Hitting vs Swinging – Part 3 – Hitting
Continuing our series on Hitting vs Swinging, let’s now review the Hitting Stroke.
The hitting action is a bit the dark side of the moon when it comes to golf instruction. It seems that a vast majority of golf instructors (with the exception of The Golfing Machine Instructors of course) are simply unaware of its existence and mainly teach golf the "Swinging way".
This is very unfortunate because it is a very efficient way to strike the golf ball and in my opinion a very interesting alternative for strong or less flexible players.
Muscular Thrust
Unlike the Swinger who manipulates centrifugal force, the pure Hitter ONLY uses his right arm to activate the Primary Lever Assembly (that is the Left Arm plus the club as a whole).
For those interested, the muscle involved here is the right triceps as it is responsible for straightening the arm. So if you are a boxer you should give the Hitting stroke a try 
!
The main action involved here is a muscular thrust of the right arm against the Primary Lever Assembly.
The clubhead is not thrown into orbit by the pivot; Instead, the hitter pushes radially (against the radius!) against the shaft with his right arm only.
Think of it like pushing against one spoke of a bicycle wheel to put the wheel into motion – Swinging would make you drag the rim of the wheel.
The proper action is to straighten the right arm without flattening the right wrist in a piston like action.
Address: Impact Fix
It all starts at address – the Hitter usually sets up with his hands in a position that is called "Impact Fix":
This position, while not mandatory, allows for an easier pickup of the Primary Lever Assembly as a whole by the right arm (the right forearm takeaway). Also it establishes the proper impact alignments right away.
From this position all you have to do is to freeze your wrists into their position and move the whole thing back and forth with your right arm pretty much in a piston like motion.
A good way to feel this motion is, without a club, to hold your left wrist with your right hand and move your left arm back and forth. Simple enough? Well this is the principle of the Hitting motion.
Half Roll of the club face
Due to the way the club is moved, the clubface doesn’t open as much as the Swinging motion during the backswing and doesn’t close as much in the downstroke. Consequently, Hitting naturally produces what is called a "Half Roll" of the clubface: When you look at the clubface at both arms straight, you should see the clubface looking 45 degrees left (for righties) instead of 90 degrees left in the Swinging motion (full roll, clubface closed).
Funnily enough, this produces a no-roll feel which is very important to note as you might intuitively search to feel a roll.
This Half Roll also has a natural fade tendency. As a consequence, the Hitter tends to adopt stronger grips to counterbalance that effect and produce straight shots.
You should also take into account that the more forward the ball in your stance (Driver for example), the more the need for a closed face and a stronger grip because the more the layback of the clubface at this point.
Experience with your grip to find the correct amount of shut face to induce.
Face constantly looking at the ball
Another interesting fact is the way the clubface swivels during the swing.
Unlike the Swinger whose clubface almost immediately swivels against the plane of the swing, the Hitter doesn’t rotate the clubface but rather keep it "looking at the ball" during the backswing: The clubface stays at right angles against the face of the plane. This is the natural byproduct of the angled hinge and you must not intent to rotate it clockwise/open on the backswing or you will have to consciously rotate it back counterclockwise on the downswing for proper contact.
Establishing the Lag: Drive Loading
You will discover that the piston like action of the right arm produces a shorter backswing than the Swinger due to the position of the right elbow set to push against the shaft instead of pulling.
From there, usually the hands cannot go higher than shoulder high – which is called the Top.
But, from such a shorter backstroke, the tendency is to rush on the downstroke.
Make sure you give yourself enough time to transition from Top to Start Down and accomplish the necessary Drive Loading.
Uh? Drive Loading you said?
Let me explain: For the Hitter, an efficient way to establish the Lag is to resist the backstroke motion then perform a right arm thrust against this clubhead Lag striving to accelerate a pre stressed clubshaft from a slow startdown through impact and to both arms straight.
Here, the Pivot (Right Shoulder) must also provide the initial acceleration of the Power Package (Shoulders, Arms, Hands and Club).
