golf on rails

THIS ARTICLE IS UNDERGOING MAJOR RECONSTRUCTION. estimated completion date is end of may.

this article is a mirror of the "golf on rails" book. 

Only 5% of golfers can break 80. The unorthodox techniques i teach in this book allows most golfers to break 80 and make golf more enjoyable and less frustrating.

(the first person in the history of mankind to make golf easy)

Ninth Edition. May 2024

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PREFACE .................................................................................................................vii

I. thesis 1

A. thesis 1: golf is more knowledge than skill 1

B. thesis 2: for many people, golf is important to their emotional well-being 4

C. concerns 9

II. instant gratification 12

A. general techniques 16

B. shallow full swing 23

C. electrocution feeling 38

D. confidence drills 40

E. partial shallow swings 44

F. pure body swerve 46

G. chipping 50

H. putting 52

I. wrist chipping 58

J. bunker shot 60

III. tutorial scope and overview 63

IV. swing theory 68

1. dyslexia phenomenon 69

2. hinge minimization strategy 70

3. practice swing and practice bounce techniques 71

4. interdependence principle and prioritization of factors strategy 73

5. swing setup 74

6. unified string i mean swing theory 102

7. body turn swing 135

8. arm swing 149

9. wrist swing 161

10. timing and shallowing 170

11. swing design and construction 189

10. SMART goals and strategies 208

11. shaft flex, driver loft, and ball type 213

V. swing simplification strategies 217

VI. swing depot 219

A. putting 219

D. hinge aligned swing 241

E. steep arm swing 248

B. chipping 248

C. 7 o’clock swing 251

D. golden long swing 251

E. bunker shot 253

F. uneven lies 257

G. lob shot 271

VII. troubleshooting and reproducing errors 273

A. golf is forgiving, and that's bad 273

B. intentional errors or trick shots 274

C. unintentional errors 278

VIII. more tips 284

A. hitting cage math 284

B. practice routines 285

C. finding a swing doctor 287

D. course management tips 287

E. a full stomach ruins your game 289

F. locker room pep talk 289

IX. barrio golf 292

X. proof of concept 293

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PREFACE

developing this super long tutorial requires technical skills and knowledge about golf. i feel i am in the sweet spot to develop a tutorial that can DEMOCRATIZE breaking 80 in golf because i have very high confidence and i’m not very good at anything. if i’m very good technically, then i would be too busy working as an engineer. if i’m very good at golf, then i would be too busy playing golf. 

what makes me think i can REVOLUTIONIZE golf even if i’m not a golf professional? because the founder of mcdonalds revolutionized the restaurant industry even if he was not a 5-star chef. the big mac is bad food. yet mcdonalds is the most successful restaurant in the history of the world. 

in 1994, i started working as a technician in a very high-tech silicon valley company called altera corporation. one of my tasks was to run a job on multiple computers every day. out of laziness, i wrote a simple script that would AUTOMATICALLY run the job on all the computers by just entering a command from a single computer. but the number of jobs i needed to run kept growing.

to make a long story short, i ended up developing a COMPUTE FARM where engineers located in different parts of the world can submit batch jobs for their tests and experiments. this was before data centers and the cloud became popular. anyone who knows computer programming will be shocked to know that i developed it using SIMPLE shell scripting. job daemons were just shells scripts on an infinite while loop who messaged each other by writing to a text file on a shared network drive. locking was done using simple “mkdir” (create directory). 

at first i wasn’t sure if mkdir was ROBUST enough. if more than 1 daemon ended up getting the same lock at the same time (contention), the system would fail. so i ran a script overnight where hundreds of computers repeatedly tried to create the same directory on a network drive. the next morning, i celebrated like crazy when i found out that after millions of attempts, there was not a single contention. i immediately knew the possibilities were endless.

i am probably the only person in the history of mankind who developed a robust and scalable compute farm with only basic scripting skills. that accomplishment gave me the CONFIDENCE to develop the first tutorial in the history of mankind that would make it easy for an average golfer to break 80.

golf may be an art and science for talented players. but it can ONLY be a SCIENCE for average golfers. my friend asked me why i’m writing a golf book even if i suck at golf. i told him, “same reason why scientists and engineers build the fighter jet even if they suck at flying the fighter jet.” the golf swing is much simpler than a fighter jet, so you don’t need a scientist to develop a scientific golf tutorial. but i think you still need someone with a SCIENTIFIC MIND to develop a golf tutorial that won’t be full of PITFALLS and AMBIGUITY. just like not all musically minded people are talented enough to make a living as a musician, not all scientifically minded people are smart enough to be a scientist. i’m not smart enough to be a scientist like mark rober. but my mom told me i have a scientific mind. she also told me i'm the handsomest boy in the world.

what inspired me to write this book even if i will NEVER be QUALIFIED to play in the PGA tour are the gay men who coach miss universe beauty pageant contestants even if they will never be qualified to join the contest. it actually makes sense. beautiful women would not have the passion to learn the mechanics and sweet science of becoming a beauty queen because they already are treated like a beauty queen all their life. 

talented golfers will never have the passion to figure out why average golfers cannot break 80 because they simply don’t know which of their INBORN ABILITIES don’t come naturally for average golfers. you cannot find a workaround to a problem if you don’t even know what’s the problem. shaq will never write a book on how to shoot a basketball because he never had to learn how to shoot.

people play golf to have FUN. but a book about golf that is very scientific is painfully boring. so the chances that this book will significantly earn money is very slim. i notice golfers who are exceptionally talented are also too busy raising a family. it would not be wise for someone raising a family to RISK years of their life writing a book that most likely won’t earn anything. unlike me who has nothing important to do in life. so i can have a math teacher or bill gates attitude. they don't have to be entertaining or charismatic because it would be the students who will end up driving a taxi if they don’t learn math. the world did not listen to bill gate’s pandemic preparedness speech in 2014 maybe because he does not have a likeable personality. but it wasn’t his love ones who died from covid.

i hope this book is just garbage because one of the things that make me sad is when something VALUABLE gets WASTED. if this book is not valuable, it can't be wasted. therefore, there is nothing for me to worry about.

I. thesis

 

A. thesis 1: golf is more knowledge than skill  

 

golf is more KNOWLEDGE than SKILL. let me rephrase that. breaking 70 is more skill than knowledge, but i believe breaking 80 is more knowledge than skill. breaking 70 is like racing in formula 1 because you need special skills or talent. however, i believe breaking 80 is like driving a car to the grocery store. most people should be able to break 80 if they have the knowledge. just like most people should be able to drive to the grocery store if they have the knowledge.
 

driving a car is easy, but there are actually plenty of knowledge involved. you need to know where the brake is, where the accelerator is, what to do to turn left, etc... the reason why driving is easy is all the knowledge are EASY to execute, and they become MUSCLE MEMORY. example, you don't need to figure out where the brake is anymore when stopping the car. it just happens automatically because of muscle memory. however, MISSING just 1 knowledge is enough to crash the car. example, if you don't know that you are supposed to stop on a red light, then there is a big chance you will get into an accident.

 

i believe golf is like driving a car. the difference is that in golf, nobody has figured out what all the required knowledge are. if you gather all the knowledge that all golf coaches teach, they are all CORRECT but NOT COMPLETE. just like driving a car, missing just 1 knowledge is enough to make you score 90+.

and just like learning to drive a car, if you try the style and techniques in this book, you need to give it enough TIME. imagine how ridiculous it would be if you are learning to drive a car for the first time and after just 1 day you give up and say it’s too difficult. of course it’s always difficult in the beginning.

i consider myself an AVERAGE golfer because everything that can possibly go wrong in a swing happens to me if i don’t consciously try to prevent them. but it allowed me to discover the complete knowledge needed by average golfers to break 80. unlike talented golfers who don't need to consciously monitor all the critical factors in a golf swing. their reflex naturally executes the missing knowledge correctly. that’s why talented golfers can break 80 or even 70 without the complete knowledge.
 

in golf, breaking 80 is the holy grail of scoring. golf has been around for more than 500 years, but ONLY 5% of golfers can BREAK 80. average golfers have surrendered to the assumption that golf is more skill and less knowledge just like tennis, singing or gymnastics. when i was learning TENNIS, we were doing net drills. the ball will just whiz by me because by the time i react, the ball has already gone by. when i asked my instructor for advice on what i can do to solve my problem, the instructor just told me to try to be quicker. goodbye tennis!!!

playing the piano is also a good analogy to playing golf. i think the reason why only 5% of golfers can break 80 is because golf lessons only give the SWING THOUGHTS (instructions) for some but NOT ALL critical FACTORS. some of the instructions are also too general. it’s like teaching piano by giving the student some of the chords and it's up to the student’s REFLEX to naturally hit the correct notes and timing (ouido). the student needs to have special TALENT. average people would need to be told where to hit each note. similarly, my swing style requires many swing thoughts. but each swing thought is EASY for an average golfer to follow. and with enough practice, the swing thoughts become MUSCLE MEMORY. just like learning an easy piano piece.

it's possible for an average golfer to score 2 pars in a row even without the complete swing thoughts for all critical factors. but that would be like LUCKILY hitting the correct notes once in a while even if you can't play by ear. it explains why 95% of golfers will NEVER break 80, despite playing golf all their life.

even with the complete swing thoughts, i believe the ORTHODOX swing or tiger style is too DIFFICULT for average golfers. the covid-19 lockdowns finally gave me time to engineer a swing such that each technique is easy for an average golfer to follow. let’s call it the “EASY swing”, “barrio swing”, or “cobra style”.

 

the style i developed is actually LESSER QUALITY. however, maybe it's like you are a person who identifies as male, and you are trying to find a partner with feminine traits, and i am introducing you to a girl next door while all the other coaches are introducing you to a supermodel.

why did most people use DOS when UNIX was superior? because DOS was much easier to use and the computer that most people owned did not have the capability to run UNIX. similarly, my swing style is LESS POWERFUL but EASIER compared to the orthodox or standard swing style.

this book could be like the suzuki method of learning the piano, where beginners immediately enjoy playing EASY piano pieces before they learn to read any note. the teacher simply guides the student’s fingers in the beginning. 

it’s also possible that this book is just GARBAGE because maybe it's like you are having difficulty learning to play fur elise on the piano, and i'm telling you to just learn twinkle twinkle little star because it's easier. maybe using my easy swing to break 80 is like bowling with gutter guards. i developed this tutorial just in case this is not the case. anyway the journey is more fun than the destination. besides, i have millions of imaginary followers who will read this tutorial even if it’s garbage.

i think coaches that taught beginners to break 80 are just like ELITE universities such as harvard. harvard can only produce a software engineer if the student has a high IQ. harvard teachers cannot teach a low IQ student to become a software engineer. harvard is more of a SCREENING INSTITUTION than a learning institution. TALENTED golfers and high IQ students are actually easier to teach because they can execute instructions that are too difficult for average people. 

if this tutorial can teach an AVERAGE golfer to break 80, it will trigger a paradigm shift in the golf world. i consider myself an average golfer because i've been playing golf consistently for 25 years, and before i developed the easy swing, my last 7 tournament scores were all HORRIBLE: 91T, 98T, 98T, 87T, 91T, 95T and 103T. T means it's a tournament score.

 

B. thesis 2: for many people, golf is important to their emotional well-being

 

what's the point of breaking 80 if you are using my UNCOOL easy swing? wouldn't it be like playing 1-1 basketball against your grandmother after realizing you can never win against your friends? maybe. and maybe this tutorial is just garbage. but i believe using my easy swing to break 80 is like going to nursing school instead of medical school after realizing you were not that good in high school biology. maybe teaching an average golfer the more orthodox style of tiger woods because it's more powerful and beautiful is like telling a nurse to become a neurosurgeon because it pays better.

 

you might argue that my analogy is flawed because working as a nurse is IMPORTANT to human society. the argument that golf does not have any economic benefits could be as flawed as saying the mona lisa is worthless because anyone with a smartphone can take a picture of a beautiful woman.

 

before i continue with my PSEUDO-SCIENCE ramblings, i want you to read this quote that i found on the internet: "we need to learn real media literacy. how to identify and spot phony philosophizing, moral panics, and self-interested crusades a mile way. how to navigate the endless slurry of bullshit firehosed at our faces in the so-called information age."

 

i'm not an expert on anything, but i notice humans don't really act according to moral virtues. we act according to our BIOLOGICAL PROGRAMMING because it makes us feel good. it just happens that most of our moral virtues are part of our biological programming and SURVIVAL INSTINCT. i don't think anyone ever had sex with the goal of preventing our species from going extinct in mind. pigs are smarter than 3-year-old children. yet, lots of very caring people including me love to eat innocent pigs even if there already are plant based alternatives. lots of smart and educated people won't quit smoking even if they know smoking causes cancer.

 

we are all STIMULANT ADDICTS. we need stimulation just to feel normal. this is the reason why warren buffett who is 90 years old and already has $100 billion continues to work hard even if he does not need to earn money anymore. he donated half of his wealth to charity and will be donating most of it when he dies. he has a modest lifestyle and lives in the same house he bought 60 years ago.

even if ART does not have economic benefits, artists get depressed if they cannot express their art. people with strong PARENTAL INSTINCTS will feel miserable if they don't have kids, even if raising kids makes one's life harder.

we all have different ROLES in society based on our GENETIC makeup. just like in an ant colony where there are worker ants and soldier ants. our stimulant type depends on our role in society. 

i have this theory that golfers have the HUNTER genes. golf is similar to hunting. you need to be quiet and accurate in using a tool or weapon to hit something. maybe it explains why we get so pissed if we make a bad shot even if we know golf is just a useless game. maybe golf is a means to satisfy a primordial instinct that evolution has not yet removed but is already obsolete in the modern socio-economic system. 

 

humans have existed for 200,000 years. if you view time relative to the scale of human EVOLUTION, it's only very recently that we don't need to hunt for our food anymore. so the desire to hunt is still very strong in our genetic code. 

 

maybe it explains why many ultra-rich people enjoy fishing even if they can have the freshest fish delivered to their personal chef. they even return the fish to the water after catching it. just like some people need to create art even if it's not necessary for their survival, maybe for people born with hunter genes, breaking 80 in golf will contribute to their mental and emotional WELL-BEING.

 

if you are offended by my theories, i have more bad news for your imagined self-importance. our planet is just a tiny and obscure speck of dot in the vast universe. nothing demonstrates the folly of HUMAN CONCEIT more than astronomy (carl sagan's a pale blue dot). even if you discover a cure for cancer and everyone bows to you when you walk by, all humans will soon be gone as if we never existed. the human species is nothing but an ultra-short term visitor in the cosmic time scale. 

if you believe in God and the infinite afterlife, then the more you should be HUMBLE and realize your physical body is just borrowed, and it’s your duty to nurture it so that you will be physically and mentally HEALTHY enough to serve God and your fellow human being. maybe this explains why more priests are playing golf. there are now clergy golf clubs. even the archbishop of cebu monsieur palma is a passionate golfer.

if there is something you can do that is harmless and feels good, JUST DO IT. 

my biological programming just happens to include helping other people. i'm writing this tutorial so my millions of imaginary followers can benefit from my hard work. so if you happen to have a biological programming that rewards you with the HAPPY HORMONE dopamine every time you tap in for a PAR, and you still can’t break 80 after trying hard for many years, do yourself a favor and try this tutorial (after you clean your room). you have nothing to lose and a lot to gain.

even if you are using my lesser quality swing style, i'm sure your instincts will still REWARD you with the happy hormones when you tap in for a par. maybe it’s because tapping for a par SIMULATES hitting a deer with a bow and arrow. it also explains why you will explode in anger after missing a 3-footer even if you know golf is just a useless game. it's your survival instinct PUNISHING you and signaling that if you keep making mistakes, your family or village will go hungry.

your outrage from missing a 3-footer is probably the same GENETIC CODE that makes you depressed after a relationship breakup. your instinct is punishing you because a breakup decreases your chance of producing an offspring.

here's a beautiful quote from arnold palmer entitled "essence of golf":

"golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated; it satisfies the soul and frustrates the intellect. it is at the same time rewarding and maddening – and it is without a doubt the greatest game mankind has ever invented." 

you might argue that of course arnold palmer would say something nice about a sport where he is a legend. even the champions of sepak takraw and curling would say the same thing about their sport. but golf is the only game where the LEGENDS of other popular sports would say they LOVE GOLF more than their own sport. michael jordan, who is the greatest basketball player of all time says he enjoys golf more than basketball.

golf is the most ADDICTIVE sport. even BLIND people get addicted to golf. there are even golf tournaments for blind people. many BILLIONAIRES would rather play golf than cruise on their super yacht around the bahamas. 

i remember overhearing a conversation at the driving range where one of the guys said that ever since he won the court case that recovered his family's big swath of prime land, he did not need to work anymore. he did not know what to do with his life. he would just go to the bar every night and come home to his wife and kids drunk. but ever since he took up golf, he renewed his ZEST FOR LIFE. 

 

i am not articulate enough to inspire people, so i will just create a subclass of the book "dedicated" by pete davis to inherit his eloquence. if you are stuck in the menu of life, give golf a try. i know lots of friends and family who never commit to a sport or hobby. they are in an INFINITE BROWSING MODE. novelties have their own merit, and it's always fun trying out the hot new stuff and quick adventures. but being years or even decades deep into mastering a craft is a NOVELTY by itself. maybe golf turns something on in you. keep going deeper and deeper until it will have its own momentum and take a life on its own.

some of us are SCARED of COMPETITION and just stick to hobbies where there are no scoreboards that can devastate our spirit. but we should be more fearful of the pain from having no scoreboard. because depending on your genetic makeup, it could be deceptively devastating, as evidenced by that dude coming home to his wife and kids drunk every night.  

 

video: golf is a deterrent to drug abuse

 

LOSING is more important than winning. don't look at losing as a failure but an opportunity to GROW. you can never enjoy victory if you haven't tasted defeat. the bigger the defeat, the sweeter the victory. a super talented olympic gold medalist who never tasted devastating defeat is just a baby. although in reality, that never really happens because chances are the gold medalist experienced the very important gift of being dumped by a crush in school, never got the toy zie/sie/ey/ve/tey/e wanted as a kid, etc..  

when my niece gabriela crystal cried because it took her 3 shots to get out of the bunker during a tournament, i was happy for her because these experiences BUILD CHARACTER and make you more successful and happier in life.

BE HUMBLE and seek challenges even in mundane or useless things. example, having no musical talent should not stop you from learning to play the piano. even if hundreds of 7-year-olds can play chopin's etude op. 10 no. 4 like a concert pianist, don't let that discourage you from waking up excited every day on your supposedly pathetic progress. being better than you were yesterday is more important than being the best in the world. a rapper named macklemore won a grammy award for best rap album. yet success drove him to drug addiction. but when he took up golf, he became happy and stayed away from drugs even if he is just a bogey player. 

 

 

video: rapper and multi grammy winner finds happiness in golf

C. concerns

 

i understand that ideally, golf is ELITIST and superficial. instead of wasting time playing golf, it's more ideal to divert your time, money and effort helping the less fortunate. but history teaches us that whenever we choose idealistic principles over HUMAN NATURE, nature usually wins.

 

for hundreds of years, the catholic church tortured and killed people just for being gay. it was an example of human blunder caused by an inability to recognize human nature. recently, the pope said that christians should apologize to gay people and that gay people can go to heaven. the republicans surrendered on the gay marriage issue or else they will never win another election. democrats believe nobody will take advantage of a system that allows transwomen to enter women’s bathrooms and compete in women’s sports, causing many of their supporters to leave the party. the party that will consider the IMPERFECTIONS of human nature in weighing the pros and cons on the issues will win the cultural war in america.

 

socialism is the most scientific and logical economic system. that’s why a leftist can easily demolish a capitalist in a debate. but socialism ignores the imperfections of HUMAN NATURE. that's why state capitalism easily took over in the soviet union, which lead to the gulags of siberia and millions of deaths in the ukraine famine. 

(a capitalist cannot use the human nature argument in a debate because the area of human nature that is relevant to the socialism debate cannot be scientifically studied for ethical reasons. example, it is not possible to study the percentage of government employees who will rather watch netflix than assist a customer in a free healthcare system, and just rely on their politically powerful government employee union to protect their job.)

those who don't learn from HISTORY are doomed to repeat it. so if you happen to enjoy golf, you should avoid repeating the mistakes of the past by playing golf even if ideally it's elitist, useless, selfish, and superficial. 

 

another possible concern with this tutorial is INFLATION. meaning the value of breaking 80 will diminish as more and more people can break 80. just like if the government prints money and gives everyone $1 million, it won't make anyone rich because everyone has it. but i think breaking 80 in golf is more like FOOD for the soul. food will always be valuable even if everyone has it.

i also think being able to break 80 is like a happy MARRIAGE or relationship. marriage is not inflationary. your spouse does not make you less happy just because more and more people are happily married.

 

the fun part of golf is waking up in the morning excited to test a technique that you thought of the night before. so another possible concern is that this tutorial will ELIMINATE the FUN SUSPENSE and mystery in figuring out the swing. this tutorial will make golf like a jigsaw puzzle where the empty board has grid lines, and each piece of the puzzle has a number that SPOON FEEDS you its position in the grid.

 

but i think breaking 80 will still be satisfying because even if you already know the complete knowledge and techniques, you will still need to WORK HARD and practice a lot. maybe it’s like learning the piano. playing fur elise is still fun for me even if i didn't discover any of the principles (video: fur elise). 

you might argue that unlike golf, playing fur elise on the piano produces sound that's beautiful to hear. but the only reason we enjoy the sound is because our biology is programmed to induce the happy hormones when harmonious sound waves vibrate our eardrums. it's still BIOLOGICAL.

even if you are the best in the world, you can be miserable if your progress has stagnated. that’s because another essential ingredient to happiness is PROGRESS. even if this tutorial removes the mystery of discovery, golf will still feel satisfying because your progress will most likely be never ending. besides, there will still be an element of mystery because you don’t know when you can break 80.

my easy swing makes it EASIER for an average golfer to break 80. but it would also make it impossible for supposedly gifted golfers to compete at an elite level. that’s because the swing is LESS POWERFUL. 

but how should one DECIDE whether to learn my easy but less powerful swing, or the difficult but more powerful orthodox swing? if you are a BEGINNER and you are sure you are not athletic and coordinated, then learn my easy swing. when in DOUBT, hire a golf coach or go through the tutorials in youtube to learn the orthodox style. if after 5 years you feel your game has stagnated despite trying hard, then try my easy swing. 

CHILDREN should always start with the orthodox swing. even if a child does not show signs of rare talent, it could be just a phase. besides, children learn much quicker, so it’s possible they can master the orthodox swing even if they don’t have special talent.

my plan is to develop sort of “jedi blood TEST” that allows golfers to find out in a shorter period of time if they have what it takes to master the orthodox swing. i notice golfers who are really good are also very good at JUGGLING a golf ball (search in youtube “how to juggle a golf ball”). maybe there is a CORRELATION between a golfer’s handicap and ball juggling ability. if this is the case, then anyone can find out if the difficult orthodox swing is suitable for them or not by attempting to learn certain juggling tricks for let’s say, a month.

a good test would be STALLING a golf ball by catching it with a 60-degree wedge. my plan is to gather data by going to national amateur competitions and professional tour events. i’ll also do a survey in the chat groups or facebook pages of pinoy golfers to find out if there are any HIGH HANDICAP golfers who can catch a golf ball with a club.

if you CAN'T AFFORD to play golf, that's not a problem. i invented a game called "BARRIO GOLF” that allows anyone to ENJOY and MASTER the important skills of golf at home, including chipping, putting, bunker shots, and side-hill lies. it is played inside a small cage using rice sacks as the walls and target strips, and using a free iphone app to measure ball distance (https://bit.ly/barrio-golf).

what if my style is really MORE DIFFICULT? how will i know? i will create videos for the "instant gratification" chapter of this tutorial in tagalog. golf courses in the philippines have lots of caddies who don't even bother playing during caddie’s day or tournament because they think they are hopeless. i will install a barrio golf cage in the caddie stations and give financial incentives for them to practice the lessons in my videos. if they end up beating the other caddies who've been playing for so long, this tutorial will trigger a seismic paradigm shift in the golf world. users of the barrio golf app can also indicate in their profile whether they are using my style or the orthodox style so i can do some sort of clinical trial comparisons. if you read the barrio golf roadmap, you will be convinced it will one day be popular.

my easy swing is UGLY. however, i don’t think anyone would ever say, “i just scored a birdie but i’m not happy because my swing is ugly”.

II. instant gratification

 

first i told you that you CAN do it. then i told you why you NEED to do it. now i will tell you HOW to do it so you can get your 2-year trade school certificate. then i will tell you WHY my techniques work so you can receive your engineering degree. 

 

this chapter is all you really need to break 80. many of the instructions in this chapter may seem CRAZY. but if you read the “swing theory” chapter of this tutorial, you will be amazed at how SCIENTIFIC my techniques and swing thoughts really are. 

marrying someone from the opposite sex is just a TECHNIQUE, not a PRINCIPLE. for centuries, human society was enforcing this technique instead of teaching the principle. the principle is you should marry someone you love. golf coaches usually teach techniques, not principles. what makes my swing look lgbtqueer is that people are not differentiating a technique from a principle.

my easy style actually follows the same principles as that of TIGER wood's swing. my techniques are just different. in this chapter, i will teach my techniques. then the rest of the tutorial will discuss the principles and explain the different kinds of techniques. 

 

the title of this chapter is just marketing or motivational. the truth is you need lots of time to PRACTICE and master each instruction until they become muscle memory. ignoring just 1 instruction or swing thought is enough to destroy your game. it’s like the human body where there is no difference whether 99% of the critical components are working or none are working. you will still be dead. although this chapter can still be considered "instant gratification" relative to a perennial bogey player's time scale and endless frustrations.

religiously following all instructions in this chapter also requires HUMILITY because humans are not wired to follow someone like me who has no credentials and status. example, with my swing style, having a uniform pre-cock amount is very important. however, the best players in the world have different pre-cock amounts for the different club lengths. if you search “pre-cock” in youtube, you will never see a video where a coach talks about it. 

always keep in mind that the factors in a golf swing are INTERDEPENDENT. this means there is no correct or wrong way of executing a factor as long as all factors are compatible. example, squaring the clubface to the target during address is correct in most cases. but if you follow my swing style and you square the clubface of your driver to the target during address, it contributes to error right. 

PIECEMEAL advice in golf is usually useless. a doctor’s advice to a patient can be lethal to another patient. the advice can be INCOMPATIBLE with other factors. even if you qualify your instruction with the assumption you are following the orthodox swing, the orthodox swing has many variations. example, in the orthodox swing, a strong grip is good. bowing your left wrist is also good. but if you have a strong grip and bow your left wrist, it contributes to error left.

i'm sure you will feel this chapter has too MANY INSTRUCTIONS. so you might be tempted to follow a different style because it has less instructions. but that would be a mistake because the reason why they have less instructions is they are ignoring certain critical factors that average golfers should not be ignoring. exceptionally talented golfers can afford to ignore certain critical factors because they naturally execute them correctly without thinking about them.

you might be worried you can get penalized for game delay because there are too many things to do and check before the final downswing. but most of the steps become MUSCLE MEMORY after lots of practice. as i said, golf is like driving a car. when learning to drive a car, you need to pay attention to lots of stuff in the beginning. but after a while, most of them become muscle memory.

it's also like learning a LANGUAGE. in the beginning, you spend a lot of time learning and practicing a mountain of vocabulary and grammar rules. but after lots of practice, you become FLUENT and don't think about them anymore.

all instructions in this tutorial assumes the student swings right handed. if you swing LEFT HANDED, you will need to convert the instructions accordingly. example, if this tutorial says “punch with your right arm”, it means “punch with your left arm” if you swing left handed.

many golf lessons generalize the instructions by using the words “LEAD” and “TRAIL” instead of “left” and “right”.  example, if you swing right handed, your “lead foot” will be your left foot and your “trail foot” will be your right foot. but i find it less efficient because then all golfers will require an extra step in their brain when interpreting the instruction. if i use the words “left” and “right”, only the left handed golfers will need to do a conversion.

many of the instructions in this tutorial include ANGLES and uses the analog CLOCK hand to specify body part position and rotational direction. before proceeding, it is required that you can quickly visualize such instructions. always remember that a ROUGH ESTIMATION is good enough. 

it's actually easy to estimate angles. 90 degrees is the angle in the corners of a rectangle. 45 degrees is the middle between 0 and 90 degrees. 

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after you can quickly visualize 45 degrees and 90 degrees, then you just need to remember that 22 degrees is the middle between 0 and 45 degrees, and 67 degrees is the middle between 45 and 90 degrees. after you can quickly visualize 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 22 degrees, just remember that 112 degrees is 22 degrees more than 90 degrees, and 134 degrees is roughly 45 degrees more than 90 degrees.

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after you can quickly visualize 0 degrees, 22 degrees, 45 degrees, 67 degrees, and 90 degrees, start memorizing the angles in between them.

11 degrees is the middle between 0 and 22 degrees. and 34 degrees is the middle between 22 and 45 degrees. if you can already quickly visualize 11 degrees, just remember that 6 degrees is roughly half of 11 degrees, 56 degrees is just 11 degrees more than 45 degrees, and 78 degrees is roughly 11 degrees less than 90 degrees.

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in the clock notation, remember that CLOCKWISE rotates towards your right, and COUNTERCLOCKWISE rotates towards your left. the trick to memorize the clock hand positions is similar to the angles. 

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a good DRILL is to write each clock position, rotational direction, and each angle that i metioned on a separate piece of paper and scramble them. then randomly pick one by one and IMAGINE or visualize the specification you just picked. do not proceed with this tutorial until you master this drill.

it is also required that you know what is PARALLEL and PERPENDICULAR. the math world defines parallel as 2 lines that never intersect, and perpendicular as 2 lines that are at right angles with each other. a right angle is just a nickname for a 90 degree angle.

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keep in mind the greens and fairways are not 1 yard wide. therefore, for all the instructions in this tutorial, a ROUGH ESTIMATION is good enough.

if there are other terms you can’t understand in this chapter, just GOOGLE it.

  

A. general techniques

unless otherwise specified, your STANCE ALIGNMENT should be parallel to the target line. your BODY should be FACING towards the TARGET while aligning your stance. bow your head down to check your stance alignment while your body is facing towards the target. 

 

 

if you align your stance while facing sideways, and one of your eyes happen to be too DOMINANT than the other eye, you will be scoring triple bogeys. i think this is one of the reasons why only 5% of golfers can break 80. it's one of the many important knowledge that i'm teaching in this tutorial that most golfers ignore.

if you stand BEHIND the ball, the dominant eye problem does not happen. that’s why someone with a severe dominant eye problem can still be good at billiards. rick shiels recommend you stand behind that ball and choose a leaf or broken tee that happens to be along the correct alignment line. then you make your stance parallel to the line that runs through the ball and that OBJECT. but sometimes, no such object exists, and you are not allowed to put anything there.

you should always check your stance alignment by slowly and METICULOUSLY EXTRAPOLATING your stance line. it requires intense focus all the time. if you rush it, you will score a double bogey. you don’t need to believe me. just do the following drill every time you are playing a practice round alone: quickly or lazily align your stance. then place a club on the ground such that the shaft will touch the front edges of your feet. then stand behind the ball to check if you got it right. you will be surprised how many times your alignment was wrong. note it is illegal to do this during the game. this drill can also test if you really need to face towards the target while aligning your stance or you can just face sideways. 

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the TARGET LINE is the line between the ball and the target. the golf world uses the target line as reference in their techniques and swing thoughts. but sometimes, you will need to ADJUST your STANCE alignment such that it won’t be parallel to the target line anymore. if the correct stance alignment is not parallel to the target line, and you continue to follow the instructions or swing thoughts that uses the target line as reference, you will be scoring lots of triple bogeys. supposedly reputable coaches won’t even warn you of this hazardous pitfall. it’s another reason why only 5% of golfers can break 80.

a more FLEXIBLE reference for our swing thoughts is the stance line. however, the reason we prefer the target line compared to the stance line is because the clubhead path is NEARER to the target line. it’s easier to reference a line that is nearer to the ball because it’s closer to the clubhead path. the solution is to simply use the line parallel to your stance line that intersects the ball. let’s call it, the 38TH parallel i mean STANCE-PARALLEL BALL LINE

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unless otherwise specified, the bottom EDGE of the CLUBFACE should be perpendicular to the stance-parallel ball line and PARALLEL to the SHAFT. inspecting the clubface orientation is something you should ALWAYS give time and focus during setup. if you become lazy and use muscle memory to align the clubface, you will have a bad game. with the driver and woods, the top edge of the clubface might be a better reference line if it’s straighter. in this tutorial, the bottom edge of the clubface is understood to also mean its top edge if the top edge is straighter.

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it should feel STICKY when you grip the shaft. if you don’t wear gloves, remove the sweat OIL on your hands by simply wetting your hands with WATER before walking to the putting green. so by the time you arrive at the next tee box, your hands are already dry and sticky.

i recommend the OVERLAPPING GRIP. search youtube to learn the overlapping grip. the overlapping grip can be NEUTRAL, strong, or weak. search youtube to learn what is a strong grip, neutral grip, and weak grip. with my easy swing style, it is very important you have a neutral grip.

the plane perpendicular to the back of your LEFT thumb should be PERPENDICULAR to your right shoulder line, and the plane perpendicular to the back of your RIGHT thumb should be TILTED 45 degrees right of the left thumb plane. you will need to look at the photos below to understand what i mean.

 

if your shoulder line is parallel to the ground, then the back of your left thumb should be facing STRAIGHT UP if the ground is FLAT.

also notice in the photos that the SHAFT should be PERPENDICULAR to your shoulder line, and your SHOULDER LINE should be PARALLEL to the ground as much as possible.

it is also important that the BALL POSITION is such that the RIGHT EDGE of the ball is at the MIDDLE of your stance. if the middle of the ball is at the middle of your stance, then the shaft can’t be perpendicular to your shoulder line and the bottom edge of the clubface can’t be parallel to the shaft.

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during the entire swing, your SPINE ANGLE should remain constant at 22 degrees, and your WEIGHT should always stay CENTERED. if your weight moves forward, this contributes to a chunk, shank or hitting the ball with the heel of the clubhead. if your weight moves backward, this contributes to a top ball and hitting the ball with the toe of the clubhead. some coaches recommend that you move laterally or shift your weight sideways to gain more power. but it makes golf much more difficult. in my experiments, it has small upside and huge downside.

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on the backswing, lift your arms straight up to your desired ARM LEVEL. let’s specify the arm level and orientation using the clock hand position of the UPPER left arm from the PERSPECTIVE of a spectator on your right. if the shaft is parallel to the stance-parallel ball line, the perspective will be from a spectator in front of you.

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never move your left arm closer to your body. your left arm should only travel straight up during the backswing.

practice moving your right shoulder towards its location during address. let's call this the PRACTICE BOUNCE. if your right shoulder goes a little bit OUTWARD of its location during address during the downswing, this contributes to error left. if it goes a little bit INWARD, this contributes to error right.

always do a PRACTICE SWING so you can make adjustments based on the DIVOT location. if the DIVOT is in front of the correct spot or there is no divot, that means you would have TOPPED the ball. if the divot is behind the correct spot, you would have hit the ground behind the ball (CHUNKING).

in this tutorial, CHUNKING is generalized to also mean a POP-UP (ball goes too high when the ball is teed up). there are many factors that contribute to topping and chunking. but don’t worry. after this chapter, you will be a master in TROUBLESHOOTING and correcting all kinds of mistakes.

B. shallow full swing

your SPINE ANGLE, ARM ANGLE and PRE-COCK AMOUNT for address position should not change regardless of club length and moderate side-hill lie slope. your uniform spine angle should be 22 degrees and your uniform arm angle should be such that that your hands are a HANDSPAN away from your body. the handspan should be parallel to the ground, which means the location of one end of your handspan would depend on the length of your arms.

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to find out your UNIFORM PRE-COCK amount, do your uniform spine angle and arm angle setup with a 3 iron. the bottom edge of your 3 iron’s clubface should lie flat on a flat ground. this means it should NOT be TILTING upward or downward. whatever is the pre-cock amount is your uniform pre-cock amount for all the other clubs and moderate side-hill lie slopes for that particular set of clubs. example, mine is 22 degrees. due to the uniform pre-cock, the clubface for the shorter clubs will be FACING LEFT of the target because the clubhead will be TILTING up. the driver and 3 wood will be FACING RIGHT because the clubhead will be tilting down.

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your STANCE WIDTH and KNEE ANGLE can change. they are the factors that you ADJUST to enforce your uniform spine angle, arm angle, and pre-cock amount for the different club lengths and moderate side-hill lie slopes. your knees will be more bent and/or your stance will be wider with shorter clubs. and your knees will be less bent and/or your stance will be narrower with longer clubs. you might need to choke down on longer clubs if there is no more room for adjustment or your knees are already too straight and your stance is already too narrow.

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what i’m about to tell you is the heart of all MISSING KNOWLEDGE in the golf universe that thanos has been searching for. it is the knowledge around which all the missing knowledge revolves around. it will be discussed in the "swing theory" chapter, but it’s importance warrants redundancy. one of the main reasons why only 5% of golfers can break 80 is because too many coaches are ignoring the following knowledge:

“in a full swing, it is super difficult to prevent and control the amount of uncocking of your wrist during the downswing. it’s easier to always hit the ball with your wrist fully uncocked.” 

it’s basic physics. the downward MOMENTUM of the club is too strong for your wrist muscles to control. 

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in a swing where you always hit the ball with the bottom edge of the clubface squared to the target, if your wrist is pre-cocked and the clubface is squared to the target during address, the clubhead will be TILTED DOWNWARD during ball impact if your wrist fully uncocks during the swing. since the clubhead is tilted downward, the clubface will be facing right of the target and the ball will error right, even if the bottom edge of the clubface is squared.

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in reality, golfers will make ADJUSTMENTS to the other factors to compensate. example, before i discovered this knowledge, i noticed longer clubs tend to go to the right more than shorter clubs. so i aimed to the left of the target when hitting long and mid clubs and aimed towards the target when hitting short clubs. the adjustments worked but i had no clue why i needed to make such adjustments. i thought it had something to do with the swing plane verticality.

now i know why. the reason i needed to adjust my stance was because different clubs have different SHAFT/LIE ANGLES and i was forcing a uniform spine angle and arm angle. so in order for the clubface to always be squared during address, the pre-cock amount had to be variable. a different pre-cock with the bottom edge of the clubface flat on the ground means a different clubhead tilt when you fully uncock. 

example, if i have NO PRE-COCK when using my pitching wedge, the clubhead won’t be tilting down during ball impact because fully uncocking simply means returning to the pre-cock amount during address. on the other hand, my DRIVER needs A LOT OF PRE-COCK. which means the clubhead will be tilting down a lot (and facing right) during ball impact due to the full uncocking. but if i force a uniform pre-cock, my spine angle and arm angle can’t be uniform so my swing still can’t groove. 

 

even with the stance alignment adjustments, my shots were still very inconsistent no matter how much i practiced. now i know why. since the uncock amount during the downswing was VARIABLE, my swing plane also had to be variable. so my swing wasn’t able to GROOVE.

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if your wrist is always fully uncocked during ball impact, the only way to have a uniform swing groove or swing plane angle is to have a uniform spine angle, arm angle, and pre-cock amount. but if your clubs have variable shaft/lie angles, the clubs will also have VARIABLE TILT amounts during ball impact. there are 4 different workarounds that will NEUTRALIZE the effect of a variable tilt:

one workaround is to have variable STANCE ALIGNMENTS. this is the only workaround that preserves the distance progression of the clubs. another is to have variable BALL POSITIONS. this is what coach raul sorino advices his students. the 3rd is to ask cobra to make you irons that have UNIFORM SHAFT/LIE ANGLES. this is what bryson dechambeau did. although bryson’s workaround is only partial because his driver still has a different swing plane angle. the 4th is variable CLUBFACE ORIENTATION. let's click the 4th option. 

to determine the required clubface orientation adjustment, do the following for EACH CLUB in your bag (except the putter because we don’t full swing with a putter and forward/backward tilt does not affect a clubface that has no loft):

1) place a 1 foot pvc pipe on the clubface (the thinner the pipe the better). make sure the factory cut edge of the pipe is the one attached to the clubface to make sure the pipe is PERPENDICULAR to the clubface. you can use duct tape or have someone hold it.

2) do a swing setup with your uniform spine angle and arm angle where the clubface is SQUARED to the target. you can use the floor tile lines as the guide.

3) if your wrist has a PRE-COCK, fully uncock your wrist. this should tilt the clubhead forward. the pipe should now be facing right even if the bottom edge of the clubface is squared. then turn the shaft (NOT your HANDS) in order to square the clubface or align the pipe along the target line. then make the bottom edge of the clubface flat on the ground again. the amount the clubface is facing left is the required clubface orientation for that club.

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4) else if your wrist has NO PRE-COCK, there is no need to adjust the clubface orientation for that club. you can just square the clubface during address.

remember that a rough ESTIMATION is good enough. and if you have no ambition of becoming a touring pro, you can just estimate the clubface orientation into groups. example, here’s mine. 

driver: 11 degrees left

3 wood: 9 degrees left

5 wood, 3-4 iron: 6 degrees eft

5-8 iron: 3 degrees left

9 iron, wedges: squared (it’s just a coincidence my short clubs are squared. it depends on your height and flexibility of your wrist)

you might be wondering, why not just do step 3 at the golf course before hitting each club? the reason is it’s too DIFFICULT to get a good ESTIMATE of the clubface orientation without the pipe. although it’s easy to know that the clubhead is squared if its bottom edge is FLAT on the ground and perpendicular to the target, it’s difficult to determine the clubface orientation when the bottom edge is tilted. although we know the clubface is facing right if its tilted forward, it’s difficult to estimate the degree it’s facing right. and although we know the clubface is facing left if its tilted backward, it’s difficult to estimate the degree it’s facing left.

 

you can have a uniform pre-cock and not have to do any of the 4 workarounds. but the swing plane angle will be different for each club. therefore, your swing will NOT be UNIFORM. 

if you don’t believe me, try any setup with a driver where the clubface is squared (bottom of shaft is flat on the ground). take note of the pre-cock and try to duplicate the pre-cock using a pitching wedge with the clubface also squared. notice your SPINE will have to be VERY TILTED and your ARM ANGLE will have to be VERY NARROW. which means your swing SETUP angle will have to be MORE VERTICAL. since the OPTIMAL swing plane angle is equal to the swing setup angle, the swing plane angle of your pitching wedge will have to be more vertical compared to your driver. so your swing is not uniform.

