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Release The Club Head

Release The Club Head

 

“True Release And Squaring The Face”

By: John Lombardo PGA Of America
I seem to have come full circle. In a nutshell, I am now swinging the golf club with a true release and squaring of the club face at impact, at the bottom of the swing.

Like all true meaningful discoveries, this one kind of happened by accident.

To re-trace a bit, I have spent the last five or six years learning to swing the golf club with my core muscles, learning to keep the club in front of me throughout the entire swing. Keeping in tune with the huge growth of big strong Tour players, I have tried with great success to follow their example of swinging with the large muscles. Much of my views and teaching approach is described on www.golfteacher.com.

Last week after work I wanted to hit a few balls on the range so I grabbed an old six iron that we had lying around in the bag room. It turned out to be an ancient Powerbilt iron with a stiff shaft. I hit a few good shots then went into a funk trying to swing this club with the modern method. So I just decided for some reason to grip the club extremely lightly with my fingers, and just let it swing using gravity and golf club design as my guiding light.

The results improved dramatically as my shots started to fly high and straight with very little effort. It seems I actually tapped in to a distant memory of how I used to swing a baseball bat. While my body played a huge role, the ultimate power came from a strong free release of the bat head through the hitting zone. This could only be accomplished with a very light grip, letting the wood do the work so to speak.

So I decided the next time I played golf I would grip the club so lightly that the grip actually moved around in my hands as I moved into my back swing. This has become my only swing thought: a grip so light the club feels like it is moving around in my fingers. My body seems to coil so much easier into a compact, full turn with the club fully loaded and ready to swing.

But when it comes time to change direction, my coil uncoils and I just, to put it simply, “throw” the club head at the ball, letting gravity and the design of the club square the face at and through impact. Yes, throw the club head at the ball. The results have been astounding. I am hitting my 9 iron 145-150 regularly and my ball striking and accuracy have improved.

What is more important is that this swing feels totally natural, spontaneous, and un-rehearsed. It is a free and tension free approach to swinging a golf club, that works in all kinds of weather, and repeats itself of its own volition and free will. My only swing thought is to grip so lightly that the grip moves in my hands. My body gets involved naturally without me thinking about it, I take straight deeper divots again, and am able to get my full body involved without thinking about it.

I finally came to the conclusion that I am not a Tour player, and while the modern approach to swinging, large muscle ultra contolling motion, woks for the big strong and well conditioned it is not going to work for me over the long haul.

It feels so good to actually “know” what I am doing with a golf club without actually controlling or knowing what it is I am doing.

Letting gravity, force and my nature swing the club is what will carry me through. I do not have the physical prowess of the big strong swingers, but have gained distance, and control of my trajectory and shot shape. All my previous hard work is not in vain. There is so much more going on that I could not have accomplished without my previous training. But the thought and process has become a matter of simplicity, trust, and talent.

It is a winning proposition.

Quotes

“Concentrate on the Connectedness to the Core.” Paul Elice

“Change is the price of survival.” Gary Player

“Focus on concentration.” Lou Holtz

“In trying to meditate all meditation ceases. In trying to do anything, anything ceases. There is effort and no effort.” Lao Chen Su

“My body slips into a meditative state without my knowledge or awareness. My mind goes with it. It is powerful instinct. The minute I become aware of it, it goes away. You cannot consciously meditate. Meditation happens by itself. Meditation is a mind of its own with a life of its own. It owns the owner. There is no choice.” Juengjm

 

New Golf Swing

After not having swung a golf club for over two months because of some surgery and complications, I was able to finally hit some balls. Naturally I over did it and was really hurting  after a couple range sessions.

I went on to the golf course and just tried to hit the ball on the club face, but my body hurt bad and my successes were negligible.

It finally dawned on me that my usual swing was not going to work anymore. My golf muscles were weak and untrained and would not fire in the proper sequence. I could not bend my shafts and could not get a full swing going.

So I decided to follow the path of least resistance. A simple move ensued. I moved my weight on to my right side by moving my left knee toward my right knee so that the knees almost touch. At the same time, I start the club back into the back swing and start the shoulder turn. The resulting waggle to get started involves the right knee toward the left and the club shaft set parallel to the ground at the beginning of the shoulder turn in a simultaneous motion.

A freedom of movement started to follow. My shots started to get better and I could bend my shafts again resulting in the required distance for each golf shot. the entire swing sequence made sense to me. Plus, the resulting golf swing is 180 degrees different from anything I have ever done before.