But beware! From there, you only have your bent right arm to provide the Thrust. So, if the right arm begins to straighten too soon, you will have triggered the release, and you will run out of right arm before impact and product a nasty Clubhead Throwaway.
Slow Start Down
As previously mentioned, for the Hitter a slow Start Down is mandatory to allow for the right arm to properly get into position.
In the transition from the Top to Start Down think very Slow and very Heavy and that should do the trick.
A word about Pivot Action
Unlike the Swinging motion, the Pivot (the body) doesn’t perform the blast of the left arm off the chest. Instead its purpose is to put the right shoulder into position (closer to the ball – down plane) as a platform to push against.
Think of a sprinter pushing against his starting-blocks.
Think also of the action of a boxer: before delivering its punch the boxer will get his right shoulder into position closer to his opponent to strike him with maximum force. In the Hitting stroke, you have to move your right shoulder down plane to get closer to the ball and deliver the right arm thrust.
One more word about the Pressure Points involved in the Hitting Procedure
Again, to find the location of the pressure points involved in the Hitting action we’ll do a little drill: grab a club, put the clubhead against something heavy and try to push this thing not by dragging with your body but rather by pushing with your right arm.
You’ll easily identify 3 pressure points:
- Pressure point #1: The palm of your right hand against the aft section of the grip and you left thumb.
- Pressure point #2: The last 3 fingers of your left hand.
- Pressure point #3: The index-trigger-finger of the right hand resisting against the club wanting to stay behind.
Establish those specific pressures during you downstroke while performing the Hitting stroke to become an expert Hitter!
In the eye of the Hitter!
The Hitter thinks of delivering a cross line blow down and out from the top of his swing. As a result he mentally constructs a "Delivery Line" going down and out to "first base".
I thought it could be interesting and fun to show what the Hitter sees in his mind. This gives a very good sense of the Hitter’s intents during the stroke.
Click on the images to display the slideshow, and then use the PREVIOUS / NEXT controls to navigate through the images.
Summing things up
- Set up at Impact Fix and "freeze" your wrists alignments.
- Pick up the whole thing back in a "piston + fanning" like motion (a piston-only motion would make you look like starting a lawnmower which is not the motion we want).
- Perform what feels like a shorter backstroke as what you are used to.
- From the top, initiate a slow startdown by pushing against the shaft with your right arm only (pressure point #1 feel). The slow start down will give yourself enough time to get closer to the ball to deliver your blow.
- Drive it strongly down and out. Destroy the ground!
Swing sequence
As a reminder, here are the sequences of the Hitting Procedure. Click on the images to display the slideshow, and then use the PREVIOUS/NEXT controls to navigate through the images.
Hitting stroke video
Hitting stroke sequence
John,
Thank you so much for this article! Over the past year I finally developed a swing that works for me but I was still concerned because it differed from the “classical” swing and this article has shown me that what I’m doing is actually an alternative “method.” I have a stockier and stronger build. When I started playing about 3 years ago I became frustrated with the “swinger’s” swing and decided to just “muscle” the ball. From the top of my back swing I just “let the hammer drop” so to speak. I lag the club quite a bit and come in pretty steep (but still from the inside.), and as a result I make good contact and my ball flight is very high. I clear my hips just enough to let my arms fly through and so my playing partners have accused me of having an “arm” swing. So, with the “hitting” swing, is it ok not to have a huge hip turn followed by a exagerated shoulder turn and follow-thru as emphasized by T.V golf analysts (ex. Peter Costis- SwingVision). I feel like my follow thru is somewhat short, with my arms extended out on the other side of the impact zone but not completely wrapped around my body…is this normal with the “hitting” swing? Also, I’m still inconsistent at times, but i have a suspicion that it’s because even though I use the “hitting” method but I still bring the club all the way back to parallel on my backswing…could this be the culprit? Sorry for all the questions, and I supposed I should look for the answers on the range, but your article just got my wheels spinning. Thanks again!
