“Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.” – Ben Hogan

To carry on from the prerequisite and immediately preceding article-with-video, “You Are Closer To Being A Pure Ball Striker Than You Think – The Trick Is To Embrace Your Hit Instinct To Be A Ball Striker Versus Training To Be A “Club Swinger””;

> let’s talk about the 100% opposite of having a golf swing that requires timing of various moving parts at various points in the golf swing versus embracing your hit instinct to cause a golf swing that is timing-free.

A timing-free golf swing in line with what my mentor Peter Croker, PGA-Australia and I teach will forever replace the need to train and maintain the intricate timing required if one follows mainstream golf instruction.

You see, our timing-free approach takes advantage of simple physical and physiological triggers and channels that allow the body to move reactively to, and therefore in sync with, the hands. Simultaneously, the hands are reacting to the free momentum of the club head.

Put another way, timing is not required when the hands are reacting to the club head and the body in turn simultaneously reacts to the hands;

– that is, connectivity and coordination between the club head, hands and body are built into our approach by design…

– …learning this timing-free approach simply requires experiencing these natural triggers that already exist within you…

– …and exploiting those built-in triggers for the purpose of consistently striking and compressing a golf ball cleanly.

It is timing-free because the body simply reacts to:

a) our educated hands pushing against each other [versus the exact opposite of the hands pulling away from each other as I demonstrate in the video tied to this article], that is…

– our take-back has the left hand pushing against a resisting right hand to trigger an in sync thought-free timing-free hip rotation on the take-back which automatically…

a) rotates the shoulders, and

b) transports a lagging-dragging club head straight back from the ball for a few inches to set up a slinging back of the club head…

> this slinging back of the club head gives the club head its own free momentum within a repeatable channel as defined by how the hands [and body] react to that free momentum.

> Yes, in order to have a timing-free thought-free swing we must create free momentum of the club head so our hands [and therefore body] can react to that free momentum…

– …this requires a handle-first / lagging-and-dragging club head-last “caddy swing” type of a take-back seen in ball-striking legends like Ben Hogan and Harry Vardon [as in the “Vardon Grip”; Vardon holds the record for most British Open championships with 6].

– this classic take-back technique sets up the ensuing back sling which follows…

– …and the momentum of the slinging club head is used to complete the shoulder turn and supinate the right forearm to create the classic Hogan et al “drink tray waiter” position of the right palm as I covered in great detail in Episode 1B of the Driving Distance Series, and

– the momentum of the freely back-slinging club head compels the hands and the body to protectively-instinctively react;

a) the body braces to stay balanced, and

b) the hips-front-knee gently begin the process of opening the lower body [as I cover in Episode 6 of the Driving Distance Series in the bonus chipping video] just after the take-back transitions to the slinging back of the club head…

– …the body performs this gentle-early opening of the front hip in an instinctive-protective effort to help the hands instinctively “get rid of” the back-slinging club head by the hands pushing down on the handle to begin reversing the club head’s direction before the momentum of the club head can create sharp angles in the wrists…

– …note that the hands can only TRY to get rid of the club head…they won’t be able to because the shaft reacts by bowing back to create lag tension on the hands and wrist angles by design…

> …to try to create lag tension in the mainstream manner, folks are taught to pull the butt of the handle toward the golf ball…

> …the opposite of pulling the handle butt toward the ball is to push down on the handle to TRY to get rid of the club head even while the club head is still heading back…

– …again, this instinctive effort to get rid of the club head in this manner will create a bowing back of the club shaft which automatically timing-free thought-free creates the lag tension that will maintain wrist angles into impact.

You see, we are methodically yet dynamically inciting our natural instincts in our hands and body, which are intrinsically connected and coordinated, to react reflexively to the free momentum of the club head;

> thereby building a reflexive-instinctive, and therefore timing-free, methodology for striking the ball purely and consistently, as:

a) the free momentum of the club head is a known entity and completely predictable and repeatable within well-defined channels, and

b) our hands and body react to the forces exerted on them by the free momentum of the club head in predictable and repeatable ways so that the club head moves freely within well-defined repeatable channels.

– That is, the Croker approach builds a timing-free golf swing because we rely on repeatable external forces from the free momentum of the club head to exert repeatable forces on the hands and body so that the hands and body react instinctively and in sync with precise and repeatable movements.