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why did i choose the variable clubhface orientation workaround over the variable stance alignment workaround even if it corrupts the pristine distance progression of the clubs? i don’t know. you tell me. you don’t need to understand any of the theoretical explanations in order to break 80. you can just BLINDLY FOLLOW the instructions in this chapter.

in moderate UPHILL and DOWNHILL lies, keep your shoulder line parallel to the ground for all swings including putting.

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in moderate ball ABOVE and BELOW FEET side-hill lies, adjust your knee angle, stance width, and choke down so you can follow the instructions in this chapter. 

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if it’s impossible to follow the instructions in this chapter because the LIE is too EXTREME, just punch out and take the bogey. it’s very rare anyway. you can also try the techniques in the “uneven lies” section in the “swing design and construction” chapter if you still have time to practice them.

here’s another reason why only 5% of golfers can break 80: in a full swing, you should not try to hit the ball. isn’t golf crazy? if you try to hit the ball directly with your arm swing, your body turn and any movement with your wrist will cause you to miss the ball. motion is RELATIVE. the ball you are trying to hit is moving relative to your body turn and wrist movement. when trying to hit a moving object, you need to aim for the ANTICIPATED SPOT. i will talk more about it in the “timing and shallowing principles” section. right now, you are only in trade school. so you only need to know how to determine the anticipated spot.

lift your arms up to the 4 o’clock level. then fully BOW your left wrist, BEND your left and right arm 22 degrees, TURN your left arm clockwise as much as you can, and fully UNCOCK your left wrist.

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then turn your HANDS counterclockwise such that you will be cocking and uncocking PERPENDICULAR to the ground. make sure to turn your hands and not your left arm.

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make sure your wrist is FULLY uncocked then bring the clubhead straight down to the correct swing path, which should be roughly 22 degrees ABOVE ball level. then cock your wrist 22 degrees. the location of the clubhead is the ANTICIPATED SPOT.

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PRACTICE BOUNCE towards the anticipated spot once or twice.

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notice that there would be no need for an anticipated spot if we don’t COCK our wrist. the reason we cock our wrist is because it’s very difficult to prevent your wrist from cocking during a full backswing. so might as well cock it all the time for CONSISTENCY. it also allows us to uncock during the downswing, which gives additional POWER to our swing.

also note that the anticipated spot would be HIGHER for LONGER clubs compared to shorter clubs. therefore, the swing plane of the clubhead for the LONG clubs should feel MUCH FLATTER compared to the short clubs. or the swing plane of the clubhead for the SHORT clubs should feel MUCH STEEPER. the MID clubs should be roughly in BETWEEN. however, the swing plane angle of your HANDS should be UNIFORM for all clubs. so your swing will still GROOVE.

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during the practice bounce, VISUALIZE the final downswing. visualize turning your body as fast as you comfortably can to make the clubhead go towards the anticipated spot while fully uncocking your wrist straight down as fast as you comfortably can to make the clubhead go 45 degrees in-to-out just before it hits the ball. the 45 degree in-to-out angle is just my perception. it may be different for you. just experiment to find out. also remember that if your uncock angle is slanted even just a little bit, it contributes to error right.

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also remind yourself to NOT EXERT any force on your ARMS during the downswing. this means your right arm will still be BENT during ball impact, just like the pros. the amount of bend varies amongst the pros, but collin morikawa and joaquin niemann has the most bend.

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also remind yourself that it should FEEL like the clubhead will hit the ball facing RIGHT of the target. isn’t golf crazy? your perception for the clubhead orientation during ball impact may be different. just experiment to find out.

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before the final downswing, pause near the end of the backswing. then quickly complete your body turn to the full extent. let’s call this the TURN BOUNCE. the turn bounce provides a spring like effect for extra TORQUE.

on the FINAL downswing, execute what you rehearsed and visualized during the practice bounce.

i will discuss SHALLOWING in the “timing and shallowing” section. for now, all you need to know is that because my full swing has been perfectly shallowed, the swing plane angle of your hands and right shoulder should be the same. so let’s simplify by referring to both angles as simply swing plane angle. 

before i give you a more comprehensive TROUBLESHOOTING guide, let me give you the emergency first aid kit. the job of the paramedic is to stabilize the VITALS of the patient. one of the vitals is ball contact or hitting the ball at the sweet spot of the clubface (heart/blood pressure). ball contact is vital to get the correct distance. another vital is ball direction (brain). during a TOURNAMENT or big bet, you should only adjust the anticipated spot or swing plane angle to fix ball contact, and adjust your stance alignment to fix ball direction. any major operation i mean adjustment to the swing thoughts should only be done at the hospital i mean the driving range by someone with a medical degree.

if the ball errors LEFT or RIGHT, make sure your uncock angle is straight down and not slanted. if the problem still happens, adjust your stance alignment accordingly.

if you are TOPPING and/or hitting the ball with the HEEL of the club, move the anticipated spot lower and inward. if you are CHUNKING and/or hitting the ball with the TOE of the club, move the anticipated spot higher and outward. note your cock angle should always be 22 degrees. that means it’s your perception of the correct swing path that you are adjusting.

next, i will give you a more comprehensive TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE. to be a good doctor, you need to know everything about the human body. similarly, to be a good swing doctor, you need to know everything about the swing. unfortunately, it would require reading this entire book. 

just because the golf swing looks simple, it does not mean it can’t drive a bunch of nobel laureates crazy. the tippe TOP TOY looks very simple. but there was a craze among physicists to figure out how the toy works. many SCIENTIFIC PAPERS were even written just to analyze the toy.

so even if you complete this chapter, be aware you are still a paramedic. just because you solved a problem, you might not be aware of the SIDE EFFECTS. example, over dipping your right shoulder might solve error left. it will even make you a better golfer because it contributes to shallowing (i wrote a long dissertation about shallowing in the "timing and shallowing" section). but it will significantly increase the chance you will need back surgery in the future.

tiger woods and jack nicklaus, the 2 greatest players of all time, over dip their right shoulder while phil mickelson doesn’t. tiger and jack have a much more consistent drive than phil. but tiger and jack had to have back SURGERIES while phil never had any issues with his back (this is classic cherry picking). so unless you have plans to join the PGA tour, do not make any modification to any of the instructions in this chapter.

to be a good troubleshooter, you need to know the possible causes for each possible error (pathology). the best way to do this is to go through EACH instruction or swing thought in this chapter and find out what could happen if you VIOLATE the instruction. it also convinces you not to ignore or became lazy with any of the instructions.

fortunately, it’s pretty easy to figure out what will happen if you violate an instruction. you just need to swing in SLOW MOTION while violating the instruction.

example, if you swing in slow motion where you don’t fully uncock during the downswing, it will be obvious that the mistake will contribute to a top ball, hitting the ball with heel of the club, and error left. it contributes to error left because the less you uncock, the less the clubface faces right. i use the word CONTRIBUTE because in an actual fast downswing, your reflex might compensate by over dipping your right shoulder, resulting in a good shot instead. 

i urge you to do the same for all the other instructions or swing thoughts in this chapter and record your findings on your phone’s notepad. the correct answers are in the "troubleshooting guide" chapter. this will be your troubleshooting CHEAT SHEET.

the anticipated spot remedies in our first aid kit are just BAND AID solutions or temporary fixes because they might not fix the root cause. 

example, if you TOP the ball, it could be because you are committing the famous “LOOK UP” mistake. it’s where your spine becomes less tilted during the downswing because you are trying to look at where the ball is going before you even hit the ball. if you did the slow motion exercises and listed down what could happen if you violate each of my instructions, you will realize there are many other root causes for a top ball.

unless the cause of an error is obvious or your caddie is good at swing diagnoses, you should not try to troubleshoot or experiment during a tournament or big bet. it’s better to just do DAMAGE CONTROL by apply the band aid solutions in the first aid kit. 

example, if you are not aware you are committing the “look up” mistake, most likely you will be CONSISTENTLY making the same mistake the entire game. therefore, the band aid solution where you simply move the anticipated spot lower could minimize the bleeding.

why can’t we make an anticipated spot adjustment a permanent solution? because most likely it’s not the root cause. the swing thoughts are already engineered to be COMPATIBLE with each other. example, if my “look up” tendency naturally goes away after lots of practice, then i would now be chunking.

also, since we don’t turn our body while determining the anticipated spot, there is a 1:1 CORRESPONDENCE between the clubhead path with respect to the ground and with respect to the stance-parallel ball plane. you don’t need to fully understand this for now. you just need to know that if you move the anticipated spot HIGHER, it will also move it OUTWARD. if you move the anticipated spot LOWER, it will also move it INWARD. 

example, if you are chunking and you fix it by moving the anticipated spot higher, you may fix the chunk problem but it also contributes to hitting the ball with the HEEL of the club. you can still get DECENT distance and still be on the fairway. but it’s just a band aid solution.

however, if you are CHUNKING AND also hitting the ball with the TOE of the club, moving the anticipated spot higher can fix the problem without any side effect. so does this mean moving the anticipated spot higher should be the permanent solution if you are chunking and hitting the ball with the toe of the club? maybe.

if you are chunking and hitting the ball with the toe of the club, it could be because you are subconsciously OVER DIPPING your right shoulder and your reflex is not automatically adjusting. if you solve the problem by moving the anticipated spot higher and outward, and later on your over dipping tendency naturally goes away, you would be topping and hitting the ball with the heel of the club. therefore, just because it solves the problem, it does not mean it’s the permanent solution.

however, if the reason for chunking and hitting the ball with the toe of the club is due to your FALSE PERCEPTION or incorrect estimation of the correct swing path before you cocked 22 degrees during swing setup, then moving the anticipated spot higher and outward would be a good permanent solution. false perceptions are common in golf. a good coach will tell you that not all perceptions in your swing has to match reality.

false perceptions are really not a problem as long as they are CONSISTENT. if they are consistent, you can simply adjust your perception accordingly. fortunately, in my experience, false perceptions in my golf swing are pretty consistent. example, whenever i hit a perfect shot, it ALWAYS FEELS like the clubhead is facing to the right when it hits the ball. therefore, i simply try to hit the ball with the clubhead facing right. 

keep in mind the factors are INTERDEPENDENT. example, if the ball is going straight but you are chunking, then uncocking less may fix the chunk, but it also contributes to error left because the clubhead will be tilted upward when it hits the ball. you probably wrote in your cheat sheet that a steeper arm swing contributes to error right. that may be true. but if a steep arm swing triggers your reflex to uncock less, it can lead to error left instead. this means the result of a mistake depends on how your reflex would react.

here are OTHER BAND AID remedies you can add to your first aid kit: 

if you are TOPPING the ball but not hitting the ball with the heel of the club, just bend your knees more. if you are CHUNKING but not hitting the ball with the toe of the club, just bend your knees less. if you are hitting the ball with the TOE of the club but not chunking, just move forward a little to address the ball with the heel of the club. if you are hitting the ball with the HEEL of the club but not topping, just move back a little to address the ball with the toe of the club.

the TIMING between the body turn and arm swing is supposed to be the most difficult factor in golf. but because my full swing is perfectly shallowed, it’s not a factor anymore. however, the timing between the uncocking of my wrist and turning of my body turn is still a factor. in fact, the reason why we don’t exert any force with our arms during the downswing is to slow down the swing and give enough TIME for your wrist to fully uncock. however, if you have a very STRONG WRIST, you can punch and/or slap to make the clubhead initially go towards the anticipated spot.

i am probably the only person in the world who will tell you there is a big difference between turning your HANDS and turning your LEFT ARM. if your wrist is not fully uncocked, turning your left arm will bring the clubhead outward and above the correct swing path, which contributes to a SHANK. isn’t golf crazy? you closed the clubhead to prevent error right, but the ball went further to the right instead. try it in slow motion. you will be amazed.

the following are the YARDAGES of my full swing.

60-degree wedge: 50 yards

52-degree wedge: 75 yards

pitching wedge: 100 yards

9 iron: 110 yards

8 iron: 120 yards

7 iron: 130 yards

6 iron: 140 yards

5 iron: 150 yards

4 iron: 160 yards

3 iron: 170 yards

5 wood: 190 yards

3 wood: 210 yards

driver: 240 yards

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(- need update video: full swing

before you laugh at my swing, be aware that the greatest golfers in the world implies that my swing is the greatest golf swing of all time. tiger woods, lee trevino, and veejay swing consider moe norman as the greatest ball striker of all time. i first heard about moe norman from coach bob pestano (one of the best coaches i've ever known). but when my uncle and golfing buddy tata estacion talked about him, i became more curious and looked him up.

(- screen shot from golf digest article

golf analysts have been studying his swing for a long time, but all they can do is describe his swing. nobody has really been able to give a good explanation why his swing is easy. luckily for you, a complete and logical explanation is in the "timing and shallowing" section of this book. it has something to do with shallowing. the top coaches in the world have tried to explain why shallowing makes the swing easy, but it's like they are saying "the reason why shallowing is easy is becuase if you don't shallow, the swing would be difficult".

https://www.golfmonthly.com/features/the-game/moe-norman-straightest-hitter-of-all-time-67590

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/Moe-norman-golf-swing-secrets-golf-digest

you might wondering, who am i to say these things. i don't even have any status. just read this article: image doesn't match reality

https://www.cbc.ca/sportslongform/entry/moe-norman-golfs-misunderstood-genius

lucky for you, not only have i explained why moe normans swing is much easier, i also created a muche EASIER VERSION of his swing, and composed as set of very easy to follow instructions that allows any grandmother to follow the easiest swing. i also did the same for chipping and putting.

moe's instructions are different but the move and strategy is basicall the same. in the video he says his master move is "vertical drop and horizontal tug". that's basically over dipping right shoulder and making the hands swing plane flatter which i explained in the "timing and shallowing" section. he also says the left hand should be way higher than his right and the butt of shaft should be point up. that's basically the same as turning your left arm clockwise. except he does it in the downswing. i do it during swing setup which is much easier and the results are the same. notice the video has 2.5 million views, as far as i know, it's the most views for a golf lesson. to watch the video, search in youtube "kirk junge moe norman shows his master move".

my book is totally free online. but if you want to own a tangible piece of history, order it in lazada, amazon.

C. electrocution feeling

 

when practicing, always TEE UP the ball 1.5 inches high even when using irons so that you will get that super annoying ELECTROCUTION feeling if you make a mistake. it’s important to know if you make a mistake so that you can correct it.

if the ball is on a mat or firm ground and you hit the ground behind the ball (chunk), you can still hit a good shot because the clubhead can just BOUNCE OFF. if you hit the ball outside the sweet spot of the clubface with the ball on the ground (not teed up), the ground will ABSORB the vibration, and you won't get the electrocution feeling.

if you don’t tee the ball with a high tee, there are some mistakes you won’t be AWARE about until you score triple bogeys on the golf course. this explains the mystery why a lot of mistakes that happen during the game does NOT HAPPEN during practice. it is a mystery that has baffled many golfers for ages. this means, practicing in a HITTING CAGE can give you just as good feedback as the driving range or golf course if you tee up the ball high. this is good news for golfers living in regions with long snowy winters.

you can use IMPACT TAPE to know which part of the clubface hit the ball. if for example the impact location is near the toe of the clubhead, you can refer to the cheat sheet in the “troubleshooting guide” chapter to find out the possible culprits. you can order impact tape ONLINE. it usually cost around P5 ($0.10) per piece, and each piece can usually last 10 shots.

if you follow this tutorial step by step, you should not worry that teeing up the ball will change the GROOVE of your swing. the only thing that should be different with a teed up ball is your knees are less bent and/or your stance is narrower. what i do is address the ball as if it’s on the ground, then i adjust my stance width and/or knee angle to address the teed up ball.

if you hit 100 STRAIGHT shots in a row but sometimes you get the electrocution feeling, you should be sad because that means you have a long way to go before breaking 80. the electrocution feeling usually translates to a 20% DECREASE in ball DISTANCE especially if the fairway is soft or MUSHY. you might get away with it during the dry summers when the fairways become like rubber mats. that’s why teeing up the ball high when practicing on a rubber mat is super important.

don't worry about ball DIRECTION when practicing. your main goal when practicing should be to consistently feel that steady morphine drip when you hit the ball with the SWEET SPOT. once you achieve this, fixing ball direction can easily be done by adjusting your stance alignment. 

at the driving RANGE, you won’t think that the electrocution feeling is something to worry about because it’s DIFFICULT to JUDGE BALL DISTANCE. you need trust me when i tell you the electrocution feeling usually translates to a 20% loss of distance at the golf course. if you are hitting an approach shot and there is a hazard in front of the green, the mistake is almost an automatic double bogey. 

i used the word “usually” because if the ground is FIRM enough and the ball is not teed up, the clubhead can just bounce off the ground and you can still end up with a good shot. this means if you are hitting with an iron on the tee box where the ground is firm like a rubber mat, it’s better to not tee up the ball.

i said earlier that even if you can hit 100 straight shots in a row, you should be sad if you sometimes get the electrocution feeling. does this mean you should already be happy if you don’t get the electrocution feeling anymore? not yet. you should only be happy if you can REPRODUCE the electrocution feeling anytime you want to. it’s troubleshooting 101. even if the problem goes away, you haven’t really fixed the problem unless you were able to CONSISTENTLY reproduce the problem. 

do you even know what to adjust if you get the electrocution feeling? the only way to answer this question is to know the CAUSE or culprit. the electrocution feeling happens if you don’t hit the ball with the sweet spot. however, hitting the ball near the toe, heel or below the sweet spot of the club only causes a SLIGHT electrocution feeling. also, you can easily KNOW if you hit the ball near the toe, heel or below the sweet spot, based on ball behavior and FEEL. you can just refer to the troubleshooting cheat sheet to know what to adjust.

but if you get a very STRONG electrocution feeling even if the ball went STRAIGHT and the TRAJECTORY was GOOD, that means you hit the ball ABOVE the sweet spot. the solution is to bend your knees less to address the ball 1 inch higher during setup. to reproduce the strong electrocution feeling, just do the opposite. bend your knees more to address the ball 1 inch lower. if you instead lower the anticipated spot, you will end up hitting the ball near the toe of the club, and you will only get the slight electrocution feeling.

do not waste time PLAYING on the golf COURSE until you can consistently hit shots without the electrocution feeling with the LONG, MID and SHORT clubs, and you can reproduce the electrocution feeling anytime you want to. you don’t even need to go to the driving range if you have a hitting cage at home.

D. confidence drills

confidence is a big factor in golf. NERVOUSNESS can negatively affect your game. but golf is the most nerve wracking of all sports. one of the best players in my club is a korean who needs to drink alcohol during a match play to calm his jitters. there was also this golf legend in cebu named frankie racho who can only play a tournament if he is drunk. he actually won one of philippine tour events back in the 1960's while he was drunk. 

when they were kids, frankie racho and rudy labares were caretakers of my grandparent’s practice green. my grandmother was the best lady golfer of cebu in the 1950s. frankie and rudy would practice all day hitting from our house a 100 yards away to the practice green where their ball had to go over a giant mango tree. rudy labares became one of the greatest filipino golfers of all time.

even SOLDIERS who've been to the front lines in battle get very nervous on the first tee even if they know nothing will happen to them if they lose a golf tournament. meanwhile, people talk on the phone while DRIVING a car even if they can die if they crash the car.

the reason why we don't get nervous when driving a car is because we possess the COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS to drive a car, and the instructions have become muscle memory. the reason why we get nervous when playing golf is because we don't possess the complete instructions to stabilize each critical factor in a golf swing. luckily for you, this 50-page chapter contains the complete instructions.

however, possessing the complete instructions is not enough to build confidence in golf. you also need to be convinced that you don't need to be accurate in executing the instructions because a ROUGH ESTIMATION is good enough. you also need to be convinced that each instruction is super IMPORTANT and you need to meticulously and religiously follow each tiny instruction until it becomes muscle memory.

you need to be convinced that MISSING just 1 instruction is enough to destroy your golf game. missing an instruction would be like randomly stepping on the pedals when trying to stop a car hoping you don't step on the accelerator because you don't know which pedal is the brake. this explains why a soldier whose been to the frontlines can get nervous on the first tee.

luckily, it’s easy to build confidence in golf. you simply violate an instruction intentionally to find out how SENSITIVE a factor can be to a certain amount of DEVIATION. normally, this can be more difficult than hitting a good shot. that’s because it requires all other factors to remain unchanged but your reflex will have a tendency to adjust the other factors to compensate for the intentional mistake. luckily, our swing thoughts will prevent this from happening because they fully cover all the critical factors. 

just go through EACH swing thought or instruction and GRADUALLY deviate from the specification until you hit a very bad shot. always perform the drills with the ball teed up 1.5 inches high. so confidence drills are almost like the FULL SPEED version of creating the troubleshooting cheat sheet. 

here are a few examples: 

during address, if the CLUBFACE of my driver is facing 6 degrees left instead of 11 degrees, my shot will error 1.3 feet to the right inside my 4-yard long hitting cage. this translates to 25-yard error right in a 240-yard shot. so i could still be at the right edge of the fairway on wide open fairways. however, if my driver is squared during address, i will error way right.

if my ANTICIPATED SPOT is 3 inches lower than the correct one, i will hit the ball near the toe of the club and the ball will go slightly to the right. but it usually only goes 6 inches to the right of the target in my 4-yard long hitting cage. which means i should at least be at the right edge of the fairway or green ((6 inches / (4 yards X 3 feet X 12 inches)) X distance = amount of error to the left). but if the anticipated spot is 6 inches lower, it contributes to a severe chunk.

if i UNCOCK 67 degrees downward instead of straight down, my shot will error 1 foot to the right inside my 4-yard long hitting cage. this translates to a 10-yard error right in a 100-yard shot. so i could still be around the green. but if my uncock angle is 45 degrees downward, i will error way right.

the amount of bowing with my left wrist affects the TIMING between my body turn and uncocking of my wrist. the full amount of my bowing is 45 degrees. therefore, it is important that my left wrist is always BOWED 45 degrees during the downswing. if my left wrist is bowed only 34 degrees, there will be less TIME and SPACE for my wrist to fully uncock. i will hit the ball near the heel of the club and the ball will go slightly lower and slightly to the left. but it will only error 6 inches left of the target in my 4-yard long hitting cage, which is still ok. but if my wrist is bowed only 22 degrees, the ball will error too much to the left.

as i said, the 45 degree IN-TO-OUT clubhead PATH just before ball impact is just my PERCEPTION. in reality, it’s probably close to 11 degrees in-to-out. if i uncock such that it would FEEL like the clubhead will only go 34 degrees in-to-out instead of 45 degrees, my wrist won’t fully uncock and the ball will error slightly to the left. if i uncock such that it would FEEL like the clubhead will go 22 degrees in-to-out, the ball will error way left. if i uncock such that it would FEEL like the clubhead will go 67 degrees in-to-out, i will hit a good shot. there is a limit on my uncock amount so there is no difference with the 45-degree perception.

to be certified in swing design and construction, you need to pass the board exam i mean read the “swing theory” chapter. but right now you can already do a little bit of swing RENOVATION. as i said, the reason my arms are PASSIVE during the downswing is because my wrist is not strong enough to catch up to the much faster downswing if i also exert force with my arms. the question now is, can i make my body turn passive and only exert force with my arms? the answer is yes because my swing is perfectly shallowed. 

but why did i choose to turn my body instead of slap and/or punch? it’s not because i’m a body turn supremacist. the first reason is my body turn is more POWERFUL than my arm swing. the second reason is the body turn is more STABLE because it’s more of a door hinge unlike the arm swing which has a ball joint hinge. example, it’s harder to over dip my right shoulder because there will be tension, while it’s easier to have a punch and slap angle that is too steep. the third reason is that slapping tends to make my left shoulder SORE, and punching gives me a tennis elbow like what happened to my golfing buddy junrey pelayo.

so a good drill is to PUNCH and/or SLAP to make the clubhead hit the anticipated spot instead of turn your body. note that when you swing your arms, your body will naturally turn, albeit much slower.

another good drill is to TURN as fast as you comfortably can AND PUNCH and/or SLAP as fast as you comfortably can. if you have a weak wrist, your wrist won’t have time to fully uncock, which contributes to hitting the ball with the heel of the club, top ball, and error left.

another good drill is to UN-SHALLOW your swing by making your arm angle during setup half a handspan instead of a full handspan. this will narrow your arm angle and make the swing plane angle of your hands steeper than the swing plane angle of your right shoulder. then you verify that the timing between your body turn and arm swing now becomes a factor. in fact, if you turn as fast as you can and swing your arms as fast as you can, the body turn will be too fast for your arms and the clubhead will go outward of the correct swing path, which contributes to hitting the ball with the heel of the club and a top ball.  

another good drill is to play alone on the golf course so you can test the THRESHOLD of TOLERANCE for the ELECTROCUTION feeling. always tee up the ball whenever you do a full swing even when hitting on the fairway and try to reproduce the different levels of electrocution feeling. so if you are practicing in your hitting cage at home and you get a slight electrocution feeling, you know it’s ok because you will only lose 10 yards and you still have a good chance to par.

another good drill is to FULLY COCK instead of cocking only 22 degrees. if your wrist is not strong enough, this contributes to hitting the ball with the heel of the club, top ball, and error left. then, hit a good shot by fully cocking your wrist but also SLOWING down your body turn to give time for your wrist to fully uncock. 

also try to fully cock, turn your body, and swing your arms as you can. if you are talented enough to consistently hit this ultra-powerful shot, you can become a pro. but just imagine. it requires EXCEPTIONAL strength and talent, yet it’s what most coaches teach to all their students. i think this is the main reason why only 5% of golfers can break 80.

the confidence drills will hone your ability to quickly pinpoint the culprit of an error. it avoids unnecessary FRUSTRATIONS so you can enjoy the game more. basketball players who can’t dunk don’t get frustrated because they know the reason is that they are not tall enough and they can’t jump high enough.

 need update video: golden drill

E. partial shallow swings

if you have mastered the shallow full swing and its confidence drills, you now have the license to use the partial shallow swings. i will discuss SHALLOWING in the “timing and shallowing” section of this book. for now, all you need to know about shallowing is it makes the timing between your body turn and arm swing easier.

without shallowing, an average golfer will need to practice the partial swings just as much as the full swing. that’s because without shallowing, the TIMING between the body turn and arm swing will be significantly DIFFERENT for the different arm levels. example, with the 9 o'clock arm level (half swing), the speed of the body turn has to be faster relative to the arm swing compared to the full swing.

since a partial swing of a non-shallow swing will have a different GROOVE or muscle memory than its corresponding full swing, average golfers will need to PRACTICE EACH partial swing just as much as the full swing if their swing is not shallow. however, most golfers only have TIME to master the FULL swing. maybe this explains why i always see golfers who are very good at hitting 150 yard shots but they strangely mess up their 50 yard shots even if it’s supposed to be easier. fortunately for us, our swing is perfectly shallowed.

we will identify a partial shallow swing by the ANGLE of the SHAFT with respect to the stance-parallel ball line at the top of swing. i recommend you only have 2 partial shallow swings in your swing arsenal: 134 degrees and 90 degrees. 

(- photo

since the body turn amount is less, you need to SLOW down your body TURN during the downswing to give time for your wrist to fully uncock. with the 134-degree swing, i chose to over dip my right shoulder so i don’t have to slow down my body turn. with the 90-degree swing, i turn very very very slowly.

record the YARDAGE for each club and backswing amount. partial shallow swings will be most useful with the short clubs when hitting inside 100 yards. but in case you need to hit a stinger (low shot) to go under some tree branches or hit against a very strong wind, you should also include the yardages for your mid and long clubs. example, here’s mine.

club: 90-degree swing, 134-degree swing, full swing (all in yards)

60-degree wedge: 33, 40, 50

52-degree wedge: 50, 60, 75

pitching wedge: 60, 70, 100

9 iron: 70, 80, 110

8 iron: 80, 90, 120

7 iron: 90, 100, 130

6 iron: 100, 110, 140

5 iron: 110, 120, 150

4 iron: 120, 130, 160

3 iron: 120, 130, 170

5 wood: 130, 140, 190

3 wood: 130, 140, 210

driver: 140, 150, 240

as much as possible, avoid doing a full swing inside 100 yards. instead, use a shorter swing with a LOWER LOFT club because it's much easier. the ball will go lower and the ball will be more susceptible to a bad kick if it lands before the green. but an average golfer should fear a top ball and a chunk more than a bad kick. only do a full swing with a higher loft club if you have no choice because there is a bunker or hazard in front of the green or the green is a steep table top.

in golf, we don’t really solve problems. we trade it with a problem we are more comfortable with.

if you are a full swing supremacist, you can choke down instead of doing a partial swing. record the yardages for the 1-inch choke down and 2-inch choke down for all your clubs.

(- video partial shallow swings

F. pure body swerve

in the “swing design and construction” section, i will EXPLAIN why this pure body swerve is the best choice for average golfers when hitting short yardage shots. for now, just follow blindly. 

just like the partial shallow swings, we will specify the backswing amounts by the ANGLE of the SHAFT with respect to the stance-parallel ball line at the top of swing. there should be 5 backswing amounts: 134 degrees, 112 degrees, 90 degrees, 67 degrees, and 45 degrees. 

PRACTICE BOUNCE by tracing the flat SWERVING path or curve. make sure you NEVER COCK, NEVER LIFT up your ARMS, and you never exert any force on your arms the entire swing. if your wrist cocks even just a little bit, it contributes to severe error left. the following are the IN-TO-OUT angles of the flat swerving curve for each backswing amount:

134-degree backswing: 56 degrees

(- photo

112-degree backswing: 45 degrees

(- photo

90-degree backswing: 34 degrees

(- photo

with the shorter backswings, i tend to OVER swing, which causes the ball to go too far. to prevent this, i also inspect the clubhead location at the top of swing.

67-degree backswing: 22 degrees

top of swing is at the middle between stance-parallel ball line and stance line

(- photo

45-degree backswing: 11 degrees

top of swing is a quarter of the distance from stance-parallel ball line to stance line

(- photo

the bottom of each practice bound should be ALONG the IN-TO-OUT LINE, half an inch above the ground and 1 inch before it hits the ball. during the practice bounce, visualize tracing the flat swerving curve, and try to FEEL the downward angle of the clubhead path. example, for me it FEELS like the clubhead travels 11 degrees downward. MAKE SURE IT’S YOUR DIPPING BODY TURN AND NOT YOUR ARMS THAT BRINGS THE CLUBHEAD DOWNWARD, or else you will be susceptible to all kinds of errors.

(- photo

on the FINAL downswing, execute what you rehearsed and visualized during the practice bounce. 

a good CONFIDENCE drill is to move the bottom of the practice bounce more outward to convince you that doing so will contribute to severe error left. another good drill is to play around with the downward angle to intentionally top and chunk. also cock your wrist even just a little bit during the backswing to be convinced that it contributes to severe error left.

the flat swerving path CO-ENFORCES the swing thought where you should not lift up your arms during the backswing. if you lift up your arms during the backswing, the FLAT swerve will feel like a normal UP and DOWN swing. 

RECORD in your smartphone notepad the approximate CARRY distance and ROLL on a regular speed green for each backswing amount with your pitching wedge and highest loft wedge. example, here’s mine:

pitching wedge: carry, roll (all in yards)

45 degrees: 5, 5

67 degrees: 10, 10

90 degrees: 20, 10

112 degrees: 35, 10

134 degrees: 50, 10

60-degree wedge: carry, roll (all in yards)

45 degrees: 3, 2

67 degrees: 5, 5

90 degrees: 10, 5

112 degrees: 18, 5

134 degrees: 23, 5

in BETWEEN recorded yardages, use the higher backswing amount and SLOW DOWN your swing accordingly. example, to achieve a 25 yards carry with a pitching wedge, i do a 90-degree backswing and slow down my turn a little bit.

the more experience you have playing on the golf course, you will develop a better feel for the amount of ROLL based on the hardness and slope of the landing area.

the HIGHER LOFT wedge is more DIFFICULT than the pitching wedge because the backswing amount is greater for the same distance. but if the pin placement is impossible to par with a pitching wedge, you might as well use the higher loft wedge because at least you have a chance to 1-putt.

also record the yardages for the rest of the irons in case the terrain offers you the opportunity to just ROLL the ball towards the green. this pure body swerve is also preferable when hitting STINGERS.

9 iron: 70 yards

8 iron: 80 yards

7 iron: 90 yards

6 iron: 100 yards

5 iron: 110 yards

4 iron: 120 yards

3 iron: 130 yards

the following video is a DEMO of my pure body swerve and what can happen if you violate the principles in this tutorial. you can end up breaking a mirror on the golf course and the GM can punish you by taking away your parking privilege or insult your guest.

(- demo all video: pure body swerve

G. chipping

normally, i use the pure body SWERVE for chipping. if there is enough running room on the green, i would use the pitching wedge. if there is not enough running room on the green, or the green is a high table top, i would use my 60-degree wedge.

however, if i did not have enough time to practice and it’s an important game, i use the much easier WRIST chipping style which i will discuss after the putting section. 

pga tour players are on the green in regulation only 65% of the time. even in a perfect game, average golfers should expect to be on the green in regulation only 33% of the time. this means for you to break 80, you need to SAVE PAR at least 6 of the 12 holes where you missed the green.

chipping and putting is where you should practice most of the time. the reason is that DISTANCE CONTROL around the green is NOT a TECHNIQUE. it’s more of a FEEL that can only be developed through lots of practice. if your technique is correct, you will have DIRECTIONAL ACCURACY but it does not mean you have distance control. if you don’t have distance control around the green, you can still score 90+ even if you did not commit any technique related mistakes.

 

after i developed this tutorial, i PRACTICED my chipping and putting for 30 minutes a day for a month. after that i was able to break 80 easily (proof is in the "proof of concept" chapter at the end of this tutorial). 

but then, i got very busy with the barrio golf project. i only had time to practice 5 minutes a day. i still played once a month, where i would usually score 90+ even if i was committing very few technique mistakes. the problem was that my putts and chips were TOO HARD or TOO SOFT. so i was still bogeying pretty much all the holes.

when testing your technique out on the golf course, do not pay attention to your score. just count the number of TECHNIQUE related ERRORS such as top balls, chunks, and directional errors. don’t mind the factors out of your control such as bad kicks and bad lies. also ignore the errors that does not have anything to do with your technique, such as distance control and club selection.

if you have a BAD SCORE but very few technique errors, you should be happy. this way, you don’t end up fixing something that is NOT BROKEN. and you know you can easily break 80 if you spend more time practicing.

(- video: distance control in chipping (alta tourney)

the good news is that PRACTICING at HOME can help a lot with distance control. although it depends on how long is your practice area. example, i practice in my living room which is 10 yards long. therefore, i can master my pitching wedge and 60-degree wedge yardages where the carry is inside 10 yards. at the golf course, it’s not that hard to predict the amount of roll based on the slope and terrain.

distance control takes TIME and PRACTICE to master. but i can tell you from experience that it’s the part of golf that is the most FUN and pleasurable. just make sure you also do the nerdy part, which is maintain a simple text database of all the YARDAGE records that i’m suggesting in this chapter. however, your data would be useless if you don’t regularly test and practice each record and keep them up-to-date. 

why do you think touring pros spend 4 hours a day practicing their short game? most golfers think short game practice is boring. they prefer to just whack balls at the range. but if you have the right techniques, short game practice is actually fun, THERAPEUTIC, and even addictive. time just flies by. if you don’t possess the correct techniques, that’s when short game practice gets frustrating and boring.

never think about the amount of force or SPEED of the downswing during the actual swing. this will DISTRACT your focus away from the more important swing thoughts. you should figure out and rehearse the swing speed only during the PRACTICE SWING. so that on the actual swing, you can simply duplicate what you rehearsed. this rule also applies to putting.

GROUNDING is the most dreaded error in chipping. the following video debunks all myths about grounding so you can keep your family safe from lightning and electrical shocks i mean is a demo of my 45-degree pure body swerve with a pitching wedge. it’s also a demo of my baseball short-stop drill. 

(- video: pure body swerve chipping drill

 

H. putting

when PUTTING, BOW your HEAD down to the full extent so that your line of vision is perpendicular to the ground. otherwise your alignment or aim will be incorrect if one eye is too dominant than the other eye.

 

 

use the overlapping grip. the shaft should be VERTICALLY oriented across your left palm as much as possible.

 

 

ANCHOR your left elbow to your body.  

 

 

FULLY UNCOCK your left wrist, tilt your spine, and orient your left forearm in such a way that the shaft is tilted around 11 degrees. let your right index finger brace the shaft. the back of your HANDS should have the SAME vertical ORIENTATION as the SHAFT. since the shaft is tilted or slanted 11 degrees, the back of your hands are also slanted 11 degrees. in this tutorial, we say the HINGE ORIENTATION is 11 degrees.

 

address the ball by squaring the clubface to the target (duh) and letting the clubhead TOUCH the GROUND. in my experience, letting the clubhead touch the ground results in a more STABLE putt, especially when putting from the fringe. you might think this will risk chunking during the downswing. but as long as you follow my swing thoughts, chunking won’t be an issue. 

also note that the bottom edge of the clubface doesn’t have to be entirely FLAT on the ground unless your putter has a loft.

all golfers know that if the path towards the hole is not flat, or the blades of the grass will affect the ball direction, you should not aim towards the hole. instead, you should aim towards a spot that allows the ball to curve towards the ball. let’s call this spot the INITIAL TARGET. let’s call the line that intersects the middle of the ball and the initial target, the INITIAL PATH. if the path is flat, initial path = target line. the space between the hole and the initial target is the allowance. example, your caddie might tell you the allowance is 2 balls left of the hole. you should then ask your caddie, “what kind of ball? basketball, baseball, golf ball?” ambiguity is another reason why only 5% of golfers can break 80. i swear i’m just kidding.

let's call the middle of the putter the CONTACT POINT. let’s call the line parallel to the initial path that passes the bottom of the ball, the BOTTOM LINE.

just like in BILLIARDS, the ball will always start along the initial path as long as the putter hits the point on the ball that is along the initial path. there are many different putting styles that can achieve this.

with my wrist putting style, your arms should never move. you should only flex your wrist. your wrist should act like a perfect DOOR HINGE. you should never cock, never uncock, and never turn your hands the entire putt. the clubhead should NATURALLY face right, face down, and go inward during the backswing.

PAUSE at the top of swing to inspect the clubhead orientation and contact point location.  

the CONTACT POINT LOCATION at the top of swing is a very important factor in my putting style. if the contact point is just a little bit outward from the correct location at the top of swing, this contributes to ERROR LEFT. if the contact point is a little bit inward, this contributes to ERROR RIGHT.

for a given backswing amount, how do you know the contact point location at the top of swing is correct? the only way to find out is to EXPERIMENT. but there are so many possible backswing amounts, depending on the length of the putt or how hard you need to hit the ball. it would not be practical to experiment and memorize the correct contact point location of each backswing amount. 

the solution is to have only 3 backswing amounts: SHORT and LONG. this means if you use my technique, distance is mostly controlled by the amount of FORCE, not the amount of the backswing. 

after lots of experiments, i found out that the following are the best CONTACT POINT location at the top of swing:

- SHORT backswing: along bottom line, 5 inches from the ball. 

- LONG backswing: below the bottom line (refer to photo below), 11 inches from the ball.

you could MARK the part of your putter that should touch the bottom line in a long backswing. you can use any permanent marker like a sharpie. in my case, there is no need to mark because the size of my putter head just happens to be such that the tip needs to touch the bottom line in a long backswing.

in a slanted hinge, the clubhead should NATURALLY go inward and open up during the backswing. the clubhead should remain squared and remain along the initial path line only if your hinge is perpendicular to the ground.

a perpendicular HINGE ORIENTATION is supposed to be easier, but it gives me back pains.

PRACTICE BOUNCE by using your wrist to try to move the contact point of the clubhead towards the contact point on the ball in a STRAIGHT LINE. note the straight line is just a swing force direction. the actual swing path is a curve. the speed of the downswing should be the same as the final downswing. your MAIN focus on each practice bounce is to make the clubhead squared to the target. once you are repeatedly making the clubhead squared, remember the feel of your wrist movement and try to DUPLICATE it on the final downswing.

(- photo

TROUBLESHOOTING is easy. the only factor you should adjust is the CONTACT POINT LOCATION at the top of swing. if you error left, move the contact point location at the top of swing more inward (which also makes the clubface more open). if you error right, move the contact point location at the top of swing more outward (which also makes the clubface less open). whenever you make a good putt, remember the contact point location at the top of swing for that particular backswing amount so you can duplicate it for the rest of eternity.

REHEARSE the amount of force during the practice swing so you can just duplicate it in the actual putt.

before i discovered this wrist putting style, i usually 3 putt 50% of the holes. that's a 9 stroke disadvantage. the following unedited video proves that putting is more KNOWLEDGE than skill because i did not make a mistake during the entire 900 years of etruscan civilization.

(- photo

 

video: untalented golfer putting 72 bullseyes in a row

I. wrist chipping

my wrist putting style can be used with a 7 IRON to CHIP around the green. a 7-iron chip has a very LOW trajectory. but don’t worry. a lower trajectory shot is less susceptible to bad kicks.

because the 7 iron has a LOFT, it is super important that the bottom edge of the clubface LIES FLAT. if it’s tilted upward, it contributes to error left. if it’s tilted downward, it contributes to error right. 

(- photo

the techniques and swing thoughts are the same as putting. however, since the swing setup is much flatter, you will need to deliberately make sure the clubface faces down during the backswing and FACES UP to SQUARE during the downswing. in fact, for each practice bounce, i chant, "face down then face up and square". at the bottom of each practice bounce, the clubhead should be rougly 1 inch from the ball and half an inch above the ground. 

also make sure the swing force direction during the downswing is PARALLEL to the ground. with the longer backswings, the clubhead would be higher at the top of swing. so there might be a tendency for the swing force to be downward instead of parallel to the ground, which contributes to a chunk. example, if the clubhead at the top of swing is 3 inches above the ground, the swing force should try to hit 1 inch above the ball. isn’t golf crazy?

(- photo

just trust that the clubhead will NATURALLY GO DOWN even if the swing force direction attempts to hit above the ball. it’s a like a pendulum which goes down even if the force direction is parallel to the ground.