-Sam
Further update: I closed, then re-opened Firefox, and I could view the photos just fine. Go figure!
I opened the website in Safari and I could view the photos with no problem. Clearly a problem with Firefox on the Mac!
Hi Vince,
Strange behaviour, have you tried with another browser?
I do not have a Mac but I’ve tried with Safari on PC and it works fine…
If it’s still not working, you can directly follow the links on the photos by opening them on a new tab: Right click on the photo and “Open link in new tab”.
Hope you’ll be able to work it out!
I’m having trouble viewing the photos (using Firefox on a Mac). I get only a gray block when I click on any one of them. Any suggestions?
To Coltsfan:
Yes this is a good drill to sense the LOADING of the Lag.
It helps creating clubhead inertia. Then, from there your job is to sustain it (keep the pressure intact) until both arms straight.
To Mike:
This jerkiness is perfectly normal on your way of discovering Lag pressure.
You currently are at a point where you cannot regulate it on a full swing: You load a great amount of Lag but can’t sustain it on the way down.
You are discovering, for the moment, that you can manage it better with a less violent transition – the pressure is weaker but you can sustain it all the way down.
Yes, WRIST tension is a killer. You must separate GRIP tension (hold it strong – forget about “holding the bird” crap!) and WRIST tension (it should feel “elastic” and free).
Keep thinking!
John,
“Try this drill – it’s only mean to help you discover/locate the feel:
Still with basic motion (2 feet back, 2 feet through), try to interrupt your backswing on its way back by immediately going the other way with your hands (to the target (and a bit down also please!)).
John, this change of direction you speak of is crucial, I was doing this just last night, so much easier to drag (swing) the left OR push (hit) the rt hand. Its the best thing you can do to guard against clubhead throw away. See Hogans “mini swing” in his book…..
I actually did that yesterday by relaxing my wrists a bit. My only concern with this in a full swing is a jerky transition from the top. I have found, that when I feel like I have a pause at the top, and don’t come down so violently, I have a better downswing sequence.
With the above drill in a full swing, I am afraid it would not be a smooth transition.
I am wondering more and more, if it is WRIST tension that is not allowing me to feel that pressure on the shaft. I have a tendency to bear down on the grip right before I take it away, which would also tighten (lock up) my wrists.
Just a thought sir
Mike
This is awesome Jake!
Your description is brilliant I dare to say!: “when the club goes back I will hit a point where the pressure hits my trigger finger (right index inside pad) and that is when I know to now hold that feeling and start my transition down and out holding that pressure feeling in that spot”
“I can feel it in my left hand as well”
Very nice too! This is pressure point #2, the last three fingers of the left hand.
Now you that you have your Lag feel, let’s go back to geometry for the Driver:
Let’s use the front-view drawing as a reference: http://www.golflagtips.com/hit-down-on-the-golf-ball-dammit/
The launch monitor data trend for the new drivers is to hit up on the ball for better results – well why not?
Let’s assume this is what you want to do.
Well, Hitting or Swinging, nothing changes except ball location in the arc of the swing:
You just have to locate Low Point (opposite your right shoulder) and put the ball slightly UP and IN after that point.
The trick here is to understand that even if you are hitting the ball when your clubhead is on its way UP and IN your intent is still to drive DOWN and OUT.
Even after impact you are still pushing DOWN and OUT because your right arm is not yet fully extended and this is the direction it continues to push to.
The only reason your clubhead is going UP and IN while you are pushing DOWN and OUT is because of your left arm acting as a leach!
A bit counterintuitive (like many things in Golf) but perfectly right when you think about it
!
Mike,
I know it is tough to find that pressure when you are not used to it.
I can be more disturbing to realize that we struggle to find it even with the simplest little stroke.
My friend, this only shows you how far you were from true improvement.
We are looking for a feel, a dynamic that exists only in an accelerating motion.
