Right Forearm on "Plane"
 

Im having trouble trying to get my right forearm on plane. I've just recently become familiar with the golfing machine, and this is one of the first things that stood out to me, as something i wasnt doing. I think that I've improved, but i cant tell if its on plane or not. The way Brian Gay does it, it looks so nice. Ive tried having my hands more upright at address, and bending my right elbow more, but i still cant quite get there. Could it be something in my right hand grip? Thanks

Chris

Welcome aboard. From Address, the hands can take the club back on any number of planes. Homer said that the Right Forearm is always on plane, maybe not the right one- we now have to work on staying on the choosen plane.

You need to trace the base line or the Plane Line that the ball is on, located on the ground of course. Grab a flash light that has a tight beam and start moving the hands to the right tracing the Plane line and feel the right forearm fanning. This flash lite beam (or small laser pointer) is pp3. The right elbow folds later but that is the next step.

Second point- keep the spine angle. A steady unbobbing head will help keep the forearm on the Plane you want- be it the Hand, Elbow or any of the shoulder turns.

Third- Brian Gay's hands at address determines the Plane he wants- low hands- Hand plane, higher Hands for Turned Shoulder Plane.

Fourth- learn everything on can about the Flying Wedges. The Right Forearm Flying Wedge is important at set up and address.

I'm sure others will chime in with more help but TGM is a journey- enjoy it- you are in the right place.

6b

Here's what helped me:

Get a 4 foot dowel with 1 inch diameter. Act like the dowel is the club. Take your old address (forearm not on plane). You now have a starting place for your plane angle. Now grip down (a forearm length ~12inches) on the dowel. Make sure pressure points # 1 and #3 are in the correct position, on the aft side of the dowel (not underneath or not on top). Now bend the elbow until the right forearm is covering the top 12 inches of the dowel. You can check this by placing a mirror behind you. You should see the right forearm covering the dowel (top 12 inches of dowel not visible).

A key might be that, during this process, the body should not be rigid. The hips, shoulder, knees, and head should all accommodate so as to allow #1 and #3 PP, forearm, and dowel on your plane line. Body is variable, Pressure point position (pointing at your plane line) is your constant.

Another thing is that, for at least a while, this will feel strange and different - it felt horrible to me. Do it a little each night for two weeks. Now this position feels very powerful to me.

When at the range or playing, the only thing that I could depend on (at first) was to feel that my elbow was really, really bent at address.

Eventually, I was just able to do it every shot (confirmed through video). Now, forearm on plane feels normal, "arms hanging" actually feels incorrect.

Thanks for the replys so far. The thing that i was just trying to clarify, is that when the right forearm is on plane, the plane line of the golf club at adress, skims the bottom of the right forearm and elbow, when looking at someone from down the line. Because sometimes when looking at brian, it almost looked as if his forearm, was on the same exact line as the club was, which is almost impossible, isnt it? Thanks

Chris

It is the set up and it isn't impossible if you see it. Low Hands with NOT allow you to set up this way. Mid or High will along with a elbow postion that sets the forearm in line. For low hand and acute accumulator #3 golfers this set up will feel odd. Watch Brian with his right arm and right half of the Flying Wedges set on the club as he sets up. Set up around the right arm. Takes some practice to feel comfortable with it. The beauty of it all is that this is what impact needs to look like, too. A Right LEVEL Wrist is a major alignment in G.O.L.F.

Hmmm alright, i will keep working on it. I'm really close right now, and i might actually be there, because right now im just using a mirror as my reference, so what im seeing, is not 100 percent correct, compared to if someone was standing behind me. Thanks

Chris

Check the archives, search under Yoda posts and key words like set up, right forearm, things like that. There is a slight adjustment of the right hand on the club that goes with the mid or high hand set up. This keeps the RH LEVEL and not cocked.

Set up around the right forearm and see what responses to it and what needs a minor adjustment.

Also go to that great training aid- IMPACT FIX and see what you get and work back to address.

Alright, i will look into all that. Today is a good day for that, here in Nebraska, the heat index is well over 100 in some places :P. Thanks

Chris


Edit**: After looking at some more video of Brian, i noticed that his right hand was gripping the club alot more on the "side" of the club compared to what i was doing. That was mentioned earlier, although seeing it helps even more.

I LOVE watching Brian set up with his right arm instead of his left as so many of us do (or did). I don't know what your left hand looks like but the right hand covers the thumb (pp1 on side of the shaft or as close to side as you feel good about) and the shaft goes from pp3 to lifeline. This keeps the RW Level and the FW alignment golden. Low handers like to go across the fingers on both hands. We need it on the left but not so much on the right hand because the right wrist is never cocked.

Set up around the right forearm like you are going into battle. It is that powerful of a feeling.

Like im going into battle, gotchya :salut:
Thanks

Chris

Get the club out of your fingers so much. It needs to be in the CUP of your Right Hand. Then it is MUCH MUCH easier to get it on-plane.

Yea, I messed around with my right hand grip tonight, and found that out. Im pretty sure im on plane now, it just feels really wierd when i set-up with it, which is to be expected. Thanks

Chris

I am not sure exactly what you mean by less in the fingers and more in the cup. Is the cup the palm? If you had a picture of the grip where you held it open with the right hand so only the parts of the hand on the bottom (underside) of the club are showing would they be totally in the fingers like in the 3rd joint near the palm? Would any part of the palm be touching the underside?

Thanks
Dave

While waiting for 12bucket to reply,

The cup is the center line of the hand- the palm, but it doesn't go underneath the shaft.
It folds from pp3 to the center lifeline covering the left thumb instead of running across the whle row of fingers and forming an angle or cocking of the right wrist.

The right hand is a bun and the left thumb and shaft is the Hot Dog.

The grip, or rather the left thumb on the grip ,should run down the lifeline of the right hand-from the #3pp to the crease in the middle of the lifeline near the wrist joint.

Yes thats the way I understand it. I still would say the club is primarilly in the fingers since the lifeline over the thumb is touching the thumb and not the club. all the other parts of the hand that actually touch the grip in the right hand are the fingers is the defintion I use. A SA (natural golf) alignment would have the palm touching the grip.

Dave


Dave

Photos of Boo Weekly's grip
 

Check out the photos in the following post:
http://www.lynnblakegolf.com/forum/s...85&postcount=7
Sometimes pictures are just better than words.

Thanks

Thats the grip that I am using now nice and strong.

Dave

Correct Davel.
I have to correct my post on the right hand grip. After hitting a few balls in the yard I realized I was conveying a feel. I do have the grip crossing at least my pointer finger (pp3) and my middle finger but when the Right Hand is "Leveled," the 'cup' or lifeline is folded over the thumb and shaft. It is NOT a Single Axis palm grip at all.

Hope that helps clear the physics from the feel.