(- illustration pendulum

just have 4 backswing amounts: ¼, ½, ¾ and full swing. record in your phone’s notepad the estimate DISTANCE of each backswing amount on a regular speed green when using a 7 iron. example, here’s mine:

(- yardage data

by now you should already have tons of YARDAGE data. if your yardage data is not complete or you don’t update them religiously, you can’t break 80. store all your yardage data in your phone’s notepad so you can easily update them. also sync them to the CLOUD in case your phone gets lost or stolen.

as always, REHEARSE the amount of force during the practice swing so you can just duplicate it in the actual chip.

the following video is a demo of my wrist chipping drill and my karate punch. it also teaches to not be a sheep who blindly follows the herd (the theme of this tutorial). i wanted to do another video the next day but i woke up to learn my chipping corner is now a maternity ward.

video: wrist chipping with an 7 iron

J. bunker shot

i notice many golfers ignore the DEPTH of the LOOSE or soft sand when hitting a bunker shot. you can test the depth of the sand by wiggling your feet. if the loose sand layer is less than half an inch deep, the ball will go too far if you play it like a normal bunker shot. instead, you should just play it like a normal CHIP on GRASS. that's because the clubhead will just bounce off the firm layer beneath the thin sand layer.

(- label thin sand layer

 

(in case you’re interested how i determined the minimum depth of the loose sand: the clubhead usually hits the ground at an 11-degree angle. since you’ll be hitting 2 inches behind the ball, the minimum depth of the loose sand should be: tan (11 degrees) = (minimum_depth) / (2 inch). so minimum depth = (.1943)(2 inch) = 0.38 inches or around half an inch. this means if the sand layer is LESS THAN HALF an INCH, just treat the DISTANCE like you are chipping off the GRASS.)

do not make the bunker shot more difficult by unnecessarily opening the clubface (this is contrary to what most coaches teach). there is no need to OPEN the CLUBFACE of a sand wedge unless you are too NEAR the LIP of the bunker.

if you do need to open the clubface, you should only OPEN your STANCE or adjust your stance alignment to the left if and only if the loose sand layer is THIN, and you are playing it like a normal chip. because if the loose sand layer is thin, the clubhead will come in CONTACT with the ball. therefore, it's the clubhead orientation that mostly determines ball DIRECTION, not the swing path.

the reason you adjust your stance is so that you can increase the loft of the clubhead and still make the clubface squared to the target. a mistake most golfers make is that when they adjust their stance alignment, their swing thoughts still use the target line as reference instead of the STANCE-PARALLEL ball ine (refer to the stance-parallel ball line illustration in the "general techniques" section). your swing thoughts should always use the stance-parallel ball line as reference so that you will be using the same groove or muscle memory. 

in this tutorial, we rely heavily on our GROOVE or muscle memory. only talented golfers can shift to a different groove and still hit a good shot. this means you should swing as if the target is towards where your stance is aligned. you need to trust that the ball will go towards the actual target because the clubface is pointing towards the target. this applies to all swings, not just the bunker shot. it baffles me that i haven't seen any lesson in youtube that teaches this very important knowledge.

always remember to TURN the SHAFT instead of your hands when opening up the clubface to increase the loft. the back of your thumbs should always be facing perpendicular to your shoulder line.

if the loose sand layer is DEEP enough such that you can let the sand carry the ball, move the ball position 2 inches or 1 ball more to your left. you can open the clubface if you need more loft. but you should not adjust or open your stance alignment. since it's the SAND that CARRIES the ball, it's the swing path that determines ball direction, not the clubhead orientation. 

(- update closer to the ball pre-cock

use the SHALLOW swings. the only difference is after you set the anticipated spot, you tilt your spine a little bit more so that the new anticipated spot would be roughly 3 inches below the ORIGINAL. then you do everything else the same. this will result in an EDUCATED CHUNK when you fully uncock so that it will be the sand that carries the ball. 

(- photo

record the YARDAGES. example, with the shallow full swing, my ball carries 15 yards. with the 134-degree backswing, my ball carries 10 yards. and with the 90-degree backswing, my ball carries 5 yards.

(- horizontal arrangement

 

(- update video: bunker shot drill

to hit FAIRWAY bunkers, you can use the shallow swing except you move the anticipated spot a little higher. if the ball is near the lip, don't be a hero. it's better to play it safe and settle for a bogey by using a higher loft club such as a 9 iron to make sure you clear the lip.

III. tutorial scope and overview

 

congrats on your AA. degree. welcome to engineering college. this chapter is the course syllabus and freshman orientation.

 

in order to break 80, all you really need to learn and practice is the “INSTANT GRATIFICATION” chapter of this tutorial, which is only 50 pages. the rest of the tutorial is mostly just definition of terms, common sense principles, and philosophical rants. however, the rest of this tutorial will teach you how to customize or design a swing that might be more suitable for you. 

as much as possible, this tutorial will not include knowledge that you can learn from somewhere else. example, i won't discuss the rules of the game, how to read the green, etc... i won't bother defining what is a handicap, spine angle, "top of swing", overlapping grip, top ball, etc... SEARCH the internet for the definition of the TERMS in this tutorial that you don't understand. 

this tutorial does not actually contain the complete knowledge to break 80. it supplies the MISSING KNOWLEDGE. example, after scanning the videos in youtube about shallowing, i only found 3 shallowing methods. but there are actually 9 ways you can shallow your swing.

if you can find a coach humble enough to learn and teach a totally different approach to the game, it would be more efficient to go through this tutorial with a COACH because they already know the vast amount of existing knowledge that is needed to complete this tutorial.

you don’t need the VIDEOS to learn the lessons in this tutorial. the photos and illustrations in this tutorial should suffice. if you really want to watch the videos and you are reading the hard copy of this tutorial, go to the “golf on rails” youtube channel. just search @railsgolf in youtube. the TITLE of the video would be the same as the text display of the link. make sure you click the "videos" tab of the youtube page because the home page does not list all the videos. there will only be around 30+ videos in the channel, so it should be easy to locate a video. 

the channel will also contain a video entitled "tutorial updates" containing any UPDATES and corrections made to this tutorial after the book is published.

in this tutorial, "ERROR LEFT" means the ball will go to the left of the target. "ERROR RIGHT" means the ball will go to the right of the target. CHUNKING means hitting the ground behind the ball, even if the clubhead just bounced off the ground. chunking can also mean a POP UP, which happens when the ball is teed up high enough.

also note that in golf, ball TRAJECTORY is understood to be relative to the ground, and ball DIRECITON is understood to be relative to the target.

this tutorial would often be referring to an ANGLE of a LINE RELATIVE to or with respect to a PLANE (in this tutorial, the terms "relative to" and "with respect to" mean the same). in geometry, there is a standard way of getting the angle of a line with respect to a plane, which can be quite complicated even to an intellectual. luckily, this is a golf tutorial, NOT a MATH TUTORIAL. so i came up with a way to get the angle that is specifically suited for our purpose. 

there are 2 planes we frequently reference in this tutorial: 1) the GROUND, and 2) an imaginary plane that is perpendicular to the ground (e.g. target plane, chest plane). let's nickname the imaginary plane that is perpendicular to the ground - a WALL. the way you get the angle of the line is by PERSPECTIVE.

to get the angle of a line relative to a WALL, you view it from the TOP or bird's eye VIEW. this means you can only see the top edge of the wall, and you can't see the downward angle of the line. in other words, the view is now 2D, and all you see are 2 lines. usually, you should pick the smaller angle. but it's easy to figure out which one by context and common sense.

 

 

getting the angle of a line relative to the GROUND is similar. but this time, your line of vision will be parallel to the ground. 

whenever this tutorial refers to the angle of a CURVE with respect to a line or plane, what i really mean is the straight line ESTIMATION of the curve. it’s technically incorrect, but it serves our purpose because the greens and fairways are not 1 yard wide. remember this is a golf tutorial, not a math tutorial. besides, we can only visualize and follow rough estimates of the angles anyway. 

 

it’s actually just common sense. my explanation probably only confused you. but the explanation is necessary for this tutorial to maintain technical CREDIBILITY (i am torn between street cred and tech cred).

one might say i should still lose technical credibility because specifying just 1 angle of a clubhead path traveling in 3D space cannot tell the whole story. but we will only be using these angles when studying a swing that involves only 1 hinge (e.g. left shoulder, torso, or wrist), which means the clubhead cannot travel freely along the Z-AXIS for a given x-y coordinate. the clubhead can travel freely along the Z-axis only if the swing involves both the body turn and arm swing. and if the swing does involve more than 1 hinge, a control point midway through the downswing will approximate the 1:1 correspondence.

in other words, there is a 1:1 CORRESPONDENCE between the angle of the clubhead path relative to the ground and relative to the target plane. it's like giving navigational directions. you only need to specify the ground direction because a human cannot fly. or the human is TETHERED to the ground by gravity. this means if the clubhead path angle relative to the target plane is correct, then the angle relative to the ground also has to be correct. therefore, specifying only 1 angle is sufficient to break 80.

you don’t need to know what goes on under the hood of your car to drive it to the grocery store. but if the radiator leaks, it would be nice to know you can just add water so you can still buy groceries and drive it to the auto shop. similarly, you do not need to read this entire book to break 80. but if let’s say your back is aching and you can only tilt your spine 11 degrees, it would be nice to know which FACTORS you can ADJUST so you can continue to play well. 

talent and brute force practice can GROOVE your techniques without knowing the underlying mechanics. the problem with relying on your groove is when your groove starts to rust and wear out due to age, you will have a hard time adjusting your swing to the worn out bearings and hinges of your aging body.

this tutorial makes an effort to separate my personal swing style or TECHNIQUES from the core PRINCIPLES. there is no single correct swing style or technique. it's like shopping for a car. there are different types of cars, but they all share the same basic principles and components.

i will use the words component, FACTOR, part, attribute and element interchangeably. in this tutorial, they pretty much mean the same thing. 

"on rails" is a metaphor that means something will go quickly and easily. this book is named after “ruby on RAILS”, a framework that allowed me to quickly and easily develop web apps, even if i only have average computer skills.

 just like a train on a rail track, ruby on rails and golf on rails does not allow you much freedom. notice the "instant gratification" chapter is quite RESTRICTIVE. the philosophy is called “convention over configuration”. but golf on rails allows a beginner who don’t know much about golf to become good at golf and enjoy golf rapidly. similarly, ruby on rails allows a beginner programmer who don’t know much about programming to develop web apps and enjoy developing web apps rapidly. that’s why ruby on rails is very suitable for rapid prototyping. 

(- ruby on rails photo

what if you want to go off the rails so that you can CUSTOMIZE and fine tune your web app or golf swing? no problem. the engineering chapters in this tutorial contains the knowledge you need to customize your swing, just like the pickaxe ruby book contains the knowledge you need to create any app in ruby.

the cobra on the book cover not only symbolizes my cobra swing style, but also honors o’reily media, whose books helped my career and always had an animal on the cover.

i made the numbering format in the “swing theory” chapter conform to the AI standard so that chatgpt can use this tutorial to design a swing based on certain parameters that a user provides. just kidding.

the reason i CAPITALIZE the KEY words is so that it will be easier to REVIEW and scan this tutorial. i can fix the sentence capitalization of this entire tutorial in 10 seconds by selecting the entire text and clicking the "Sentence case" command of ms word. but having a capital letter at the beginning of every sentence will camouflage or MUFFLE the key words. formatting styles such as bold, underline or character size is not always portable, and i want to be able to copy paste excerpts of this tutorial to other social media platforms. 

maybe my style is only suited for technical instructions and political essays. maybe the orthodox style is better if you are writing a story. but i believe having only 1 style for the many different purposes of writing is like having only 1 CAR DESIGN for ALL PURPOSES of vehicular transports. it’s like having only 1 swing style in golf for the different levels of talent and ability.

IV. my core principles and techniques

i want to start this chapter veritasium style. i did not use science to build my swing. the truth is i discovered my techniques through brute force TRIAL and ERROR and dumb LUCK. then i pretended to be a scientist by formulating the principles that can be used to explain my techniques.

don't be intimidated by the technical JARGONS i invented in this tutorial. they are just EFFICIENT ways for me to describe the components of a golf swing. imagine if we don't have names. instead of just saying "ian crystal", people will have to inefficiently refer to me as "the smart and handsome cebuano born in 1970 who is very humble".

 

the components or factors of a golf swing are nothing but POSITIONS and MOVEMENTS of specific parts of your body and the golf club. it's not rocket science. it's something that even uneducated people can easily grasp. it's like i'm trying to document how an aborigine throws a boomerang to hit a flying bird. i will need to invent fancy words like anticipated spot. but the aborigine does not need to know the fancy words to be a master at boomerang throwing.

when i was laying down drain pipes, i asked my childhood friend, who is now one of the best plumbers in town, what is the recommended inclination ANGLE for drain pipes? he said 1/4 inch. i told him 1/4 inch is not an angle. turns out he does not even know what is an angle. he just makes sure the drain pipe inclines 1/4 inch per foot.

an undereducated carpenter can build a house using complicated concepts of geometry that even highly educated people such as doctors and lawyers can’t grasp. the carpenter just figured them out naturally through self-analysis. but because the carpenter can't ARTICULATE and document his designs and techniques, other carpenters can’t use them.

if the undereducated carpenter discovers a technique that would save 20% in construction cost, that carpenter will earn 20% more in his projects. but if the carpenter can DOCUMENT his discovery, all carpenters in the world will earn 20% more, and he will be hailed as the king of all carpenters. the winner of game of thrones was not the best warrior. he can’t even walk. but he was the best documenter. the pen is mightier than the sword, or shall i say, the keyboard is mightier than the golf club.

1. dyslexia phenomenon

most golfers i know are not aware that their PERCEPTIONS in their swing are not always the same as reality. i think this is another reason why only 5% of golfers can break 80.

a false perception is not really a problem as long as it’s CONSISTENT. you just need to adjust your interpretation accordingly. fortunately, in my experience, false perceptions are pretty consistent. so that we will sound smart, let’s use a medical term as SLANG for false perceptions:

definition 1.1: dyslexia - a general term to mean a perception a golfer has on his/her swing that is different from reality. (coincidentally, dyslexia is a form of handicap, and in golf, handicap is a term that means the degree of disadvantage a player has)

einstein and thomas edison were dyslexic. a common misconception of dyslexics is that they see the mirror image of a letter. example, they see the letter “b” as “d”. but even if that’s the case, i think dyslexics just need to INTERPRET the letters differently as long as their false perceptions are consistent. example, they simply need to connect the sound of letter “b” to a symbol that looks like “d”.

similarly, golfers simply need to find the dyslexic components in their swing and adjust their REACTION accordingly. the reaction could be as simple as “not react to it”. in other words, you just need to add to your swing thought to be AWARE of the false perception so you won't panic and mess up your swing.

 

definition 1.2: swing thought - one or more instructions you give yourself when trying to hit the golf ball.

 

example, during the downswing, IT SHOULD FEEL LIKE the clubhead will travel 45 degrees in-to-out just before it hits the ball due to the full uncocking of my wrist even if it’s traveling 11 degrees in-to-out. a swing thought that reminds yourself not to vue i mean react to a false perception usually starts with the phrase, "it should feel like ...".

a swing thought can also be an INSTRUCTION you give yourself to execute a technique.

 

a swing thought should be concrete, SPECIFIC, and DETAILED as much as possible. 

example, instead of saying, “the body turn angle on the downswing should be the same as that of the backswing”, it's better to say, "on the downswing, turn your body by moving your right shoulder towards its location during address”. instead of saying “shallow the club by making the shaft lean backward”, it’s better to say, “shallow the club by turning your left arm clockwise”.

a dyslexia can be caused by the MOTION of the swing being TOO FAST for the brain to process. example, in a long swing, it feels like the clubead is still facing right when it hits the ball. this could cause me to panic and over close the clubface. my remedy is to add to my swing thought that it should feel like the clubface is still facing right when it hits the ball.

my poor ability to see FAST MOTION could be related to my poor ability to see the punches landed when i watch a boxing match. i need a slow motion replay to see manny pacquiao's punches landing. maybe my brain still has the 8088 CPU and i need to upgrade my brain to the intel core i9.

i suspect golfers who can break 80 have good ABILITY to see a fast moving object, while those who can’t break 80 don’t have this ability. at the driving range in my hometown, there used to be a TV that showed televised cock fights. there were no slow motion replays. so it baffled me how the golf coaches can narrate to each other the kicking moves of the cocks when all i saw was a BLUR.

constructing swing thoughts is part of the FUN in golf. i remember watching an interview with one of the greatest golfers arnold palmer. he was already 80 years old at that time. he said he still wakes up in the morning excited to try out a technique he thought of the previous night.

2. hinge minimization strategy

the best way to study something that is complicated is to BREAK it UP into simpler COMPONENTS and analyze how the components affect one another. so let's break up the golf swing into more manageable parts. 

the first thing i observed in the golf swing is, the body parts that move in a golf swing are attached to joints that act like HINGES or ball joints.

each hinge and ball joint is like a JOYSTICK in a video game. the more joysticks, the more difficult the video game becomes. a strategy of this tutorial is to MINIMIZE the joysticks to simplify the swing and make it easier.

principle 2.1: a golf swing that has more hinges is more difficult but more POWERFUL. a golf swing that has less hinges is less DIFFICULT but less powerful.

a standard full swing uses 5 hinges/ball joints:1) body turn hinge, 2) left shoulder rotator cuff ball joint, 3) extension/flexion wrist hinge, 4) cocking/uncocking wrist hinge, 5) hand rotation ball joint. 

(- photo

example, with my SHALLOW swing, i use only the body turn hinge and uncocking hinge during the downswing but i move all 5 hinges to setup the backswing. with my pure body SWERVE, i only use the body turn hinge. when PUTTING, i only use the extension/flexion hinge.

3. practice swing and practice bounce techniques

you only have 1 attempt to hit the ball. and if you make a mistake, there is no second chance. fortunately, golf allows a FREE REHEARSAL. just move back a little and practice swing until you get the right divot location. it's as if you are allowed to hit TRIAL SHOTS and given the opportunity to correct your mistake before hitting the final shot.

the TIMING between our body turn speed and arm swing is the most difficult component in a golf swing. i simplified timing by shallowing our long swing and not involving the arm swing in short yardage shots. unfortunately, timing is not the only factor and other factors can still misbehave depending on the amount of sleep, beer, and coffee we recently had. therefore, we should always do a PRACTICE SWING.

when doing a practice swing, use the ball as REFERENCE and imagine another ball just right below it. the perfect divot location is such that the rightmost edge of the divot is in line with the right edge of the game ball. if the DIVOT is in front of the correct spot or there is no divot, that means you would have TOPPED the ball. if the divot is behind the correct spot, you would have hit the ground behind the ball (CHUNKING).

 

 

the good news is it does not have to be perfect. if your swing is flat enough, and the ground is FIRM enough, you can still hit a good shot even you hit 1 inch BEHIND the ball. 

a divot that is in front of the ball causes a top ball. in a long swing, TOPPING the ball can still yield a positive result. golf is actually more FORGIVING than most people think.

 

in addition to the practice swing, you can also do a PRACTICE BOUNCE. billiard players practice bounce, but i've never seen anyone practice bounce in golf.

how many practice bounces should you do? my rule of thumb is to practice bounce until the other golfers try to kill me for delaying the game. seriously, just use COMMON SENSE. if practice bounce becomes popular, it will probably be banned so more people will spend time looking for their ball, the game will be slower, and less people would want to play golf.  

if your swing is already well GROOVED, you can skip the practice bounce to save energy and precious focus juices.

4. interdependence principle and prioritization of factors strategy

one time, i was at the driving range while the philippine national champion, tyler po, and the club champion of alta vista cebu, ferdie chua, were practicing in the next stall. ferdie asked tyler for advice on where he should drop his hands during the downswing. tyler showed ferdie. but when ferdie tried it out, it did not work for him. the only logical explanation is, there exists other FACTORS that determines the correct anticipated pot. 

principle 4.1: the factors of a golf swing are interdependent. 

another way of stating this principle is:

principle 4.1.1: in a golf swing, there really is no right or wrong way to execute a component. what's important is the components are compatible with each other.

EXAMPLE, if you aim your stance to the left of the target, the ball can still hit the target if you open the club. 

in this tutorial, we used the term “COMPATIBLE” instead of “correct” to describe a component. example, we say “compatible body turn angle” instead of “correct body turn angle”.

assumption 4.2: whenever this tutorial gives a specific instruction for a factor, it is assumed that all dependent factors are compatible (how convenient!!!).

one way of adhering to the interdependence of factors principle is to replace the word "CAUSE" with the word "CONTRIBUTE". example, instead of saying "slowing down your body turn in a shallow swing causes error right", it's more accurate to say, " slowing down your body turn in a shallow swing contributes to error right ". because the ball won't necessarily error right if the other factors COMPENSATE. the other factors can even overcompensate and cause the ball to error left.

the interdependence of factors principle is also the reason why in golf, REPRODUCING a specific mistake is just as DIFFICULT as hitting a good shot. it requires other factors to remain unchanged, which is difficult because our REFLEX has a tendency to automatically adjust the other factors to COMPENSATE for the intentional mistake. 

the interdependence of factors principle is the reason why PIECEMEAL advice in golf can ruin your game if it is not compatible with the other factors.

if factors need to be compatible, how do we know which factor would be the one to ADJUST? in a marriage, the non-birthing person should be the one to adjust (just wanna make sure this tutorial will have a high ESG score like bud light). but in a golf swing, the choice depends on your PRIORITIES. 

 

5. swing setup

how do scientists come up with amazing inventions? by observing the ELEMENTS of nature and studying their PROPERTIES. so let's do the same for the golf swing.

definition 5.1: address - the static position of your body just before the backswing starts.

in michelle wie's address position, my asperger’s brain can see many FACTORS: her height, grip, stance alignment, stance width, club length, clubhead orientation, arm angle, ball position, ground slope, spine angle, wrist angle, and knee angle. 

don't be overwhelmed by the plethora of the factors. they are all easy to stabilize. saying golf is too difficult because the swing has too many parts is like saying driving a car is too difficult because a car has too many parts. when learning to drive a car, you may need to pay attention to which pedal is the brake and which one is the accelerator. but after a while, it becomes MUSCLE MEMORY. it's the same with the golf swing. in the beginning, you may need to pay attention to maintaining your knee angle and spine angle during the swing. but after a while it becomes muscle memory.

in this section, we will identify and DEFINE the swing setup factors and how they relate to one another. i will also offer some TIPS to avoid common pitfalls. in the next sections, we will study how the factors affect the swing, the pros and cons for the different options, and which options will suit my priorities. 

humans can only follow a path in REFERENCE to something. unlike dogs who can follow a path by following a scent. or birds and salmon who uses the earth's magnetic field like a map. this is why climbers of mt. everest use dead bodies of past hikers to guide their trail (yes i'm a loser. i watch too many youtube videos). similarly, we also need a point, line, or plane of reference to specify, describe, visualize, or execute the FACTORS in a golf swing.

definition 5.2.1: target line - the imaginary line that runs through the ball and the target.

definition 5.2.2: stance line -  the line that passes through the front edge of your feet.

definition 5.2.3: stance-parallel ball line - the line that intersects the ball and is parallel to your stance line.

(- add stance-parallel

 

the target line is NOT a very FLEXIBLE reference because if you adjust your stance alignment (e.g. open stance), all the specs using the target line as reference will also need to be adjusted.

some might PREFER the stance line because it's more flexible (similar to using relative directory paths in computer programming). however, unlike the target line, the stance line is too far away from the clubhead path. you can have your cake and eat it too by using the stance-parallel ball line, which is FLEXIBLE and NEAR the clubhead path.

assumption 5.2.4: in this tutorial, the target line = stance-parallel ball line unless specified.

 

if the swing involves a BODY TURN, it would be more flexible to use our body orientation as reference. the chest line or shoulder line can be used to specify the body orientation.

definition 5.2.5: chest line - the line that runs across your chest. 

definition 5.2.6: shoulder line - the line that runs across your shoulder line. 

in this tutorial, the chest line and shoulder line are APPROXIMATED to be parallel to the stance line by ignoring the slight difference caused by your right hand being lower than your left hand when gripping the club. anyway, a rough estimation is all that is required for all swing factors.

 

sometimes, it makes more sense to describe a swing component with reference to the PLANE that runs along the reference line and is parallel to GRAVITY or perpendicular to a FLAT ground. in this tutorial, a flat ground is defined as a ground that is perpendicular to gravity. meaning all lines on the ground that intersects the gravity line forms a right angle with the gravity line. 

definition 5.3.1: target plane - plane that runs along the target line and is perpendicular to a flat ground. a shot is considered straight if it stays along the target plane. however, it’s not necessarily a good shot if it’s too low or too high.

definition 5.3.2: stance plane - the plane that runs along the stance line and is perpendicular to a flat ground.

definition 5.3.3: stance-parallel plane - the plane that runs along the stance-parallel ball line and is perpendicular to a flat ground.

definition 5.3.4: chest plane/shoulder line plane - the plane that runs along the chest/shoulder line and is perpendicular to a flat ground.

(- update photo

 

near the top of a long backswing, you might prefer using your CHEST plane as reference because it's near the initial clubhead path of the downswing.

coaches usually use the GROUND as reference without specifying the ground should be FLAT. that is bad because the ground on the golf course is not always flat. example, when they say, the sole of the club has to be flat on the ground for the clubface to be squared to target, their instruction will contribute to ERROR LEFT if the ground below the clubhead slopes in a way that tilts up the bottom edge of the clubface. and the instructions causes ERROR RIGHT if the slope causes the bottom edge of the clubface to tilt down.

assumption 5.3.5: unless otherwise specified, the ground is always assumed to be flat or perpendicular to gravity. 

if you are on the golf course trying to follow an instruction in this tutorial that references a ground, but the ground is not flat, you will need to imagine a flat ground and use that imaginary flat ground as reference. later, i will show you different ways you can easily do this. 

ball position

when describing ball position, golfers usually use the following conventions:

definition 5.4.1: in front/left of the ball - from the player's point of view, left of the ball along the target line.

definition 5.4.2: move the ball forward/left - from the player's point of view, move the ball to the left along the target line. some golfers say, "move the ball closer to your left foot".

definition 5.4.3: behind/right of the ball - from the player's point of view, to the right of the ball along the target line. example, chunking can be described as hitting the ground behind the ball.

definition 5.4.4: move the ball backward/right - from the player's point of view, move the ball to the right along the target line. some golfers say, "move the ball closer to your right foot".

stance alignment 

the gods of golf programmed my brain to think i'm AIMING straight even if in reality, i'm aiming 45 degrees to the RIGHT of the target so they can sit back, eat pop-corn, and laugh at me score triple bogeys. during my first 5 years of playing golf, other golfers would tell me i was aiming way right of the target. i ignored them because although my shots were very inconsistent, i was still able to hit the ball straight sometimes. turns out i was just compensating by closing the clubface more during the downswing. 

after doing some research, i found out that my problem is actually a well-known PHENOMENON:

phenomenon 5.5.1: if one of your eye is too DOMINANT than the other eye, then your perception of your stance alignment will be incorrect if you are viewing it sideways.

this is an example of a simple knowledge that can wreak havoc on your golf game if you are not AWARE of it. most of the golfers i talk to are not even aware of it. maybe this is another reason why only 5% of golfers can break 80.

i was pretty good at billiards. so i knew i would have no ALIGNMENT problem if i stand BEHIND the ball. if i laid down my golf club on the ground and lined it up from behind the ball, just like in billiards, the alignment was always straight.

 

but unfortunately, in 2019, in an effort to speed up play, they made it ILLEGAL to lay down your club on the ground to align your stance. it was also illegal to let my caddie stand behind me and guide me on my stance. so i came up with this technique where i temporarily plant the clubhead along the line of target and align my stance PARALLEL to the imaginary line between the clubhead and the ball. it helped. but it was not good enough.

(by the way, you might be wondering how a bum like me can afford a CADDIE. caddies in the philippines are required, not an option. the usual caddie fee is P300 ($6), but i always give an extra P500 ($10) tip.)

 

after some experiments, i discovered that:

 

phenomenon 5.5.2: if you FACE towards the TARGET such that your chest is perpendicular to the target, then bow your head down to check your stance alignment, the extreme eye dominance problem does not occur.

 

whenever you adjust your stance, you also need to RE-ADJUST your ball position. example, my ball position is always the middle of my stance. if it turns out i'm aiming to the left of the target, and i adjust my stance to the right, my ball is not anymore at the middle of my stance. so i have to move sideways to correct the ball placement. then i need to inspect my stance again.

spine angle / posture

definition 5.6: spine angle - the angle between your back and the plane perpendicular to the ground.

(- 0 extreme sidehill, 11 22, 34, 45 – extreme sidehill

 

arm angle

 

definition 5.7: arm angle - the angle between your LEFT arm and your torso during address position.

 

 

wrist angle 

 

the muscles around your wrist can MOVE your hands in many different ways. the following definitions assume the back of your left hand is facing parallel to the ground.

definition 5.8.1: cock - bending your wrist vertically upward. others call this "hinge up". the technical term is radial deviation.

definition 5.8.2: uncock - bending your wrist vertically downward. others call this "hinge down". the technical term is ulnar deviation

(- photo

 

definition 5.8.3: bow left wrist/flex right/extension - bending your wrist horizontally to the right. when you flex right, your left wrist bows and your right wrist cups.

definition 5.8.4: bow right wrist/flex left/flexion - bending your wrist horizontally to the left. when you flex left, your left wrist cups and your right wrist bows.

(- photo

definition 5.8.5: turn hands clockwise/pronate - turning your hands and wrist clockwise.

definition 5.8.6: turn hands counterclockwise/supinate - turning your hands and wrist counter-clockwise.

(- photo

definition 5.8.7: flex angle - the angle between your left forearm and the back of your left hand.

definition 5.8.8: shaft lean – the amount  the shaft tilts to your left.

principle 5.8.9: shaft lean is directly proportional to flex angle.

whenever i say factor X is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to factor Y, it means an increase in factor X contributes to an increase in factor Y, and an increase in factor Y contributes to an increase in factor X. 

whenever i say factor X is INVERSELY PROPORTIONAL to factor Y, it means an increase in factor X contributes to a decrease in factor Y, and an increase in factor Y contributes to an decrease in factor X. 

definition 5.8.10: pre-cock amount - the amount of cock on your wrist during address position.

 

principle 5.8.11: pre-cock amount is inversely proportional to arm angle.

principle 5.8.12: pre-cock amount is directly proportional to spine angle.

i chose the adjacent supplementary angle of the angle between the left forearm and the shaft to define the pre-cock amount because it is the angle that INCREASES as you increase the pre-cock amount.

knee angle and stance width

definition 5.9.1: knee angle - the amount your legs bend.

definition 5.9.2: stance width - the distance between your 2 feet.

(- photo

principle 5.9.3: stance width and the amount of bend on your knees is directly proportional to pre-cock amount.

it goes without saying the knee angle should remain constant the entire swing. fortunately, knee angle is one of those factors that easily STABILIZES the more you practice regardless of talent. but beginners should monitor their knee angle. luckily, it's easy to see in a video if your knee angle changes during the swing. unlike other factors such as clubface orientation where it’s impossible to detect the mistake unless you enlist the help of the slow mo guys. but don't worry. the knowledge you learn in this tutorial will make it easier to troubleshoot errors.

grip

 

there are many gripping STYLES. as i said, i try not to include information that you can easily find in the internet. search youtube if you are interested in knowing the different styles. just like all other factors, a grip is considered wrong only if it’s not COMPATIBLE with the other factors. 

a grip POSITION can be strong, weak or neutral. 

definition 5.10.1: strong grip - your grip is considered to be stronger if the back of your thumbs are facing more to your right.

definition 5.10.2: weak grip - your grip is considered to be weaker if the back of your thumbs are facing more to your left.

definition 5.10.3: neutral grip - when the back of your thumbs are facing perpendicular to your shoulder line

(- contributes add arrows, neutral

principle 5.10.4: a stronger grip contributes to the ball going to the left. a weaker grip contributes to the ball going to the right. 

not only can a strong or weak grip be incompatible with other factors. it can also be incompatible with what you are USED TO. i'm not a biomechanics expert. so i should categorize my personal experience as a phenomenon: 

phenomenon 5.10.5: during the downswing, there is a strong tendency for your hands to REVERT back to the position that you are used to or to the position that you usually use during address. 

this means a grip is considered TOO STRONG if it's stronger than what you are used to. a grip is considered TOO WEAK if its weaker than what you are used to.

phenomenon 5.10.5 is important to know when adjusting CLUBFACE ORIENTATION. you usually adjust clubface orientation when hitting a draw, fade, or when increasing/decreasing ball trajectory. since your hands have a strong tendency to revert back to the position that you are used to:

technique 5.10.6: you should never adjust clubface orientation during address by simply turning your hands. you should adjust clubface orientation by turning the shaft so you can maintain the grip position that you are used to.

definition 5.10.7: choke up/grip up - when your grip is located higher up the shaft.

definition 5.10.8: choke down/grip down - when your grip is located lower down the shaft.

(-

principle 5.10.9.: you can change your knee angle and stance width without changing your pre-cock amount by choking up or down. 

if your grip feels SLIPPERY, even just a little bit, expect to score a triple bogey. let’s etch this super important but often ignored principle in stone:

principle 5.10.10: it should feel STICKY when you grip the shaft. 

  

in my experience, all brand NEW gloves feel sticky. but most of them quickly wear out and lose their stickiness. there are a COUPLE of pga players who don't wear GLOVEs - fred COUPLEs and lucas GLOVEr (i swear i'm not making this up. it’s just a coincidence.

the good news is you don’t need gloves. just keep in mind that SWEAT contains OIL or fat. which means simply wiping your sweaty hands will not work. but there is no need for soap or alcohol. 

what i do is before putting, i wet my hands with WATER from my water bottle. for some strange reason, my hands will be dry and sticky by the time i get to the next tee box. so basically, if your hands are wet, the solution is to wet your hands some more. isn't golf crazy? it may sound crazy but it solved the biggest problem i used to have in golf. it feels so awesome having a sticky grip every time i do a full swing.

when practicing at the driving RANGE, it's easy to ignore your slightly moist gloves or sweat in your hands because anyway, it's just the driving range. but you will be wasting your practice time and energy, and it might even RUIN your muscle memory and GROOVE.

gloves offer me little protection from BLISTERS. if i get blisters, i simply wrap the troubled spots with a ring made from bike TIRE interior and masking tape.

to minimize blisters, TEE UP the ball high when you are practicing. this minimizes the club impact on the ground and lessens the impact the shaft has on your hands and fingers. this allows you to practice longer and hit more balls.

you might think teeing up the ball SPOILS you. that's not true. actually it's the other way around. not teeing up the ball can spoil you and is bad practice. i explained why in the “electrocution feeling” section in the "instant gratification" chapter.

regularly INSPECT the grip of your clubs by holding the clubhead and twisting the grip. you could be surprised by the number of loose grips you have in your bag.

hinge orientation

definition 5.11: hinge orientation - the angle of the hinge with respect to the ground.

if the swing uses only 1 hinge, hinge orientation dictates the IDEAL swing path and clubhead orientation at certain points of the backswing.

if the hinge is your left SHOULDER rotator cuff, the hinge orientation is the angle of your upper left arm with respect to the ground.

 

if the hinge is your upper BODY, then the hinge orientation is the orientation of a line perpendicular to your chest plane.

if the hinge is your left WRIST, the hinge orientation is the orientation of the back of your hands with respect to the ground. 

swing setup angle and swing setup length

the swing setup angle is a PRODUCT of spine angle, arm angle, wrist angle, club length. knee angle, stance width. and ground slope.

 

definition 5.12.1: swing setup angle - the angle with respect to the ground of the line that connects the clubhead and the farthest hinge.

definition 5.12.2: swing setup length – the length of the line from the clubhead to the farthest hinge.

 

if the farthest hinge is your left SHOULDER rotator cuff. the swing setup angle would be the angle between the ground and the line from the clubhead to your left shoulder.

(- photo include swing setup length

if the farthest hinge is your upper BODY, the swing setup angle would be the angle between the ground and the line from the clubhead to your chest. 

(- photo include swing setup length

if the farthest hinge is your left WRIST. the swing setup angle would be the angle between the ground and the line from the clubhead to your wrist  

(- include swing setup length

principle 5.12.3: a longer club can have a shorter swing setup length compared to a shorter club if the pre-cock amount with the longer club is big enough.

if the swing uses more than 1 hinge (e.g. full swing), the swing setup angle could be used to determine the IDEAL swing path.

 

the swing setup angle describes the STEEPNESS or flatness of the swing setup. i’m not sure if we really need to formulate principles for the swing setup angle. but just like george boole developed boolean algebra even if he wasn’t fully aware of its potential usefulness, let’s analyze the swing setup angle.

it's easy to see how a factor AFFECTS the swing setup angle. example, a longer CLUB contributes to a flatter swing setup angle. a less tilted SPINE contributes to a steeper swing setup angle. i will leave it up to the reader to figure out how the other FACTORS affect the swing setup angle.

principle 5.12.4: for a given SPINE angle, ARM angle, and WRIST angle (pre-cock amount and flex angle), the swing setup angle would be the same even if the knee angle, stance width, club length, and ground slope changes.

next, let’s study the CLUB properties.

the first thing i notice with club properties is that alta vista golf and country CLUB shares in cebu is very undervalued. it only sells for P700k while just 10 km away, cebu country club shares sell for P15 million. alta vista has way better facilities and much nicer golf course. what makes cebu country club shares 20 times more expensive is the location. but a highway is currently being built that will pass near alta vista, which makes alta vista shares a very attractive investment. if you wait for the construction of the highway to complete, it would be too late. pump and dump?

as i said, you can google the TERMS in this tutorial that you don’t understand such as club loft, heel, toe, etc... i will only define terms the don’t exist or are not common in the golf world. 

clubhead orientation (it’s supposed to be “club head” but clubhead looks nicer)

definition 5.13.1: bottom edge of the clubface - the left edge of the sole.

(- photo

the bottom edge of the clubface is one of the most important part of the club because it is very CRITICAL when describing and setting clubhead orientation. yet there is no word for it and you will never hear a coach refer to it. isn’t golf crazy? instead, they refer to the “SOLE” of the clubhead. the sole is the entire bottom of the clubhead. the sole is useless when teaching golf because soles come in many different shapes. you also can’t see the sole and it’s difficult to set something you cannot see. you can only see the bottom edge of the clubface.

the instruction “SQUARE the clubface” is very common in the golf world. but it’s too DIFFICULT for me to determine if the clubface is actually squared without using its bottom edge as reference.

i’m sure many golfers also use the BOTTOM EDGE of the clubface to square the clubface because it’s much easier. just make the bottom edge PERPENDICULAR to the imaginary TARGET LINE or make it perpendicular to your STANCE. but is the clubface always squared as long as its bottom edge is squared? after some simple experiments using a pvc pipe, i found out that:

principle 5.13.2: even if the bottom EDGE of a LOFTED clubface is squared to the target, the clubface is not squared to the target if its bottom edge is not lying flat or not parallel to a flat ground. if the bottom edge is tilted up, the clubface is facing left. the more loft, the more it faces left. if the bottom edge is tilted down, the clubface is facing right. the more loft, the more it faces right. if the clubface has no loft (e.g. putter), the clubface is always squared to the target if its bottom edge is squared to the target, regardless of tilt.

(-  photo pvc pipe, floor tiles

at first i thought principle 5.13.2 was a manufacturing STANDARD and had nothing to do with physics. but then i realized it’s impossible to make a club that violates this principle.

imagine attaching the pipe in the photos above to the middle of a rectangular board. align the bottom edge of the board along a tile line and align the pipe above a perpendicular tile line. then imagine putting a roof above the board that is perpendicular to the board. if you LEAN the board backward without moving the roof, the direction of the pipe will be upward TOWARDS the ROOF. but the pipe is still ALIGNED above the tile line. 

as you TILT the board upward, the roof starts to become the LEFT WALL, which means the direction of the pipe starts to go towards the left. similarly, as you tilt the board downward, the roof starts to become the RIGHT WALL which means the pipe starts to go towards the right. this means principle 5.13.2 follows the laws of physics. it's not an industry standard. i rest my case, your honor.

after reviewing principle 5.13.2, my asperger’s brain made me very uncomfortable because i was using the words “tilt up”, “tilt down”, and “flat ground” even if their meanings are RELATIVE. i want the principle to stand on its own without the illustration to define the words. 

definition 5.13.3: flat ground - a ground that is perpendicular to gravity. meaning all lines on the ground that intersects a gravity line will form a right angle with the gravity line.

definition 5.13.4: clubhead tilting up - when the toe is higher than the heel.

definition 5.13.5: clubhead tilting down - when the toe is lower than the heel.

however, this is golf tutorial, not a math tutorial. the golf course is not always flat and it is illegal to use a carpenter’s levelling tool. if the ground is not flat, the bottom edge of the clubface could be tilting up even if it’s lying perfectly flat on the ground. so what are the ways we can DETERMINE if the ground is FLAT during the game without getting a penalty?

search the internet on “how to PLUMB BOB a putt”. if you are on the fairway, you can use a leaf or divot already on the ground as a substitute for the hole. note it is illegal to put or move any object on the ground to guide your shot.

another way is during address, if you feel the ball is BELOW your FEET, then you are on a SIDE-HILL slope that slopes down away from you. in this case, the bottom edge of the clubface is tilted down if it’s lying flat on the ground. if you feel the ball is ABOVE your FEET, then you are on a side-hill slope that slopes up away from you. in this case, the bottom edge of the clubface is tilted up if it’s lying flat on the ground. 

if your spine angle, arm angle, and pre-cock amount are always UNIFORM for all your swings, you will immediately feel it if the ball is above or below your feet because you will notice the anomaly on the amount of bend on your KNEES for a particular club length.

however, judging the slope by how much the ball is above or below your feet only works if the slope is constant from your feet to the ball. remember we are trying to square the clubface. therefore, what matters is the slope of the ground just BENEATH the CLUBHEAD. example, if the ball is on top of a mound with a flat top, the slope of the ground beneath the clubhead can be flat even if the ball is above your feet.

since the bottom edge of the clubface is a LINE, the UPHILL and DOWNHILL slope towards the target should not matter as long as the bottom edge is squared to the target and not tilting, the clubface would still be squared even if the ground is sloping uphill towards the target or downhill towards the target.  

after finding out that the clubhead is on a side-hill slope, you can square the clubface by estimating the slope angle and adjusting the bottom edge of the clubface accordingly. example, if the ground is sloping 6 degrees downward, tilt the bottom edge 6 degrees upward relative to the ground. don’t worry. a rough ESTIMATION is good enough. judging ground slope requires precision only on the putting green

however, i’m not sure if it’s ok for the bottom edge of the clubface to not LIE FLAT on the ground. after some experiments, the results were inconclusive. it's a hung jury. so let me categorize the following as a hypothesis:

hypothesis 5.13.6: if the heel of the clubhead strikes the ground before the ball, which happens when the bottom edge of the clubface is tilting up, the toe will move faster and close the clubhead due to momentum, resulting in error left. 

hypothesis 5.13.7: if the toe of the clubhead strikes the ground before the ball, which happens when the bottom edge of the clubface is tilting down, the heel will move faster and open the clubhead due to momentum, resulting in error right.

however, i think you should NOT PRIORITIZE hypotheses 5.13.6 and 5.13.7 in designing your swing because if the clubhead hits the ground before the ball, it’s most likely going to be a bad shot anyway even if the bottom edge of the clubface is lying perfectly flat on the ground.

besides, i think even touring pros almost never hit the ball with the bottom edge of their clubface lying flat because they always FULLY UNCOCK during the downswing. this means even if the bottom edge of tiger’s clubface is tilted up during address, it might even be tilted down during ball impact. in the photo below, notice his wrist has a pre-cock during setup. but during ball impact, his wrist is fully uncocked and his left arm is much higher compared to its address position.