Cease to accelerate and the pressure vanishes.
Try this drill – it’s only mean to help you discover/locate the feel:
Still with basic motion (2 feet back, 2 feet through), try to interrupt your backswing on its way back by immediately going the other way with your hands (to the target (and a bit down also please!)).
In other words, your clubhead is still in its “backswing phase” while your hands are already performing the downswing. This will create clubhead inertia (ie: you are loading the Lag).
Try to feel “elastic” doing that – grip your club firmly but loosen your wrists!
I would be surprised you can’t feel something on your index trigger finger!!!
Very very killer.
I can load the lag decently. I’m getting the feel. Basically when the club goes back I will hit a point where the pressure hits my trigger finger (right index inside pad) and that is when I know to now hold that feeling and start my transition down and out holding that pressure feeling in that spot. I can feel it in my left hand as well.
With irons i understand the down and out but with a driver do I just want to move the ball more up to where my arc is on the up swing? Or for the hitter is this different?
John,
For two days now, I’ve gone out to the range and started with 2 feet back and 2 feet through. I cannot feel the right trigger finger pressure point. I am lagging into impact a bit better, but the pressure point thing is very perplexing to say the least.
I took another face on and down the line video, that I will upload, but it was a bad swing. Right after that, I flushed 6 in a row. Isn’t that golf?
Mike
Correct Jake but remember to push “radially” against the shaft. You want to push down and out as if there was no end.
Your left arm will act as a leach and you won’t be able to drive down to China BUT your intent is to go there!
Your hips should already be out of the way when you start pushing down.
But they do not react to the right arm action.
The sequence is (by the book!):
From the top:
- Your hips bump toward the target while keeping a stationary head (otherwise you’ll sway!)
- This move of the hips initiates the loading of the lag AND lowers your right shoulder down plane (it is now impossible to go in an Other-The-Top move…)
- At this point the hips are already out of the way.
- Your right shoulder is now closer to the ball – you now have enough right arm to do some serious damage to the ground!
- Initiate the Thrust DOWN & OUT, radially against the shaft
- Obliterate the ground and continue to drive down until both arms straight.
…and the green keeper is no longer your friend
!
One more thing: pay special attention to start your right arm thrust as slow as you can.
It is torture for the mind but you won’t believe what you get…
One last thing
As a hitter from the top I want to feel like I’m throwing my right arm down and out correct? This should auto move my hips out of the way without me thinking. I just want to make sure I’m reading and understanding all your awesome tips correctly. Thanks!
Hi Jake,
Good observation, this is a normal difference between Hitters and Swingers:
The Swinger performs his startdown with what is called “instant hips acceleration” and its power accumulators will be activated one after another: Body power first, uncocking of the left wrist second and roll third.
The Hitter has more a simultaneous activation of the power accumulators because actively straightening the right arm uncocks and rolls the left wrist at the same time (And his body is not as much involved in that rotary power as the Swinger).
In regard to this, you easily understand why you have your hips in advance while Swinging and why you feel more “simultaneous” while Hitting.
Interesting question Peter…
Unfortunately, I have no feedback regarding that.
However, the muscles involved here are the triceps.
Check by doing some pushups if you feel more powerful on the left or the right.
Chance is good that there will be not much difference.
Moreover, Hitting is not reserved to Rambos! We talk more about a determined/voluntary/constant thrust than some kind of violent action.
Impact is violent but the thrust is more “relentless” DOWN & OUT than brutal.
Another thing I feel with the hitter motion is more of my core / trunk rotaing thru the shot together vs a swinger where my hips are much more open at impact. John is this another position to be in as a hitter. More of a connected feeling ala Jimmy Ballard connection (without the lateral move off / on the ball)
Hi John,
I am curious about the back arm being the piston and therefore the power. I am a natural right (single) handed person but play any sport requiring 2 hands in a left handed action. I know my right arm is much stronger than my left so do you think this is detrimental to power?
Mike,
In your last video you mostly look like a Swinger.
