When does a Swing Component stray from Objective to Subjective?
Objective, with respect to MGS, means that it works for every golfer, every time, which is fairly easy because the same movements are being recommended to all. Even then, some thoughts/feelings that individuals might have to get themselves into MGS positions might be those that work only for them.
Some ‘subjective’ examples. A long-driver student some years ago responded to my telling him to ‘make his left arm rise steeply up the chest till it hit some part of his face’ by saying, ‘oh, you mean I should kiss my bicep – now I get it’. So, as swing thoughts/feelings/concepts went, I thought it’d be a good one, and asked another student to try that as an idea for raising the left arm steeply up. She promptly puckered up and dropped her head down to reach her arm – but she was trying to ‘kiss the bicep’! So, that swing thought is a subjective one, one not worth passing on.
When people say ‘keep the head down’ (like Jack Nicklaus’ coach told him to) or say ‘let the head lift like Annika does’ they are both diametrically opposite concepts, which one is correct? From an MGS perspective, neither. As a result of the MGS twist, the head moves as well (sometimes if people are unable to remain in MGS posture during the backswing, I’ll have them tilt the trail ear very slightly towards the right shoulder, in addition). The head should simply stay where it’s at, until well past impact – well behind the ball, not over it.
Finally, lots of people ask what they should be doing during the downswing, “How can one have no downswing thought at all,” many will ask, and say that it works better for them if they push their hands or hips or legs or whatever. So, will reiterate once again, ‘do nothing’ is the only and best downswing thought to have and if at all a swing thought is mandatory, it would be ‘keep the head in it’s position of address’. That is the only one that works – for every single golfer.
Do you have any funny ‘kiss the bicep’ type thoughts that did not get the results you’d have liked? Or conversely a way-out, quite subjective thought that worked well for you? Do write in, would love to know.
Downswing thought: “Keep Head In Its Position of Address”. Yes. The most difficult change to implement is to refrain from trying to use the body to power the swing through the ball. Yet when the MGS is properly executed, the feeling at contact is that whole weight of the body is behind the swing!
Actually, if you make a truly MGS backswing – loose left arm lifting up steeply, and right side remaining lower than left (even think of locking your head in place so the right side is ‘locked’ – no downswing thought is required, it just happens, in the correct sequence, simply because that evil creature – the trail shoulder – is unable to start the downswing!