(- photos

another important property of the club is the acute angle between the bottom edge of the clubface and the shaft. the acute angle is used because the property is used to describe how VERTICAL or flat the shaft of the club is when the bottom edge of the clubface is lying flat on a flat ground. the golf world calls this property, the “LIE ANGLE”, which to me is confusing because it makes you think it’s referring to the angle between the ground and the sole or bottom edge of the clubface. i think it’s better to use the term “shaft angle”.

definition 5.13.6: shaft angle/lie angle - the acute angle between the bottom edge of the clubface and the shaft. 

definition 5.13.7: club is more vertical - a club is said to be more vertical if the shaft angle is greater. and less vertical or flatter if the shaft angle is less.

the following is a manufacturing standard and has nothing to do with physics:

standard 5.13.8: shorter clubs are more vertical or have greater shaft/lie angles. longer clubs are less vertical or have lesser shaft/lie angles.

principle 5.13.9: if the shaft/lie angle is variable, then the only way to have a uniform spine angle, arm angle, and PRE-COCK AMOUNT is to tilt the clubhead on some of the clubs. if the clubhead is tilted, the clubface is not squared. to make the clubface squared to the target, you will need to either skew your stance, skew the bottom edge of the clubface, lean the shaft sideward, or move the ball position away from the vertex. the only way to have a squared clubface and uniform pre-cock is to have a variable swing setup angle because the spine angle and arm angle will need to be variable..

principle 5.13.10: if the shaft/lie angle is uniform for all clubs, then you can have a UNIFORM spine angle, arm angle, PRE-COCK AMOUNT without having to skew your stance, skew the bottom edge of the clubface, lean the shaft sideward, or move the ball position away from the vertex.

the root issue here is it’s too difficult to control the uncock amount during the downswing. i will explain it fully in the “wrist swing” section. for now, i will just give you a preview. it’s easier to simply FULLY UNCOCK during the swing. so if your pre-cock is variable, then the level of your left arm during ball impact also has to be variable. so it will be more difficult for your swing to GROOVE.

unfortunately, variable shaft/lie angle is the industry STANDARD. that’s bad news especially for average golfers who are more dependent on swing groove. the good news is it’s just a standard. it’s not even a rule. bryson dechambeau even requested cobra to make irons that have uniform shaft angles. i will explain in the "wrist swing" section why the industry decided on variable shaft/lie angles.

right now you are just a freshman. so let’s stick to the more basic stuff, like the fun permutations in describing clubhead orientation. usually, clubhead orientation is only described as either OPEN or CLOSE. that’s because in a normal swing, a clubhead that is facing up is also facing right, so they just use the word “open”. and a clubhead that is facing down is also facing left, so they just use the word “close”. but for this tutorial to pass muster with the scientific community, we need to include all cases, even the weird ones.

let's use the TARGET as the point of reference for the HORIZONTAL orientation of the clubface during address. the VERTICAL orientation of a clubface is tricky to communicate because the clubface has a loft. example, the clubface of a wedge will still be facing up even if you close it. let's agree that the vertical orientation is RELATIVE to its orientation when it’s horizontally squared and the shaft is parallel with its bottom edge.

definition 5.13.12: club is horizontally squared - when the clubface is facing towards the target, or its bottom edge is perpendicular to the target plane.

definition 5.13.13: club is facing right/horizontally opened - when the clubface is facing right of the target.

definition 5.13.14: club is facing left/horizontally closed - when the clubface is facing left of the target.

definition 5.13.15: club is vertically squared - when the clubface is horizontally squared and the shaft is parallel with its bottom edge.

definition 5.13.16: club is facing up/vertically opened - when the clubface is facing up relative to its vertically squared orientation. 

definition 5.13.17: club is facing down/vertically closed - when the clubface is facing down relative to its vertically squared orientation.

definition 5.13.18: club is squared - when the clubface is vertically and horizontally squared.

principle 5.13.19: during address, the clubface can be horizontally squared and vertically opened/closed ONLY if the SHAFT is not perpendicular to the target. the clubface can be vertically squared and horizontally opened/closed ONLY if the SHAFT is not perpendicular to the target.

(- update photo

 

club length

assumption 5.14.1: in this tutorial, club length refers to the length of the shaft from the end of your GRIP to the top of the clubhead. 

therefore, in this tutorial, if you CHOKE down enough, a club length can be considered shorter even if the shaft is longer.

the golf world defines club length as the length between both ends of the club. but that definition is for RULES specification purposes. this tutorial tries to exclude discussion about the rules as much as possible in an effort to avoid duplicating information you can easily find on the internet. this tutorial is more concerned about techniques and principles that will make you a better golfer. 

if a knowledge is important but OBVIOUS, this tutorial will assume the reader already knows it. but it does not hurt to declare a principle that is obvious.

principle 5.14.2: for the same backswing percentage, a shorter club is easier. however, a longer club is more powerful.

principle 5.14.3: a higher loft club contributes to a higher trajectory compared to lower loft clubs.

standard 5.14.4: shorter clubs have higher loft than longer clubs

the following standard is important in swing DESIGN and construction:

standard 5.14.5: a set of clubs is designed to have uniform distance scale or progression.

example, the PROGRESSION for my irons is 10 yards. meaning, if i hit a 7 iron 130 yards, that means i will hit my 6 iron 140 yards, my 5 iron 150 yards, etc... 

it is also important to be aware that the LOFT for the same club number can VARY significantly for the different brands and models. example, a 4 iron can be 19 to 24 degrees. the overall WEIGHT of the club and FLEX of the shaft can also vary, and they also affect ball distance.

you can still break 80 even if you have MIXED clubs. you just need to go to the driving range or golf course to find out how far you usually hit each club in your bag. you can fill in the gaps by choking down on a club. example, if there is no club your bag that can hit 150 yards and your 4 iron goes 160 yards, then just choke down on your 4 iron to hit 150 yards. 

however, if you are competing for lots of money, you probably don’t want to have a mixed set of clubs. my friend toby florendo noticed a touring pro named elmer salvador practicing for a tournament with mixed clubs. toby was an owner of a pro shop, so he sponsored elmer and fitted him a complete set. in the tournament, elmer blew away the entire field to bag the top purse of P475,000 ($11,375).

i am probably the only person in the world who recommends that all your clubs have the SAME LENGTH as your driver. you can mark with a pentel pen where the normal cut should be on each club so that you know where to choke down your grip in order to maintain the uniform distance scale or progression. the advantage of this is you have the option to hit the ball farther for a given trajectory.

you might be wondering, why not just use a longer club in the bag? the problem is the longer club also has a lower LOFT so the ball can’t go as HIGH. an example is when i need to go over some trees to reach the green 170 yards away, and the longest club in my bag that is lofted enough to go over the trees is a 7 iron, but my 7 iron only goes 130 yards with the normal length. if my 7 iron is the same length as my driver, i would have the option to choke up and hit it farther so i can get the ball nearer to the green. another option is instead of making all your clubs the same length as your driver, just replace one of your lob wedges with a 7 WOOD or even a 9 wood. 

bryson dechambeau is famous for making all his irons the same length. but his reason is not to have the option to hit high and long. his reason is to have a more UNIFORM SWING with his irons. the golf world calls bryson’s strategy, “single LENGTH irons”. that’s a poor choice of words because what makes his swing more uniform is not really the length, but the shaft/LIE ANGLE. the full explanation is in the “wrist swing” section. 

you really don’t need a uniform shaft length. you can have a uniform club length by choking down on the shaft. a uniform club length does make your KNEE angle and STANCE width uniform. but knee angle and stance width is not that important with regards to CONSISTENCY. besides, the golf course is not always flat so your knee angle and stance width will still need to vary for the different side-hill slopes.

in the “wrist swing" section, i will fully explain the benefits of bryson’s single shaft/lie irons because i haven’t found a coach in youtube who correctly explains it. this just shows the golf world hasn’t really established a strong THEORETICAL FOUNDATION. whenever i google to confirm my theories, i’m baffled at the amount of information from supposedly REPUTABLE sources that are baseless, insufficient, and only true in some cases. some are like ABSTRACT paintings that can be interpreted in different ways. technical information should be concrete.

note the hands swing plane for bryson’s driver and WOODS would still be different from his irons. why not go all the way and have the same swing for ALL clubs? before we can explore the ways we can have a uniform swing, we first need to study the other components of the swing. for now, just know that you don’t need single length irons to have a uniform swing for all your clubs. 

6. unified string i mean swing theory

for now, let’s study the swing independent of any body part HINGE. let’s attach an imaginary hinge at the butt of the shaft and try to identify as many PROPERTIES as we can. 

while swinging the club, the first thing i noticed is that the clubhead path is basically a PARABOLA. i googled the properties of the parabola and the property that i think will be useful to us would be the vertex. in this tutorial, the terms swing path, clubhead path, swing arc, swing parabola, and swing curve all mean the same.

definition 6.1: swing/clubhead path/arc/parabola/curve - the path of the clubhead during the downswing. 

definition 6.1.1: vertex - the lowest point of the swing arc.

principle 6.1.2: the slope at the vertex is always flat vertically and horizontally.

(- photo show slope lines not left/right/up/down, show swing plane

 

the question now is, can a golf swing have MORE than 1 parabola? after looking at a few samples in youtube, i noticed jim furyk’s swing has 3 parabolas. 

(- photo number 3 parabolas

to simplify our discussion, let’s assume in this tutorial that unless otherwise specified, the parabola we are talking about is the one that intersects the ball or is NEAREST to the ball during the downswing. nothing is also stopping us from declaring that the 3rd parabola in furyk’s swing is the downswing, and the 2nd parabola is just part of his backswing.

when studying something, it’s always convenient to name the parts with INTUITIVE names. a full swing looks like a letter C. let’s divide the letter C into 3 parts and give them intuitive names:

definition 6.2.1: lower river - the lower 1/3 part of a full swing. 

definition 6.2.2: waterfall - the middle 1/3 part of a full swing.

definition 6.2.3: upper river - the upper 1/3 part of a full swing.

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equipped with these terminologies, we can better define the PARTIAL swings commonly used in the golf world:

definition 6.2.4: quarter swing - the top of swing is the start of the lower river.

definition 6.2.5: half swing - the top of swing is the middle of the waterfall.

definition 6.2.6: ¾ swing - the top of swing is the start of the water fall.

definition 6.2.7: full swing - the top of swing is the start of the upper river.

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a curve has infinite slopes/angles. so how do we specify or describe the ANGLE of the CURVE? remember this is a golf tutorial, not a math tutorial. since the greens and fairways are not 1-yard wide, we can estimate a curve with a straight line.

definition 6.2.8: curve hypotenuse - a line between 2 points on the swing curve.

(- photo front view

it would be too AMBIGUOUS if the curve hypotenuse estimates more than 1/3 of the full swing curve. example, if the curve hypotenuse is from the start of the waterfall to the ball, it does not tell you much. the lower river can be along the target plane or 45 degrees in-to-out. so as much as possible, let’s LIMIT the curve hypotenuse to not more than 1/3 of the full swing. the greens and fairways may not be 1-yard wide, but they are also not 100 yards wide.

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an angle needs 2 lines. so what should we use as REFERENCE for our curve hypotenuse? as i discussed in the tutorial scope and overview, just use context and common sense. example, if the swing curve is along the lower river, then use the TARGET PLANE as reference because you are viewing it from top view. it would be ridiculous to use the angle relative to the ground because you can’t see it. if for example the top of swing is higher than the middle of the waterfall, then use the GROUND as reference because it’s easier to see the angle. let’s give intuitive nicknames for both angles:

definition 6.3.1: downward angle – angle of the curve hypotenuse relative to the ground.

definition 6.3.2: in-to-out angle – angle of the curve hypotenuse relative to the target plane.

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you might be wondering, if the top of swing is high enough such that you are focusing on the downward angle of the downswing’s INITIAL PATH, shouldn’t you also care about the in-to-out angle of the lower river? not really because:

technique 6.3.3: if the backswing is high enough such that you are focusing on the downswing angle of the clubhead’s initial path during the downswing, there is no need to worry about the in-to-out angle of the lower river because if the initial half of the downswing is correct, the lower river would most likely be correct.

a good nickname for technique 6.3.3 is the GUN BARREL technique because the first half of the downswing is enough to determine the accuracy of the entire swing unless you get that involuntary spasm that the golf world nicknames the “yip”. fortunately, the techniques and drills in the "instant gratification" chapter will give you so much CONFIDENCE, you can say goodbye to the yips.

my gun barrel technique is usually combined with the BEZIER method of approximating the swing curve. my favorite math subject was numerical analysis, which solves CONTINUOUS problems using numeric approximation. an example of a continuous problem is the golf swing. as i said earlier, the slopes in a curve are infinite. so what should the force direction be for our golf swing? 

in the real world, there are many applications where a certain level of APPROXIMATION is good enough. since the fairways and greens are not 1-yard wide, we can approximate the swing force direction by doing the following:

technique 6.3.4: make the clubhead follow a straight line that runs through the top of swing and the quarter point mark of the downswing. 

technique 6.3.4 is the bezier method of approximating a curve. i got this idea because one of my projects in college was on the bezier curve.

 

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be aware that the target line/plane can’t be used as REFERENCE if your stance is not parallel to the target. but since the target line is easier to understand than the stance-parallel ball line, let’s just assume our stance is parallel to the target unless specified otherwise. this way we can use the more INTUITIVE target line/plane as reference.

i am aware there can be more than 1 angle of a line with respect to a plane. as i said in the tutorial scope and overview, just use CONTEXT and common sense.

 

since we live in a 3-D world, shouldn’t we make sure that BOTH the downward angle and in-to-out ANGLE are correct? i discussed this briefly in the tutorial scope and overview, but i think it warrants a more detailed explanation. confidence is vital in golf and being fully CONVINCED on this concept might help with your confidence. first, let me declare the principle:

principle 6.3.5: if the golf swing uses only 1 hinge, there is a 1:1 correspondence between the downward angle and in-to-out angle.

 

although i'm a proud member of the UPLB mathematical science society, i'm not really a mathematician. so i will just prove principle 6.3.5 like a carpenter. in a single hinge swing, the clubhead CANNOT MOVE FREELY ALONG the Z axis while staying in the same X-Y coordinate. so there is no way there can be more than 1 angle with respect to the target plane for the same angle with respect to the ground.

example, in a single hinge swing that uses my left shoulder as the hinge, if i can make the clubhead travel 45 degrees downward and along the target plane (0 degrees in-to-out), that means i CANNOT make the clubhead travel 45 degrees downward and NOT parallel to the target plane. it's IMPOSSIBLE because the clubhead cannot travel freely along its z axis. it's only possible if i turn my body, or i’m plastic man whose arms can stretch. if the clubhead goes outside the target plane, then the downward angle has to be flatter than 45 degrees. and if the clubhead goes inside target plane, then the downward angle will have to be steeper than 45 degrees. 

i urge the reader to re-enact the following photos in SLOW MOTION because this principle plays a vital role in preventing top ball and chunk errors in chipping. 

(- photo change labels to downward angle and in-to-out angle

 

principle 6.3.5.1: in a single hinge swing, a BACKSWING path that is more OUTWARD is STEEPER than a backswing that is more inward. a DOWNSWING path that is more OUTWARD is FLATTER than a downswing that is more inward.

another important attribute of the golf swing is the SWING PLANE. the swing plane is one of the most important attributes. yet i haven’t seen a lesson in the internet that correctly defines it. isn’t the golf world crazy? if you google it, pretty much everything in the top results are wrong.  

 

first of all, a plane is not an angle or path. and just like jim furyk’s swing, there can be MANY swing PLANES formed by the clubhead during a golf swing. many coaches say the swing plane is formed by the motion of the clubhead. but the motion of the clubhead forms a curve, not a plane. coaches who teach shallowing usually use the vertical angle of the shaft midway through the downswing to define the swing plane. it’s not fundamentally sound because the surface formed by the shaft can sometimes be a CONE instead of a flat surface.

definition 6.4: swing plane - the ALWAYS FLAT imaginary surface upon which a POINT on the swing travels. the important points are the clubhead, hands, and right shoulder. you can imagine it as the plane of the CIRCLE formed by completing a swing curve into a circle. note a plane by definition is always flat and EXTENDS INFINITELY. a swing plane should NOT be a plane formed be a LINE such as the shaft, arm, or shoulder line because the surface they form can SOMETIMES be a cone or pipe instead of a flat surface. (the golf world is going to love me for providing this definition the same way the climate activists in the left love elon musk for providing an electric car that can be manufactured profitably. isn’t mankind awesome? mannKIND even provides an inhalable insulin because it’s KINDER or less painful than injectable insulin). 

definition 6.4.1: clubhead swing plane - the always flat imaginary surface where the clubhead travels. this is the default swing plane. meaning a swing plane is assumed to be the clubhead swing plane unless specified otherwise.

definition 6.4.2: right shoulder swing plane - the always flat imaginary surface where your right shoulder travels.

definition 6.4.3: hands swing plane – the always flat imaginary surface where your hands travel. 

(- photo

the important properties of a swing plane are its angle relative to the ground (VERTICALITY), angle relative to your right shoulder swing plane (SHALLOWNESS), and its angle relative to the target plane (IN-TO-OUTNESS (this is my tutorial i can invent my own words)). 

note that in jim furyk’s swing below, there are 3 CLUBHEAD SWING PLANES apart from the right shoulder swing plane and the hands swing planes. 

(- photo

it is important the student knows a swing plane is always entirely flat. meaning ALL LINES lying on the surface are always STRAIGHT. it is also important the student knows that a swing plane extends INFINITELY. this means the swing plane of a half swing can be on the same plane as its corresponding full swing and they both have the same swing plane angles.

(- illustration

i think the reason why nobody bothers to correctly define the swing plane is because it’s useless in swing thoughts. example, it’s TOO DIFFICULT to follow an instruction to make your right shoulder swing plane 22 degrees. it’s easier to follow an instruction that says, “shoot your right shoulder towards its location during address”. the swing plane is only useful during swing analysis, design, and CONSTRUCTION. it’s like some laws of aerodynamics that are important in designing an airplane but useless to the pilot.

because making the clubhead travel a specified plane is difficult, you see these drills in youtube that uses a leaning stick that is supposed to keep your swing shallow. but that is not a very good drill because the shallowness of a golf swing is not relative to the ground but RELATIVE TO your RIGHT SHOULDER SWING PLANE. a perfectly shallow swing is one where the hands swing plane is PARALLEL to the right shoulder swing plane. so even if your clubhead swing plane is steep, if your right shoulder swing plane is also steep, then your swing is shallow. i will discuss this further in the “timing and shallowing” section. 

(- photo

the words STEEP and FLAT are adjectives you hear a lot from coaches when they describe a swing. the angle of the swing plane relative to the ground is a good way to specify the steepness or flatness of a swing. common sense dictates that a swing plane that is LEANING more towards the person swinging is flatter.

however, the terms “steep swing” and “flat swing” are actually AMBIGUOUS. always be aware that some of the terms in golf are at best not models of clarity (i hope chomsky does not sue me for plagiarism). you might think the swing of a pitching wedge is always steeper compared to a driver. however, the term “steep swing” can have 3 DIFFERENT meanings.

1) definition 6.4.4: a swing can be considered steeper if the angle of the swing plane relative to the ground is more VERTICAL. which means a swing using a driver can be steeper compared to a swing using a wedge. to remove ambiguity, let’s use the terms “more vertical swing plane” and “less vertical swing plane”. so instead of saying “steeper swing”, we should say “more vertical swing plane”. 

(-  photo

2) definition 6.4.5: given 2 swings that have the same swing plane verticality and same backswing amount (height of clubhead at the top of swing), one swing can be considered steeper if the swing DIAMETER is shorter. so a swing using a driver can be steeper due to a shorter diameter compared to a swing using a wedge. to remove ambiguity, let’s use the terms “steeper swing due to shorter diameter” and “flatter swing due to longer diameter”. when talking to a disciple of this tutorial, it’s more intuitive to use the lower river instead of the diameter. a longer diameter swing has a flatter lower river.

you might think i am crazy for thinking a pitching wedge can have a longer swing diameter than a driver. but the swing diameter is basically the swing SETUP LENGTH, and according to principle 5.12.3, a longer club can have a shorter swing setup length compared to a shorter club if the PRE-COCK amount with the longer club is big enough. (and you thought all those swing setup principles were all for nothing)

(- photo

3) definition 6.4.6: given 2 swings that have the same swing plane verticality and same swing diameter, one swing can be considered steeper if the clubhead is HIGHER at the top of swing. so a swing using a driver can be steeper if the clubhead is higher at the top of swing compared to a swing using a wedge. to remove ambiguity, let’s use the terms “steeper swing due to higher top of swing” and “flatter swing due to lower top of swing”. 

(- photo

the terms LONG swing and SHORT swing can also be ambiguous. the length of the swing can refer to the actual length. but it can also refer to the percentage of the backswing. example, a ¾ swing with a driver can be longer compared to a full swing with a pitching wedge. to avoid ambiguity, let’s agree that:

definition 6.5.1: long/short swing - the actual length of the swing, not the percentage of the backswing.

principle 6.5.2: a longer swing is more difficult than a shorter swing. in other words, a shorter swing is easier than a longer swing.

adhering to definition 6.3.1, hypothesis 6.3.2 implies that a full swing with a pitching wedge is LESS prone to ERRORS than a ¾ swing with a driver if the swing length of the ¾ swing with the driver is longer. although i’m not 100% sure this is true, that is why i categorized 6.3.2 as a hypothesis.

principle 6.5.3: a longer swing is more powerful than a shorter swing, assuming other factors are the same such as amount of force applied.

principle 6.5.3 is basically newton's law. a longer swing has more space and time for acceleration. therefore, it results in more power even if the force applied is constant.

because i campaigned on a platform that promotes swing UNIFORMITY for faster grooving, i hereby declare:

technique 6.6.1: all swings in this tutorial are required to make the middle of the stance as the vertex.

if we want the point of contact between the clubface and the ball to be at the VERTEX and also comply with presidential decree i mean technique 6.1.3 of the fascist dictator:

technique 6.6.2: for the middle of stance to be the vertex and the point of contact between the ball and clubface, the right edge of the ball and clubface should be at the middle of the stance during address. 

(refer to the ball position photo in the "general techniques" section)

assumption 6.6.3: all the swings in this tutorial should try to make the clubface orientation during ball impact the same as it was during address.

assumption 6.6.3 can’t be a technique because it’s too general to be useful (just like chomsky's philosophies). it’s like a coach telling his players to score more points than their opponent. in fact, everything in this tutorial is geared towards achieving assumption 6.6.3.

first, let’s observe how the swing plane angle or verticalness affects the clubhead PATH and ORIENTATION during the swing. here are my findings:

assumption 6.6.4: unless otherwise specified, let’s assume the hinge act like a perfect door hinge. meaning the shaft never turns and the swing force is always parallel to the target and parallel to the ground. 

principle 6.6.5: in a perfectly vertical swing, the clubhead stays along the target plane and never faces more left or more right. the clubhead just faces more downward during a backswing and faces more upward during a downswing.

(- photo

this means:

(architects skip the 13th floor, so let’s skip 6.6.6)

technique 6.6.7: a perfectly vertical swing plane is the least prone for errors.

you might think i’m just formulating these principles and techniques to pretend i’m a scientist. but in the "putting" section of the “swing design and construction” chapter, you will see how michelle wie humiliated the supposedly EXPERTS of the golf world because of their IGNORANCE about principle 6.6.5 and technique 6.6.7.

principle 6.6.8: in a perfectly horizontal swing, the clubhead travels more inward during a backswing and travels more outward during a front swing but never travels up nor down. the clubhead faces more to the right during a backswing and faces more to the left during a front swing, but it never faces up nor down.

(- photo

the more normal golf swing has a more diagonal swing plane. this means it INHERITS the properties of the perfectly vertical and perfectly horizontal swings.

principle 6.6.9: if a swing has a diagonal swing plane, the clubhead travels more inward, more upward and faces more downward and more to the right during a backswing, and travels more outward, more downward, and faces more upward and more to the left during a downswing.

(- photo

the following principles can be DEDUCED from the previous principles:

principle 6.6.10: during the downswing, when the clubhead is located left of the vertex, it’s facing more left, more upward, and located more inward and higher relative to address. when it’s located right of the vertex, it’s facing more right, more downward, and located more inward and higher relative to address.

principle 6.6.11: if the ball position is more left of the vertex and along the target line, the clubhead will hit the upper part of the ball nearer its toe, facing more left and facing more upward. 

(- photo

principle 6.6.12: if the ball position is more right of the vertex and along the target line, the clubhead will hit the upper part of the ball nearer its toe, facing more right and facing more downward.

(- photo

 

as i keep saying, the fairways and greens are not 1-yard wide, so a rough estimation is all we need. therefore, it should be easy to set the ball position such that the right edge is APPROXIMATELY at the middle of your stance. 

but the question now is, is it easy or difficult to execute the swing such that the vertex will approximately be at the middle of the stance? to answer this question, we need to estimate the THRESHOLD of TOLERANCE. meaning, how far the point of impact can be from the vertex without ruining our shot?

we can easily determine the threshold of tolerance by doing a slow motion swing. but which club or swing diameter should we use? how vertical should the swing plane be? we know a tolerance test should be the WORST CASE scenario. meaning the rate of change of the slope should be fastest. we also care more about the directional error than trajectory error. therefore, we should do the tolerance test with a lob wedge where the swing plane angle is the same as the shaft angle of the driver. after the experiment, i found out that:

technique 6.6.13: it is ok for the vertex to be 3 inches left or right of the ball. this also implies that the ball position can be moved 3 inches right or left from the correct position.

(- photo

notice in the photo that the bottom edge of the clubface only DEVIATES 6 degrees, which means the ball will only error 20 yards left or right in a 200-yard shot. you could still be ok on average size greens and fairways. also notice the ball is still near enough the SWEET SPOT, and still low enough to prevent a TOP ball. based on empirical evidence, we the jurors find the coaches in youtube not guilty of the following charges: 

“violating principles 6.6.11 and 6.6.12. telling their audience to move the ball position left or right without adjusting the stance or clubface orientation and without telling them to move the ball inward.”

but remember 3 inches left or right of the vertex is the WORST CASE scenario. if you are using a driver, you have more wiggle room. the threshold of tolerance could be 4 inches left or right of the vertex or middle of your stance. as an exerecise, i will leave it to the reader to verify.

why would some coaches advise you to have different ball POSITIONS for the different club lengths? there could be many different reasons. 

we learned in the previous section that different clubs have different lie angles. if you want to have a uniform spine angle, arm angle, and pre-cock amount, the clubhead of some clubs would have to be tilting or not squared to the target. to keep the clubface SQUARED to the target, you will need to either adjust your stance, adjust the clubface orientation, lean the shaft sideward, or make use of principles 6.6.11 and 6.6.12 by adjusting the ball position.

another reason to adjust the ball position is to control ball TRAJECTORY. although i really don’t know why anyone would do such a thing because you can just use a different club. if you need a lower trajectory, just use a longer club and choke down. if you need a longer club to go higher, just open the clubface and adjust your stance. if your driver doesn’t have enough loft, just buy a higher loft driver.

assumption 6.7.1: unless otherwise specified, all principles in this tutorial assumes the clubead will hit the ball with the surface of its clubface and NOT the EDGE.

principle 6.7.2: moving the ball position backward contributes to a lower trajectory. moving the ball position forward contributes to a higher trajectory.  

(- photo

if the ball is BURIED in the sand or grass, some golfers move the ball position backward to steepen the attack angle.

some coaches recommend you move the ball position forward when hitting a driver to increase POWER. the following technique is just an application of principle 6.5.3:

technique 6.7.3: moving the ball position forward increases the space the clubhead can accelerate, which contributes to a longer ball distance.

another reason why coaches recommend you move the ball position forward is so that you can SWAY your body to the left during the downswing for more POWER. but i don't think average golfers have the luxury to add yet another VARIABLE to their swing that is potentially destructive.

some golfers move the ball position forward and backward as a band aid solution to solve CHUNKING and TOP BALL errors. 

will moving the ball position forward or backward change the way the ball SPINS?

principle 6.7.4: the ball SPINS more and the IMPACT is less whenever the clubface loft is less perpendicular to the angle of attack just before it hits the ball.

(- photo

principle 6.7.4 is important to know when doing snowboard/ski jumps. the principle explains why my knees got injured even if i had a perfect landing but i landed on top of the flat table top. but as long as i landed on the steep slope end of the jump, i never got hurt even if my landing was bad and the height of my fall was higher. the reason is the angle of my fall was less perpendicular to the surface at the steep slope part of the jump compared to the flat top, so the IMPACT was LESS. it was more of a deflection. which means it’s actually SAFER to go FASTER when approaching the jump so that you will clear the flat top and land at the steep slope end.

CONTRARY to popular belief:

principle 6.7.4.1: for the same club loft, swing plane verticality and diameter, moving the ball position forward and backward DOES NOT affect the ball spin.

the explanation for principle 6.7.4.1 is that although the clubface is facing more downward at the right of the vertex, it is NEGATED because the clubhead is also attacking the ball more downward. although the clubface is facing more upward at the left of the vertex, it is NEGATED because the clubhead is also attacking the ball more upward.

however, principle 6.7.4 can be used to DRAW/hook or FADE/slice the ball. 

technique 6.7.4.2: to draw/hook the ball, close the clubhead so that it will be facing left relative to your STANCE line. you also need to adjust your stance alignment to the right to compensate for the draw/hook.

technique 6.7.4.3: to fade/slice the ball, open the clubhead so that it will be facing right relative to your STANCE line. you also need to adjust your stance alignment to the left to compensate for the fade/slice.

principle 6.7.4 can also be used to increase or decrease the BACKSPIN on the ball.

principle 6.7.4.4: to increase the backspin on the ball with same club without slicing, make the clubhead face up more by leaning the shaft to your right. if you make the clubhead face up by turning the shaft, the ball will slice.

principle 6.7.4.5: to decrease the backspin on the ball with same club without hooking, make the clubhead face down by leaning the shaft to your left. if you make the clubhead face down by turning the shaft, the ball will hook.

given the SAME swing length and clubhead SPEED, will the swing plane VERTICALITY and DIAMETER affect ball spin, trajectory, and distance? after some analysis, i came up with the following conclusions:

principle 6.8.1: given the SAME swing length and clubhead SPEED, if the point of impact is at the vertex, differences in swing plane verticality and diameter of the swing won’t affect ball spin, trajectory, and distance. 

the explanation for principle 6.8.1 is that according to principle 6.1.2, the SLOPE is FLAT at the vertex. which means the clubhead is not going more upward, more downward, or more sideways relative to its orientation during address.

hypothesis 6.8.2: given the SAME swing length and clubhead SPEED, if the point of impact is at the left of the vertex or you move the ball position to the left, a more vertical swing contributes to higher trajectory but no effect on ball spin. if the point of impact is at the right of the vertex or you move the ball position to the right, a more vertical swing contributes to lower trajectory but no effect on ball spin.

i think the reason for hypothesis 6.8.2 is the same reason as why moving the ball position has no effect on ball spin. the change in attack angle is NEGATED by the corresponding change in clubface orientation. although i’m not exactly sure. if my youtube channel becomes famous, we will ask the help of the slow mo guys.

given the SAME swing length and clubhead SPEED, swing plane verticality and diameter will affect DISTANCE if the ball position is left or right of the vertex. but only because it affects TRAJECTORY. there is also no way of telling if a more or less vertical swing plane increases or decreases distance because the effects from ball trajectory depends on the optimal trajectory. and optimal trajectory is affected by many factors such as wind, slope, and hardness of the landing and rolling surface.

we can deduce from principle 6.5.3 that a longer swing diameter contributes to a faster clubhead speed. the question now is, given the same swing length, will swing plane VERTICALITY affect clubhead SPEED or power? yes it will.

unfortunately, after scouring the internet for a good explanation, nobody in the history of mankind has really given a good explanation. after doing my own analysis, i realized the reasons have nothing to do with the GEOMETRIC shape of the swing curve. 

one of the reasons has something to do with the TIMING or shallowing. the topic is very complicated and requires a long dissertation. so i will punt for now and discuss it in the “timing and shallowing” section. 

other reasons are BIOLOGICAL. for a certain swing setup, the swing length of the arm swing is more limited for a certain swing plane verticality due to how the human body is structured. i also notice that our muscles can exert more power if the swing is flatter. i will talk more about this in the “arm swing” section.

if you move the ball position to your right to steepen the attack angle and increase ball spin, you would also need to OPEN the CLUBFACE and aim your stance to the left. why not just keep the normal ball position and open the clubface some more?

the only reason i can think of why pros move the ball position to their right when hitting a wedge is to hit the ball downward with the BOTTOM EDGE of the clubface in order to increase ball spin. if that’s true, then obviously it would be too difficult for average golfers to follow.

pop quiz hotshot: is there an IDEAL swing plane angle for a given swing setup angle? as usual, it depends on your priorities (prioritization of factors strategy). after careful observation, i noticed that:

principle 6.9: (my favorite principle because it’s a natural principle contraception): a clubhead swing plane angle that is the same as the swing setup angle gives you the maximum swing length. if the swing plane is steeper or flatter than the setup angle, the CIRCLE created when you complete the swing curve is smaller, therefore the full swing will have a shorter swing length.

(- photo

this means that if your priority is ball DISTANCE, then it is better for the swing plane angle to match that of the swing setup angle. based on this principle, we can extend principle 5.13.9 to include the swing plane angle:

principle 6.9.1: if the shaft/lie angle is variable and you want the clubface to always be squared, its bottom edge flat on the ground, and a UNIFORM PRE-COCK, then the spine and/or arm angle will have to be variable. which means the swing setup angle will also have to be variable. so even if your uncock amount and tilt amount during ball impact is uniform, the optimal SWING PLANE ANGLE will still be VARIABLE.

when chipping, ACCURACY is more important than power. therefore, it is ok for the swing plane angle to be FLATTER than the swing setup angle. in the “swing design and construction” section, i constructed a chipping style where the swing plane angle is flatter than the swing setup angle. 

if the ball is BURIED in the grass or sand, it might be better for your swing plane angle to be steeper than your swing setup angle. in the “swing design and construction” section, i constructed such a swing which i call the STEEP SWING.

another attribute of a golf swing is the direction of FORCE on the clubhead.

definition 6.10: swing force direction - the CONSTANT direction of force applied on the clubhead 

let's study the properties of the swing force. the first thing i notice is:

principle 6.10.1: even with a single hinge, there is NO 1:1 correspondence between the angle of the swing force direction with respect to the target plane and with respect to the ground.  

 

for example, in the downswing, it's possible to make the swing force PARALLEL to the ground and 22 degrees in-to-out relative to the target plane. it's ALSO possible to make the swing force PARALLEL to the ground and 45 degrees in-to-out relative to the target plane. this means unlike the swing path, we need to specify both the direction with respect to the ground and with respect to the target plane.

assumption 6.10.2: unless otherwise specified, a swing force direction is ASSUMED to be PARALLEL to the ground.

(- arrow should be on both ends, use outward and inward instead of negative

i think the following principles explain how BLIND people can play golf. 

principle 6.10.3: even if the clubhead path is the same, if the swing setup angle is different, the swing force direction also has to be different.

principle 6.10.4: if the swing force direction during the downswing is the same as that of the backswing, this contributes to hitting a good shot.

blind golfers need a UNIFORM swing SETUP angle for all clubs. to hit the ball, they just need to make the swing force angle of the downswing the same as that of the backswing. they just need to FEEL the force (obi-wan has taught me well. may the force be with you).

if we attach a ball joint hinge at the butt of shaft, the golf club becomes like a PENDULUM attached to a stiff pole. this means the pendulum can swing in any direction. let's assume the stiff pole or hinge orientation is perpendicular to the ground.

also imagine a WALL perpendicular to the ground next to the pendulum. in a golf swing, the wall would be the TARGET plane or stance-parallel ball plane.

 

if you push the pendulum parallel to the ground, it will travel upward. meaning the path of the pendulum is not parallel to the ground. this is bad news. this means when you swing a golf club, the DIRECTION of FORCE can be DIFFERENT than the resulting clubhead PATH. oh crap!!! i tried to simplify the golf swing and all it did was lead me down a rabbit hole. let's hope i'm just overreacting, and it won't be that bad after all is said and done.

 

the following diagram models my backswing as viewed from the side or from the PERSPECTIVE of a coach or spectator.

 

if you view it from above or bird's eye view, and you push the pendulum in any direction, it SEEMS LIKE the pendulum is traveling in the SAME DIRECTION as the direction of FORCE. fortunately, when you swing a golf club you are looking at the initial clubhead path from a bird's eye view. hurray!!! this gives us hope.

but let's not celebrate too early because our model so far has the following CONSTRAINT: the pendulum pole or hinge orientation is initially perpendicular to the ground.

you might feel uncomfortable with the phrase "SEEMS LIKE" when i said the pendulum "seems like" it's traveling at the same direction as the direction of force. i have to add the qualifier "seems like" because the swing force direction is NOT the SAME as the resulting clubhead path RELATIVE to the GROUND. 

example, even if the swing force direction is parallel to the ground, the pendulum will not travel parallel to the ground. but remember in a single hinge, as long as the clubhead path relative to the target plane is correct, the clubhead path relative to the ground is also correct. this means you can just ignore the clubhead path relative to the ground when trying to score a birdie (just wanna remind you this is a golf tutorial and not a physics tutorial). we can say that from the bird's eye view perspective, the swing path is FUNCTIONALLY or PRACTICALLY the same as the swing force direction.

let's violate our constraint. if the hinge orientation is not initially perpendicular to the ground, which is the case with a normal golf swing, i notice the swing force direction is NOT ALWAYS functionally or PRACTICALLY the SAME as the resulting clubhead path. TOINKS!!! the gods of golf programmed my brain to think that the swing force direction is always the same as the resulting clubhead path so they can sit back, eat pop-corn, and laugh at me score triple bogeys. no wonder why i sucked all these years. 

 

let's not give up our hope for simplicity golf nirvana. while i was tinkering around with our pendulum model, i noticed the direction of force is always functionally or practically the SAME as the resulting clubhead path as long as the pendulum travels along a PLANE that is PERPENDICULAR to the plane the pendulum pole is pointing towards before the start of the swing.  

 

 

in other words, the resulting clubhead path is functionally and practically DIFFERENT from the swing force direction if the clubhead GOES OUT of the plane that is perpendicular to the opposite plane. example, along the lower river, if the hinge orientation is not perpendicular to the ground, and the force of the downswing is parallel to the target plane, the clubhead will travel in-to-out.

 

we can use the first pendulum diagram to understand this. if we make the pendulum pole LIE DOWN flat on the ground, the BEHAVIOR is the SAME except the wall is now the ground. so the pendulum will travel at an angle towards the wall even if the direction of force is parallel with the wall. a swing setup that has a diagonal hinge orientation relative to ground PARTIALLY INHERITS the properties of the pendulum lying flat on the ground. therefore, the resulting clubhead path will go in-to-out even if the force direction is parallel to the target plane. 

 

the backswing always starts out with the hinge orientation pointing towards the ground. but it's not always the case with the downswing if it starts along the waterfall or along the upper river. in order to generalize our principle or make it more UNIVERSAL, we need to agree on the following definitions:

 

definition 6.10.5: opposite plane - the plane the hinge is pointing to. 

definition 6.10.6: adjacent plane - the plane adjacent and perpendicular to the opposite plane.

(- photo

just to satisfy the political i mean technical correctness police, let me point out that if the hinge is pointing 45 degrees to the opposite plane, it's also pointing 45 degrees to the adjacent plane. you are free to pick which one is the adjacent, and which one is the opposite. i would PREFER the ground to be the opposite plane because my favorite REFERENCE is the TARGET PLANE. i'm a target plane supremacist.

 

move aside isaac newton. i'm about to formulate a principle that can explain why golf is endlessly complicated.

principle 6.10.7: if the clubhead does not travel along the plane that is perpendicular to the opposite plane, the resulting clubhead path will be different from the swing force direction.

  

what is so magical about the perpendicular hinge? why does the clubhead always functionally or practically travel at the same direction as the swing force if the hinge orientation is perpendicular to the ground before the start of the swing? good thing i was not asleep when my geometry teacher mrs. mercado taught us that all planes that INTERSECT a line perpendicular to plane A are ALL PERPENDICULAR to plane A.

 

principle 6.10.8: if the initial hinge orientation is perpendicular to the ground, any swing force direction will be functionally or practically the same as the resulting clubhead path.

while i was doing some more tinkering with our pendulum model, i noticed that if the direction of FORCE relative to the wall is the SAME as the pendulum pole or HINGE orientation, the pendulum will always travel along a perpendicular plane, and thus the direction of force is always functionally or practically the SAME as the resulting pendulum PATH. let's christen this very special swing force:

definition 6.10.9: hinge aligned swing force - a swing force that has the same direction as the hinge orientation relative to the target plane or chest plane. it is always functionally or practically the SAME as the resulting path.

(- photo

we can deduce from principle 6.10.4 that:

technique 6.10.10: a hinge aligned swing force is easier than a swing force that is not hinge aligned.

 

what is the IDEAL swing force for optimal power? after some trial and error, my gut feeling tells me that:

hypothesis 6.10.11: regardless of swing setup angle and hinge orientation, the optimal swing force is parallel to your stance and parallel to the ground.

hypothesis 6.10.12: a swing force that is parallel to the ground and target plane causes the swing plane angle to be the same as the swing setup angle.

should we add another definition to a STEEP/FLAT swing in terms of swing force? no need because:

principle 6.10.13: the swing plane angle is directly proportional to the swing force angle with respect to the ground.

swing errors

by the power vested upon me, i hereby declare that there is no such thing as a correct swing plane angle because it depends on your priorities. but should there be such thing as a CORRECT DOWNSWING for a given backswing? after some trial and error, i have a hunch that:

hypothesis 6.11.1: the swing plane of the downswing does not have to be the same as the backswing to have a good shot. however, the verticalness has to be the same. 

example, if the backswing is 45 degrees outward relative to the target plane and the downswing is 45 degrees inward, that’s a 90-degree difference. but the clubhead will still hit the ball perfectly as long as the downswing has the SAME VERTICALITY as the backswing.

