You Hit at the Ball

By | on October 2, 2015 | 20 Comments |


lock

Sorry, this content is for members only.

Click here to get access.

 

Already a member? Login below

Email
Password
 
Remember me (for 2 weeks)

Forgot Password





Tags:

Author Description

Avatar photo

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+

20 Responses to “How Human Nature Wants to Make You Hit at the Ball”

  1. October 22, 2012

    jimmarlow

    Another great tip, Paul.

    I have been trying to get my swing at the ball with exactly the same motion and tempo as I have with my above the ball practice swing. I have recently found that one big difference in the two swings is that on my practice swing my arms and wrists are looser and there is a slight pause in transition between the backswing and start of the downswing. When there is a ball to hit I tend to rush the transition with my arms.
    I am finding that if I pause, I can make more of a deliberate move with my lower body to start the downswing. It seems to be making a big difference in getting the correct movements coordinated when there is a ball to strike.
    I am very encouraged. It is somewhat new and I still have to discipline myself to make sure I pause long enough to make the key move.
    Thanks again. The progress is encouraging.

    • October 22, 2012

      Paul Wilson

      Jim, Everyone tries to rush the real swing. That is great that you are pausing at the top. This is a great way to slow down and it definitely allows you more time to feel the lower body starting the swing. Keep doing this.

      Keep focusing on the pace of the practice swing as you are. It is not about hitting long shots right now. It is about the movement. Focus on the move and the distance will come later.

  2. October 22, 2012

    allenmohr

    You are a brilliant teacher, it is a pleasure to be one of you’re students
    Thank you for providing me the opportunity.

  3. October 22, 2012

    chadcarpenter

    Paul,

    This style of tip is a great complement to the “positions” descriptions on the web site and in Swing Machine Golf. For example, I have been putting a lot of time in on the back swing and it is easy to then get caught up in the positions when playing. This tip provides a reminder that you can study positions (I do it a lot at home in a mirror), but the swing then has to flow, especially when playing. The more like this the better for me.

  4. October 22, 2012

    IvorBailey

    Hi Paul

    Another great tip – just getting the arms to switch off especially with the driver is such a challenge. In your driver series you say to focus on a target much closer to the tee than the expected landing area which stops you trying to crush the driver. Its the only club that you are trying to max the distance, I have found this helps a lot.
    One question about driver set up. Many teachers recommend with the driver that you should have a spine angle tilted away from the target to get the head behind the ball, what is your view on this?

    Best wishes
    Ivor

    • October 22, 2012

      Paul Wilson

      Ivor, I’m glad you picked up on that driver tip. If you are looking in way in the distance for your tee shot you are thinking of hitting the ball a long way. If you look closer you are not thinking distance. Keep doing this.

      Your spine will be tilted slightly behind the ball at address because the bottom hand is lower on the club. I don’t want you to overdo this tilt. This tilt occurs in the downswing by using your lower body. People are told to pre-tilt excessively to get you to tilt in the downswing. I am not looking for a band aid. I want you to tilt due to the right fundamentals.

      Watch:

      How Much Should You Tilt At Address?: https://ignitiongolf.com/setup-tilt-address/

  5. October 22, 2012

    JoseCarceller

    Again a brilliant tip, Paul. Still struggling to make my arms powerless in the way I am hitting the ball way to the right (push, push fade or even push slice). I feel I am turning my hips too fast no giving enough time for the face to close. Maybe it’s the speed of the turn or my wrist are not loose enough and I have to think of doing it manually again.

    • October 22, 2012

      Paul Wilson

      Jose, Imagine if you allowed your wrists to release where the ball would be going. I would be a perfect draw. So work on the wrist release for a little while. Get the ball hooking. Once you can do this forget the wrists and go back to powering your swing with your legs like you are. Right now you are driving the lower body too hard. This is great that you are learning how to use the legs but you are not good enough at releasing it. Do it as I suggested above and you will be just fine. You can also slow down the driving of the legs and gradually increase.

      Watch:

      Manually Square the Clubface: https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-squaring-clubface

      Manually Square the Clubface (Follow Up): https://ignitiongolf.com/impact-squaring-face-follow-up

  6. October 22, 2012

    LinusLeBlanc

    Great tip as usual. One of my biggest problem is tensing up and gripping too hard with too many negative thoughts in my brain.

    • October 22, 2012

      Paul Wilson

      Linus, Glad you liked it. Thanks.