> Our approach goes much deeper than building muscle memory;

– we train you to discover and tap into and exploit the muscle memory tied to the instinctive neuron pathways that already exist within you [from millions of years of evolution] for purposes of repetitively striking a golf ball purely.

There are 2 keys that we employ to help you experience your existing “wiring” for hitting a golf ball consistently well;

1. pushing the hands one against the other throughout the golf swing,

and

2. creating and reacting to free momentum of the club head.

Again, you are wired with certain triggers in your hands and body that work perfectly, almost magically really, for the purposes of hitting the golf ball the way it was intended to be hit in terms of the basic science of the interaction between the club face and the ball which is nearly completely overlooked and which I cover in detail in my video, “Staying Connected & Coming Through Impact”.

> What happens between the club face and the ball at the moment of truth is critical to being able to accept the way the hands must move into and through impact in order to create that moment of truth which lasts 1/2000 of a second while the ball is on the club face for one half of an inch.

The goal of my articles and videos is to bring you to a fork in the road:

> “Do I…

1. continue to work on developing a swing that is inherently disconnected and non-reflexive and therefore requires me to time various disconnected movements so that I can manufacture movements that attempt to sync up and connect my disconnected hands and body;

or…

2. …do I use the time and effort that I would’ve otherwise put toward the above timing-required approach [that hasn’t gotten my game to where I know it should be given my athletic ability and my sincere ambition to improve] and put that time into learning how to hit the ball in a way that inherently requires no timing?”

Regardless of which path you take, I look forward to bringing you fresh thinking that ironically dates back to the 1500s as I explained in the video “You are closer than you think…”.

At the very least, I hope you enjoy the refreshing perspective I bring versus what comes out of the mainstream golf instruction echo chamber;

> I know it well because I faithfully followed the mainstream approach the very best I could for several decades until I embraced the Croker Golf System methodology in my late 50s…[see my video, “Instinctive Golf With Ted – Mainstream vs Croker”]…

– Croker freed me from training in the intricate timing and acrobatic moves required to perform the mainstream cookie cutter golf swing;

> and I now have a timing-free repeatable and dependable ball-striking methodology that makes golf a game of playing golf shots versus “playing golf swings”.

I hope you’ll join us…but if you’re not sure yet, you know where to find me…

– right here with more of the same but from different angles so that one day you’ll be able to see what I’m talking about and demonstrating in a way that compels you to give something new a try…

– …not because it’s new [again, it’s not new…anecdotally it dates back to the 1500s], but because it just seems reasonable to tap into pre-existing muscle memory that is tied to instinctive neuron pathways that connect the reactions of the hands and body to the free momentum of the club head…

– …versus trying to reinvent the proverbial wheel and manufacture and time movements that you hope someday will turn you into a ball-striker…

– …and forsaking “the ball-striker” that already exists within you.

I’ll leave you with a couple of quotes (again):

> I can’t find the exact quote, but, related and paraphrased, Hogan said, “Golf is about learning to do naturally what comes unnaturally.”

Hogan refers to “natural” in terms of our natural inclinations and common-natural sense;

– he’s not saying the movements themselves are unnatural – when you watch me “Croker-ize” the golf ball you don’t see anything but natural movement.

That is, when I break down those movements and tell you about them and demonstrate what I’m doing and what I’m feeling and what my intentions are during my golf swing [like flattening the ball into a pancake between the club face and the ground],

– it doesn’t seem “natural” or make sense that my movements and related intentions and feelings could possibly work to get the ball to fly high and seek its target…

– in fact, the above referenced movements, feelings and intentions seem downright exactly opposite from what makes natural common sense.

Note that what I’m telling you here and in my videos don’t just seem “a bit surprising” or “different” from what you think would work…

– …but my movements, feelings and intentions seem completely backwards and 100% opposite of what you think will work…

That’s great if you see everything I’m saying the golf swing is about is 100% backwards from what makes sense;

– read Hogan’s quote again and maybe this time it will spark a new light within you that will guide your golf journey in an exciting new direction:

> “Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing.” – Ben Hogan

Signing off for now – Ted Williams.

Questions…comments? Write me at TWilliams@MyGolfingStore.com