(- photo example jim furyk’s swing, matt wolfe

when describing LOCATIONS in relation to the clubhead swing path, let's agree on the following conventions

definition 6.11.2: outward from the swing path - the area farther from the player and the swing path. 

definition 6.11.3: inward from the swing path - the area between the swing path and the player

definition 6.11.4: above a swing path - the area above a swing path

definition 6.11.5: below a swing path - the area below a swing path

the golf world uses the terms "inside" and "outside" the SWING PATH. but for me, it can be confusing because "inside the correct swing path" can be interpreted as part or within the CORRECT swing path even if it means it's the WRONG swing path. it's better to say, "inward from the correct swing path". the phrase "outside the correct swing path" can also be interpreted as any swing path that is not within the correct swing path which includes the inward area. it's better to say, "outward from the correct swing path".

 

principle 6.11.6: in a single hinge swing, as long as you never move your weight or change your spine angle, if the clubhead is outward from a swing path, it's also above that swing path. if the clubhead is inward from a swing path, it's also below that swing path.

next, let’s try to compare the PROBABILITY for certain ERRORS between a more vertical and less vertical swing.

principle 6.11.7: a more vertical swing is more prone to top ball, chunk, and trajectory errors.

(- photo

unlike some cable news channels, i need to present both sides of the argument:

principle 6.11.8: a less vertical swing is more prone to directional errors.

(- photo

example, if you hit behind the ball in a more vertical swing, the chance for a CHUNK is greater. in a less vertical swing, there’s more chance the clubhead will just BRUSH or graze the ground so it has less effect on the clubhead speed. however, if the point of impact is right of the vertex in a less vertical swing, there’s more chance the ball will error right compared to a more vertical swing.

note principle 6.11.7 and 6.11.8 assumes the swing verticality has already happened. however, if you are ATTEMPTING to do a flat swing or you need to do a flat swing but instead the swing is more vertical than it should be, the chance for a chunk is actually greater. you can’t really hypothesize on the probability for certain errors to occur when attempting a more vertical or less vertical swing because it really depends on one’s mistake TENDENCIES. examples of mistake tendencies are look up, bob down, push and pull.

however, we can formulate principles on what happens when the VERTICALITY of the downswing is DIFFERENT from that of the backswing.

principle 6.11.9: if the downswing is more vertical than that of the backswing, this contributes to a chunk and hitting the ball with the toe of the club. if your reflex pushes out midway through the downswing to prevent the chunk, it contributes to error right.

principle 6.11.10: if the downswing is less vertical than that of the backswing, this contributes to a top ball and hitting the ball with the heel of the club. if your reflex pulls in midway through the downswing to prevent the top ball, it contributes to error left.

it’s possible to do more than 1 swing FORCE direction for a given hinge. example, my arm swing during the downswing used to be straight DOWN then PARALLEL to the ground. but after some experiments, i found out that:

technique 6.12: a single force direction exerted on a HINGE during the downswing is more efficient and powerful compared to more than 1 force.

jim furyk’s downswing seems to have 2 force directions. but the downward force at the beginning of his downswing is actually exerted by his right shoulder dip, while the force that is more parallel to the ground is exerted by his arms. this means jim furyk is not violating technique 6.12. 

7. body turn swing

one of the first things scientists do when studying something is try to ISOLATE it from other factors. so for now, we will study the BODY TURN without swinging our arms. 

first, we will identify the properties. then we will try to figure out the OPTIMAL values for the properties that will help give us better golf scores. then we will try to identify the ERRORS that could happen in a pure body turn swing.

when i turn my body to hit the golf ball, the first PROPERTY i can identify is the axis of rotation.

 

definition 7.1: axis of rotation -  the straight line through all fixed points of your body around which all other points of your body move in circles. the angle of its tilt is the same as your spine angle

the axis of rotation would be like the PIN in the door hinge.

(- photo

 

let’s define the LOCATIONS for the axis of rotation:

definition 7.1.1: center - when the axis of rotation is along the center of your body.

definition 7.1.2: off-center to your right - when the axis of rotation is between the center of your body and your right shoulder.

definition 7.1.3: off-center to your left - when the axis of rotation is between the center of your body and your left shoulder.

(- photo cut height

another PROPERTY i can identify is the body turn angle:

definition 7.2: body turn angle - the angle relative to the ground that your right shoulder travels when you turn your body.

(- photo untilted spine steep body turn angle, tilted spine flat body turn angle

since CLUBHEAD ORIENTATION determines ball direction, let’s observe how the body turn angle affects the clubead orientation:

principle 7.2.1: in a pure body turn swing, the amount the clubhead faces down during the backswing is directly proportional to the body turn angle.

principle 7.2.2: in a pure body turn swing, the angle the clubhead is facing down at any point during the swing is equal to the tilt of your shoulder line.

(- photo

 

don't forget that the terms "clubhead is facing down" and "clubhead is facing up" are RELATIVE to its position during ADDRESS. example, even if the clubface faced down during the backswing, it could still be literally facing up if the loft is high enough such as a pitching wedge.

i notice the body turn has 2 PARTS: lower body and upper body

definition 7.3.1: lower body turn/hip rotation - the turn of your hips

definition  7.3.2: upper body turn - the turn of your chest or shoulder.

(- photo

note that the amount of your upper body turn can be MORE than the amount of your lower body turn. 

(- photo

 

next, let’s try to figure out the OPTIMAL way to execute each of the properties or factors we identified. when constructing a golf swing, our choices on how to execute a factor depends on the following priorities, and how you rank these priorities would depend on your physical ability, talent and goals (e.g. join the PGA tour or just want to break 80).

1) injury prevention

2) accuracy/consistency/easy to execute

3) power or ball distance

after doing a simple experiment, i quickly realized that it’s easy to choose the optimal location for the axis of rotation because the priorities DON’T have to CONTEND with each other.

principle 7.4: the center of your body is the most optimal location for axis of rotation in terms of injury prevention, difficulty, and power.

(- photo do a pure body turn swing for center location

(- do a pure body turn swing instead video: axis of rotation

it’s also easy to choose the best body turn angle because the priorities also DON’T have to CONTEND with each other.

principle 7.5: the most optimal body turn angle in terms of injury prevention, difficulty, and power is one that is equal to your spine angle. 

(- photo cut the height

the following technique can be DERIVED from principle 7.4.2:

technique 7.5.1: your shoulder line tilt should always be perpendicular to your spine the entire swing.

but technique 7.5.1 is not so useful because it’s DIFFICULT TO SEE the angle of your shoulder line tilt unless there is a mirror in front of you. it’s easier to see the clubhead path relative to the ground. since your arms and hands don’t move in a pure body turn swing, this means that:

principle 7.5.2: in a pure body turn swing, the angle of the clubhead path relative to the ground is equal to your body turn angle.

(- photo

in mathematics, the TRANSITIVE property states that: if a = b and b = c, then a = c. therefore, if the spine angle = optimal body turn angle and optimal body turn angle = clubhead path angle relative to the ground, then:

technique 7.5.3: in a pure body turn swing, the angle of the clubhead path relative to the ground should be equal to your spine angle.

(- photo

the following swing thought CO-ENFORCES technique 7.5.2:

technique 7.5.4: shoot your right shoulder towards its location during address.

(- photo

co-enforce means that if you make a mistake with technique 7.5.3, then technique 7.5.4 will HELP CORRECT it. and if you make a mistake with technique 7.5.4, then technique 7.5.3 will help correct it.

you might argue that having a steep body turn angle makes you more prone to back injuries. that is true. but the CULPRIT is your spine angle, not the body turn angle. 

since UNIFORM spine angle contributes to a uniform body turn angle:

technique 7.5.5: for your swing to groove quicker, make your spine angle uniform regardless of club length and side-hill lie variation.

so far we’ve only been focusing on the optimal upper body turn. what about HIP ROTATION? logic tells me that because the club is connected to your arms and your arms are attached to your upper body, then as long as your upper body turn is correct, then your hip rotation DOES NOT MATTER. so it baffles me when i see many coaches in youtube talking about hip rotation. 

maybe the swing is more powerful if your upper body turn is more than your hip turn during the backswing because the differential creates like a TENSION or spring like effect for extra torque. but it’s not what the coaches talk about. i also did some experiments and found no correlation between power and making your upper body turn more than your hip to create the tension.

after doing more research, i learned that some golfers SHEAR to make their hips turn faster. shearing is when you press your left foot forward against the ground and press your right foot backward to turn your hips faster. this is probably why golf shoes have spikes. however, i don’t think average golfers should shear or include any foot, leg, or knee action in their swing thought because it TAKES away FOCUS from more important factors. i also read online that shearing is bad for your back.

(- photo

rory mcilroy has the best HIP ROTATION, and people love to to talk about his hip rotation. but if you search in youtube “golfpass hip rotation drill” and watch 1:00, rory says hip rotation is something he never really had to work on because it’s something that just happens NATURALLY to him.

next, let’s identify the possible MISTAKES we can commit with our body turn and the consequences of those mistakes.

first, let’s take a look at the AXIS OF ROTATION. notice in the “axis of rotation” video that i can still hit a good shot even if the axis of rotation is off-centered to the left or right. the ball can’t go that far, but remember more than half of the strokes in a golf game does not require power. the video demonstrates the following principle:

principle 7.6.1: in a pure body turn swing, as long as the location of the axis of rotation of the downswing is THE SAME as that of the backswing, this contributes to a good shot.

i did some shots where the axis of rotation during the downswing is DIFFERENT from that of the backswing and here’s what i discovered:

principle 7.6.2: if the axis of rotation during the downswing is located to the left of the axis of rotation during the backswing, this causes the clubhead to go outward from the correct swing path, which contributes to the following errors:

1) hit the ball with the hosel of the club, which results in a SHANK

2) if you pull in or snap your wrist, which is my usual reflex, this contributes to error left. 

aha!!! duran duran!!! after trying for 25 years, i finally figured out HOW to intentionally SHANK. mystery solved !!! the shank is the most soul crushing mistake in golf. it's amazing that i 've never met anyone who can reproduce a shank. 

my home course in la quinta california, silver rock resort, used to be the venue for the first PGA tournament of the year. a week before the tournament, some of the players arrive early to practice. i challenged one of them to shank the ball on purpose. he tried a few times, but the ball will just slice right, which is not really a shank.

but knowing the technical cause is not enough because i'm not a robot. i can't just program some instructions or plug in some values in my brain. i also need to find out the root EMOTIONAL cause so i can counter the urge and prevent the error.

one dyslexia that causes me to shank is, it FEELS like i'm TOO FAR away from the ball at the top of the backswing. this triggers my reflex to go nearer to the ball during the downswing, which also moves the axis of rotation to the LEFT. to prevent a shank, i simply have to be aware of this dyslexic perception so i won't react to it.

 

another cause for my shank was that the gods of golf programmed my brain to think that keeping the CLUBHEAD ALONG the TARGET LINE during the initial part of the backswing contributes to a straighter shot so they can sit back, eat popcorn, and laugh at me score triple bogeys. 

keeping the clubhead along the target line to hit a straight shot actually sounds logical. but this causes the axis of rotation during the backswing to become off-centered to my right. i can still hit a good shot if my downswing axis is also off-centered to the right. but having a downswing axis that is off-centered to your right feels weak. the tendency is to have a centered axis because it feels more powerful. so the downswing axis is now OFF-CENTERED to the LEFT, resulting in a shank.

(- photo 

 

video: what causes a shank

as an exercise, i will leave it up to the reader to figure what happens if the axis of rotation on the downswing is to the RIGHT of the axis of rotation during the backswing.

the good news is that you can feel it if your axis of rotation is off CENTERED because your weight won't be centered. the following principle will not only make my english teachers disappointed at me, it also prevents a shank.

principle 7.6.3: it should feel like your weight is in the middle of the center of your body the entire swing.

to summarize in layman's term, a shank can only happen when your body moves nearer to the ball during the swing. one way to prevent it is to NEVER MOVE your WEIGHT the entire swing and just keep your weight centered.

 

at the PRACTICE range, try to move your weight forward during the swing to intentionally error left or shank. also try to move your weight backwards during the swing to intentionally error right.

now let’s study the BODY TURN ANGLE errors. after some experiments, i found out that:

principle 7.7.1: if the body turn angle during the downswing is the SAME as that of the backswing, this contributes to a good shot.

principle 7.7.2: if your body turn angle during the downswing is FLATTER than that of the backswing, this contributes to the following errors:

1) top ball

2) hitting the ball with the heel of the club

3) if your reflex reacts by pulling in to prevent the top ball, it contributes to error left.

(- photo pure body turn swing

 

principle 7.7.3: if your body turn angle during the downswing is STEEPER than that of the backswing, this contributes to the following errors:

1) chunk

2) hitting the ball with the heel of the toe

3) if your reflex reacts by pushing out to prevent the chunk, it contributes to error right.

(- photo pure body turn

(- video: body turn angle errors

we can deduce from principles 7.7.1 to 7.7.3 that:

principle 7.7.4: over dipping your left shoulder during the backswing contributes to error left, and over dipping your right shoulder during the downswing contributes to error right.

we studied the spine angle of the setup in the previous section. now let's study the spine angle DURING the SWING. i notice the effects of the spine angle changing during the swing depends on the movement of your BUTT (asperger's much?).

principle 7.8.1: if your spine becomes LESS TILTED during the swing and your weight or body moves away from the ball (your butt does not move), this contributes to a TOP BALL and hitting the ball with the TOE of the clubhead. if your reflex pushes out, the clubhead will go up even more, and you will miss the ball entirely. so it cannot cause error right. 

principle 7.8.2: if your spine becomes LESS TILTED during the swing, and you keep your weight centered by moving your BUTT FORWARD, this contributes to a TOP BALL. this cannot cause the clubhead to go inward from the correct swing path. meaning it cannot cause error right because the backward movement of your spine is CANCELLED out by the forward movement of your butt.

 

 

your spine can become less tilted during the downswing when trying to see where the ball went before the clubhead comes in contact with the ball. this is the famous LOOK UP mistake. as a remedy, a coach would usually tell you to keep your head still. although i find the term “look up” a poor choice of words because you can literally look up by moving ONLY your head and you can still hit a good shot if you don’t change your knee angle and spine angle. instead of telling students to keep their head still, it’s better to tell them to maintain their spine angle and knee angle the entire swing. 

your spine can also become less tilted during the backswing when trying to hit TOO HARD. my remedy for this is to only hit as hard as you COMFORTABLY can.

 

principle 7.8.3: if the spine becomes MORE TILTED during the swing, and your weight or body moves closer to the ball (your butt does not move), this contributes to CHUNKING. if your reflex pulls in and bends your left elbow to prevent chunking, you can still hit a good shot. if the bend on your left elbow is not enough, it can result in a SHANK. note there is no need to push out in order to cause a shank because the tilting of your spine causes the clubhead to go outward from the correct swing path.

principle 7.8.4: if the spine becomes MORE TILTED during the swing and you keep your weight centered by moving your BUTT BACKWARD, this contributes to CHUNKING. if your reflex pulls in and bends your left elbow to prevent the chunking, you can still hit a good shot. if your reflex PUSHES OUT to prevent chunking, it can result in a SHANK. the shank can only happen if you push out because the forward movement of your spine is CANCELLED out by the backward movement of your butt. so your weight won’t move forward.

 

your spine can become more tilted during the downswing when trying to hit hard. some golfers call this "DUCKING" or "bobbing down". 

your spine can also become more tilted during the downswing when trying to keep the clubhead near the TARGET LINE (or stance-parallel ball line), thinking it contributes to a straighter shot.

at the PRACTICE range, try to make your spine less tilted during the swing to intentionally top the ball. also try to make your spine more tilted during the swing to intentionally chunk. then prevent the chunk and intentionally shank by pushing out.

 

8. arm swing

let's study the arm swing. just like we isolated the body turn from the arm swing, this time, we will ISOLATE the ARM SWING from the body turn and the wrist movements. in this section, it is assumed that:

you never turn your body, you never cock, you never uncock, you never extend, you never flex, and you never turn your wrist. in this tutorial, we call this the pure arm swing.

 

just like the body turn, we will first identify the properties. then we will try to figure out the OPTIMAL values for the properties that will help give us better golf scores. then we will try to identify the ERRORS that could happen in a pure arm swing.

let’s define the different types of arm movements in a golf swing:

definition 8.1.1: punch - the punching action of your right arm during the downswing.

definition 8.1.2: slap - the slapping action of your left arm during the downswing (and davie504's signature move). 

i can’t find any new property with the arm swing that we haven’t already discussed. it’s because the pure arm swing behaves like the MODEL we studied in the “unified swing theory” section. this means we can go straight to finding the optimal arm swing.

in the “unified swing theory” section, our conclusions were based on a theoretical model where the ball joint hinge was free to move UNIMPEDED. however, in a pure arm swing, the left arm swing can be impeded by the body. therefore, our conclusions in that section are too general to applied to a pure arm swing. so let’s find out the optimal pure arm swing base on our priorities. 

first, let’s recall our PRORITIES:

1) injury prevention

2) accuracy/consistency/ easy to execute

3) power or ball distance

the top of my priority is INJURY prevention. those who are not familiar with golf might be surprised why golfers get injured a lot. it’s true that if you only play once a week and you never practice, you most likely won’t need to worry about injuries. i’m not an expert on anything, but i think it’s the repetitive nature and FREQUENCY of swinging the golf club that causes the injury.

there are some motions that humans can for long periods of time that usually won’t cause any injury. example is walking. i think the reason why swinging the golf club can cause injury is because there is no similar body motion that we had to do during the course of our EVOLUTION. this is why tiger woods, one of the greatest golfers of all time, already underwent 18 surgeries due to injuries at age 42.

most golfers press their LEFT ARM to their body at the top of swing by swinging it SIDEWARD during the backswing. aside from making the swing look more beautiful, it makes the swing more POWERFUL because it makes the swing longer. it also makes the swing EASIER because it gives more TIME for your body to turn (i will explain this more in the “timing and shallowing” section. 

i decided not to swing my left arm sideward during the backswing because it makes my left shoulder SORE. it also contributes to INCONSISTENCY because as my left shoulder gets soar, i tend to bring my left arm less inward during the backswing. to motivate average golfers to refrain from this destructive tendency, let's give it a not very wholesome name (hopefully this book won't receive a PG-13 rating in amazon):

definition 8.2: STD (Sideswing That's Destructive) - when your left arm moves closer to your body during the backswing. 

jim furyk is the only touring pro i know who does not have std. std would be worth it for touring pros because of the big prize money. but for me, it’s not a smart thing to do especially my health INSURANCE does not cover sports related injuries.

(- photo tiger’s left shoulder injury/surgery

technique 8.2.1: during the backswing, just lift your arms straight up.

after tinkering with the pure arm swing, i found out that:

principle 8.3.1: a wider arm angle allows a longer swing for a less vertical swing, but a shorter swing for a more vertical swing. a narrower arm angle allows a longer swing for a more vertical swing, but a shorter swing for a less vertical swing. 

 

(- photo side by side

 

note i specified the ARM ANGLE and not the more general swing setup angle. that’s because you can have a flat swing setup with a narrow arm angle if the club length is long and you have a big pre-cock (that’s almost what she said). you can also have a steep swing setup with a wide arm angle if you bow your left wrist and turn your left arm clockwise during address.

as we established in the “unified swing theory” section, the advantages and disadvantages between the different swing plane verticality has more to do with our biology than the geometry of the swing curve. with this in mind, let’s COMPARE the narrower arm angle / more vertical pure arm swing vs. wider arm angle / less vertical pure arm swing. the best way to compare them is to compare their extreme cases:

principle 8.3.2: the longest possible swing of a perfectly vertical pure arm swing is longer than the longest possible swing of a perfectly horizontal pure arm swing. therefore, it results in more ball distance.

you might argue that the longest possible swing of a perfectly vertical swing has a 45 degree out-to-in ANGLE OF ATTACK, which would result in less ball distance because it would have too much side spin (violates hypothesis 6.10.11). but you can easily make the angle of attack parallel to the target plane (clubface perpendicular to the target) by adjusting your stance alignment accordingly. 

(- photo

principle 8.3.2 will become USEFUL when we start combining our arm swing and body turn. it would also be useful for those who can’t turn their body due to a bad back. you might ask, why would anyone who can’t turn their body play golf? the same reason why blind people play golf. golfers who can’t turn their body can even win a tournament due to the handicapping system. they can also employ more wrist action in their swing to make up for the absence of a body turn.

for some reason, if the slap and punch force angle is more parallel to your shoulder line tilt, it feels more POWERFUL. i'm not sure why. i'm not submitting a scientific paper, so i will just blindly follow whatever works. but if i were to guess, it's because most of the important work during the course of human evolution involves applying a force that is more parallel to the shoulder line tilt. 

example, pulling big boulders to build the pyramids for our alien overlords. the work that required downward force are assisted by gravity, such as killing a herd of buffalos by driving them off the cliff. the only use for downward force muscles i can think of is during man to man combat. but it’s still less useful because a typical soldier is 2 feet wide and 5 feet tall. therefore, it’s easier to hit an opponent with a FLAT swing compared to a STEEP swing.

therefore, those born with stronger muscles used for applying a force that is parallel to their shoulder line tilt had higher chances of SURVIVAL and producing an offspring.

 

hypothesis 8.3.3: a slap and punch force direction that is more parallel to the shoulder line tilt is more powerful.

now let’s find the pure arm swing that is the EASIEST to execute or has the least prone to errors. 

we learned in the “unified swing theory” section that the SWING FORCE direction is not always the same as the resulting clubhead path. the swing force is the same as the resulting clubhead path only if the swing is HINGE ALIGNED. we also learned that if the hinge is perpendicular to the ground, the swing force directions will always be hinge aligned. aha!!! tears for fears!!! i found a way to make golf easier:

technique 8.4.1: in a pure arm swing, make your upper left arm perpendicular to the ground so that the swing force direction is always the same as the resulting clubhead path.

a pure arm swing is not powerful enough to reach the greens in regulation. but technique 8.4.1 can be used in SHORT DISTANCES such as putting and chipping.

technique 8.4.1 is useless if you need to TURN your BODY. however, we also learned in the “unified swing theory” section that a swing force that is straight up and down is always hinged aligned. and since we are turning our body, the problem we discussed in principle 8.3.2 won’t be an issue. aha!!! depeche mode!!! i just realized another way to make golf easier.

technique 8.4.2: if your swing involves a body turn but no wrist movement, the easiest arm swing direction is straight up during the backswing, and straight down during the downswing.

a hands swing plane that has the same verticality as the right shoulder swing plane is actually easier. but it requires some wrist action. i will discuss this in the “timing and SHALLOWING” section.

if the hinge orientation is DIAGONAL, what would be the easiest swing force direction of a pure arm swing? hypothesis 6.10.11 says the easiest would be parallel to the target (or stance-parallel ball line) and parallel to the ground. one would think the easiest swing force direction is one where the clubhead would travel along the TARGET LINE. just like in billiards where the tip of the cue stick should travel along the intended cue ball path. but it’s actually more difficult for 3 reasons.

the first reason is that you will need to push IN-TO-OUT during the backswing, then pull OUT-TO-IN during the downswing. then you will also need to push in-to-out to follow through after the clubhead hits the ball. good luck with that !!!

(- illustration remove lower river title

 

the second reason is that you are basically enforcing a uniform clubhead path. so if your SWING SETUP angle is DIFFERENT for the different club lengths, then the swing force direction would have to be different (principle 6.10.3). therefore, you won’t develop the muscle memory or GROOVE.

the third reason is that a swing path that travels along the target line is STEEPER than a path that travels inward. even if it helps lessen the possibility of a directional error (which it doesn’t), you are just replacing the directional error problem with a higher probability of chunk or top ball. it's like you are trying to eliminate a poison only to replace it with a more potent poison. a pure arm swing is usually used for chipping. and in chipping, an average golfer should fear a chunk and top ball more than a directional error. unlike in long distance shots where a top ball can still yield a good result.

if you just follow hypothesis 6.10.11, you simply need to make your swing force on the backswing and downswing PARALLEL to the stance-parallel ball plane. 

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next, let’s identify the possible MISTAKES we can commit with our arm swing and the consequences of those mistakes.

in a pure arm swing, if the swing force direction of the backswing is parallel to the target line, which is usually the case, and the swing force direction of the downswing is TOWARDS the BALL, which is the usual reflex tendency, the clubhead will go outward of the correct swing path. this contributes to a top ball, hitting the ball with the heel of the club. and if your reflex reacts by pulling in to prevent the top ball, the ball will error left. it’s the same result if you hit the ball directly with your arms while your body is turning. there is no need to formulate a new principle for this because it’s basically just an example of principle 6.11.9 and 6.11.10. i’m trying to adhere to the DRY (do not repeat yourself) principle. 

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in layman’s terms, principle 6.11.9 and 6.11.10 basically says that if you punch or slap to your RIGHT, this contributes to ERROR LEFT. if you punch or slap to your LEFT, this contributes to ERROR RIGHT. isn’t golf crazy?

testing principle 6.11.9 and 6.11.10 with the arm swing made me realize why it was impossible for me to reproduce a SHANK all these years. if my body never moves forward, it’s impossible to hit the ball with the hosel of the club. i can hit the heel of the club. but if i raise club further, the clubhead will miss the ball.

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at the PRACTICE range, try to intentionally top the ball by making the force direction during the backswing parallel to the target line, but you try to hit the ball directly with your arms during the downswing.

so far, we’ve been ignoring CLUBFACE ORIENTATION because we assumed our arms and hands never turn. let’s study the arm swing that involves turning our arms and hands.

the ultimate OBJECTIVE of a golf swing is to make the clubface orientation during ball impact the same as it was during address position. as i said, this objective is too general to be useful because it's like a basketball coach instructing his team to score more points than the opponent.

a scratch golfer in cebu named gene aznar once told me that he could see the clubface orientation during the downswing and ball impact. the ability to see a fast moving object is probably the advantage that made him a scratch golfer. since average golfers don’t have this ability, let's study the factors that affect clubface orientation so we can STABILIZE them.

one of my greatest discoveries is that TURNING your LEFT ARM does not only affect the clubhead orientation, but it can also affect the swing PATH. the following principles have huge ramifications in swing construction and troubleshooting.

principle 8.5.1: if your wrist has no pre-cock, then turning your left arm only affects the clubhead orientation.

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if your wrist has a PRE-COCK, then turning your left arm can cause the clubhead to go outward, above, and inward from the correct swing path, depending on the amount of turn.

principle 8.5.2: if your wrist is pre-cocked, turning your left arm in either direction causes the clubhead to go outward and above the correct swing path halfway through the turn, then it goes inward and downward during the second half of the turn.

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this means if you open the clubhead during the backswing by turning your HANDS clockwise, and you close the clubhead during the downswing by turning your left ARM instead of your hands, the clubhead could go outward and above the correct swing path and hit the ball with the hosel. this results in a SHANK. isn’t golf crazy? you tried to close the clubhead to prevent error right, but the ball goes further to the right instead.

the arm swing adheres to principles 6.6.5 to 6.6.9. recall in principle 6.6.8 that in a perfectly horizontal swing, the clubhead opens up to face right on the backswing and NATURALLY closes to SQUARE during the downswing. you never have to turn your hands or arms to square the clubface during the downswing.

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so you might think that in a DIAGONAL or vertical swing where the clubhead face down during the backswing, it would also naturally face up to square during the downswing. because it’s basically like principle 6.6.8 except that it’s tilted. but for some reason i’m not sure why, the clubface won’t naturally face up to square during the downswing. i would need to DELIBERATELY turn my hands to square the clubface. maybe this phenomenon only happens to me. maybe it’s caused by my reflex or muscle memory after all those years closing the clubhead during the downswing. or maybe it has something to do with the biological structure of my left shoulder rotator cuff. this phenomenon comes into play when we construct our STEEP SWING. so let’s define it formally:

definition 8.5.3: clockwise hand turn deficit - when you need to deliberately turn your hands clockwise during the downswing for the clubhead to face up and square.

 

myth 8.5.3.1: only democrats are responsible for the clockwise hand turn deficit.

can i break 80 with a pure arm swing? i tried it but i wasn’t even able to break 90. what’s strange was that it was not because of lack of DISTANCE. my pure arm swing was still powerful enough to reach all the greens in regulation from the blue tees in my home course. the problem was my shots were too INCONSISTENT. if i can’t hit consistent shots with a pure arm swing, what hope do i have when i combine the body turn and arm swing?

when i took a closer look at the video of my pure arm swing, i noticed my body was actually TURNING even if i was trying not to turn it. no wonder my shots were very inconsistent. i was ignoring a very critical factor.

phenomenon 8.6.1: if i do a full backswing with my arms, my body will turn 45 degrees even if i try not to turn my body. this phenomenon happens regardless of swing force direction.

the gods of golf programmed my brain into believing that my body was not turning even if it was turning so they can sit back, eat pop-corn, and laugh at me score triple bogeys. 

phenomenon 8.6.2: there will always be an extra unintentional body turn whenever i do a full backswing with my arms, even if i already turned my body.

(- photos only include 45 degree body turn and 90 degree body turn

if you successfully prevent your body from turning while swinging your arms, the backswing will be too short. so the pure arm swing can only be used for SHORT DISTANCES. this is why i don’t have a swing in my arsenal called the “pure arm swing”. instead i named them non-shallow swing or steep swing. 

let’s specify the arm level and orientation using the clock hand position of the UPPER left arm from the PERSPECTIVE of a spectator on your right. if the shaft is parallel to the stance-parallel ball line, the perspective will be from a spectator in front of you.  

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the following principles and techniques can come in handy when constructing a steep swing:

principle 8.7: for the same arm angle during setup and arm level at the top of the backswing, the distance your hands travel during the downswing is always the same regardless of spine angle, club length, ground slope, knee angle, and stance width.

technique 8.7.1: when doing a full swing with a steep swing, make your arm angle and arm level uniform. 

9. wrist swing

our swing model in the “unified swing theory” section was basically a wrist swing. so there really is not much else to say about the wrist swing except its RELATION to other factors and the BIOLOGICAL characteristics of the wrist that might help us with our golf game. first, let’s give a short name for “never moving your wrist”.

definition 9.1: static wrist - never moving your wrist. meaning you never cock, never uncock, never bow, never snap or flex, and never turn your wrist.

theoretically, keeping your wrist STATIC the entire swing makes the golf swing much EASIER because you can have a uniform swing regardless of shaft/lie angle. meaning even if you have a variable pre-cock amount during address, you can still have a uniform hands swing plane during the downswing. all you need is a uniform spine angle and uniform arm angle.

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the supposed drawback of a swing with a static wrist is concurrency issues if multiple threads access and modify the same variable at the same time i mean a weaker swing. but i can still reach the greens in regulation even if my wrist is static. however, my shots with a full swing actually became more INCONSISTENT because:

phenomenon 9.1.1: it’s too difficult to prevent my wrist from uncocking during the downswing of a full swing. 

it’s basic physics. the downward MOMENTUM of the club is too strong for your wrist muscles to control.

it’s easier to:

technique 9.1.2: always fully uncock during the swing of a full swing.

great golfers have wildly different swing styles. but if you watch the slow motion swing of all great golfers, notice that during ball impact, their wrist is FULLY UNCOCKED even if they have a big pre-cock during address. even phil mickelson, who is notorious for not shallowing, fully uncocks during the downswing.

(-  tiger and phil, also point out phils steep shaft during downswing

phenomenon 9.1.1 and technique 9.1.2 is the heart of all MISSING KNOWLEDGE in the golf universe. it is the knowledge around which all the missing knowledge revolves around. one of the main reasons why only 5% of golfers can break 80 is because too many coaches are ignoring this knowledge.

principle 9.1.3: in a swing where you always hit the ball with the bottom edge of the clubface squared to the target, if your wrist is pre-cocked during address and the clubface is squared to the target, the clubhead will be TILTED DOWNWARD during ball impact if your wrist fully uncocks during the swing. since the clubhead is tilted downward, the clubface will be facing right of the target and the ball will error right, even if the bottom edge of the clubface is squared.

(- photo use pvc pipe guide

in reality, golfers will make ADJUSTMENTS to the other factors to compensate. example, before i discovered this knowledge, i noticed longer clubs tend to go to the right more than shorter clubs. so i aimed to the left of the target when hitting long and mid clubs and aimed towards the target when hitting short clubs. the adjustments worked but i had no clue why i needed to make such adjustments. i thought it had something to do with the swing plane verticality.

now i know why. the reason i needed adjust my stance was because different clubs have different SHAFT/LIE ANGLES and i was forcing a uniform spine angle and arm angle. so in order for the clubface to always be squared during address, the PRE-COCK amount had to be VARIABLE. a different pre-cock with the bottom edge of the clubface flat on the ground means a different clubhead tilt when you fully uncock. 

example, i have NO PRE-COCK when using my pitching wedge. so the clubhead won’t be tilting down during ball impact because fully uncocking simply means returning to the pre-cock amount during address. on the other hand, my DRIVER needs A LOT OF PRE-COCK. which means the clubhead will be tilting down a lot (and facing right) during ball impact due to the full uncocking.

 

even with the stance alignment adjustments, my shots were still very INCONSISTENT no matter how much i practiced. the following principle explains why:

principle 9.1.4: if your pre-cock during address is variable and you fully uncock during the swing, then the level of your left arm during ball impact also has to be variable. which means your HANDS SWING PLANE also has to be variable. 

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if your wrist is always fully uncocked during ball impact, the only way to have a uniform swing groove or swing plane angle is to have a uniform spine angle, arm angle, and pre-cock amount. but if your clubs have variable shaft/lie angles, the clubs will also have VARIABLE TILT amounts during ball impact. there are 4 different workarounds that will NEUTRALIZE the effect of a variable tilt:

one workaround is to have variable STANCE ALIGNMENTS. this is what i used to do. another is to have variable BALL POSITIONS. this is what coach raul sorino advices his students. the 3rd is to ask cobra to make you irons that have UNIFORM SHAFT/LIE ANGLES. this is what bryson dechambeau did. although bryson’s workaround is only partial because his driver still has a different swing plane angle. the 4th is variable CLUBFACE ORIENTATION. note that workaround #1, which is variable stance alignments, is the only workaround that preserves the pristine distance progression of the clubs. 

in the “instant gratification” chapter, i showed how to determine the CLUBHEAD ORIENTATION adjustment for each club. 

determining the STANCE ALIGNMENT adjustment is similar. you also mount a pipe on the clubface and setup with your uniform spine angle, arm angle, and pre-cock amount, and make the bottom edge of the clubface perpendicular to the target line. then, whichever way the pipe is pointing, the stance alignment for that club would be the same degree towards the opposite side. example, if the pipe is pointing 6 degrees to the left, then the stance alignment would be 6 degrees to the right.

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because a rough ESTIMATION is all we need, you can just group the clubs into long clubs (driver to 4 iron), mid clubs (5 iron to 8 iron) and short clubs (9 iron and wedges). 

it’s easier to just estimate how far to the right or left you need to aim your stance for certain yardages with each club group, and record them in your smartphone’s notepad. the FORMULA is:  adjustment = tan(angle) X distance 

example, my uniform pre-cock is when the bottom edge of my 3 iron’s clubface is flat on the ground. so there is no need for me to adjust the stance with my LONG clubs. 

with my MID clubs, i need to aim 3 degrees right of target. tan(3) = 0.0524. so i just need to multiply the distance with 0.0524 to know where i should aim.

4 yards (hitting cage): 0.6 feet to the right

100 yards: aim 5 yards right

150 yards: aim 8 yards right

with my SHORT clubs, i need to aim 6 degrees right of target. tan(6) = 0.1051. so i just need to multiply the distance with 0.1051 to know where i should aim.

4 yards (hitting cage): 1 foot to the right

50 yards: aim 5 yards right

100 yards: aim 10 yards right

why do we need to go through all the hassle of compensating for the VARIABLE SHAFT/LIE ANGLES? are the golf equipment manufacturers just a bunch of sadists who wants to make golf more difficult? why didn’t they make all the shaft/lie angles uniform since the start? before we try to answer this question, let’s extend principle 5.13.10.

principle 9.2.1: if the shaft/lie angle is uniform for all clubs, then you can have a UNIFORM spine angle, arm angle, and PRE-COCK AMOUNT without having to skew your stance, clubface orientation, ball position, and shaft lean. since the swing setup angle is uniform, then the optimal SWING PLANE angle is also uniform.

a uniform swing plane angle helps GROOVE your swing and a grooved swing is a more consistent swing. so why are the shaft/lie angles not uniform? after some analysis, i think i know why. the answer stems from principle 5.14.2, which states:

“for the same backswing percentage, a shorter club is easier. however, a longer club is more powerful.”

when hitting long shots, POWER is a priority. therefore, we want to use a longer club. in short yardage shots, ACCURACY is a priority. therefore, we want to use a shorter club.

however, since the HEIGHT of a human being is limited, the shaft angle will have to be flatter. the question now is, why can’t we also make the shaft angle of the short clubs flat? because the golf industrial complex oligarchs shorted the stocks of knee replacement makers stryker and medtronic i mean you will need to bend your knees a lot. repeatedly bending your knees a lot can cause a meniscal tear, and is a common golf related injury (i went to google med school).

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to have a uniform swing plane, average golfers can COMPROMISE and make the shaft angle the MEDIAN between the driver and the lob wedge. this allows an average golfer to have a uniform swing plane. example, the shaft angle of my driver is 22 degrees and the shaft angle of my 60-degree wedge is 67 degrees. so the shaft angle of all my clubs should be 45 degrees for me to have a uniform swing plane.

however, the length of the driver CANNOT be OPTIMALLY long if the shaft angle is not the standard, and the length of the wedge cannot be optimally short if the shaft angle is not standard. 

if i make the shaft angle of my driver 45 degrees, i would have to CHOKE down a little bit on the shaft, even if my height is 5’10”. shorter players will have to choke down more. this does not bode well for short tour players who need to drive 300 yards in order to reach the 470-yard par 4s.

if i make the shaft angle of my 60-degree wedge 45 degrees, i will need to BEND my KNEES a lot. taller players will need to have a longer shaft to lessen the strain on their knees. this does not bode well for tall tour players who need to 1-putt most of their wedge shots. 

taller players may have an ADVANTAGE with the driver, but they will have a DISADVANTAGE with the wedges. shorter players may have an advantage with the wedges, but they will have a disadvantage with the driver.

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this means, contrary to popular belief, the manufacturers did not give the driver a flat shaft/lie angle so that it will have a flat swing plane. rather, the driver has a flat swing plane because the manufacturers had to give the driver a flat shaft/lie angle. the flat swing plane of a driver and the vertical swing plane of a wedge is more of a SIDE-EFFECT than an objective. 

this supports principle 6.8.1, which says the angle of the swing plane does NOT AFFECT BALL DISTANCE and BALL SPIN. the swing plane angle does affect ball trajectory, but only if you move the ball position to the left or right of the vertex. which is useless because it’s easier to control ball trajectory by using a club with the correct loft.

the million-dollar question that we just answered is related to the question why touring pros use a wider ARM ANGLE when hitting with a driver and a narrower arm angle when hitting a wedge. it also has nothing to do with swing plane verticality. it has something to do with human height limitation and the limit on the amount our wrist can uncock.

if you make the arm angle with the DRIVER narrower, the pre-cock amount will also increase. the combination gives less SPACE to fully uncock. you can only hit the ball with a partial uncock, which results in a weaker swing. 

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if you make the arm angle with the WEDGE wider, the clubhead will TILT UP. if you turn the shaft clockwise to square the clubface, the loft will be too high, which ruins the distance progression of your clubs. you also can’t just uncock to prevent the clubhead from tilting up because there is a limit on how much your wrist can uncock. even if your wrist is flexible enough to prevent the clubhead from tilting up, it might cause injury when the clubhead impacts the ground.

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if you follow the pros where the CLUBFACE is always SQUARED to the target and its bottom edge is always flat, this means your pre-cock is variable. since the tendency is to have a fully uncocked wrist during ball impact, that means the clubface will be tilted more downward or facing more right for longer clubs during ball impact. you will need to do one of the 4 adjustments i enumerated earlier to COMPENSATE. maybe this explains why many coaches recommend moving the ball position to the left for longer clubs.

sometimes, my wrist cannot fully uncock during the downswing of a full swing, which leads to a double bogey. maybe it’s because my wrist is just NOT STRONG enough or i’m just UNCOORDINATED. my remedy is: 

technique 9.2.1: fully uncock your wrist during the backswing.

however: 

phenomenon 9.2.2: in a full backswing, it’s too difficult to keep my wrist fully uncocked during the backswing.

but if the amount of uncock required is just small, it’s easy to fully uncock during the downswing. therefore:

technique 9.2.3: in a full backswing, just allow your wrist to cock 22 degrees during the backswing.

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in shorter swings, it’s easy to prevent my wrist from cocking and uncocking the entire swing. therefore:

technique 9.2.4: in shorter swings, you can keep your wrist static.

technique 9.2.5: a swing that involves more cocking and uncocking is more powerful but more difficult.

in my experience, a wrist swing is much easier to CONTROL than an arm swing and body turn swing. maybe it’s because the muscles in my wrist have more neurons connected to my brain therefore:

technique 9.3: use the wrist swing in putting. also use the wrist swing for chips that don’t require that much force.

10. timing principles and shallowing

so far, the golf swings we've been studying were constrained to only 1 hinge. SINGLE HINGE golf swings are more preferable with short distances such as chipping and putting. however, we cannot reach the green in regulation using only 1 hinge. so let's study the golf swing where MULTIPLE HINGES are involved.

for now, let’s study the swing with NO WRIST movement. if i try to hit the ball with my body turn and arm swing, i will miss the ball. the clubhead will go outward of the correct swing path. i will need to aim more inward in order for me to hit the ball. it’s as if i’m trying to hit a MOVING object. but the ball is not moving!!!

but wait!!! i learned in science class that motion is RELATIVE. maybe the ball is moving relative to something. but relative to what? if i try to hit the ball with my arms without turning my body, i will always hit the ball. the body turn has to be the culprit. this means the ball is moving relative to my body turn. 

principle 10.1.1: the golf ball you are trying to hit is moving relative to your body turn

we can also say that the ball we are trying to hit with our body turn is moving RELATIVE to our ARM SWING. but because our brains are wired to hit something using our arms, we can ignore that case.

but why is it that scratch golfers can break 80 even if they are not aware the ball is moving relative to their body turn? maybe a scratch golfer's brain NATURALLY coordinates their arm swing and body turn.

let’s give a name to the SPOT we need to aim our arm swing towards in order to hit the ball:

definition 10.1.2: anticipated spot - the location where the hitter should aim when trying to hit a moving target.

in order to hit the ball, your hands need to arrive at the correct spot at the same TIME your right shoulder arrives at the correct spot. yikes!!! the speed of your body turn and speed of your arm swing needs to match or needs to be COMPATIBLE. this is scary.

science to the rescue!!! when studying something, scientists usually create a MODEL diagram that represents the real world scenario.