      Gripping too hard is a huge problem. You should be starting off with your grip at 2 out of 10. Then it gradually and naturally tightens as you go to the top to 8 out of 10. The whole concept is that your grip is secure yet your wrists are loose. This is a fine line but it can be done. You can work on this with practice swings. Just hold and and do 3/4 swings back and forth loosening only the wrists. Or you can do this drill:

      Tee Drill: https://ignitiongolf.com/secure-top-backswing

      If there are too many thoughts in your mind you are trying to work on too much and you care where the ball is going while making swing changes. Why not just work on one thing at a time. Also, forget the ball. Right now you are trying to change your swing. It is about the movement not the ball. Get the movement and the ball will be hit great.

      So take a new approach. Right now you are changing your swing. Work on the grip and set up then the follow through positions. Master this first. Then move on to the backswing.

      Work only on these 2 positions until you have them mastered:

      1. Legs Touching: https://ignitiongolf.com/touch-knees

      2. One Of The Secrets To The Golf Swing: https://ignitiongolf.com/secrets-to-golf-swing/

  7. Paul,This is a brilliant follow up on your previous videos with the alignment sticks ,a few days ago.
    So I altered slightly my training drills following your advice ,placing two alignment rods at 45° angles to the target flight ,in the backswing side and in the throughswing side .
    I then concentrated solely on paralleling my hips to the alignment sticks:this forced me to rotate better both ways and take of my attention from the arms who just followed the move .I also actively accelerated between back and through.
    Well ,as a result my swing speed regularly went up over 105 MPH ,a speed I never acheived until now
    Well taught to us ,Paul ,thank you!
    A question :GARY PLAYER ,in a video ,shows he rotates 60° both ways with his hips ,and also that he has a strong left hand grip (3 Knuckles left hand showing).
    Should I follow his example : I have a neutral grip (2 knuckles left hand showing) and I have difficulties pivoting 60° back ?
    What do you advise me to do ?

    • October 4, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Raymond,

      Good job. I have been saying hip speed and looseness of the wrists since you started asking about how to get more distance. Now you are seeing it. It’s hard to explain how much and how fast I am driving the hips. It is a lot more than people think because it looks slow when I do it. Now you see it is really fast. Just keep at it to get this speed long into the future.

  8. October 5, 2015

    AnthonyDeacon

    Paul-having used my arms to hit the ball most of my life, believe me changing my golf swing has not been straightforward and sometimes disheartening. However after 12 months practice I think I am starting to get the gist of the positions and feelings you encourage. For me the crucial elements are a slow backswing, loose wrists and a proper shoulder turn. Is this what you would expect?

    • October 5, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Anthony,

      These are great thoughts. Don’t forget the follow through. Getting the 2 follow through positions alone should have you hitting it better than you even have in your life. I prove it every day I am out there teaching. Too many people want to over them. By thinking of them you are not thinking of hitting anything. Couple this with the backswing and you have a great overall swing. So I like what you are doing going back but you need to couple it with the through swing. I cannot do the follow through positions better than you so if you get them you should have a great swing.

  9. October 27, 2015

    JeffLubin

    Hi Paul,

    Yesterday I was playing and got to some long holes. I tried to speed up my hip turn for more distance but found myself pulling the ball with some hook spin into trouble. Even though I was thinking hips, I felt like I was standing up or moving forward and out of position. The question is, will thinking about the knees touching eliminate the pull and balance issue? After that, I couldn’t go back to my slower swing without coming over it.

  10. December 13, 2015

    LenKoblenz

    Hi Paul,

    Perhaps a strange question or two. You (and I) appear to be about 5’10” tall. My rear (right) leg is having trouble touching my left leg. I wonder if my stance may be too wide. How far apart are your heels when you are using a driver? I played baseball all of my life (younger days) and have habits that are not conducive to golf.

    Thanks for everything,

    Len

    • December 13, 2015

      Paul Wilson

      Len,

      I am 5’10”. If you have ever thrown a ball you have done the touch the legs positions. I keep telling everyone that they have already done this before. You need to do this asap:

      It’s Like A Throwing Motion: https://ignitiongolf.com/like-throwing-motion/

      Once you throw a few then do practice swings. The do it as you hit a ball.

  11. I have had a breakthrough with your method when i fire my hips faster to start downswing, if i go casual with it results not as good. Also i have to completely turn off arms. Its hard to trust because you are giving up control with arms but the results are coming. It’s a weird feeling to hit the ball without arms at first, the club just comes zipping through and hits ball without you doing anything except starting fast with left hip(my trigger). Its an undeniable feeling when there are no arms swinging. Any advice when hitting wedges when full shots not required? Good video.

    Jay

You must be logged in to post a comment.