But you should give Hitting a try as it will help you learning and feeling the differences.
You are strong, have trouble with your rotation, don’t like the opening of your clubface early in the backswing and already experimented with active right arm straightening… all the perfect ingredients!
Use the current article as a guideline if you wish to try.
Best regards.
John,
I think I’m like you then. Both strong and supple, but I feel like I’m a hitter. I do not have the long flowing follow through that I would love to have
Mike
Jake,
The Hitting stroke favors muscle power, short backswing, slow startdown. Body power is secondary.
So if you are strong and less supple, Hitting fits perfectly.
For example, woman and children tend to be very supple and do not favor muscle power – they naturally go toward Swinging. They use the elasticity of their tendons to pull the club.
In regard to this, I’m convinced that a lot of players that came to Golf late would be more comfortable using their muscles in a Hitting motion than trying to feel the “elasticity” required in the Swinging motion.
As a former pro Tennis player, I’m both (still!) supple and have lotsa power in my right arm – I can do both but actually I love Hitting.
I think I might be in a better position to be a hitter. I’m shorter 5’8 and more stalky not slender. So trying to swing is much harder. Would you agree John?
Great Job Damian, you are doing things right one step at a time.
Take your time; your next step is to acquire more and more comfort with those new feelings.
For now on, focus on your hands: put your mind in your hands while you swing.
Concentrate on the pressures: Trigger index finger and last three fingers of your left hand.
Think slow and heavy instead of quick and jerky.
Sense that you create pressure during the transition from backswing to downswing and sense that those pressures are kept still/constant/steady all the way to both arms straight (remember: constant pressure = clubhead accelerating) – this is Lag – the Secret!
john,
Thanks for that.Feel like I’ve been paying for nothing!
Just got back from the range and I’m amazed!
Feels like I’m swinging to the top,keeping my back to the target and hitting the back of my right hand into the ground outside my right foot.
When I manage to keep the pressure on my right trigger finger throughout the shot results are brilliant!
My seven iron is going about 150 yards dead straight and it actually sounds like a golf shot and feels like I’m hitting fresh air!
(150 yards might not sound a lot but believe me,its about 30 yards further than I normally hit it!)
Have you any other swing thoughts for maintaining the other pressure points?
No way Damian: This is a very common misconception of the release even among the best players.
You must not rotate your wrists through impact but well AFTER impact.
If you rotate through impact you will constantly have timing problems.
You must first perform the selected hinge action (Swinging/Hitting), go to both arms straight (end of the follow through) and ONLY AFTER swivel your left forearm to put the clubshaft on plane again.
It’s only then that the clubhead will be allowed to go above the hands.
Check frames 8-9-10-11 from this sequence: http://www.flickr.com/photos/golflagtips/2231145322/sizes/o/
You clearly see that the rotation happens only at frame 11 and not during frames 8-9-10
Master impact as frames 8-9-10 and frame 11 will happen on its own.
John,
Thanks for clearing that up so quick.
One question…all the pros I’ve had lessons from state you must rotate the wrists through impact for power (release the clubhead).
Is that required ?
Can you create lag that way or have I been ripped off?
Cheers,
Damian Garside
Welcome Damian to the wonderful world of Golf!
Indeed Lag is never covered by club pros because today’s golf instruction is mainly about “position golf”: trying to make you look like the pros by stepping from one “static” station to another.
In this process, dynamics are completely put aside.
I wish I could have known that when I started playing golf 9 years ago – that would have saved me a couple of years!
Lag is your priority: the need for creating and sustaining Lag in your own golf swing will help a lot in putting your body in the correct positions!
Now, back to your questions about Swinging:
90% of new golfers are slicing. This happens because they think they must “push” the ball toward the target. This intention leads them to “steer” the CLUBFACE in an attempt to square it early to the intended line of flight.
Steering the clubface is often done by doing the “over the top” move of the right shoulder: throwing it out in front instead of lowering it.