(- clubhead swing plane = hands swing plane because static wrist,

(- anticipated spot , remove target

 

looking at the timing diagram, i notice that:

principle 10.1.3: your body turn speed and arm speed can be any value as long as the anticipated spot is compatible.

so maybe, we can simplify timing by finding the anticipated spot that allows us to turn as FAST as we comfortably can and swing our arms as fast as we comfortably can. this way we don’t have to worry how fast our body turn and arm swing needs to be.

it’s always good to start with the easiest option. according to principle 6.10.10, a hinge aligned swing force is the easiest. so let’s simply punch STRAIGHT DOWN. in other words, the anticipated spot is directly beneath the clubhead at the top of swing. 

after lots of attempts, the ball will always MISS the ball OUTWARD of the correct swing path if i turn my body as fast as i comfortably can. my arm swing can never catch up no matter how hard i slap and punch straight down. i can only get a good shot if i SLOW down my BODY TURN. it just makes sense because the distance my right shoulder needs to travel is much shorter than the distance my hands need to travel. just like if me and usain bolt runs as fast as we can but i only need to run 30 meters while usain needs to run 100 meters, i will alway cross the finish much earlier.

before we proceed, let’s create a medical report on the ERROR we just encountered (i heard doctors love writing up medical reports because it makes them feel they are lawyers. just kidding).

principle 10.2.1: if your body turn is too fast relative to your arm speed, this contributes to the clubhead going outward from the correct swing path, which contributes to a top ball and hitting the ball with the heel of the club. if your reflex reacts by pulling inward, this contributes to error left.

principle 10.2.2: if your body turn is too slow relative to your arm speed, this contributes to the clubhead going inward from the correct swing path, which contributes to chunking and hitting the ball with the toe of the clubhead. if your reflex reacts by pushing outward to prevent chunking, this contributes to error right.

 

since the problem is that my arm swing is too long for body turn, maybe we can shorten the arm swing. so i tried SHORTENING my ARM SWING so that i can turn and swing my arms as fast as i can. my shots became more consistent but not powerful enough to reach the greens in regulation.

looking at our timing model, it’s obvious that we can solve the timing issue without sacrificing distance by INCREASING the BODY TURN amount. but when i tried it, i found out it’s impossible because i’m not plastic man. turns out the factors in my timing model are limited by real world constraints. now i understand why 50 million starved to death in maoist china even if their leaders had scientists with multiple phds at their beck and call. but when they dispersed the decision making to the uneducated farmers who had better knowledge on the real world CONSTRAINTS of their economic MODELS, the famine ended. let’s engrave our findings in stone:

hypothesis 10.1.4: what makes golf difficult is that the maximum body turn is too short compared to the length of the arm swing required to reach the greens in regulation.

my next option is a HALF solution. i will simplify timing by always punching down as fast as i comfortably can so all i have to worry about is the speed of my body turn. it’s just a half solution but maybe if i practice a lot like ling ling of 2set violin i can develop the MUSCLE MEMORY for the correct speed of my body turn. 

after lots of practice, the half solution helped a lot and i was able to break 80. however, i feel like a 7’6” yao ming teaching people how to dunk. or an MIT professor teaching high IQ students to be engineers. i feel i'm not creating anything of VALUE for the human race because there really is no shortage of golf lessons that can teach exceptionally talented golfers to break 80. just like there is no shortage of schools that can teach exceptionally smart students to become engineers. there's just a limited amount of exceptionally talented golfers and exceptionally smart students. don't get me wrong. there are tons of golf lessons in the internet that can really improve your game. and they at least inspire and entertain the viewers just like jim rome where more of him and less of his audience is always good for his show (except for sean the cablinasian). unlike me where less of me is always good for my youtube channel. my writing style is actually infuenced by jungle smackdown culture. but i don't think there is any golf lesson that can teach an average golfer to break 80 because until now, only 5% of golfers can break 80.

when i first started writing this book at the start of the covid-19 pandemic, i believed the anticipated spot was the holy grail or key MISSING KNOWLEDGE that would enable average golfers to break 80. but after 4 years of experimenting, i now realize that the TIMING between the speed of the body turn and arm swing is just TOO DIFFICULT. before i make funeral arrangements for this tutorial, let’s see if there is anything else we can do to SIMPLIFY the timing between our body turn and arm swing (as my director in altera corporation tim southgate used to say, “PERSEVERE!!!”)

aha!!! def leppard!!! (i watched their concert in oakland coliseum back in the early 90’s). while contemplating on the timing model, i realized that if the clubhead and the ball travels the SAME ANGLE, timing won’t be a factor. the clubhead would always hit the ball no matter how fast or slow the body turn and arm swing travels. therefore, the golf swing would be much easier if it is represented by the following model:

 

note the swing plane lines in our timing models represent the swing plane ANGLE, not the actual plane. the lines meeting each other does not mean both swing planes now lie on the same plane. it just means the right shoulder swing plane and clubhead swing plane are now PARALLEL. also note that since we are assuming a static wrist, the hands swing plane angle and clubhead swing plane angle are always equal. 

remember that what we really are trying to do is simplify the TIMING between the body turn and arm swing. this means our main strategy should be:

strategy 10.2: make the right shoulder swing plane and HANDS swing plane PARALLEL. 

looking at the new timing model, i notice the right shoulder swing plane became steeper and the hands swing plane became flatter. it’s like they met HALFWAY just like sylvester stallone and his son in the movie “over the top”. 

first, let’s try to steepen our right shoulder swing plane. this is synonymous to increasing our BODY TURN ANGLE or steepening our right shoulder DIP. the following techniques should do the trick:

technique 10.2.1: steepen your spine angle in such a way that your right shoulder swing plane will be parallel with your hands swing plane.

technique 10.2.2: over dip your right shoulder in such a way that your right shoulder swing plane will be parallel with your hands swing plane. 

next, let’s evaluate our new techniques based on our priorities. first, let’s recall our priorities:

1) injury prevention

2) accuracy/consistency/easy to execute

3) power or ball distance

we can quickly find out if a technique affects BALL DISTANCE even inside my hitting cage. i used the shot vision app and found out that spine angle and body turn angle have no correlation to ball distance. good news so far.

now let’s see if they make the swing easier. after a few experiments, i noticed a significant improvement in accuracy. i then looked at the SPINE ANGLE of the touring pros and noticed their spine angles are between 34 to 45 degrees, which is much steeper than my 22 degrees. 

i also found out that the greatest players of all time, tiger and nicklaus, over dip their right shoulder. the golf world calls it the “SIDE BEND”.

mickelson does not side bend and he won 6 majors. but when i compared their driving ACCURACY, mickelson ranks very low in driving accuracy while tiger and nicklaus ranks high. i also read some articles that said the reason mickelson won all those majors despite his poor driving accuracy was because he had an exceptionally good short game.

during ball impact, mickelson’s and oosthuizen’s known for not shallowing shoulder line is less tilted, which means they don’t OVER DIP their right shoulder or do the side bend.

(- photo mickelson, oosthuizen, tiger shoulder line tilt

we can safely conclude that having a steeper spine angle and body turn angle contributes to an EASIER swing without having to sacrifice ball distance. but i’m old enough to know that everything comes with a price. i’m pretty sure over dipping causes back INJURIES. i did a quick internet search and found out my suspicions are true. pretty much all players who over dip their right shoulder had to have back surgeries later in their career. nicklaus claims the pain in his back is debilitating. meanwhile, mickelson is now 53 years old and never had any problems with his back.

(- photo tiger, nicklaus, phil, niemann

joaquin niemman bend left elbow 22 degrees bend and

(---------------------

moe norman considered greatest ball stryker of all time (golf digest article)

over dipping during setup moe norman

many have tried to explain the advantage but not correct.

https://www.golfdigest.com/story/Moe-norman-golf-swing-secrets-golf-digest

let’s call this pre-tilt because it’s done during setup just like pre-cock

technique xxx:

pre-tilt or over dip right shoulder during setup. 

if i pre-tilt 11 degrees, my swing becomes much more consistent and easy but the next day i woke up  my back hurt.

 

 

 (- video: and body turn angle spine angle comparison with tiger woods. 

---- let’s browse internet over dipping right shoulder bad lessons

many coaches talk about over dipping in theier lessons about shallowing. before we continue, let’s formalize the definition of shallowing:

definition 10.2.4: shallowing - a technique or move in a golf swing that contributes to making the right shoulder swing plane and hands swing plane parallel.

danny maude 4:42 - do not tilt body

alexelliottgolf shallow 1:15 and 1:30 you should not shallow by dipping your right shoulder more inward. also saying look how much more speed - it does not create more speed

dipping right shoulder is wrong - zack allen shallow 2:56

cogorno - do not shallow by dipping right shoulder - 

(---------------

now let’s see what we can adjust to flatten the HANDS swing PLANE. let’s imagine the hands swing plane is a downward ramp. what can we do to flatten the ramp? one thing we can do is LESSEN the HEIGHT of the ramp by lowering the high end.

 

we can LOWER the high end of the ramp with the following technique:

technique 10.2.3: lower your arm level at the top of swing so that your hands swing plane will be parallel to your right shoulder swing plane.

i’m pretty sure having a lower arm level does not cause injury. i’m also sure it will DECREASE ball DISTANCE. there is no need to experiment because we can deduce it from newton’s law and principle 8.3.3. principle 6.5.2 also tells us that a shorter swing is easier. obviously the touring pros won’t use this technique because their par 4s are 470 yards long. 

former world #1 justin rose has a signature technique that also lessens the height the ramp. what he does is at the start of the downswing, he LOWERS his ARMS before turning his body. his technique has the same effect as having a lower arm level, except he lowers his arms during the downswing instead of the backswing.

in my experiments, justin’s technique also contributes to CONSISTENCY, but it’s a bit more difficult compared to having a lower arm level at the top of swing. however, justin’s technique is more POWERFUL. many coaches feature justin’s technique in their lessons about shallowing. 

to watch justin’s video, search in youtube “pga tour justin rose shares his feel vs. real swing drill”. notice his instructions are a bit more ABSTRACT and difficult to follow. in 0:09 of the video, he says, “i’m trying to put the club way behind me.” there’s another video where in 4:35 justin says, “i’m feeling like my left arm is dropping down my chest as i stay closed to the target.” (search “kyle morris easiest way to shallow the shaft”). justin’s instructions can be simplified by simply saying:

technique 10.2.5: lower your left arm before turning your body turn.

in 0:33 of the pga tour video, justin says “if i put in momentum with my turn, now the club is thrown out”. this validates the medical report i just issued which said TURNING your body too FAST relative to your arm speed contributes to the clubhead going OUTWARD of the correct swing path. 

also in 1:33, justin says, “FEEL and REAL are 2 completely different things”, which is similar to what i said in the “dyslexia phenomenon” section. 

in 4:48 of the kyle morris video, justin says “i have to hit the brakes ... and hence i have to time impact so much more.” and in 5:17, justin says, “... so i can pivot much faster”. this validates my hypothesis that TIMING is what makes golf difficult and you need to slow down your body turn unless you shallow your swing. 

BENDING your KNEES more and increasing your arm angle also lowers the high end of the ramp. that’s because it flattens the swing setup angle, and according to principle 6.9, a clubhead swing plane angle that is closer to the swing setup angle is more powerful. you need to increase your arm angle or else bending your knees more will just shorten the swing setup length by increasing your pre-cock and/or having to choke down on the shaft. note that increasing your pre-cock actually contributes to shallowing because it allows you to uncock more. i will explain it more in the next technique.

technique 10.2.6: bend your knees and widen your arm angle so that the optimal hands swing plane can be parallel to your right shoulder swing plane.

in my experiments, technique 10.2.6 contributes to consistency without sacrificing power. i also don’t think it can cause injuries because you really don’t have to bend your knees that much. when a golfer gets a knee injury, i think it’s caused by the knee twisting and not the knee bending. 

instead of decreasing the height of the ramp by lowering the higher end, we can decrease the height or flatten the slope by RAISING the lower end.

 

we can RAISE the lower end of the ramp with the following technique:

technique 10.2.7: fully UNCOCK to allow your hands to remain high and help make your hands swing plane parallel to your right shoulder swing plane.

it’s obvious that fully uncocking does not cause injury. but does it make the swing more POWERFUL? it depends on the strength of your wrist. it’s obvious that uncocking contributes to power. however, because my wrist is not strong enough to fully uncock before the clubhead hits the ball, i will need to slow down my body turn or arm swing, which cancels out the power contributed by the uncocking of my wrist. but the good news is it does not decrease power in my swing. 

it’s also obvious that a swing that involves uncocking during the downswing is more DIFFICULT than one that doesn’t. but does the advantage of the shallowing effect OUTWEIGH the disadvantage caused by the uncocking? after some experiments, i noticed it does.

in my experience, i notice the wrist hinge is the most STABLE of all hinges. i think it’s because my wrist muscles are blessed with more neurons connected to my brain compared to the other hinges. the uncock amount also has a biological limit. meaning i can’t make a mistake by over uncocking. so there is some sort of a bowling gutter guard effect.

therefore, i see no reason why any golfer would not fully uncock. especially the pros whose WRISTS are STRONG enough such that they don’t have to slow down their body turn or arm swing. this explains why all the pros fully uncock. even phil mickelson, who is notorious for not shallowing, fully uncocks during the downswing. i know this because during setup, phil has a big pre-cock (that’s close to what she said. delos crew i hate you). but during ball impact, the pre-cock is gone.

(- photo phil and tiger setup pre-cock and ball impact fully uncocked.

what if your wrist is too weak to fully UNCOCK during the downswing? no problem. just fully uncock during the BACKSWING. it’s called thinking outside the box. i’m sure nobody in the golf world has ever thought of this. 

technique 10.2.7.1: fully uncock your wrist during the BACKSWING.

(----------------------- new timing diagram

if you uncock to shallow, that means new timing diagram:

note a wide arm angle is a less powerful but more stable version of uncocking.

(- moe’s wide angle comparison photo with ernie else

techniqe xxx: if you don’t want to uncock, have a wider arm angle to make your hands swing plane parallel to your right shoulder swing plane.

here’s another technique that will RAISE the lower end of the ramp:

technique 10.2.8: fully turn your LEFT ARM clockwise to allow your hands to remain high and help make your hands swing plane parallel to your right shoulder swing plane. make sure to turn your left arm, not your hands. then turn your HANDS counterclockwise to square the clubface.

i’m sure turning my left arm won’t cause injury. and although it does not add power to my swing, it also does not sacrifice power. the problem is that the DIFFICULTY of executing technique 10.2.8 during the downswing OUTWEIGHS the advantages of the shallowing effect.

i browsed the internet and found out that turning your left arm clockwise during the downswing is actually the most POPULAR shallowing move being taught. some even consider it the holy grail or most important technique in golf. if that’s true, then why is it that until now, only 5% of golfers can break 80?

maybe because coaches instruct the SIDE EFFECT instead of the remedy. coaches tell you to lean the shaft backward during the downswing. 

(--------they even teach leaning stick drills

 but that’s just a side effect of the remedy. the remedy is to turn your left arm clockwise. because you can lean the shaft backward by turning your HANDS clockwise and cocking instead of your left arm. turning your hands clockwise and cocking does NOT SHALLOW your swing, it just opens up the clubface.

(----- compare john daly shallow and mickelson non shallow same shaft angle. daly is shallow because more tilted spine and dips right shoulder so right shoulder swing plane is steep and parallel to clubhead swing plane. 

shallowing your swing is ANALOGOUS to improving your HEALTH. one of the many ways to improve your health is to eat healthy. one of the side effects of eating healthy is you loose weight. telling people to lean the shaft backward is like telling people to be healthy by losing weight. that’s a bad advice because you can lose weight by not getting enough nutrition. it does not improve your health. it only ruins it. just like turning your HANDS and cocking leans the shaft backward but it does not shallow your swing. it only contributes to error right.

trying to lean the shaft backward can also trigger your reflex to OVER DIP your right shoulder. although over dipping is a legit shallow move, it’s dangerous if you have back problems. it’s like improving your health by snacking on peanuts. peanuts are healthy. but if you are allergic to peanuts, it can kill you.

2) turn left arm clockwise during the backswing or downswing

a more GENERAL instruction is more difficult to follow. it’s like telling someone to lose weight in order to become healthy. it’s not a good advice because one could lose weight by not getting enough nutrition. similarly, you could lean the shaft backwards by turning your HANDS clockwise. in my experience, turning your hands makes the swing more difficult. 

it’s better to be SPECIFIC and say, “turn your left arm clockwise by pushing your left elbow upward without lifting up your hands”.  it’s much easier to follow. in my experience, turning my left arm clockwise makes my swing more consistent. it’s as specific as saying, “lower your bad cholesterol by eating foods rich in fatty acids and avoiding saturated fats”.

some coaches also tell you to “make your RIGHT PALM face upward”. this can have the same effect as turning your left arm clockwise, but you could also end up bowing your left wrist instead. although bowing your left wrist is a good shallowing move, what if you also want to turn your left arm to shallow some more? it’s better to be more specific and say, “make your right palm face upward without cupping your right wrist or without bowing your left wrist”. 

some coaches also tell you to “move your right ELBOW more INWARD”. this can also turn your left arm clockwise, but you could also end up moving your entire arms inward. it’s better to be more specific and say, “move your right elbow inward without moving your hands inward”. 

some coaches also teach this drill where they put a STICK on the ground that is leaning backward and they tell you keep the clubhead below the stick during the swing. i don’t need this drill because i found a much easier way to shallow my swing.

(-

the downswing is already difficult because it’s very fast. why add to the difficulty by turning your left arm during the downswing? it’s easier to turn your left arm clockwise during the BACKSWING. you can even PAUSE so that you inspect to make sure you are doing it correctly.

i BEND my left ARM a little bit before turning it clockwise because it allows me to turn it more. it also reduces strain on my left shoulder. contrary to popular belief, it is ok for your LEFT ARM to BEND in a full swing. your left arm naturally straightens whether you punch with your right arm or slap with your left arm. it's also ok to wear multi-colored pants.

 

d

technique 9.2.1: during the backswing, pause and bend your left arm a little bit. then turn your left arm clockwise by pushing your left elbow upward without lifting up your hands. 

if we focus on the main objective, we can find ways to make technique 10.2.8 easier. aha!!! wang chung!!! why not do it before the downswing? 

technique 10.2.8.1: after addressing the ball, raise your arms to the 4 o’clock position and fully turn your LEFT ARM clockwise. this should lower the clubhead by a lot. then turn your HANDS counterclockwise to square the clubface.

after just a few experiments, i strongly feel that technique 10.2.8.1 makes the golf swing much much EASIER.

notice in the photo below that when mickelson’s and oosthuizen’s lead arm is parallel to the ground, the shaft is more vertical and the back of their lead hand is facing less upward. this means they don’t URN their lead ARM clockwise. 

tiger turn left arm clockwise because backswing if cock when hands same level as belt very steep shaft n back of left hand facing parallel to ground but downswing hands same level as belt shaft tilted back n back of leftnc hand facing up

higher arm level on top of swing but over dip benefit of tilted spine and over dip:higher arm level more powerful tiget n jack more powerful arm level higher but to shallow need more shoukder dip or tilted spine

(------------ many coaches teach this as shallowing move but instructions more abstract

------ turn left arm 

left elbow coming (bad instruction for pushing up left elbow) out top speed golf short video (in watch soon library)

danny maude - most number of views 7:20 there there - instead of turn left arm clockwise dip clubhead far back

cogorno shallowing masterclass 3:50-4:10, 4:34-5:00). finally found forearm rotation, but not specify which arm, clockwise? and not emphasized.

(------------------

we can also flatten the ramp by moving the higher end HORIZONTALLY to the RIGHT without raising it. this will not only flatten the ramp, it will also increase the length of the ramp. 

 

we can move the higher end of the ramp to the right with the following technique:

technique 10.2.9: bow your left wrist.

bowing my left wrist does not cause injury. and after lots of experiments, it surprisingly improves my CONSISTENCY. the reason is that bowing flattens the clubhead swing plane, which also flattens the hands swing plane. as i said earlier, this contributes to shallowing or making the hands swing plane and right shoulder swing plane parallel. a shallow swing is much easier because you don’t have to worry about the speed of your body turn and arm swing. in other words, it takes timing out of the equation.

bowing may seem like it’s not a big deal. but fully bowing my left wrist increased my drive by 30 yards. it makes sense because if i fully bow my left wrist during setup, the clubead will go almost 45 degrees to the right. that’s almost the same effect as increasing the clublength by 2 inches, but without the added difficulty because the swing diamater stays the same. bowing my left wrist simply increases the backswing amount and POWER.

(- photo

therefore, as long as other factors are compatible, fully bowing your left wrist is very beneficial and WITHOUT any negative SIDE EFFECTS. no wonder why collin morikawa, dustin johnson, and jon rahm won 2 majors each. they are known for fully bowing their left wrist during the backswing. 5 of their majors were won in the last 4 years. this means we are in the era of “lead wrist bowing”. for me, lead wrist bowing is the best shallowing move if you don’t have a strong grip. holy grail: zach allen shallow 8:41

(- photo

bow lead wrist during setup – moe norman but not full bow

there are tons of lessons in youtube about bowing your lead wrist (note it’s the same as cupping or extension of your trail wrist). however, most coaches don’t warn you that bowing your lead wrist can contribute to severe ERROR LEFT if you have a STRONG GRIP. most touring pros have a strong grip. so this could explain why not many touring pros bow their lead wrist.

it also baffles me that many supposedly reputable golf coaches recomend bowing your lead wrist during the DOWNSWING instead of the BACKSWING. that is very difficult. there is no advantage to doing it on the downswing. all it does is make the swing more difficult. some coaches even emphatically declare, “shallowing is a downswing move” and say shallowing during the backswing is wrong. search in youtube “shallowing debate top speed golf" and watch 4:32. this really shows that the golf world has not yet established a strong theoretical foundation. luckily for you, this book will give you that strong theoretical foundation. 

(- jchown screen shot

(---------------------- bowing

jchown screen shot how a bowed left wrist will change your game

cogorno holy grail - 5:00 example of incomplete instruction -  bowing left wrist more closed and deloft club face but only if strong grip and/or uncock also, it's not just this video but videos of top instructors in youtube. but deloft is not even an advantage you can just use a lower loft club, power strong due to added space is only advantageous with driver.

alexelliottgolf shallow - 3:40 example of correct demo but no specifics - he is bowing and turning his left arm but he is not saying that. he is just using abstract instructions. most specific is "pull your hands in front of you". and feel your knuckles gettting farther away from your wrist watch (bowing - feel it on the downswing) why not just bow it before you downswing? amazing !!!

danny maude 5:26, 6:35- softness in the wrist his version of bowing because momentum of turn causes bowing, insanely difficult yet most number of views on shallowing

grip softly so the momentum of body turn bows your left wrist. you need to be very talented to do that. 6:37 milo lines doorknob

the most baffling - losen hands so it bows during the downswing - danny maude

you might be wondering, doesn’t bowing the left wrist also OPEN the clubface? not really because the clubhead travels in a curve path, not a straight line. although bowing causes the clubhead to face more to the right, all you are doing is giving more SPACE or distance for the clubhead to travel. the clubhead will still be SQUARED when it hits the ball. 

it’s like running on a curved or circular race track in a counterclockwise direction. if you move your starting line BACKWARD (bowing), this will cause you to face more to the right. but you won’t be facing right upon crossing the finish line. you simply increased the distance you needed to travel.

in fact, bowing your left wrist can even contribute to severe ERROR LEFT if you have a STRONG GRIP and you snap your wrist during the downswing. if you have a strong grip and you bow your left wrist, then you will need to turn your hands counterclockwise to make the clubhead go towards the ball when you snap your wrist. turning your hands counterclockwise will make the clubhead face left. if you don’t turn your hands counterclockwise, your wrist snap will make the clubhead go upward, which is very counterintuitive. even if you successfully counter your reflex and force your wrist to snap upward, it will be much harder to hit the ball because you are basically doing the opposite of shallowing. 

bowing is like eating peanuts in order to lose weight. for most people, eating peanuts is healthy. but if you are allergic to peanuts, it will kill you. similarly, golfers with STRONG GRIP SHOULD NOT BOW their left wrist because it will contribute to error left. 

niemann back of left hand facing straight up during ball impact 

many coaches in youtube say that the benefit of bowing your left wrist is that it DELOFTS the clubhead. first of all, delofting is not always a benefit. there are many situations where it’s more beneficial to hit a high trajectory. and if you really need to hit a low shot, it’s easier to just use a lower loft club and choke down on the shaft. 

second of all, bowing only delofts the clubhead if you have a STRONG GRIP or if you also turn your hands counterclockwise, which you should never do because as i just said, it contributes to error left.

some golfers bow their left wrist during the DOWNSWING. they say they use the MOMENTUM of their body turn to naturally bow their wrist. i find this insanely too difficult for an average golfer. 

i think the reason why only few golfers bow their left wrist is because most golfers have a STRONG GRIP, and bowing your left wrist while having a strong grip can contribute to error left.  

technique 9.6.1: use the neutral grip if you bow your left wrist.

(------------ lag left arm

yuka extra arm backswing not really shallowing because not horizontal. it’s just increasing swing length for more power.

(---------------- lag left arm

analyze furyk - overdip right shoulder, lag left arm 

lag left arm and bowing flattens arm swing - like ramp - make ramp longer same lip equals flatter plane - MORE FREEDOM TO TURN FAST.

furyk's overdip matches steep arm swing, then he lags the arms

bring arms more inward:

turn body while arms still swinginging backwards milo n cogorno

9:06 right elbow touches right stomach malaska cogotno shallowing

(

DOWNSWING, not the backswing. this means at ball impact, your right shoulder would have already passed its location during address. 

 

(- photo

furyk’s body is almost fully facing the target during ball impact.

(- photo

also notice that those who bow their left wrist and bring their arms more inward are facing more to the target during ball impact. this means their right shoulder (runner A) has already passed its location during address (original finish line) 

during ball impact. in comparison, phil mickelson and louis ooithusen, who do not bow their left wrist and bring their arms more inward are not facing the target during ball impact.

(- photo

also notice their lead arm is more outward when it’s parallel to the ground during the downswing, which means they don’t bring it INWARD during the backswing or let it lag during the downswing.

(- photo mickelson, ooishuizen

(-------------- summarize techniques

let's summarize how many moves that contribute to shallowing instead of saying "ways you can shallow .." better way of saying it is "moves that contribute to shallowing ..."

like counting cards. each move may not seem much

i’ve watched many shallowing videos in youtube but they are very INCOMPLETE. there are actually 9 ways you can shallow your swing, but the most i saw was only 3. they also don't give all the pros and cons and variations for each shallow move. most instructions are difficult to follow because they are not specific enough. i also haven’t seen anyone give a valid explanation as to why shallowing makes golf easy. i have no choice but to include a long dissertation about shallowing in this tutorial. 

(----------let’s review the popular videos on shallowing and which techniques they are including

(milo lines door knob 1:21-2:27) (add text: rigth wrist extension has same result as bowing left wrist) = same as bowing left wrist and uncocking. but why not do it during the backswing?

there are even swing thoughts or mind tricks that are crazier than mine: kyle morris shallow 4:00-4:08 clip "here give me some money" similar to me stabbing my right stomach with my right elbow and my bowing my left wrist, which makes my right palm face upward. same result, different instruction.

the swing thought to feel like clubhead below hands during practice bounce also not wierd:

zack allen shallowing - 1:20 and 2:00 2:22 photo of exaggeration

clubhead 1 foot above ground before swivel snap - video of norman in zach allen. it's not what actually happens but it's what you try to do.  remember perception can be different from reality in a golf swing. that's not what he did, but that's what he felt he did.

(------------ incorrect explanations on importance of shallowing

one thing i notice is that i haven't seen any coach that correctly explains why shallowing is important. all the reasonings i see in youtube basically just says, the reason why you need to shallow your swing is to avoid your swing not being shallow. there are so many examples in youtube from supposedly reputable channels. i don't want to give examples here because i don't want to make this book already too polemic that it already is. that's like saying the bible is true because it says in the bible that the bible is true.

some say it allows you to turn more or it allows you to just accelerate your turn instead of do things with your arms. but a steep or non shallow swing also allows you to just swing your arms downward or accelerate your hands. why is turning easier than arm swing? what’s advantage of turn fast.

milo lines shallowing the golf club made simple :06 all day to turn

danny maude 9:35 we need shallowing inorder to create a beautuful rotation on impact - instead of can rotate faster so we can keep clubface square

it’s also a myth that a flatter swing creates more ball IMPACT hypothesis ... 

shallowing more powerful because easier more confidence to swing hard

another reason why shallowing makes the swing more powerful is according to phenomenon 7.5.9, a slap force direction that is more parallel to your shoulder line tilt is more powerful due to our BIOLOGY. (i sound like some who says the bible is true because of psalm ...). however, mickelson and oosthuizen debunks phenomenon 7.5.9 because they can hit the ball very far even if don’t shallow that much. maybe they just have freakishly POWERFUL downward force ARM SWING muscles.

the only shallowing that mickelson and oosthuizen does is they uncock their wrist during the downswing. but they are usually ranked low in driving ACCURACY what makes them great is their exceptional SHORT GAME

(https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1654619-breaking-down-phil-mickelsons-frustrating-inconsistency).

but how did phil win 6 majors? maybe he is just very TALENTED. if you search “good good extra how to shallow” in youtube and watch 1:57 where the coach is analyzing phil’s swing, the coach says you have to be very talented to do what mickelson is doing. the coach also says phil’s swing is something no coach would ever teach because it’s too difficult.

(- clips of mickelson’s and oosthuizen’s bad accuracy google results

(- video: most complete guide to shallowing your golf swing

 

11. swing design and construction

follow the instant gratification chapter A – J, then add steep swing, flat non-shallow swing, uneven lies, 

at the end of each section, say “the final product is in the instant gratification chapter”.

A. shallow full swing

first let’s choose which of the shallowing  moves we will include in our swing.....

then do the other techniques.

if you prefer, you can set your uniform pre-cock to the NORMALIZED pre-cock amount of a 6 iron (MID CLUBS). in my case i would be adjusting my aim 6 degrees to the left for long clubs and 6 degrees to the right for short clubs. another option is to adjust the BALL PLACEMENT instead of adjusting the stance alignment. another option is to adjust the CLUBFACE orientation during setup instead of stance alignment. another option is to have 2 PRE-COCK amounts such that you don’t need to adjust your aim with the long clubs and mid clubs. you just need to adjust your aim to the right accordingly for short clubs. 

armed with a trove of knowledge about the golf swing, we can now build the prototype i mean swing thoughts TEMPLATE that we will use in constructing our swing arsenal. 

we will go through our list of SHALLOWING methods and choose which ones we like. then we will adjust the other factors to be compatible with our shallowing choices.

1) fully uncock during the backswing or downswing

in the beginning, i rejected cocking and uncocking move because i figured it makes the swing more difficult. for a long time, i prevented my wrist from cocking and uncocking during the swing. however, i found out it’s more DIFFICULT to PREVENT my wrist from UNCOCKING during the downswing. it’s easier if i just fully uncock during the downswing. 

uncocking during the BACKSWING is also a legit shallowing move. i tried it but i kept subconsciously cocking my wrist during the backswing. then i realized it’s actually not that difficult to just fully uncock during the downswing. plus, it adds POWER to my swing. so i decided to fully uncock during the downswing. 

you might think i will lose a lot of precious POWER because i pause my backswing. actually, i’m not sacrificing power because i do the TURN BOUNCE.

definition 9.2.2: turn bounce -  pausing near the end of my backswing, then quickly completing your body turn to the full extent. the turn bounce provides a spring like effect for extra TORQUE.

technique 9.2.3: before the final downswing, do the turn bounce. 

3) bring arms more inward during the backswing or downswing

std is analogous to staying healthy by running every morning and wearing out your knees.

even if you lift your arms straight up during the backswing, you can still get STD if you turn your body first before lifting up your arms. anthony fauci was lying when he said you will never get STD as long as you lift your arms straight up. you can only prevent STD during the backswing if the swing plane is perpendicular to the swing plane of your shoulder. 

however, turning your body tilts your right shoulder swing plane relative to the ground, which means the swing plane would also need to be tilted. if you just lift your arms straight up, your left arm will move closer to your body, resulting in an STD infection.

 

therefore, if you want to avoid STD during the backswing:

technique 9.3.1: lift your arms straight up before turning your body.

technique 9.3.1 will make your backswing look UGLY. if you are worried others will mock your ugly backswing, tell them matt wolff does the same and he won the 2019 3M open.

 

the following are my socio-economic reasons for technique 9.3.1:

1)it DISTRACTS my opponent. at the first tee, my opponent will feel over confident because my swing looks like it violates all the principles. i just need to tie the first few holes, and my opponent will be confused and rattled.

2) it's perfect for HUSTLING the hustlers in places where nobody knows me. example, when i drive from san francisco to los angeles, i can stop by golfing towns such as monterey, bakersfield, or santa barbara. hustlers will salivate when they see my funny swing. they will believe me when i say i have a 20 handicap. i just need to make sure my victim is not a mobster. especially in vegas where i could end up in a shallow grave in the desert. note this scheme will not work if this tutorial becomes popular. just like the stock market where a crowded trade is always a bad trade.

3. it’s my way of BRANDING my barrio golf disciples. people can quickly identify which players are barrio golfers so they can easily notice the pattern or statistics and be convinced that my swing style really is more suitable for average golfers.

even if you lift your arms perpendicular to your shoulder line, there will still be a tendency to sideswing your left arm closer to your body as the clubhead travels along the UPPER RIVER. the tendency is caused by the subconscious desire to have a longer swing for more power. in fact, in the orthodox swing, the upper river of the backswing is formed by water erosion i mean the extra upper body turn and the sideward swing of the arms after the waterfall.

 

if you lag your left arm during the DOWNSWING, it also brings your left arm closer to your body. this is what jim furyk does. notice he is facing a lot towards the target on ball impact.

(-

the following vaccine developed by pfizer i mean technique immunizes your swing from std variants. it has passed the phase 4 trials.

 

technique 9.3.2: at the top of the backswing of a long swing (above 11 o’clock arm level), anchor your upper left arm to your left cheek.

so even if you side swing, or lift your arms straight up after turning, or move your arms closer to your body at the upper river, anchoring your upper left arm to your left cheek will KILL the std. 

the following mind trick will help enforce technique 9.3.2. imagine the space between your upper left arm and left arm pit is a receptor of a cell, and your upper left arm is a spike protein of a virus. your CHEEK acts like an INHIBITOR that prevents the spike protein from latching into the receptor and infecting it with STD. 

 

 

anyone who does not follow technique 9.3.2 is an anti-vaxxer.

4) more tilted spine during setup

aside from shallowing your swing, a more tilted spine has a steeper swing. according to principle 7.9.2, a steeper swing is less prone to DIRECTIONAL ERRORS. although a steeper swing is also more prone to top ball and chunk errors, a top ball and a chunk is less disastrous when hitting long yardage shots. if the ground is firm enough, the clubhead can just bounce off when hitting the ground behind the ball, and you can still end up with a good shot. if you top the ball, you there is still a chance you will end up around the green or on the green.

there was this one time, at band camp, i topped the ball and shouted in anger. but next thing i knew the ball went in the hole for a hole in 1, and i won P2 million ($40k) worth of prizes.

 

you might think i’m not an average golfer because i scored a hole in 1. actually, there’s a bigger chance a hole in 1 will be achieved by an average golfer. although a scratch golfer has a higher chance of scoring a hole in 1 compared to an average golfer, there are so many average golfers and only 2% are scratch golfers. example, in a tournament with 100 players, the scratch golfers only gets 2 attempts per hole, while the non-scratch golfers gets to do 98 attempts. the scratch pool is overwhelmed by the much higher number of attempts by the pool of non-scratch golfers.

i decided to make my spine angle 22 degrees because a more tilted spine angle was giving me back problems.

technique 9.4: make your spine angle 22 degrees to avoid back problems.

5) over dip right shoulder during the downswing (side bend)

since i can’t afford back SURGERY, i decided not to over dip my right shoulder. 

technique 9.5: to avoid back injury, do not over dip your right shoulder.

i used to over dip my right shoulder when i was a copycat to the cat. 

 

joaquin niemann takes it to a whole new level. notice his shoulder line is almost VERTICAL during ball impact. 

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if you over dip your right shoulder, you will need to adjust the anticipated spot higher or else you will chunk. if the ball is teed up high, you will get a severe pop up. it’s what happened to this guy when he scored a hole in 1 inside the very small hole of the electric fan behind him. this was at the citygolf driving range in pasig, manila in 2014. 

 

the following technique stabilizes your body turn angle:

technique 9.5.1: practice bounce by shooting your right shoulder towards its location during address.

i think the reason why my swing is still powerful enough even with a 9 o’clock arm level is because the turn bounce causes me to OVER SWING. it may look wrong. but john daly also over swings and he won 2 majors:

 

variable vs narrow arm angle?

 

so should you also have VARIABLE ARM ANGLE like tiger? that question is easy to answer because it's similar to the question whether you should be a nurse or a neurosurgeon? or should you date an average girl or a supermodel? it depends on your abilities and priorities (prioritization of factors strategy). there’s a reason why tiger’s books is entitled “how i play golf” and not “how you should play golf”.

i'm just an average golfer. therefore, my priority should be to have a swing that is easier or simpler. TIMING between the arm speed and body turn speed during the downswing is the most difficult component. principles 5.7.2 and 5.7.3 imply that a different arm angle requires a different timing. therefore, we the jury have decided to use a UNIFORM arm angle, which i nicknamed my golden arm angle.

next, i need to choose the angle for my golden arm angle. although a wider arm angle is a shallower swing, it will remove the pre-cock by a lot. less PRE-COCK means less POWER because there will be less uncocking. 

principle 8.1.3 implies that any arm angle works as long as the other factors are compatible. what’s important is that it’s uniform for all my swings. so my criteria for choosing my golden arm angle is it should be EASY to enforce or MEASURE. it is illegal to measure my arm angle with a ruler or string. the next best thing is to use my handspan.

technique 9.8: use your handspan to enforce your golden arm angle. 

 

if the ball is teed up, do not address the ball by raising your arms after you already measured your arm angle. this will corrupt your golden arm angle by widening it. instead, ADJUST your STANCE WIDTH and/or KNEE ANGLE to raise the club and address the ball. 

technique 9.8.1: if the ball is teed up, it's more convenient if you just lay the clubhead on the ground while setting up your swing and measuring your arm angle. then adjust your knee angle to raise the clubhead and address the teed up ball.

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tiger wood's spine angle is around 34 degrees. maybe tiger's more tilted spine explains why he already had 5 back surgeries by the time he was 45 years old. although winning 15 majors is not a bad tradeoff.

 

d

10. SMART goals and strategies

now that we are done formulating our techniques and tactics, it's time to design general goals and strategies based on them. it's what successful organizations do. just kidding. actually it's the other way around. seriously, the key to success in anything you do is setting SMART goals: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time bound. 

 

a psychiatrist named jordan peterson said that the feeling of progress is essential to happiness. what makes golf such a great game is that it's easier to set MEASURABLE goals. unlike other sports such as tennis and basketball where your score heavily depends on your opponent so it’s hard to measure your progress. if you win, it could just mean your opponent is weak. it does not necessarily mean you are getting better.

 

what's worse is that in tennis, if you are too weak for your opponent, the game becomes pointless because scoring just 1 point is not even achievable. on the other hand, the handicapping system of golf makes it ACHIEVABLE for tiger wood's kids to beat him. they could have fun creative bets such as whoever loses will have to wash dishes after dinner.

the most common goal in golf is to beat your handicap. you don't even have to play against anyone. you can just play alone and still have thrilling moments.

 

now you might be wondering, what's the RELEVANCE of beating your 20 handicap if you are a super athlete like charles barkley who can get beaten by an 11-year-old girl with a 5 handicap? my long dissertation at the beginning of this tutorial answers this question. the RELEVANCE of golf is to satisfy our hunting instinct. 

in golf, power and size is a factor. so you might also be wondering how a skinny 11-year-old girl can beat charles barkley? it's not lack of practice or playing time because charles plays golf a lot. although power and size is a factor in golf, body coordination is a much bigger factor. power and size only becomes important if you are playing against someone with the same level of body coordination. 

example, women in the LPGA have no chance against the men in the PGA because although they both are in the same level when it comes to body coordination, the men in the PGA are bigger and stronger. but being shocked why a skinny 11-year-old girl can beat charles barkley in golf is like being shocked why a skinny 11-year-old girl can beat charles barkley in gymnastics. it's a common logical flaw to treat everything as yes or no. the question is not whether power and size is a factor. the question is, how much? and the answer is, not much.

to achieve a smart goal, you need to break it up into smart STRATEGIES. comparing your score to your handicap does not give you feedback on what areas of your game you need to work on. 

 

if your goal is to break 80, a REALISTIC strategy is to allow yourself only 5 TECHNIQUE errors per game. examples of technique errors are directional errors such as error right, error left, slice and hook. top balls, chunks, chunking and pop ups are also technique errors. a technique error is like an unforced error in tennis. 

definition 10.1.1: technique error - an error caused by a flaw in your technique.

on average, i also expect 5 NON-TECHNIQUE errors. examples of non-technique errors are those caused by lack of course knowledge such as wrong club selection and wrong read on the green. poor distance control is also a non-technique error. an example of poor distance control is when your chip or putt is too soft or too hard.  errors caused by factors beyond your control is also a non-technique error. example is when you hit a good drive but your ball ends up on a divot in the middle of the fairway. 

 

definition 10.1.2: non-technique error - an error caused by lack of experience, practice and factors beyond one's control.

