Do The Opposite Series – Realities Versus Illusions

Episode 2a

“Discovering And Embracing The Realities Of Impact To Replace The Exact Opposite Of What The Mind Believes”

 

Let’s open with this video of impact in slow motion called “How The Ball Flies” from my mentor, Peter Croker, PGA-Australia; this is Ground Zero for understanding the “hows and whys” of the golf swing.

 

In Episode 1. “Recognizing The Miraculousness Of The Best Golf Swing” we took on Ben Hogan’s puzzling quote in some detail in terms of 

> Hogan’s recognition of the illusions of the golf swing,

  •  and how critical it is to replace those illusions with realities that are aligned with the realities of the laws of physics and the laws of bio-physics… to become a Real Ball-Striker; that is, A Really Good Hitter.

‘Impact’ – otherwise known as ‘the moment of truth’ – 

> is ground zero for what causes the mind to believe illusions that trip the hands and body to move in ways that are consistent with that illusion.

 

Namely, the mind believes these two illusions about how the club face and the ball interact…

> that is, here is what the [right-handed] mind is telling the hands and body to move in order to facilitate its commands:

– “To lift the ball up into the air, move in such a way so that we lean the shaft back at impact by cupping the back of the left and bowing [flexing] the right wrist so as to scrape and scoop the ball up into the air.”

– “And to get the ball to go straight, guide the club face straight outward toward the target by pulling the left hand way out to the target [and the hands and arms follow through way up high into the follow through for a nice proper ball trajectory].”

 

So, there are the illusions about the interaction between the club face and the ball.

 

And here are the realities that need to replace those illusions, and a video with slow motion footage of the interaction between the club face and the ball to prove it and better visualize it so that

> the mind can start to replace its imagination-based concepts – illusions – with realities, and

– only then will it be able to accept, and

– then allow the hands and body to be re-trained to move in a completely opposite way in order to hit straight shots with the proper trajectory for the club in hand. 

 

I covered some of these impact concepts in this prior My Golfing Store video; 

(view from minute marker 9:01 to 11:38…click on the picture below for the video.)

Now, whether you are a better player or just hearing about the idea of hitting down on the ball in order to get it up into the sky, this topic can seem so basic as to make it a “check-the-box” type of thing…and you just want to move on. 

– But herein lies your big chance to get a real edge [because the following just isn’t known by many teachers or players, even the best of them];

> chances are you haven’t fully embraced this part of Hogan’s quote above…

  • “…and do the [exact] opposite of what you are inclined to do…”.

 

That is, you now know that we have to lean the shaft into impact to compress the ball against the ground…

> but to get to ‘exactly opposite’, you have to go beyond the intention to compress the ball just  against the ground;

  • to be exactly opposite [from lifting the ball up into the air and guiding it to its target] the intention needs to be to compress the ball INTO the ground [Earth].

 

Many “mechanical” advantages are max-ed out from this intention to compress the ball into the ground [versus not just against the ground].

 

I’ll cover each of those maxed out mechanical advantages in the next article with pictures and video links, 

> but the main thing that comes from maxing out mechanical advantage as a result of this extreme intention is the practically-never-recognized importance of stability at impact;

  • That is, maximum stability of both the club head and the body at impact is part and parcel to great ball-striking.

 

Maximum stability at impact, from maximum mechanical advantage at impact, is critical to dependable and solid ball striking.  

 

The strike can only be as solid as the stability of the body and club head at impact.  

 

The journey to maximum stability at impact starts with a clear understanding of the best type of interaction between the club face and the ball;

  • From a clear understanding of this interaction, the mind can accept the reverse-engineering in terms of how the hands and body need to move in order to deliver the club face to the ball to create the desired interaction between the club face and the ball.

> This is the approach we follow with the Croker Golf System, that is, 

– to train in the movements of the hands and body that will deliver the most effective type of interaction between the club face and the ball [per the slow motion video of impact above].

 

Without understanding the REAL desired interaction between the club face and the ball, 

– the mind will create some other concepts of what makes the ball fly, and that concept will be wrong [as narrated early on in this article]… 

– and the hands and body will move in alignment with the mind’s false concept about impact. 

 

Okay, I think I’ve made my point – and you know where we are going from here,

> that is, to learn how to get to the ‘exact opposite’ for maximum stability of both the club head and body at impact so we can make absolutely solid strikes on the ball with the clubface.. 

 

Signing off for now.

 

Questions?  Comments?  Reach me at TWilliams@MyGolfingStore.com

 

Kind Regards,

 

Ted Williams, Certified Instructor – Croker Golf System

https://myinstinctivegolf.com/