So, your feel of keeping the back to the target and straightening the right arm is exactly doing the opposite and tends to put your club on the right track going down.
From there, all you have to do is throwing the clubface wide open as if you would hit the ball with the hosel, trusting that centrifugal force will line everything up at the last moment. Not doing that is Steering.
This is scary for slicers because they intuitively feel that the face will stay wide open and think they’ll slice more!
This is a test of faith!
But remember to add to the equation that little feeling of heaviness in your trigger finger all the way down or the magic will not happen
!
Enjoy the beginning of your journey!
John,
As a relative newcomer to golf is the feeling of the swinger one of keeping the back to the target and straightening the right arm or have i misunderstood?
i dont understand the part about “throw the clubface face up under the plane.”
Could you expand on that for me please.
Great site…Ive had lessons with several pros,none of whom have ever mentioned lag.
I’m hoping you can put me right.
Cheers,
Damian Garside U.K
John,
I want to tell you I played with my playing partner today, and he couldn’t believe my ball contact. He said it’s NEVER been that good. I want to give you a BIG thanks for all your help in here! This is a fantastic site, and you back it 100%.
You have a loyal follower in me on your site. When you interact with your commentators it is awesome! Please keep it up when you get the time to do so, as we all know you have more things to do with your time
Best,
Mike
To Mike and Others:
The follow-up to mike’s question can be found here:
http://www.golflagtips.com/focus-on-pressure-points-to-feel-lag/#comment-191
Okay John!
One word. UGH!
My normal contact is a thin, clunky sound, and many times off the toe.
Today we had a 2-3 club wind on the range, so I was definitely swinging harder, but every time I tried to compress the ball with every thing we’ve been talking about, the ball goes RIGHT by quite a bit.
What I was worried about, and thought might happen, seemed like it happened.
I was trying to maintain lag, and the club came into the ball WIDE OPEN. The clubhead never caught up and got in front of me in the thru swing.
The harder I tried the worse it got!
UGH! UGH! UGH!
Very frustrating sorry to say.
A word regarding physical abilities required to play good golf:
I would had that I was really surprised that how much effort and physical it requires to drag/drive a lagging clubhead.
This is an incredibly heavy feel: I told you I’m quite an athlete – well, a properly loaded clubhead weights a ton and you better be strong or your structure (the flying wedges) will collapse under the stress.
This should give you a feel for what you must look for!
Needless to say that when you strike the ball with such a mass it travels miles away with consistency!
Glad to hear it John! My analytic mind can only keep track of so many numbers and thoughts LOL! I do agree with you and your site, that lag is critical to power and distance, which is what my site is all about.
Lol Mike,
This is all the problem with the Golfing Machine, it can be very complex at first sight but it is also very precise!
My goal here is to approach all this in layman terms and provide practical reference and tips
.
Wow! All these numbers to hit a golf ball! I thought I was analytic about the golf swing, but this makes me look mild
Hi Coltsfan.
In doubt you can find the proper accumulators and their release order in the Swinging and Hitting posts.
But for the record:
Power accumulators used in Swinging are: 4,2,3.
They also release in this sequence order (one after each other) but can also overlap a bit. For example: Acc #4 has not finished its release while Acc #2 is starting its release.
For the Hitter, the #4 accumulator (body power) is replaced by the muscular thrust of the right arm, the #1 power accumulator.
So, in Hitting the accumulators are: 1,2,3.
But in Hitting their release is simultaneous! They fire at the same time and they all gradually release during the downstroke. The actively straightening Right Arm is responsible for this simultaneous release.
John,
You said
“Remember the power accumulators used in Hitting:
- Acc #1 – Left arm straightening
- Acc #2 – Left wrist uncocking
- Acc #3 – Transfer Power – Left forearm roll
and the ones involved in Swinging:
- Acc #4 – Pivot action – Blast of the left arm of the chest
- Acc #2 – Left wrist uncocking
- Acc #3 – Transfer Power – Left forearm roll”
You meant accumaulators used in “Swinging” not hitting right?
