Hitting vs. Swinging - differences a bit overblown???

[mattsdad]

Mattsdad,

Here ya go (see link below)...when you get to the site....look to the lefthand side and click on the Ben Hogan reference from 2/23/06. You will see references to a couple of Tomasello videos and Lynn's site.

As they say at Disney World..."It's a small world after all"...yikes!!! How true it is in this case!

Enjoy,

DG

http://www2.netdoor.com/~takano/golf/golf-j.html

DG,

Thanks for the link. I tried Googling "Tomasello" on the Japanese Google site but came up empty. It turns out that the owner of the site is located in Mississippi.

It is an amazing site! There is a treasure trove of information distilled from books, magazines, websites, etc., photographs, drawings, you name it. It's an incredible resource - if you can read Japanese.

Interestingly, there is a list of golf books that has been translated into Japanese. Not surprisingly, The Golfing Machine is not on that list. I wonder if there is anyone brave (or foolish) enough to take on that task?

RT

[robertrex]

Most especially, Component #4 (Accumulator Combinations) is also different. Even though both Patterns are Triple Barrel Strokes, Hitters use Power Accumulators 1/2/3 and Swingers use 2/3/4. And at bottom, this is the essential difference between the two: Power Accumulator #1 (the Right Elbow) is active in Hitting and passive in Swinging.

Regarding the Pivot, both Hitters and Swingers use the Standard Pivot, i.e., they move freely in both directions (assuming a Square Stance). This also includes the Geometry of Right Shoulder Motion (a Backstroke Turn to the Plane and a Downstroke Turn on the Plane). However, after using the Pivot to overcome the initial Inertia of the Lagging Clubhead in the Start Down, the Physics of Right Shoulder Action differs markedly between the two. The Hitter uses the Right Shoulder as a Backstop -- the "equal and opposite" reaction -- for his driving Right Arm. In contrast, the Swinger uses the Right Shoulder as a Rotor -- Body Momentum Transfer -- for his Swinging Left Arm.

These differentiations are not "overblown." Instead, they are defining. In the words of Homer Kelley:

"The 'mystery' of the Mechanics of Golf fades away when Right Arm participation is understood."

Thanks Yoda - I really like the lack of mystery portion. I guess my frustration is when people call this or that golfer a hitter or a swinger. For instance, I've see people refer to Moe Norman's swing as hitting. Watching Moe on video - his words to describe what he did show me he was a swinger with zero power accumulator #3. This is just one example of people saying any odd looking swing is hitting. To me, appropriately executed hitting doesn't look odd at all. It doesn't look out of rhythm/ choppy either. It looks fairly "normal", and the differences between hitting and swinging are not primarily in "looks" - at least not in what largely untrained persons see.

I'm sure you hear it more than I do at the various boards I frequent - "That guy's oviously a hitter. She's obviously a swinger." Would you say that most people who make these statements are at best working with limited information when they make these statements?

Here's to more precision and continued progress.

[birdie_man]

Lynn's Hit is nice looking.