5 technique errors + 5 non-technique errors = 10 over par cannot break 80. however, on average, i also expect 3 LUCKY SHOTS. examples of lucky shots are long putts, sand saves, and sticking it 2 feet from the pin from 100 yards away. so 5 technique errors + 5 non-technique erros – 3 lucky shots = 7 over par, which is usually enough to break 80.

if you score a 75 but had 10 technique errors, you should be sad because it means you still have a lot to work on to consistently break 80. you can score a 75 even with 10 technique errors if you also have many lucky shots. luck is not reliable. LUCK IS NOT SUSTAINABLE. however, if you score an 85 but only had 5 technique errors, you should be happy because that means you can now easily break 80 with just a little practice.

if i was disappointed even if i scored a 75, does that mean setting smart strategies makes golf less fun? actually it makes golf MORE FUN because you can still feel excited with your progress even if your ball ends up in the water due to wrong club selection. you should be excited about your progress because clubhead selection can easily be learned by simply playing more rounds.

it's like building a house. you are happy after you finished building the foundation and walls even if there is no roof yet, and you will get wet if it rains. then after you finish the roof, you are happy even if intruders can get in because there are no doors and windows yet. tiger woods call this "swing construction".

you will be surprised that PGA tour players are also happy if they only make 10 errors. the difference is their standards in what is considered an error are much higher, and they are much better at recovering from an error. example, not being on the green after a 200-yard approach shot is considered an error for them. a bunker shot is almost an automatic par. they also make more birdies. so they still end up with a 3 under. i'm tree under a lot. but i don't understand why people call me a liar when i tell them i'm always tree under.

even if you are not on the green after a 200-yard approach, you should be happy as long as you are around the green. you should be happy because that means you have complete knowledge on the mechanics of the swing or you have the correct technique. being on the green after a 200-yard approach is a SKILL, not KNOWLEDGE. 

learning the KNOWLEDGE is ACHIEVABLE. therefore, it's a smart goal. however, gaining the SKILLS is NOT always ACHIEVABLE because it depends on your inborn ability. in fact, my ultimate goal in golf has nothing to do with my score. my ULTIMATE GOAL in everything i do in life is to reach a point where i suck not because of lack of knowledge but because of factors beyond my control. 

example, when i was trying to dunk in basketball, and there was no improvement in my vertical leap after 3 months of intensive research and training, i celebrated with a pint of ice cream because i reached my "ultimate goal". back in college i had a huge crush on a girl named romina reyes. after she turned me down when i asked her out, i celebrated because i reached my "ultimate goal" and was finally able to get a good night's sleep. 

feeling bad about your lack of inborn ability is like charles barkley feeling bad that an 11-year-old girl can beat him in gymnastics. 

having TALENT in something can even be a curse. i knew 2 super talented golfers in palm springs california named andrew perez and ki taek lee. every year they would try to qualify for the PGA where they would score spectacular rounds like 4 under. but they would still come up short just a few strokes. 

there were times andrew would struggle economically and would sometimes sleep in his car. i offered to help him play in asia where he could at least win some money but he wanted to stay in the US. i was glad to know andrew is now an assistant golf coach at a community college. 

a top golfer in the philippines named lj go told me that arizona state coach tim mickelson (brother of phil mickelson) once commented that ki taek lee is more talented than jordan spieth (who was ranked #1 at that time). but ki taek's problem is there would be moments in his game where he would undergo a mental block. last i checked, ki taek works as a caddy in the PGA tour. 

andrew and ki taek are now doing well. but note that even if they can put up SPECTACULAR SCORES that average golfers can only dream of, they probably experienced MORE FRUSTRATIONS in golf compared to average golfers.

the moral of the story is, our level of talent may be very different, but the level of frustrations we go through are pretty much the same. we all have different goals depending on our talent level. but we all share a common goal, which is to realize our FULL POTENTIAL. 

but how do you know you've reached your full potential? what makes golf the greatest game mankind ever invented is that there really is no sure way of knowing if you've reached your full potential. unlike other sports where you quickly hit a wall. meaning you quickly gain the KNOWLEDGE on what it takes to improve further but simply don't have the inborn SKILLS. example, when my tennis coach told me the solution to my problem was to try to be quicker, there was not much knowledge involved. it was mostly skill.

ironically, if you gain all the KNOWLEDGE on what it takes to achieve your full potential, golf would be less exciting. it would be like learning to dunk a basketball, and you quickly learn that you simply need to bend your legs and push as hard as possible. you quickly learn you simply are not athletic enough and tall enough. i believe golf is too complicated, and there will never be a tutorial that could teach you all the needed knowledge. but i believe this tutorial gives you the BEST possible CHANCE. so in a way, this tutorial makes golf less exciting for you. 

i was playing a round with a college buddy of mine. after the round, he decided to be a guinea pig of this tutorial. he was our president at the UPLB mathematical sciences society and is now a CIO at st. lukes medical center. so if he ever breaks 80, he would make a credible testament to this tutorial. it's also because of him that i came up with the idea for barrio golf. 

anyway, i PARRED the 2nd hole. but i told him i was DISAPPOINTED because my supposedly easy 130-yard approach shot erred to the left and went in the bunker. that means there was something wrong with my technique. i was just lucky i hit a good bunker shot and sank the putt. 

 

however, when i DOUBLE BOGEYED the par 5 10th hole, i told him i was HAPPY with that hole. that's because ALL MY SHOTS were very GOOD. the fairway was uphill and very narrow with hazard on the left and OB on the right. 

i drove 200 yards right down the middle. then i hit my 2nd shot 180 yards, also right down the middle of the fairway. my 120-yard approach shot was also good. i hit it very straight, landing just 5 yards before the hole. the only problem was it was a STEEP TABLE TOP green, and the PIN PLACEMENT that day was FRONT. therefore, landing 5 yards before the hole also meant it landed 1 yard short of the green and my ball rolling back 10 yards. 

my 4th shot was a 15-yard pitch. i tried to land 4 yards before the hole, hoping for a par save. but instead, it landed 5 yards before the hole. so it rolled back 10 yards again. but i still considered it a good pitch because the error was just on distance control, which i haven't had time to work on yet. on the 5th shot, i decided to be conservative and just land it nearer to the hole. my ball landed 3 yards before the hole and rolled 20 feet past the hole. i 2 putted for a double bogey. but i was happy because all my shots were good. if i hit the same quality shots in all the other holes, i would easily have broken 80.

another smart strategy is to STABILIZE the important FACTORS one by one and NOT WORRY about your SCORE. that's because a mistake with just 1 factor is enough to score a double bogey. your score won't necessarily improve as you stabilize more and more factors. it might even become worse. in nerd speak, the learning curve is a long flat line no matter how many factors you stabilized. then it rises exponentially after you stabilized all the factors.

at the beginning of this tutorial, i talked about setting a goal to consistently have NO ELECTROCUTION feeling. but that goal is NOT REALISTIC because there will usually be a small amount of electrocution feeling. it's very rare to hit the ball perfectly flushed. you need to find out the electrocution threshold of tolerance at the golf course. don't do it at the driving rage because the worn out balls and difficulty in measuring ball distance will give you poor data. hit a few balls and find the FEELING for the amount of electrocution that will only lose you 10 yards or less in ball distance. that feeling will be your threshold of tolerance. anything below the threshold can be considered a good shot, and anything above it should be considered a bad shot. 

of course you should play alone when doing “electrocution threshold” experiments. you should tee up the ball even on fairway shots so you can gather more data. 

 

11. shaft flex, driver loft, and ball type

they say it's the indian, not the arrow. that's true, but only to a certain extent. of course those 70's clubs are way more difficult. also, my shafts need to be stiff, and my driver loft has to be between 9 to 11 degrees for me to play my best game. regular flex shafts will significantly affect my accuracy. an 8-degree driver lessens my drive distance by 30 yards. fortunately, it's very easy to know which SHAFT FLEX and DRIVER LOFT is right for you with a quick INTERNET search. you could also experiment by trying out the clubs of your golfing buddies.

 

but as i said, it's mostly true that "it's the indian, not the arrow". a big MISTAKE that i notice many golfers make is they BLAME their bad game on their EQUIPMENT. as long as your shaft flex and driver loft is within the recommended RANGE, as long as your clubs are one of the top 10 brands, and the technology is not more than 15 years old, the problem is in your technique, not your equipment.

however, it’s probably not a good idea to use golf clubs that are not well known BRAND NAMES. example, i tried using these not so well known set of irons, and i can feel a significant difference in difficulty. it’s as if the sweet spot is smaller than my mizunos. 

however, i think it’s advantageous for someone to learn and TRAIN using more difficult clubs such as older clubs. it would be like basketball players training with ankle weights or dragging tires. this is good news for my barrio golf project, which i will discuss at the end of this book. to make a barrio golf game fair, they can just set a rule where all players are required to use the same set of clubs.

 

you you might think this tutorial will negatively affect the sales of golf equipment manufacturers. the opposite is true. if this tutorial becomes popular, barrio golf will make hundreds of millions of people addicted to golf, including those living in the slums. even if just 10% climb the economic ladder and upgrade their equipment to brand names, the revenue of the equipment manufacturers will skyrocket. it's the same strategy with software companies that permits anyone to freely use their software just to get mass market adoption of their product. then they make money on the users and businesses that require customer support.

i suggest you use high trajectory balls. a low trajectory ball such as prov-1 is like an 8-degree driver. it only benefits power hitters, and it would be a disadvantage for us average golfers. that's because there is such a thing as OPTIMAL BALL TRAJECTORY. you don't want the ball to go too high because it will be too affected by wind and gravity. you also don't want the ball to go too low because it will be rolling on the ground most of the time. so you lose a lot of distance due to friction (unless the ball bounces on cement just like that scene from the movie tin cup). the ball will go too high if a power hitter hits a high trajectory ball. and the ball will go too low if an average hitter hits a low trajectory ball.

 

note that even if you are a power hitter, your swing speed would become less if you follow this tutorial because you won't be hinging your wrist. so i suggest you use a 3 piece ball.

in my experience, there is no difference between a used ball and brand new ball in terms of performance. unless the used ball looks really worn out. maybe there is a difference if you are a scratch golfer. the problem with buying second hand balls is they come with different types mixed together. in the philippines, sidewalk vendors outside my home course sell second hand balls for P150 ($3) a dozen. i usually ask them to group 3-piece volviks for me, and i just give them P50 ($1) extra. other brand name balls are also good, but the problem is they don’t have the x-piece label (e.g. 2-piece, 3-piece or 4-piece).

you can also test each ball at home or a chipping green. HIGH TRAJECTORY balls usually have a HIGHER PINGING sound when you bounce it off a cement floor. but you should still verify by experimenting with actual chipping. i set aside the high trajectory ones for use when playing on the course and chipping practice. i use the low trajectory ones for hitting cage practice.

there are lots of information about ball type in the internet. example: https://www.golfstorageguide.com/1-2-3-4-5-piece-golf-balls/. but what they don't tell you is that ball type becomes a SIGNIFICANT FACTOR when CHIPPING, especially towards a high table top green. i did some experiments and didn't notice a significant difference in driving distance between the different ball types. although it's possible i was just hitting the ball well with the low trajectory balls and hitting poorly with the high trajectory ones. 

 

however, ball type becomes an important factor in chipping. example, i can always make the ball go over the dining room table when using a volvik 2 piece or 3 piece ball. but i can never get it over using a 4 piece volvik or a pro-v1. can you imagine the disadvantage a 4 piece or pro-v1 will give me when chipping on to a high table top green?

 

video: ball type matters in chipping

V. swing simplification strategies

this chapter SUMMARIZES the swing simplification strategies i talked about all over this tutorial.

if you are a talented golfer, the swing simplifications in this tutorial could do more harm than good. but if you are an average golfer who wants to break 80, you need to TRADE DISTANCE for ACCURACY by simplifying your swing.

the biggest thing you can do to make golf easier is to NEVER HINGE your wrist. in the golf world, hinging means cocking/uncocking and turning your hands (pronate/supinate).

touring pros NEED to HINGE their wrist because the PAR 4's average 450 YARDS. but if you are just an average golfer playing from the blue or white tees, i believe it would be impossible to break 80 if you hinge your wrist.
 
maybe teaching a beginner to hinge their wrist is like teaching a BEGINNER in basketball to do fade away jumpers. if you coach a team of beginners to master the basic set shot, you will easily beat the team of beginners whose coach wasted time teaching them how to do fade away jumpers.

 

another simplification strategy is to have a MINIMAL BODY TURN. meaning only do the amount of turn that is enough to reach your target. example, instead of using a 3-wood and a 90-degree body turn, you can achieve the same distance by turning only 45 degrees and using a driver. i used to use this strategy. but now i use the MINIMAL ARM LEVEL strategy where i always turn 90 degrees and use an arm level that is just enough to reach the green.

another simplification strategy is to have a UNIFORM ARM ANGLE. i adjust my pre-cock amount, knee, angle and stance width to enforce my arm angle for the different club lengths and moderate ground slope variations. this makes timing much easier, and your swing can groove faster.

 

another swing simplification strategy is to have a UNIFORM SPINE ANGLE. a uniform spine angle allows you to have a uniform body turn angle which helps groove your swing.

timing is the most difficult factor in a golf swing. so i ELIMINATED the TIMING factor in all my swings except the full swing. in the full swing, i let the anticipated spot of my arm swivel and wrist snap to naturally enforce the correct timing. for short yardages, i do a pure body turn swing, which does not involve timing.

 

a UNIFORM CLUB LENGTH benefits those who pays attention to the swing path or anticipated spot instead of the swing force direction because there will only be 1 swing path or anticipated spot for all the clubs in your bag. 

timing will also be easier if you have a MORE TILTED SPINE ANGLE. that's because the force direction of the body turn and arms will be closer to each other. so if your timing is off, the clubhead can't deviate that much from the correct swing path. unfortunately, a steeper spine angle gives me back pains. 

 

VI. swing depot

let's build our swing arsenal. we should build locally because trade tariffs have made it less profitable to outsource manufacturing. we need to follow elon musk's manufacturing efficiency strategy to make cost of labor less relevant. automation due to capitalist greed and innovation is the quickest route towards UBI and socialism utopia.

 

the techniques and swing thoughts of my core arsenal are in the “instant gratification” chapter at the beginning of this tutorial. i will just discuss here some underlying principles and miscellaneous items.

 

A. putting 

 

putting is a game within a game. it's also the MOST IMPORTANT part of the game.

 

DIRECTIONAL ACCURACY in putting is more of a knowledge and less of a skill. you just need to learn some key knowledge that i recently discovered, and you will be putting like a pro.

 

i will demonstrate how i reconstructed my putting stroke using the treasure of knowledge in the "swing theory" chapter.

1. dyslexia phenomenon

the gods of golf programmed my brain to think i'm aiming straight even if i'm aiming right of the target so they can sit back, eat pop-corn, and laugh at me score triple bogeys. the folks i played with were always baffled why i aimed my putt to the right of the target. over the years, i developed a subconscious reflex where my hands would close the clubface to compensate for my very crooked aim. but i would still 3 putt most of the holes.  

later, i learned to use the LINE ON THE BALL to align my putter. i never had any problem aligning the line on the ball towards the target as long as i did it from behind the ball. it’s similar to aligning your shot in billiards, and i was a pretty decent billiard player. i always wished they allow us to putt the ball using a billiard cue stick. i actually tried using a billiard cue stick to putt on the golf course, and it was so much easier.

but when i used a putter, it felt like i was in the twilight zone. even if the line on the ball was pointing to the target when i aligned it from behind the ball, the line would look like it’s pointing to the left when i’m standing in the putting position. so when i putt towards where the line was pointing at, i felt like i was in the twilight zone because the ball will start out going to the left of the target then it would suddenly veer right towards the target.

luckily, i found a very simple solution in the internet. turns out it's actually a common problem. it has something to do with one of my eyes being TOO DOMINANT than the other EYE. the remedy is to simply BOW my HEAD DOWN as much as possible so that my line of vision will be perpendicular to the ground. it's amazing how i discovered this only now after playing golf for 25 years. there is a quick way to find out if you have this dyslexia. google it. but if i were you, i won't bother. just bow your head down as much as possible, whether you have this dyslexia or not.

with my wrist putting style, the clubface is opened at the top of swing. because of my poor ability to see a fast moving object, i feel the clubface is still opened when it's about to hit the ball. this causes me to panic and over close the clubface. my remedy is to add to my swing thought that it should feel like the clubface is still HORIZONTALLY opened (facing right) when it hits the ball.

there is a phenomenon called "the yip" in the golf world where your putting stroke abruptly and wildly goes off-line. i think dyslexia is the root psychological cause of the yips, and being aware of your dyslexia would help prevent the yips.

 

2. hinge minimization strategy

 

the more hinges you use, the more difficult a golf swing becomes. putting does not require power therefore, you have the luxury to use only 1 hinge. you should take advantage of this luxury. the swing thought is actually common in the golfing world. it's called "1 PIECE". some golfers visualize all the components connected to the moving hinge (e.g. club, wrist, hands, arms) as just 1 piece. it's a mind trick in preventing the other hinges from becoming loose or unstable.

 

3. practice bounce

 

the practice bounce not only grooves your swing, i think it also PREVENTS the YIPS from happening. 

 

after my putting has grooved, i didn’t feel the need to practice bounce anymore. if you practice bounce, i suggest you PAUSE at the bottom and top of the practice bounce to inspect the clubface orientation and position.

 

4. interdependence principle and prioritization of factors strategy

 

there is NO WRONG or RIGHT putting STYLE as long as the factors are COMPATIBLE with each other. some golfers use belly putters. some use their wrist, others use their arms and others rock their shoulders.

there are MANY possible HINGE locations: upper body (sternum), left or right shoulder (rotator cuff), left or right elbow and left or right wrist. they are all good candidates. the only way to find out which one works best for you is to EXPERIMENT.

 

nobody in the PGA tour putts with their wrist. so i decided to putt with my wrist. after 25 years of experiments, i'm finally convinced that putting with my WRIST works best for me. my wrist is where i feel i have the MOST CONTROL when putting. i'm not an expert on human anatomy. but i guess it's because my wrist has more neurons or nerves connected to my brain compared to the other hinge locations.

a hinge orientation that is perpendicular to the ground is easier because according to principle 7.5.6, the resulting swing PATH is always functionally or practically the SAME as the direction of FORCE.

 

however, with my wrist swing, i will need to TILT my SPINE a lot in order to make the hinge orientation perpendicular. this gives me lower BACK PAINS. so i decided to slightly SLANT my HINGE so i don't have to tilt my spine too much. this is another example of the prioritization of factors strategy.

if you have the luxury to make your wrist hinge perpendicular, you will still need to SHORTEN the club length. the problem is when you travel, you will need to bring the putter with you because rental clubs are always standard. 

 

an option is to bring a GRIP that is the same as your putter grip. just slit it lengthwise so you can easily install it below the grip of any rental putter. also bring a long and thin strip of bike interior that you can use to wound and hold the temporary grip in place.

when i was young enough to have a more tilted spine angle, i always took the putter with me when i TRAVELED so i can practice putting in the hostel. my putter was short enough to fit in my suitcase. i provided a more sanitary alternative to beer pong and became a hero to germaphobe backpackers. oxymoron?

 

 5. swing setup

 

even if my wrist is slanted, it's still too vertical for the shaft tilt on a standard putter. this causes the bottom of the PUTTER to NOT be lying FLAT. it looks ugly, but it's actually OK. i can modify my putter to make the shaft more vertical so that the bottom of the clubhead would lie flat on the ground, and it would look nicer. but then again i don't want to get used to a putter that is not standard. the putter industrial complex does not make putters with perpendicular shafts because they want to promote war.

i always anchor my left elbow to my body to prevent unnecessary movements.

 

i use the same grip i use for all my other swings, which is the OVERLAPPING GRIP.

 

now that my aiming dyslexia has been neutralized, i have the luxury to VISUALIZE the TARGET LINE extending all the way to the target and SQUARE the CLUBFACE. example, if the target is 2 cups left of the hole, i visualize a line extending all the way 2 cups left of the hole. 

 

there are instructions in the internet that suggests you keep your EYES directly ABOVE the BALL. after lots of experiments, i think there is NO DIFFERENCE. all i'm sure about is i need to bow down my head so that my line of vision is perpendicular to the ground.

6. body turn principles

 

obviously, the body turn principles don't apply to my wrist putting style. but if your preferred putting style is turning your body or rocking your shoulders, then your SPINE ANGLE needs to be PARALLEL to the GROUND for the HINGE ORIENTATION to be PERPENDICULAR. this is what michelle wie does. her putting style is the simplest and easiest way if you are young and prefer rocking your shoulders because the swing force direction will be the same as the resulting clubhead path. if only i'm young enough, i would follow michelle wie's putting style.

 

 

video: michelle wie: perpendicular hinge

7. arm swing principles

 

putting and billiards share similar principles. billiard players practice bounce to groove the end of the cue stick along the target line. ideally, the objective is to hit the point on the ball that is along the target line. let's call this the TARGET POINT. 

 

if the downswing path is the same as that of the backswing path, then the cue stick or putter would always hit the target point. a backswing in putting that is along the target line is like a straight shot in billiards. a backswing in putting that is inward from the target line is like an angled shot in billiards. as long as you hit the target point, the ball will always travel along the target line. it does not matter at what angle the cue ball, cue stick or putter was traveling.

 

 

in billiards, if you simply shoot the balls directly to the hole without the cue ball, you will notice it's super easy. so you might be wondering why putting is more difficult even if you also only shoot the golf ball directly to the hole without a cue ball. the following are the reasons:

 

i) putting has a CLUBFACE ORIENTATION factor. in billiards, as long as the cue stick traces the target line, then you will always hit the target point. but in putting, even if the downswing path is the same as that of the backswing, if the clubface is not squared, then you won't hit the target point. 

 

 

ii) in putting, if the hinge orientation is not perpendicular, then:

   1) you will need to turn your hands to keep the clubface squared during the backswing.

   2) the ideal swing path is not along the target line

   3) the SWING PATH is a CURVE, not a straight line

   4) the direction of FORCE is not the SAME as the resulting swing PATH.

(SPEED control is also NOT a FACTOR if you just shoot a billiard ball directly into the hole. even if you hit the edge of the hole, the ball will just bounce into the hole. unlike in putting where the ball will graze over the hole if the speed is too fast. but that's beside the point).

 

video: why a billiard cue stick is easier than a putter

 

it's only in a PERPENDICULAR hinge orientation where the ideal swing path is along the target line, and the direction of force is the same as the resulting swing path. the swing path of a perpendicular hinge orientation is also a curve with respect to the ground. but it's functionally and practically a straight line from the perspective of the person putting (top view or bird's eye view). i need to say this to satisfy the technical correctness police.

 

this means if your hinge orientation is PERPENDICULAR, you have the luxury to TRACE the TARGET LINE. but it's not that big of a luxury because you still need to make sure the clubface faces up the right amount to prevent the clockwise hand turn deficit. that's why i decided to have a tilted hinge.

 

a perpendicular hinge does have an ADVANTAGE. but in my case it's NOT WORTH the back pains from having to bend over a lot. you don't just do 10 putts when practicing. you should at least practice for 5 minutes.

 

before i discuss my wrist putting style, let me give a couple of TIPS related to the putting style where the hinge is the left shoulder rotator cuff because it's very common.

a) left shoulder rotator cuff 

the left shoulder rotator cuff is more of a ball joint than a hinge. you can have a perpendicular hinge orientation by making your LEFT UPPER ARM PERPENDICULAR to the ground. if your hinge orientation is perpendicular, you have the luxury to simply TRACE the target line and KEEP the CLUBFACE horizontally SQUARED. in my experience, the key with this technique is to develop the muscle memory or FEEL for the amount you make the clubhead face up on the downswing. 

 

 

b) wrist hinge

 

now i will discuss the theoretical foundation of my wrist putting style.

 

i) swing path

 

it's simple: just flex your wrist parallel to the target line during the backswing and downswing.

 

if your HINGE ORIENTATION is perpendicular to the ground, the clubhead will travel along the target line. the more slanted your hinge orientation is, the more inward the clubhead will travel

 

 

the gods of golf programmed my brain to be a TARGET LINE SUPREMACIST. my bigotry makes me feel uncomfortable when the clubhead is not traveling along the target line. this causes my reflex to cock my wrist during the backswing to keep the clubhead along the target line. this is not necessarily a mistake, as long as i also uncock or flex my wrist out-to-in during the downswing. but it's more difficult. and if i flex my wrist towards the target or along the target line during the downswing, this causes the downswing to have more wrist flex compared to the backswing. since flexing my wrist opens and closes the clubhead, the IMBALANCE will over close the clubface, resulting in error left. to suppress this immoral urge, i simply need to be aware of it and always inspect the clubhead POSITION at the end of the backswing.

 

ii) clubface orientation

it's also simple: never turn your hands

 

if your HINGE ORIENTATION is perpendicular to the ground, the clubface should remain squared the entire swing. note the clubface faces down or closes vertically during the backswing, but it's practically and functionally squared. especially that ball trajectory is not a factor in putting. the more slanted your hinge, the more the clubface opens horizontally during the backswing.

 

the gods of golf programmed my brain to be a SQUARED CLUBFACE SUPREMACIST (i hope i’m not diluting the term supremacist). my bigotry makes me feel uncomfortable when the clubface is not squared, causing my reflex to turn my hands counterclockwise to keep the clubface squared. turning my hands counterclockwise during the backswing to keep the clubface squared is ok as long as i also turn it clockwise with the same amount during the downswing. but this is more difficult. to suppress this immoral urge, i simply need to be aware of it and always inspect the clubface ORIENTATION at the end of the backswing. 

 

however, what's more difficult for some people could be easier for others. just like the life of a settled farmer is easier for some. but for others, the life of a nomadic herder is easier. fortunately, there is no need to go to war to settle land utilization conflicts because only the former utah jazz karl malone wants to convert golf courses into pasture lands. it's possible that for some golfers, keeping the clubhead along the target line during the backswing might be easier even if your hinge is slanted. this is possible because the amount the clubhead faces up during the downswing is like a UNIVERSAL ADAPTER. you can violate any factor and still make a good putt by simply adjusting the amount the clubhead faces up to compensate or neutralize any incompatibility. example, if keeping the clubhead along the target line even if your hinge is slanted causes error left, then you simply have to increase the amount the clubhead faces up during the downswing to fix the error.

 

iii) swing thoughts

 

armed with the theories, we can compose our swing thoughts and mind tricks. the swing thoughts are in the "instant gratification" chapter at the beginning of this tutorial.

 

8. speed control

speed or distance control can easily be achieved through practice. VISUALIZE the ball SPEED before your putt. the more you practice, your visualization will gradually TRANSLATE to the right amount of backswing and force. speed control is more of a feel and less of a technique. i believe everyone can develop speed control in putting if they practice enough. i notice the LEARNING CURVE for speed control is pretty much the SAME for ALL golfers regardless of talent and knowledge of the swing mechanics.

never think about speed control during the final downswing. figure out the right speed only during the PRACTICE swing. on the final downswing, simply execute what you rehearsed during the practice swing.

 

9. SMART goals

i frequently hear golfers setting a goal on the number of putts in a game. they usually set a goal to not go over 36 PUTTS when playing 18 holes. i think it's a MEANINGLESS GOAL because if you are always CHIPPING to get on the green, then your first putt will always be short and EASY. so having zero 3 putts in the game is a useless statistic. it’s not Relevant.

a more useful goal would be, "FOLLOW the LINE in all putts inside 9 feet". notice i'm not worried about sinking the putt. if i follow my line, and the ball does not go in because i read the green wrong, i'm happy. if i fail to follow my line, then even if the ball goes in, i should not be happy because that means there is something wrong with my technique.
 

if i follow my line, and i still 3 putt only because i hit the ball too hard or too soft, then i should be happy because SPEED CONTROL will NATURALLY COME with more practice. if i only pay attention to the number of putts, then i could end up FIXING something that is NOT BROKEN.

 

10. practice tips

you can practice putting at home even if the floor is not perfect. you don't need a putting mat. just HIT the ball HARD enough to NEGATE any uneven or ROUGH surface. 

 

my TARGET is a strip of duct TAPE on the WALL. the advantage of wall practice is it will bounce back so you won't waste time and energy retrieving the ball. i recommend you VARY the ANGLE from time to time in order to develop your ability to visualize the target line, and you don't become dependent on the floor tile lines for reference.

if you are practicing in a putting green that is bumpy, you can still get decent practice by using what i call the "BILLIARD DRILL" where you hit another ball. if you putt hard enough, the speed will negate any uneven or rough surface. this will hone your directional accuracy.

practice mats can be destructive to your muscle memory if it's not perfectly level. just to be safe, NEVER try to PUTT the ball IN the HOLE. always HIT HARD to NEGATE any BREAK. just let the ball go over the hole and BOUNCE OFF the WALL to hone your directional accuracy.

 

11. making the greens bigger 

 

video: making the greens bigger: putting with an 8 iron

have you ever watched a scratch golfer chip around the green? unlike us average golfers who just try to get the ball near the hole, scratch golfers actually try to SINK their outside the green CHIPS. i shake my head when they try to argue with the caddie if the break is 1 ball left or 2 balls left in a 30-foot chip. it's almost like they are putting. do you wish you can also do that? YES YOU CAN!!!

my wrist putting style using an 8 iron would be perfect because a LOWER TRAJECTORY is LESS PRONE to BAD KICKS caused by the rugged terrain before the green. 

 

 

EXAMPLE, if a high trajectory ball hits the uphill part of a bump, then there is a higher chance the ball will just stop or even kick backwards. but if the trajectory is low, the ball will hit the bump at a flatter angle. so there is a bigger chance the ball will continue to go towards the hole. i will leave it as an exercise to the student what happens when a low and high trajectory ball hits the downhill and side slope part of the bump.

you might argue a higher trajectory is better because there is more chance the ball will land on the green where there are no bumps. that's like saying, it's better to be a neuro surgeon than a nurse because the salary is higher. your argument only applies to talented players where there is no significant difference in difficulty between a long backswing and a short backswing. a lower trajectory ball requires a SHORTER BACKSWING to achieve the same distance. therefore, a lower trajectory shot is easier. besides, my wrist swing is flatter. and according to principle 7.9.1, a FLATTER SWING is LESS PRONE to TOP BALL and CHUNK disasters. when CHIPPING around the green, average golfers should FEAR a TOP BALL and a CHUNK more than the ball landing on a bump.

the at home practice drill is similar to putting. it's OK to practice on CEMENT because the swing is very flat. so there will be NO IMPACT when the clubhead hits the floor.

 

 

some golfers hate SLOW practice ROUNDS. but i don't mind it because i use the waiting times to PRACTICE my 8 iron chips using another golf ball as target practice. 

 

 

i also use my wrist putting style if the ball is FLOATING on a rough more than HALF an INCH high. a flatter swing has more room for error when hitting a floating ball. if the swing is steep, the location of the ball has to be your swing vertex. if the ball is a little bit behind your swing vertex, the clubhead will hit the ball at a downward angle. and because there is NO HARD SURFACE beneath TO SQUEEZE and LAUNCH the ball, you will lose a lot of distance. with a flatter swing, there is more room for error.

you can PRACTICE hitting a floating ball AT HOME by teeing up the ball with a RUBBER TEE.

 

my wrist putting style with an 8 iron is also perfect for golf courses with no greens. in my hometown cebu, playing golf on grazing fields, soccer fields and empty lots is an underground culture. it's zero maintenance because the goats and cows do an excellent job as lawn mowers. in fact, the reason why i love playing on these courses is because the sound of the cows crunching the grass is very soothing to my soul. 

 

 

there used to be 8 of these courses (ecotec, USP, UP, go chan hill, st. benedicts, guadalupe, busay and talisay). the holes range from 90 to 180 yards. the one in talisay just got closed after the golfers lost the court case. the holes in that course were just empty subdivision lots. so the tee shots had to cross over some houses. one time, a stray ball went inside one of the houses and broke a TV. the golfers offered to pitch in to pay for the TV. but the owner filed a law suit to ban golf in their subdivision and won. 

i don't want to give an impression that we don't have real golf courses. actually my home province cebu is just 200 by 50 km, but we have 8 full size 18-hole golf courses: 1. alta vista 2. cebu country club 3. club filipino 4. mactan 5. liloan 6. mercedes 7. queens island 8. badian.

B. chipping

note that pitching is not part of my swing arsenal because it includes hinging the wrist (hinge minimization principle).

 

short game means chipping and putting. chipping around the green is the second most IMPORTANT SKILL in golf next to putting. just like defense win super bowls, short game is the reason why razi razon won 5 straight senior club titles in my home course alta vista cebu. if you have a very lethal short game, you don't need to be on the green on regulation to par the hole. the green would feel much bigger, and you will feel more relaxed on your approach shot.

 

the swing thoughts for my chipping technique are in the “instant gratification” section of this tutorial.

a high TRAJECTORY chip should only be for highly skilled players. but just like most rules and principles in life where it's always a case by case basis, it actually DEPENDS on the SIZE of LANDING AREA. if the slope before the green is not extreme and all you have to worry are tiny bumps, then it's ok to land before the green. in this case, the landing area is large enough such that there is no reason to use a higher loft wedge.

 

however, there are high table top greens where if i use a 52 wedge, it would be almost impossible to get the ball near the hole for a 1 putt. this is usually the case when there is very little running room because of the pin location and/or the slope towards the hole is too inclined. even if i land at the edge of the green, the ball will still roll too far leaving me with a very long putt. and if i land just a few inches before the green, the ball will stop short of the green. a 60 wedge is supposed to be more difficult. but since the landing area will be much bigger than the 52 wedge, i'm BETTER off using a 60 WEDGE. in this case, the RISK of a BAD KICK is much HIGHER compared to the risk of a top ball or a chunk. another option is to do a BUMP and RUN with an 8 iron.

 

 

video: when to use a 60-degree wedge

 

my father once told me that practicing CHIPPING would go a long way in IMPROVING your LONG SWING. it's probably similar to brazilian soccer players who grew up kicking a tennis ball while walking to school. or the speedball drill in boxing, which amazes me how light tiny punches can improve a boxer's skill.

most golfers practice their long swings 90% of the time and their short game 10% of the time. it should be the other way around. PRACTICE should be 90% SHORT GAME and 10% long swing. the great thing about short game practice is that it allows you to practice more without getting burnt out or fatigued.

if your floor is not carpeted you can buy a PRACTICE MAT in ebay for $40. in the philippines, you can order a small one in lazada for P400 ($8). just keep it anchored with a smudge of rugby (apply on both sides and wait 30 minutes before putting it together).

 

C. 7 o'clock swing

 

for distances inside 80 yards, i use my 7 o’clock pure body turn swing. the swing thoughts and techniques are in the “instant gratification” section at the beginning of this tutorial.

 

D. golden long swing

my golden long swing uses template 9.0. the following are my preferences that i plug in to the template. 

spine angle = 22 degrees

arm angle = handspan

body turn amount = 112 degrees

arm level = 11 o’clock

arm force direction = pull down then swivel arms and snap wrist slightly upward

body turn speed = dependent on anticipated spot

arm speed = dependent on anticipated spot

the full swing in the "instant gratification" chapter at the beginning of this tutorial is basically my golden long swing. refer to that chapter for the complete swing thoughts and demo.

 

since you will be inspecting the clubhead orientation at the top of a full swing, be aware that your PERCEPTION of the clubface orientation at the top of a full arm swing is a REVERSE of the orientation during ball impact. making the clubhead FACE UP at the top of swing actually results in the clubhead FACING DOWN and to the left when it hits the ball, which contributes to error left. making the clubhead FACE DOWN actually results in the clubhead FACING UP and to the right when it hits the ball, which contributes to error right.

 

 

video: false clubface perception at top of swing

E. bunker shot

 

even the best practice facilities don't maintain their bunkers regularly. sometimes, the sand is too compact. you can use your sand wedge as a back hoe to SOFTEN the sand 1-inch deep within a 1 square meter area. you can practice 18 shots inside the 1 square meter area that you quarried. but nowadays, quarry permits are impossible to get. i tried applying for a development permit but it got denied even if i own the property because the provincial authorities suspected my actual intention was just to quarry. i tried to partner with the barangay captain but he also got denied. then i tried to partner with the mayor’s brother but he also got denied. luckily, i found a way to practice bunker shots as you can see in my bunker drill video in the “instant gratification” section of this tutorial.

 

if the ball is BURIED in the sand, you might be tempted to do a steeper swing (e.g. 8 o’clock or 9 o’clock arm level). but if you don’t have time to practice and master a different arm level, you are better off using the 7 o’clock pure body swing. just get the ball out of the bunker and take the bogey. the risk of a disaster is higher if use a swing that you haven’t mastered. 

if you do have time to practice and master a steep swing bunker shot, the following are my techniques and swing thoughts:

lift your arms straight up to 9 o’clock level. then turn your body 90-degrees and practice bounce your body turn. OVER DIP your right shoulder a little bit during the downswing of the practice bounce.

over dipping your right shoulder causes the downswing to be a little steeper, resulting in an INTENTIONAL CHUNK, which is what you want in a bunker shot. 

during the practice bounce, take note of the TOP VIEW or bird’s eye view of the practice bounce PATH, which should be outward from the correct swing path (because you lifted up the clubhead to have an 8 o’clock arm level). then visualize the correct swing path, which is the curve parallel to the practice bounce path that intersects the ball.

on the final downswing, VERY SLOWLY punch straight DOWN with your right arm just to put the clubhead along the correct swing path while turning as fast as you comfortable can.

do NOT WORRY about topping the ball or over chunking the sand. be confident that as long as the top view path relative to the target plane is correct, then the path relative to the ground is also correct. that’s because there is a 1:1 correspondence with the angle of the clubhead path relative to the target plane and the angle of the clubhead path relative to the ground. 

therefore, all you have to do is slowly punch straight down just to bring the clubhead along the correct top view swing path and not worry about topping or over chunking.

during the game, PRACTICE SWING on a SIMILAR SLOPE outside the bunker until you get the correct divot location, which is 2 inches behind the ball.

although you need to hit 2 inches behind the ball, you should NOT THINK ABOUT IT during the swing unless you are very coordinated. if you are uncoordinated like me, trying to hit 2 inches behind the ball will divert your focus from the important swing thoughts.

it should FEEL like you will TOP the ball if you simply try to bring the clubhead along the top view swing path. if you are not aware of this false perception, your reflex will cause you to punch down harder, resulting in an over chunk. be confident that the SLIGHT OVER DIPPING of your right shoulder causes the clubhead to hit 2 inches behind the ball. if you are topping the ball, dip your right shoulder a little bit more. if you are over chunking, dip your right shoulder a little bit less.

don’t forget to also practice shots where the ball is on a THIN sand layer.

lastly, you might be wondering if GRAIN SIZE matters. in my experience, grain size does not matter. what matters is the depth of the loose sand.  

G. uneven lies

an uneven lie is when the ground is NOT LEVEL. there are 4 types of uneven lies:

1) uphill lie 

2) downhill lie

3) side-hill lie, ball-above-feet

4) side-hill lie, ball-below-feet

ever since i started playing golf, uneven lies would always ruin my game. but ever since i learned the knowledge in the “swing theory chapter” of this tutorial, i can now EASILY score PAR on a hole even if my ball ends up on an UNEVEN LIE.

 

mastering uneven lies gives an average golfer the best chance to break 80. that's because HILLY COURSES are usually SHORT to compensate for the difficulty. but if you master this tutorial, uneven lies become easy. so instead, short hilly courses becomes your FRIEND just like my home course alta vista cebu.

 

make sure to practice swing at a SIMILAR SLOPE but a safe distance from the ball. if the area has interconnected plants or vines that moves the ball during your practice swing, you can get a penalty.

 

your ball won't go as far when hitting uneven lies therefore, you need to OVERCLUB accordingly. you can go to a hilly golf course and experiment the club adjustments. a rough estimate is all you need because you DON'T always HAVE to be on the GREEN in regulation. you should still have a good chance for a par if you follow the putting and chipping techniques in this tutorial.

 

uphill and downhill lies are easier compared to side-hill lies. you just need to make your SHOULDER LINE PARALLEL TO THE SLOPE and strictly follow the swing thoughts in this tutorial. butch harmon suggests you move the ball position forward for uphill lies and move the ball position backwards for downhill lies (https://www.golfdigest.com/story/butch-harmon-uneven-lies). i humbly disagree. you should only move the ball position if the slope is too extreme such that it's not feasible to make your shoulder line parallel to the ground. i can't believe i'm disagreeing with the coach of tiger and phil mickelson. shame on me.

 

 

remember your GRIP POSITION should be relative to your SHOULDER LINE. so if you tilt your shoulder line to make it parallel to the slope, then your grip position also needs to adjust. example, with my easy swing, the back of my thumbs should always be facing perpendicular to my shoulder line. if the back of my thumbs are facing straight up even if my shoulder line is parallel to an uphill slope, this contributes to error right. if the back of my thumbs are facing straight up even if my shoulder line is parallel to a downhill slope, this contributes to error left.

 

if it's NOT POSSIBLE to make your shoulder line PARALLEL to the slope, that's when you adjust the ball position. 

 

 

in an uphill lie, MOVE the BALL POSITION FORWARD to hit the ball on the upswing and to avoid hacking the ball. in a downhill lie, MOVE the BALL POSITION BACKWARD to avoid chunking.

 

if you move the ball position forward or backward, you also need to move the ball position INWARD. if not, you will have to change your swing path or groove to avoid hitting the ball with the TOE of the clubhead.

 

if you adjust the ball position FORWARD, butch also suggests to AIM RIGHT to compensate for the clubhead facing left upon impact. and if you adjust the ball position BACKWARD, AIM LEFT to compensate for the clubhead facing right upon impact. butch did not explain clearly why, but principle 5.6.8 of this tutorial gives a good illustration. 

 

 

another option is to ADJUST the CLUBHEAD ORIENTATION instead of adjusting your stance. just remember to turn the shaft instead of turning your hands when adjusting clubhead orientation. with my easy swing, the back of your thumbs should always be facing perpendicular to your shoulder line. 

 

a side-hill lie is when the ball is below your feet or above your feet.

 

 

video: side-hill lies

to hit side-hill lies, NORMALIZE THE SWING SETUP as much as possible to your golden spine angle and golden arm angle so that you can use the SAME GROOVE or muscle memory you use when hitting normal or flat lies. normalize your setup by adjusting your stance width, knee angle, pre-cock amount and club length. adjust the club length by choking down or using a longer club such as a 5 wood. if the 5 wood will overshoot, shorten the backswing. if the side-hill lie is too extreme such that it's not feasible to enforce your golden spine angle and golden arm angle, then use the swing thoughts we are about to construct.

 

 

the good news is most ball-above and ball-below-feet side-hill lies can be NORMALIZED. ending up on an extreme side-hill lie usually happens if you make an error. so instead of spending time learning how to hit extreme side-hill lies, might as well use the time to fix the error. therefore, you can just skip the rest of this section. since the rest of this section is not important, i will try to be entertaining to make it worth your while.

extreme ball-above-feet:

 

for extreme ball-above-feet side-hill lies, i decided to PUNCH with my right arm instead of slap with my left arm. 