Wyse guy – resisting the devil’s temptation! lol.
I think I’ll stick with 3 barrel for now! Having enough trouble with that! :o)
Great Weetbix and thanks for your patience!
The Pivot is still an interesting source of power.
Hitting is known for being accurate but doesn’t use body power…
What a dilemna!
Well Weetbix, in life nothing is completely black or white but more often Grey!
So, it is completely possible to use the pivot as a source of power (Blast of the left arm out of the chest) AND drive the primary lever assembly with the right arm!!!
But you better understand both procedures well before trying this – timing is key.
It is called a “4 barrel” hit because it uses all 4 power accumulators (4 1 2 3 in that order) and to my opinion it can take the best of both worlds (and it’s darn powerful!).
I also plan to write a post on that one.
CU Brendan.
Hi John
Like Kev I have been coming back again and again waiting for the followup hitting article. Thanks very much for it.
At the moment I am working on my pivot so I’m just letting nature decide whether I’m hitting or swinging or probably switting at th emoment! But when I’ve got a good base I’m going to build the hit. As you noted, shorter should return more repeatable, and consistency is what I am seeking at the moment.
Thanks very much
Brendan
Thanks Garagefan66, I am having a lot of fun doing all this and I’m proud it can help you and others to play better Golf.
By the way, stay tuned and subscribe to the RSS feed ( http://feeds.feedburner.com/GolfLagTips ) to be warned as soon as I’ll post something new
Hey yodeli great site. Awesome run down of the hitting stroke. You and a few others from a different site have really helped my game. I appreciate it.
I do think so:
In the Hitting stroke the role of the body is mainly to provide structure while in Swinging it is involved in the production of power.
Remember the power accumulators used in Hitting:
- Acc #1 – Left arm straightening
- Acc #2 – Left wrist uncocking
- Acc #3 – Transfer Power – Left forearm roll
and the ones involved in Swinging:
- Acc #4 – Pivot action – Blast of the left arm of the chest
- Acc #2 – Left wrist uncocking
- Acc #3 – Transfer Power – Left forearm roll
You can clearly see that the Swinger must use his body as a source of power while the Hitters uses his right arm instead.
Also, in a Swing, Centrifugal Force is in control of the shot. And sometimes, in an attempt to gain a few yards, one could throw it “too hard” and generate “too much” centrifugal force and “too much” stress on the body.
You throw it and you hold it – throw it too hard and you’ll have a hard time holding it!
In the Hitting stroke you are in total control of the power delivered – it’s only YOUR own muscular thrust – no surprises.
I would add that the “Blast of the chest of the left arm” of the Swinger is in its essence a more rotational motion of the body than the “Platform to push against” of the Hitter.
It’s very cool, and hopefully will be easier on my back.
Peter Croker beleives a pushing action (hitting) creates less stress on the back than pulling or swinging. Whats your take?
thanks
Welcome aboard Coltsfan.
The Hitter’s action always amazed me because the shorter the backswing and the slower the startdown, the better the compression and the longer the shot!
Ice on the cake: the shorter the backswing, the easier to repeat the shot over and over!
How cool is that!?
John,
this is a great synopsis of “hitting” Kevin told me about your site. I went out yesterday and experimented w/ the hitting procedure per TGM. Im sold on hitting,it was so fun!!!
Thanks
Thanks again Kevin. I had a lot of fun writing this post!
Specially the “Eye of the Hitter” – an idea I think I’ll come back with to show some important hands location from the driver’s seat!
Go Kevin, Hitting is fun and even if you prefer swinging it’s always nice to learn the different actions and add another handy shot to the arsenal.
CU soon!
I’ve been anxiously awaiting this addition to the blog, and I am not disappointed. WONDERFUL job! I can’t wait to get to the range and work on some of your “feels.” Thanks very much for this wonderful website on G.O.L.F.!!!
Kevin