 

i placed a ball on top of a 3 feet drum and observed the clubhead path of the backswing. i noticed there is no more waterfall. the swing path is just a RIVER. 

it should not matter if the ball is above your feet or below your feet. as long as you follow this tutorial, you will always hit a good shot. this tutorial teaches you that as long as the downswing angle is the same as that of the backswing, you should hit the ball. i did a trial swing in slow motion where my backswing slope was clearly 11 degrees, and my downswing slope was also 11 degrees with respect to the ground. but i was shocked when the clubhead missed the ball by a whopping 1 foot above it. i realized my principles are flawed, and this tutorial is just garbage. 

 

before arranging funeral arrangements for this tutorial, i reviewed the principles and remembered that COCKING your wrist and TURNING your LEFT ARM clockwise will cause the clubhead to go outward and above the correct swing path. so i tried uncocking my wrist and turning my left arm counterclockwise during the downswing and BINGO!!! problem solved.

  

the reason why there is a strong tendency for my reflex to subconsciously hinge my wrist and turn my left arm in an extreme ball-above-feet lie, is i feel the swing range is not long enough. it feels like the ball can only go 30 yards if i don't hinge my wrist and turn my left arm. so i decided to HINGE my wrist and TURN my LEFT ARM when hitting extreme ball-above-feet lies.

 

i also notice that if the swing is very flat, timing is less of a factor. that's because the direction of force applied on the clubhead due to your body turn is not that different from the direction of force applied by your arm swing. so if let's say your body turn is too fast for your arm speed, then the clubhead can't go outward from the correct swing path that much. therefore, even if i turn my body, i can just hit the ball directly with my arms because the anticipated spot is the ball. 

 

 

this solves the mystery why it's difficult to hit a golf ball even if you were so good in tee ball.

 

anticipated_target_spot = ball if body_turn == 0 || waterfall == flat river

(who would have thought someone would write a ruby idiom for golf? the reason i'm writing this golf tutorial is because MERN stack obsoleted my ruby/rails job skill, and it will take me many years to master the MERN stack because i'm such a slow learner)

 

so hitting a PERFECTLY FLAT swing is easier because you can just hit the ball directly with your arms even if your body is turning.

 

because the swing plane angle is much flatter than what i'm used to, i have a tendency to flex my wrist in an effort to make the swing plane steeper. so i include in my swing thought to NEVER FLEX my WRIST. 

ok, looks like i figured out the technical specs. unfortunately, i'm not a robot who can just execute programmed instructions. i need a swing thought or mind trick to help me achieve the desired result. just like in the other swings, the goal is to make the angle or path of the downswing the same as that of the backswing. 

 

after lots and lots of experiments, i found out that the best way to achieve this goal is to PUNCH TOWARDS the middle between the location of my hands during address and my body. let's call this the anticipated punch spot. the swing is not perfectly flat therefore, i can't punch directly towards the actual punch spot. the actual punch spot is the location of my hands during address position.

 

 

during the downswing, IT SHOULD FEEL LIKE the clubhead will just hover around 1 foot above the ball, and it's the uncocking of my wrist and turning of my left arm that brings it down to hit the ball

 

the gods of golf programmed my brain to think that i should be uncocking towards the ball so they can sit back, eat pop-corn, and laugh at me when i hit and break the plastic drum. the TURNING of my LEFT ARM also BRINGS the CLUBHEAD DOWN to hit the ball. so if i uncock towards the ball, then the clubhead will go down too much and i end up hitting the drum.

 

be aware that it's COUNTERINTUITIVE to be uncocking above the ball instead of towards the ball. you need to trust, that turning your left arm counterclockwise also brings the clubhead down, and not just the uncocking of your wrist. 

because if you uncock towards the ball, when you turn your left arm counterclockwise, the clubhead will be TOO LOW.

another destructive tendency is for my hands to reach the punch spot before i fully uncock and turn my left arm counterclockwise. to prevent this, i visualize the clubhead reaching the ball first before my hands reach the punch spot. this forces me to UNCOCK and TURN MY LEFT ARM as strong as i can and PUNCH SLOWLY with my right arm. in other words, i'm hitting the ball mainly with my wrist, not my arms. it's like in basketball where you shoot mainly with your wrist and not your arms. 

it is also very important to be aware that your PERCEPTION of the CLUBFACE ORIENTATION in a steep swing setup, is very DIFFERENT from your perception of the clubface orientation in a flat swing setup. example, if i make the clubface squared to the target, then i LIFT UP my arms, it feels like the clubface is still squared to the target. but in reality, it's facing left even if i did not turn my hands or arms. we can confirm this by attaching a water bottle to the clubface. in the photo below, notice the water bottle is initially pointing towards the target. then, it faces left after i lift up my arms even if i did not turn my hands or arms.

 

 

my remedy is to make sure the BOTTOM EDGE of the clubface is PERPENDICULAR to the TARGET LINE. this will feel like the clubface is open because it will be facing up. but horizontal clubface orientation is what determines ball direction. the clubface facing up will only cause the ball to go higher. 

 

and don't forget your hands have a strong tendency to revert to its usual grip position during the downswing. so do not open the clubface by turning your hands. always adjust clubface orientation by turning the shaft.

 

to summarize:

1) i make the clubface face up to make the bottom edge of the clubface perpendicular to the target line.

2) the slope of river is the same as that of the swing setup angle

3) on the backswing, i cock my wrist, turn my left arm clockwise, and i make sure i don't flex my wrist.

4) on the downswing, i uncock my wrist and turn my left arm counterclockwise as strong as i can, while i punch slowly with my right arm towards the anticipated punch spot, making sure it's above the ball. i also visualize the clubhead reaching the ball before my hands reach the punch spot. this forces me to uncock my wrist and turn my left arm counterclockwise as strong as i can and punch slowly with my right arm.

 

now we got the fundamentals nailed down, let's compose the PRACTICE BOUNCE. i like to do 2 practice bounces where i don't uncock and turn my left arm. this warns my reflex that it causes the clubhead to miss and just hover above the ball. then i do 2 more practice bounces where i uncock and turn my left arm. 

 

you can also try the following alternative technique:

1) address the ball and make sure the bottom edge of the clubface is perpendicular to the target line.

2) with this technique, you NEVER COCK and UNCOCK your wrist.

3) turn your left arm clockwise. this will bring the clubhead above the ball. the location of the clubhead at this point is the anticipated spot.

4) practice bounce by punching to make the clubhead hit the anticipated spot. do not turn your left arm yet..

5) on the final downswing, simply punch to make the clubhead go towards the anticipated spot while you turn your left arm counterclockwise to bring the clubhead down and hit the ball.

 

video: alternative technique for extreme ball-above-feet side-hill lies

 

extreme ball-below-feet:

when hitting on an extreme ball-below-feet side-hill lie, my spine angle is steeper, and my arm angle is narrower. i also turn my body first before lifting up my arms. my body turn is only 45 degrees and my arm level is 11 o’clock. i practice bounce my arm swing STRAIGHT UP and DOWN.

practice tips:

 

when practicing side-hill lies, you should PREVENT your muscle memory from GROOVING to the extremely flat and extremely steep swing angles by regularly switching between ball-above and ball-below-feet. 

 

below is a link to the video of my "side-hill drill". i do 10 shots with ball 3 feet above my feet, then 3 shots with ball 3 feet below my feet, then 3 shots with ball 2 feet above my feet, then 3 shots with ball 2 feet below my feet, then 3 shots with ball 1 foot above my feet, then 3 shots with ball 1 foot below my feet. then on a flat lie, i do a full swing with a driver, a full swing with a 6 iron, and a mid swing with a pitching wedge. the video is UNCUT to prove my theories are scalable, adaptable, and flexible. 

 

video: extreme side-hill drill

 

other theories:

 

butch harmon suggests to aim right if the ball is above your feet because the tendency of a flat swing is "MORE hand and arm ROTATION" to close the clubface which causes the ball to err to the left. butch also suggests to aim left if the ball is below your feet because the tendency of a steep swing is LESS clubface ROTATION which causes the ball to err to the right. maybe i'm just missing something, but i see NO REASON to ADJUST my AIM. 

 

if the ball is above my feet, the swing will be flatter. it is true that with a flatter swing, the clubface closes at a faster rate during the downswing compared to a steeper swing. but it is BALANCED out by an equally fast opening of the clubface during the backswing (principle 7.11.1). the opening and closing of the clubface in a flatter swing is not caused by the hand and arm rotation but the opening and closing of the shaft angle. in a steep swing, there is actually a tendency for the ball to error left due to the clockwise hand turn DEFICIT (phenomenon 7.11.2).

 

before i developed this tutorial, my ball had a tendency to error right if the ball was above my feet and error left when the ball was below my feet. i think the reason was that my MUSCLE MEMORY for the SWING FORCE ANGLE of the downswing was GROOVED to my MID CLUBS or 7 iron. when the ball was above my feet, the backswing was flatter than normal. since my downswing was grooved for the mid clubs, this caused the downswing to be steeper than the backswing, which contributed to error right. when the ball was below my feet, my backswing was steeper than normal. since my downswing was grooved for the mid clubs, this caused the downswing to be flatter than the backswing, which contributed to error left. the good news is my new swing thoughts prevent these mistakes from happening.

G. lob shot

for me, practicing lob shots is JUST FOR FUN. i never use it during a game. but i enjoy practicing it. average golfers should never ever do a lob shot in an important game. if your only chance for a par is to hit a lob shot, just take the bogey. remember you can still break 80 even with 7 bogeys.

when practicing lob shots, my goal is to make the ball go as HIGH as possible and as SHORT AS POSSIBLE. for me, a trajectory that is short and almost vertical is very therapeutic. once in a while, i get lucky and hit an almost vertical trajectory.

 

there are many good lessons in the internet on how to do a  lob shot. but i want to share my own technique in case you are interested.

 

1) your swing setup angle and hinge orientation should be steep, around 67 degrees. aim your stance 45 degrees to the left and open the clubface 45 degrees to the right. make sure you open the clubface by turning the shaft so that you maintain your usual grip position.

 

2) lift your arms straight up to do a hinge aligned swing force. then swivel your arms using your left shoulder rotator cuff as hinge. do not flex your wrist.

3) practice bounce with an in-to-out swing path in such a way your hands won't come down. do not yet uncock your wrist in the first few practice bounces. then include the uncocking of your wrist to bring the clubhead inside such that the clubhead swing path will also be in-to-out.

4) on the final swing, hit the ball with an in-to-out swing arc where the vertex is behind the ball such that the clubhead will be hitting the ball with an upward angle. for the clubhead to hit the ball with an upward angle, you need to suddenly halt your hands midway through the downswing and snap or flex your wrist in such a way that the clubhead will hit the ball with an in-to-out and upward angle.

video: my lob shot technique

the reason why average golfers should never ever do a lob shot in an important game is, so many things can EASILY GO WRONG. it's a steep swing path. therefore, the vertex area is very small. if the vertex of your downswing is behind the correct one, then the clubhead would hit the upper portion of the ball resulting in a low top spin. if it's in front of the correct one, then either you end up hacking the ball or the clubhead will just slide beneath the ball. so you won't get enough ball distance.

even if the vertex of your swing is correct, your SWING PATH direction could easily be incorrect. if it's not in-to-out enough, the clubhead will just graze the ball, and you end up with an anemic ball distance. if the swing path is too in-to-out, then you will hit the ball with the heel of the clubhead.

 

and because you are HINGING your wrist, you are introducing an additional hinge. more hinges means more possibilities for mistakes.

 

when practicing lob shots, use a 2 piece volvik so the ball will go higher. DO NOT USE a 4 PIECE ball or a titleist pro-v1 because they have LOWER TRAJECTORY. refer to the section on "shaft flex, driver loft, and ball type" for more info.

 

my lob shot technique could work for a bunker shot. but i don't recommend it for reasons i just laid out.

 

 

video: 10 perfect lob shots in a row

 

VII. troubleshooting and reproducing errors

after designing and building a product, you need to provide a troubleshooting and maintenance manual (or else your company will become very profitable just like the ice cream machine supplier for mcdonalds).

A. golf is forgiving, and that's bad

just like troubleshooting a computer program, you can only confirm the culprit of the error if you can consistently REPRODUCE the error with the suspected culprit. but in golf, it can be very difficult to reproduce an error. i have this theory that if you make a mistake, the sensors in your brain can detect the anomaly and trigger the alarm bells during the swing so your REFLEX will make the necessary adjustments to COMPENSATE for the mistake. example, if your arm swing is too fast for your body turn, this contributes to chunking. but your reflex could also trigger you to push out and close the clubface, which can result in a nice draw.

isn't that a good thing? yes it's a good thing. but only if your reflex CONSISTENTLY makes the adjustment. but isn't it better to sometimes have a good shot compared to never having a good shot? for me, if you make a mistake, it's better if it always results in a bad shot so you will know you are doing something wrong, and you can CORRECT it. what makes golf so complicated is that most of the time, you are not aware that you are doing something wrong. it's the same reason why i have such a horrible personality. i am very good looking and everyone likes me, so everyone is afraid to criticize me.

in other words, making bad shots is good because you learn from them. however, the objective of golf is to have a good score, and making bad shots results in a bad score. the solution to this conundrum is to make lots of INTENTIONAL bad shots during practice. but this is easier said than done. as i said earlier, your reflex has a tendency to compensate for the mistake.

fortunately, the swing thoughts in this tutorial are COMPLETE enough to prevent your reflex from compensating. with the example earlier where my arm swing is too fast for my body turn, my swing thoughts will prevent my arms from compensating and pushing out because my arm swing angle is part of my swing thoughts. 

being able to easily reproduce all kinds of mistakes means you have COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE on the underlying mechanics of the golf swing. however, it's not practical to practice reproducing the errors for all possible mistakes. you need to PRIORITIZE those that are most likely to occur depending on your skill level. example, i won't include here the errors caused by the knee angle changing during the swing.

my drill on reproducing errors, which i call the “golden drill”, is in the “instant gratification” chapter at the beginning of this tutorial. you can design your own drill based on your skill level and error tendencies. you can mix and match mistakes that CANCEL each other out. example, on the downswing, if i dip my right shoulder behind its location during address and make the force direction on my hands outward instead of straight down, the 2 mistakes cancel each other out, resulting in a good shot.

B. intentional errors or trick shots

there are times when you need to slice or hook your shot. example, in hole 10 of danao course in cebu, you NEED to hit a 180-yard DRAW from the tee box to par the hole. if you HIT it STRAIGHT, the trees will stymie your approach shot, and you will DOUBLE BOGEY.

 

there are many videos in the internet on how to hit an intentional slice/fade and hook/draw. but i DISAGREE with some of the things they say. example is the one from rick shiels which currently has 2.6 million views. 

 

my first disagreement is rick advises to change the SHAFT LEAN to hit a lower shot. this might not be advisable for average golfers because it changes the timing of the wrist snap. it’s better to follow rick's other advice, which is to use a lower loft club and choke down.

second, rick advises you to swing more IN-TO-OUT by dropping your swing more to the inside during the downswing when trying to hit a draw. this CHANGES the GROOVE of your swing. your stance alignment is already providing the in-to-out swing path, so there is no need to make it more difficult by changing the groove of your swing. 

third, rick uses the swing path instead of the target line as REFERENCE for the CLUBFACE orientation. this does not have the flexibility to adjust the amount of draw or fade. it's simpler to just make the clubface face the target all the time so you can adjust the amount of fade or draw by adjusting your stance alignment.

 

fourth, rick fails to emphasize that you should turn the shaft or make the clubface face the target first before gripping. there is a TENDENCY for beginners to grip first and TURN their HANDS to make the clubface face towards the target. this can cause havoc because during the downswing, there is a strong tendency for your hands to return to the position you are USED TO. you should turn the shaft or set the clubface orientation first before you grip. example, with our easy swing, the back of both thumbs should always be facing perpendicular to your shoulder line.

 

whenever you need to adjust the aim of your stance to hit a draw/hook or fade/slice, your SWING PATH or GROOVE relative to your stance line should remain the SAME. only the clubface orientation relative to your stance line should change. ideally, i should be using the stance line instead of the target line as reference for my swing force direction. but because i'm a target line supremacist, i corrupt the target line by making it parallel to my stance line so i can continue to use it as reference. (refer to the photo in the “bunker shot” section of the “instant gratification” chapter at the beginning of this tutorial.)

 

note that shaping your shots is more difficult with higher loft clubs. example, i can never draw or fade with a club above 8 iron. 

 

1. slice

to hit a SLICE, aim your stance left of the target then square the clubface to the target. this is called open stance in the golf world.

 

note that a slice not only causes the ball to curve to the right, it also causes the ball to go higher. so this trick shot should be called a HIGH SLICE.

2. low slice

what if you want to hit a LOW SLICE? then use a LOWER LOFT club. but a lower loft club goes farther. what if you don't want to hit that far? then choke down on the club to shorten the club length or have a shorter backswing. note a slice that goes low is technically still a high slice because it's still high RELATIVE to the loft of the club being used (a useless but amusing argument from someone with asperger's).

3. draw

to hit a DRAW, aim your stance to the right of the target then square the clubface to the target. 

 

note that a draw not only causes the ball to curve to the left, it also causes the ball to go lower. so this trick shot should be called a low draw. 

 

4. high draw

what if you want to hit a high draw? then use a HIGHER LOFT club. but a higher loft club don't go as far. what if you want to hit it far? then use a 7 or 9 wood. or have uniform club lengths where all your clubs have the same length as your driver (i discussed this in the "swing setup" section of the “swing theory” chapter). note a draw that goes high is technically still a low draw because it's still low RELATIVE to the loft of the club being used.

5. stinger / punch shot

stingers are LOW TRAJECTORY shots. most golfers call it a punch shot because a low flying ball punches through the wind. i don't like calling it a punch shot because it confuses with the term "punch" in this tutorial which means punching with your right arm.

to hit a stinger, i use a LOW LOFT club and a short swing. example, to hit 100 yards, i use the 7 o’clock swing with a 5 iron. you need to find out and practice the yardages for your mid and long clubs with the 7 o’clock swing because it can be a life saver when you need the ball to go under tree branches.

 

most golfers know it's better to hit a stinger against a strong wind, or whenever they need the ball to duck some tree branches. but there's one use of a stinger that i notice many golfers are not aware of. if there is an EMBANKMENT on one side of the fairway that can FUNNEL your ball to the middle, it's better to hit a stinger. example, in hole #3 of alta vista cebu, if your ball errors to the right, your ball can end up in the water hazard if the ball has a normal trajectory. so instead of doing a full swing with a 5 wood, i do a half swing with a driver. so in case i error right, there is a higher chance my ball will hit the embankment and funnel my ball to the middle of the fairway.

  

C. unintentional errors 

 

video: troubleshooting reference

you cannot secure your network if you don't know how to hack your network. this section serves as a hacker’s TROUBLESHOOTING REFERENCE or cheat sheet. although it’s difficult to reproduce specific mistakes, it's easy to figure out the possible outcome of a mistake by doing the mistake in slow motion.

 

note that some mistakes are only considered mistakes in this tutorial. example, during setup, having an arm angle that is narrower than your golden arm angle is not necessarily a mistake as long as you have the TALENT or ability to adjust your timing. in fact, tiger uses a narrower arm angle when hitting shorter clubs, and a wider arm angle with longer clubs. but in this tutorial, we rely heavily on our swing groove or muscle memory. a different arm angle is only a mistake because it's NOT something you are USED TO. just like people in india have the highest cholesterol levels even if they are mostly vegetarians because they are NOT USED TO having cholesterol in their diet.

  

a) mistakes that contribute to the downswing being FLATTER or STEEPER than that of the backswing.

 

i) top ball, hitting the ball with the heel of the club, error left

 

if the downswing is FLATTER than that of the backswing, the clubhead path will go OUTWARD and ABOVE from the correct swing path during the downswing. if your reflex doesn't do anything to react, this contributes to a TOP BALL and hitting the ball with the HEEL of the club. if you react by pulling in your arms to prevent the top ball, this contributes to ERROR LEFT.

 

the following mistakes contribute to the downswing becoming flatter than the backswing:

1) during setup, arm angle narrower than your golden arm angle. or narrower than what your muscle memory is used to

 

2) during setup, spine is less tilted than your golden spine angle, or less tilted than what your muscle memory is used to, and you adjust by going nearer to the ball

 

3) cocking during the backswing, but you don't uncock with an equal amount during the downswing. 

 

4) body turn angle on the downswing flatter than that of the backswing. this usually happens if you over dip your left shoulder during the backswing trying to swing like tiger, or you under dip your right shoulder during the downswing 

 

5) swing force direction of the arms during the downswing too flat

the following section mostly MIRRORS this section. as an exercise, i urge the reader to compose the next section by simply flipping or using the opposite attributes of this section. example, replace the word left with right.

ii) chunk/pop up, hitting the ball with the toe of the club, error right

 

if the downswing is STEEPER than that of the backswing, the clubhead will go INWARD and BELOW from the correct swing path during the downswing. if your reflex does not do anything to react, this contributes to CHUNKING or hitting the ball with the TOE of the club. if you react by pushing out to prevent the chunking, this contributes to ERROR RIGHT.  

 

the following mistakes contribute to the downswing becoming steeper than the backswing.

 

1) during setup, arm angle wider than your golden arm angle or wider than what your muscle memory is used to

 

2) during setup, spine more tilted than your golden spine angle or more tilted than what your muscle memory is used to, and you adjust by going farther from the ball 

 

3) not cocking during the backswing, but you uncock during the downswing 

 

4) body turn angle on the downswing steeper than that of the backswing. this usually happens if you over dip your right shoulder during the downswing trying to swing like tiger, or you under dip your left shoulder during the backswing 

 

5) swing force direction of the arms during the downswing is too steep

 

b) CLUBFACE ORIENTATION mistakes

 

the grip and clubhead orientation during address affects ball direction more than most people think. if the clubhead orientation is a little off, this contributes to a directional error. this might be difficult to believe considering the clubhead orientation changes wildly during the swing anyway.

i) error left

1) during address, your grip position is stronger than what you are used to. example, the back of my thumbs are always facing perpendicular to my shoulder line. if they are facing to my right, it contributes to error left.

2) during address, the clubhead is facing left instead of squared.

3) turning your hands counterclockwise during the backswing. example, at the top of the backswing, the clubface is facing down too much.

4) not bowing your left wrist enough.

5) body turn angle on the downswing flatter than that of the backswing. or dipping your right shoulder too outward.

ii) error right

1) during address, your grip position is weaker than what you are used to. example, the back of my thumbs are always facing perpendicular to my shoulder line. if they are facing to my left, it contributes to error right.

2) during address, the clubhead is facing right instead of squared.

3) turning your hands clockwise during the backswing. example, at the top of the backswing, the clubface is not facing down enough.

4) bowing your left wrist too much or wrist snap too weak or delayed.

5) body turn angle on the downswing steeper than that of the backswing. or dipping your right shoulder too inward.

c) SPINE ANGLE mistakes

 

if you try to hit hard, there would be a tendency for your spine to become less tilted during the backswing (bob up) or become more tilted during the downswing (bob down or duck down). spine angle mistakes are a little tricky because it depends on the movement of your butt.

 

i) top ball only

 

1) spine becomes less tilted during the swing, and you keep your weight centered by moving your butt forward. this can happen during the downswing if you try to see where the ball is going too early. this is the famous LOOK UP mistake.

ii) top ball and hit the ball with the toe of the clubhead

 

1) spine becomes less tilted during the swing, and you move your body or weight backward, or you don't move your butt

iii) chunking only

 

1) spine becomes more tilted during the swing, and you keep your weight centered by moving your butt backward

iv) chunking, shank

 

the following mistake causes chunking. if your reflex tries to prevent chunking by pushing outward, it can cause a shank.

1) spine becomes more tilted during the swing, and you move your body or weight forward, or you don't move your butt

 

d) AXIS of ROTATION mistakes

 

i) shank

 

a shank can happen if your body or weight moves forward during the swing.

1) axis of rotation during the backswing transfers towards your right shoulder in an effort to keep the clubhead along the target line

 

2) axis of rotation during the downswing transfers towards your left shoulder to react to the false perception that you are too far from the ball

 

e) mistakes with my WRIST putting style

 

i) error right

1) one eye is too dominant than the other eye and you don’t bow your head down completely.

2) the contact point location at the top of swing is too inward from the correct location. this can happen if you uncock during the backswing, or the second half of the backswing goes inward instead of parallel to the target line. this can also happen if the second half of the backswing is too short.

3) the clubhead is too open at the top of swing.

4) the clubhead faces up too much during the downswing. 

ii) error left

1) your hinge is not perpendicular, and you do not allow the clubhead to open freely during the backswing, causing your hands to turn counterclockwise.

2) the contact point location at the top of swing is too outward from the correct location. this can happen if you cock during the backswing, or the second half of the backswing goes outward instead of parallel to the target line. this can also happen if the second half of the backswing is too long.

3) the clubhead is not open enough at the top of swing.

4) not being aware and reacting to the false perception that the clubhead is still open when it hits the ball. this causes your reflex to close the clubhead.

5) not allowing the clubhead to face up enough during the downswing.

 

f) mistakes with UPHILL and DOWNHILL LIES

 

once in a while, you should play ALONE on a hilly GOLF COURSE so you can experiment and reproduce mistakes with downhill and uphill lies.

 

i) error left

 

1) on an uphill lie, you move the ball position forward, but you don't adjust your stance alignment to the right 

2) on a downhill lie, you make your right shoulder parallel to the slope, but the back of your thumbs are still facing straight up instead of perpendicular to your shoulder line.

 

ii) error right

 

1) on a downhill lie, you move the ball position backward, but you don't adjust your stance alignment to the left

 

2) on an uphill lie, you make your right shoulder parallel to the slope, but the back of your thumbs are still facing straight up instead of perpendicular to your shoulder line

 

iii) hitting the ball with the toe of the clubhead

 

1) on an uphill and downhill lie, you move the ball position forward or backward but don't move it inward

iv) hacking, no loft and ball goes too far 

 

1) your shoulders are not parallel to the slope in an uphill lie and you don't move the ball position forward

 

v) chunking 

 

1) your shoulders are not parallel to the slope in a downhill lie and you don't move the ball position backward

 

VIII. more tips

A. hitting cage math 

 

in this tutorial, i keep saying error left and error right. but how in the world do we know if our ball erred to the left or right inside a hitting cage? let's compute the ideal WIDTH of a TARGET in the hitting cage.

it's basically a right triangle where the path of your ball is the hypotenuse (H), the distance to the target is the adjacent (A), and the distance between the target and where your ball ends up is the side opposite (O) to the angle.

it's hard for me to forget the formula because the mnemonic is my favorite food: TOA (as in sugba TOA kilaw): Tan(angle) = O(opposite)/A(adjacent). let's rename A to D(Distance of your shot at the golf course) and rename O to E(Error of your shot at the golf course). let's make "d" to be the distance between you and the net inside the hitting cage and let's make e to be the error in the hitting cage. the ratio is the same regardless of distance the ball travels. therefore:

e/d = E/D, or e = (d)(E)/D

 

example, my hitting cage is 4 yards long. the narrow greens in my home course are 12 yards wide. if i’m hitting from 150 yards away, then the width of my target in the hitting cage should be: solve for e, e/4 = 12/150, e = .32 meters or 1 foot. that means if i hit my 6 iron inside the 1-foot wide target, i know i hit the green.

my drive is around 220 yards. given a fairway that is 37 yards wide, solve for e: e/4 = 37/220, e = .666 meters or 2 feet. that means if i hit my driver inside the 2 feet wide target, i know i hit a good drive.

 

to ESTIMATE ball DISTANCE inside the hitting cage, you can order a $200 launch monitor in ebay or lazada. you can also use the "shotvision" iphone app.

i discovered that RICE SACKS are much more durable than a fishing net. after just a few weeks, the fishing net started having holes. but rice sacks can last for 6 months even if you use it every day.

 

B. practice routines

 

eddie VAN HALEN was interviewed by guitar world magazine in 1996, and this is what he said:

"I used to sit on the edge of my bed with a six-pack of Schlitz Malt talls. My brother would go out at 7pm to party and get laid, and when he'd come back at 3am, I would still be sitting in the same place, playing guitar. I did that for years — I still do that.".

i don't want to be just another snake oil salesman touting something as if it's a miracle discovery. so far, i've been sounding like a 7 feet tall basketball player demonstrating how easy it is to dunk a basketball.

we all want to believe that success in business or career can happen due to a lucky idea or fateful moment where you met the right person. we tend to ignore the caveat or reality - that we still need to WORKD HARD. yes, the beatles had talent. but the beatles also performed for many hours each day in hamburg for 2 years to reach their level. i enjoy playing the guitar. but i would rather kill myself than play the guitar 4 hours every day. 

the good news is you don't need to hit 300 balls a day to reach your full potential. in my experience, FREQUENCY is MORE IMPORTANT than QUANTITY. maybe because your muscle memory is like a sponge. if you abruptly pour a glass of water on a sponge, a lot of the water will just bounce off and won't get absorbed. but if you pour little by little, more water will be absorbed. 

in my experience, hitting 20 balls in the morning and 20 balls at night every day (total of 280 balls a week) is better than hitting 300 balls twice a week (total of 600 balls a week). this is where having a HITTING CAGE at home becomes a big ADVANTAGE because it's not practical to go twice a day to the driving range just to hit 20 balls.

but don't forget that feeding your family and sending your kids to college is more important than golf. so for working folks, i recommend 2 PRACTICE SESSIONS a day, 15 minutes each. if you work near the driving range, or there is a hitting cage nearby (just like in japan and south korea where the rooftops of office buildings have hitting cages), you can sneak in another practice session during lunchtime. when i was working in silicon valley, some engineers practice putting in the hallways as a way to rest and refresh their brains.

i like to practice while watching the games of my favorite sports teams. during time outs or half time, i would putt, chip or hit a few balls in the hitting cage. you can also listen to your favorite podcast to be infotained while practicing.

i remember watching a documentary about 2 black kids whose family migrated from france to canada. the father was worried his kids lack physical activity and exercise during winter. so he went to the public library to research, and for some strange reason, ended up learning golf and teaching it to his kids inside their SMALL APARTMENT. he built a hitting cage in their apartment, and the kids became addicted to whacking golf balls. after 3 years, both kids competed in the world championships and became CHAMPIONS in their age group. the morale of the story is: do not underestimate the effectiveness of learning and practicing golf at home.

 

C. finding a swing doctor

fixing an error in your swing is a catch 22 (which came first the chicken or the egg?). you can't figure out the culprit unless you're good, but you can't be good if you can't figure out the culprit. this tutorial will teach you to troubleshoot and fix errors in your golf swing. but it's still better to HIRE A COACH especially if you are a beginner. a good coach is always open to learning different styles and techniques.

even if i was the one who developed this tutorial, golf coaches would be more effective than me in teaching it because they have a better ability to SEE a FAST MOVING OBJECT. they can easily diagnose your swing and detect a mistake. i know i have poor ability to see a fast moving object because when i watch a boxing match, i can only see the hits during the slow motion replay.

 

D. course management tips 

1. take into account the hardness of the ground

always take into account the HARDNESS of the fairway and green. during long dry summers, your drive and approach shots can easily roll 20 yards farther than normal.

2. layup on accelerating greens 

an ACCELARATING GREEN is a green where the ball accelerates instead of decelerate. example, even if you just tap the ball a little bit to make it travel 1 inch, it won't stop rolling until it goes too far from the hole. when approaching an accelerating green, i recommend clubbing down 1 club and just lay up short of the green. 

 

in the following video, my clubmate ronnel sticks his approach shot within 6 feet from the hole. the other players in the flight were congratulating him. but they did not know ronnel's short birdie putt was almost an AUTOMATIC BOGEY because he was putting downhill on an accelerating green. meanwhile, those who were short of the green had an easier chance for a par because they were chipping uphill.

 

video: lay up on accelerating greens

 

in cebu, there are 2 par 3s in the liloan course that are accelerating greens. although the situation changes depending on hole location and cut of the grass, WHEN in DOUBT it's better to be conservative and LAY UP in front of the green. thank god the accelerating greens in my home course have been moderated.

 

also, when putting downhill on an accelerating green, LEAVE the PIN in and hope the ball hits the pin. if putting uphill, take out the pin or else the ball could bounce off the pin and roll out of the green.

 

3. turning a tight fairway into a par 3 green

 

there are lots of very NARROW FAIRWAYS that golfers dread but are actually easy to par. you just need to change your perspective. these fairways are usually short par 4s or short par 5s. example is the par 5 hole #16 of my home course alta vista cebu. it's 467 yards. you need to thread a super narrow fairway off the tee box - OB on the left, hazard on the right. but if you CONVERT the narrow throat into a 170-yard PAR 3 green, the hole magically BECOME EASY. the only difference is that instead of having a 100-yard 3rd shot, you will be hitting a 150-yard 3rd shot. why would you not make that tradeoff?

E. a full stomach ruins your game

if your STOMACH is FULL, your PERFORMANCE and focus will DECREASE significantly because your brain and muscles will have to compete with your digestive system for energy. however, a hungry stomach will also make you weak and score triple bogeys. for me, the best snacks while playing golf are raw peanuts, popcorn, hard boiled eggs, banana, grapes, and meat slices. i think club houses and halfway houses should have popcorn machines. the meat slices are the ones commonly sold in grocery stores meant for sandwiches but since i have gluten intolerance, i just eat them straight.

 

F. locker room pep talk 

have you ever wondered how greg popovich of the san antonio spurs and bill belichick of the new england patriots won so many championships? unlike other teams who win championships by bringing in players who are already superstars, they won championships by developing a SYSTEM that turns average but HUMBLE and DISCIPLINED players into superstars. 

 

in contrast, kobe and shaq were already the biggest STARS in the league before they joined the lakers. people were anticipating a great rivalry between them and wondering who will win more championships. next thing you know, they both were playing on the same team. they seemed undefeatable. but in 2003, even at the height of their prime, they lost to the spurs in the finals. 

millions were overjoyed, and millions were devastated at each championship win by the spurs and patriots. no matter which side you were routing for, i'm sure you were baffled at their overachievement and wish there is a SYSTEM you can also follow that will make your golf game consistent and efficient so you can baffle your golfing buddies. luckily for you, this tutorial is that system. you just need to find the HUMILITY and DISCIPLINE to follow this tutorial completely step by step.

 

in addition to my car analogy, golf is also like CATCHING a BALL: someone throws you a ball and you catch it. you feel great!!! someone throws the ball to you again, but you fail to catch it because you did not even move your hands. later, you learn you need to catch it with your hands. but when someone throws you the ball, you fail to catch it again because you only used 1 hand. then you learn you need to catch with both hands. someone throws the ball to you again, and this time you catch it. yehey!!! someone throws again, and you tried to catch with both hands, but you were not looking at the ball, so you failed to catch it. then you learn you need to be looking at the ball. someone throws the ball to you again, but you still failed to catch it because although you were trying to catch with both hands and you were looking at the ball, you let go of the ball after it touched your hands. then you learn that after you catch the ball, you need to hold on to it. 

 

since then, you can catch the ball CONSISTENTLY because you already have the COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE: 1) catch with both hands 2) eyes on the ball 3) hold on to the ball. i believe breaking 80 in golf is like catching a ball where ALL the KNOWLEDGE are EASY to execute. the difference is that in golf, nobody has figured out the complete knowledge. and just like catching a ball, MISSING just 1 KNOWLEDGE is enough to make your game INCONSISTENT. i believe this tutorial has finally figured it out.

 

in learning the KNOWLEDGE of this tutorial, the journey SHOULD be just as FUN as the destination. but in learning the SKILLS of this tutorial, the journey IS just as FUN as the destination. that's because even if you are still a beginner, once in a while you will get lucky and hit a perfect shot. the amazing feeling of a perfect shot will radiate throughout your body. it can be addictive. golf is like an addictive drug except it promotes emotional and mental health.

after you learn the knowledge and skills of this tutorial, that's when the excitement begins. what's gonna happen is you go out to play with your golfing buddies hoping to shock them by breaking 80. but you FAIL to BREAK 80 because of a certain error that happened a lot during the game. you REVIEW the swing thoughts of this TUTORIAL and realize you were being stubborn and didn't believe a certain swing thought was important. so you go to the driving range to PRACTICE the missing swing thought, and you fix your error. you get EXCITED and can't wait to play again with your buddies. 

 

game day comes, and you FAIL to break 80 AGAIN. you review the swing thoughts of this tutorial and suspect the CULPRIT of your errors. you go to the driving range to confirm your suspicion. turns out you did try to follow the corresponding swing thought, but it's just DIFFICULT to execute correctly. so you PRACTICE and even add your own swing thoughts to solve the problem. you finally got it right and can't wait to play again with your golfing buddies. 

 

the excitement goes on and on until you can finally break 80. the LONGER it takes for you to break 80, the LUCKIER you are because your excitement goes on longer. golf would still be fun but LESS EXCITING after you PEAK or reach your full potential.

 

it does not matter if you are the best player in the world. if you don't have the HEART, you are nothing. you will be like a robot or computer with super capabilities but no soul. if you have the PASSION, you already have the MOST IMPORTANT thing in golf. breaking 80 is just a bonus.

 

allow me to sound cliche and say, "NEVER GIVE UP!!!". the techniques and principles in this tutorial did not just fall into my lap. i underwent lots of failures and disappointments. fortunately, the story of tesla inspired me to never give up. elon musk said he almost went insane trying to automate the production of tesla. he was constantly running around the factory screaming like a madman. his team kept coming close to giving up. elon slept on the factory floor to motivate his team. after many years of disappointments and heartaches, they finally got it working, and tesla's stock skyrocketed in 2020. but for a very long time before that (2010-2019), even stock guru jim cramer kept declaring tesla stock as a "cult stock" whose value is just based on too much hope. the top analysts and experts never believed tesla would one day be profitable.  

 

sports traditionalists might feel antagonistic at the mathematical nature of this tutorial. they just need to watch the movie "money ball" to change their attitude. the movie is based on a true story. in the beginning, the baseball experts were hostile toward billy bean's NERDY mathematical approach (sabermetrics). but when the oakland A's were 10 games behind first, they gave the nerdy method a try because anyway, they had nothing to lose. the A's went on to win a record breaking 20 games in a row and even won the american league. the following year, the boston red sox used the nerdy method and won the world series after an 86-year drought. this prompted all major league teams to create an analytics department conducting proprietary sabermetric studies. soon after, other sports followed suit. the moral of the story is, like it or not, nerds have a major role to play in the world of sports.

IX. barrio golf project

basketball is the number 1 sports in the philippines. but i'm sure FILIPINOS will fall in LOVE with GOLF if they get exposed to it. as i mentioned earlier, michael jordan admitted he enjoys golf more than basketball.

 

filipinos have a better chance winning an OLYMPIC MEDAL in golf than in basketball. playing in the golf course is expensive. but you don't need to be wealthy to enjoy and master golf. it's very FEASIBLE and AFFORDABLE for the filipino MASSES to enjoy and MASTER GOLF inside a hitting cage using rice sacks as the walls and using the free shotvision app on the iphone to measure ball speed. i call it barrio golf. it's better than simulation golf because unlike simulation golf, barrio golf will hone your putting, chipping, bunker shot, and even side-hill shots. the following link is the blueprint of this project - https://bit.ly/barrio-golf

what if for many people, the instinct for GOLF is just AS POWERFUL as the instinct for the ARTS? my golfing buddy elmo nazareno used to be the keyboardist for the most popular local band in my hometown called 40 the band. they were so big there is even a youtube video of one of their concerts where security guards had to kick out some crazy fans trying to climb on stage. yet, ever since elmo touched a golf club, he quit music. all he does in his free time is play golf.

so maybe if barrio golf is offered as an elective PE subject in all public schools just like music class, or authorized as an official school club just like the boy/girl scouts, more kids will stay away from drugs. that's because you don't have to be good to be in a team. no one ever gets benched in golf. every kid always has a chance to win a tournament because of the handicapping system. their focus and passion can last a lifetime.

barrio golf might even cause the sport of golf to explode all over the world. it will BENEFIT EVERYONE in the golf industrial complex, including tour players, vloggers, and equipment golf manufacturers. 

example, if an overseas filipino worker who plays barrio golf goes home to retire, they would most likely want to buy a townhouse or condo with golfing privileges. even if only 1% of barrio golfers go up the ECONOMIC LADDER, the value of the golf country club shares and stocks of golf equipment manufacturers will skyrocket. 

 

X. proof of concept

anyone should be able to drive to the grocery store even when they are nervous. therefore, a good STRESS test for this tutorial is for the test subjects to play in tournaments. if the test subjects can break 80 in tournaments, it would prove my thesis that golf is more KNOWLEDGE than skill. 

phase 1 of the clinical trials was MYSELF as the test subject. the first tournament i played during the development of this tutorial was a 2-person scramble. my partner was a 14-year old girl with a 5 handicap. we scored 3 under par gross. there was a sudden jump in my improvement even if my techniques still needed some polishing. it was the first time i felt the principles in this tutorial could revolutionize golf.

 

 

the biggest tournament in my home course is "the view invitational" where i scored a 78.

 

  

the following are the videos of the other tournaments where i broke 80:

video: proof of concept (part 1 of 3)

video: proof of concept (part 2 of 3)

video: intro to barrio golf (proof of concept, part 3 of 3)

video: golf math humor

 

this tutorial had to undergo numerous major revisions. may 7, 2024 was the day when i can finally say i discovered ALL the KNOWLEDGE needed by an average golfer to easily break 80.

the next phase is to test it on OTHERS. i’m old enough to know that people will only follow someone with status and/or charisma. that’s just human nature. i would need to pay someone with strong charisma to follow my techniques and promote it in social media. with my negative charisma, that could still be a challenge. hopefully they will realize the possibility that the first charismatic person to follow my techniques and swing style will become very famous.

the “instant gratification” chapter of this tutorial will be included in the BARRIO GOLF channel, and i’m confident barrio golf will one day be popular. however, i’m pretty sure the kids will rather follow rick shiels instead of my swing style. 

so i’m thinking of sponsoring barrio golf tournaments in the slums with enticing cash prizes. aside from the usual class A to C divisions, i will add a “COBRA style” division. the cobra style division will have the biggest PRIZE, and the rule is you can only qualify for the division if you follow the swing style and techniques in this tutorial, including my putting technique. i know it’s tyrannical, but i’m confident it will convince enough jedis to the dark side. MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU. 

 

(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)