I have not done any video yet, and do not even know if I want to. Once I practice the waggle a few times I then go ahead and swing. It becomes an instinctive move with no thought after the pre-swing routine waggle sequence.

Drive It Farther!

DRIVE IT FARTHER

1. About 20 years ago I was playing in the State Open with Dennis Colligan and noticed Dennis was hitting driver-8 iron farther than I could hit my driver-3 wood-pitching wedge. I began the task of trying to regain some of my lost distance. It was a real awakening to realize that the subtle awareness over the years that I was losing distance had become a reality. I was suddenly “early old.” I needed to be able to swing again without thinking about what I was doing on every shot.

2. Solution Process:
A: Bought a $4000 launch monitor, state of the art back then. Used it measure to club head speed, launch and face angle, etc. Hit countless balls in back yard and on the range. Started to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Got club head speed to over 120 mph once again and the ball went straight. One swing can mean a lot in the learning process.
B. The swing process constantly evolved working around medical problems and knee injuries.
C. Kept working on a “connected golf swing”: keeping the club and my arms in front of me throughout the entire swing. Core and arms swing together. It does not matter how fast or slow I swing, if I stay connected I hit good golf shots.
D. Worked to increase my shoulder turn and still maintain the connection principle.
E. Finally figured out that my left hip was getting in my way, so I moved it out of the way to start with.
F. Feel the sensation that I am moving back solid on to my right leg, then hit into a solid left side, avoiding my dreaded slide of the upper body past the ball, which causes my left side to breakdown, gets me over the top, and adds mucho strokes to my score.
G. Most of all, I try to release the club head on every swing, (instead of trying to hit it harder) leading to a feeling of increased lightness, freedom, and flexibility.
H. Do not be afraid to experiment to find out what works for you. With an understanding of proper fundamentals, you can learn to swing within multiple frameworks.

Connected Swing

Golf Feel The Rush!

Feel The Rush !

 

“Get Your Adrenaline Pumping!”

By: John Lombardo Golf Teacher

This is a simple one for you. If you are new to golf or even if you are an experienced player, here is a great reason to play.

Feel The Rush!!!!!!

When you hit that great shot, did you FEEL THE RUSH?! Did your feel your blood pumping through your veins? Did you feel alive?

You did something well, you worked as you. You were alive, truly alive, your heart was pumping, and what is even better you for an instant knew that you were alive.

There is nothing more exhilirating or powerful than a rush of adrenaline. All athletes feel it when they are performing well, doing what they want to do with their sport.

I am talking about positive adrenaline. Not the adrenaline of fear or flight, but the powerful adrenaline of positive accomplishment and true performance.

While most of us will never be race car drivers, professional football players, boxers or NBA Stars, all of us can certainly play golf.

Golf is the sport of accomplishments. You play a little work a little pay attention to what you are doing then the gears begin to mesh, the pieces begin to fall into place and your golf swing begins to click.

Even if you are just out there in nature playing golf you are bound to hit a great shot sooner or later. It just happens, the more swings you take, your chances of hitting that great shot are better and better. You will never hit a great shot if you are not out there playing.

When you hit that great shot, did you FEEL THE RUSH?!

Did your adrenaline get to pumping?

From my viewpoint there is no better feeling while engaged in golf as an athletic endeavor.

Good shots lead to better shots. It just works that way. There is nothing boring about an adrenaline rush. It is you at your best doing something and feeling good about it. It hapens in golf, even to a greater extent than with other team sports.

Because in golf, it is you and you alone doing the deed. You are the master of your fate. You did something well, you worked as you. You were alive, truly alive, your heart was pumping, and what is even better you for an instant knew that you were alive.

How about that feeling over and over again, or even once in a while over a round of golf. Breathing fresh air, your heart pumping, watching that great golf shot, and knowing that you are indeed alive!

All Golfers Read This Letter

 

Ladies Golf Academy Week 2016

Thanks for participating in our annual Ladies Golf Academy Version 2016. We hope you will gain some knowledge of the golf swing in general, and how to get the ball moving toward the green and into the hole.

Remember that proper swing fundamentals can never be replaced. However, since everyone has a different approach to the golf swing, these fundamentals must fit into the framework of each individual swing.

How you hold the golf club (the grip), how you stand and set up to the ball, and how your body moves in relation to the “circular” motion of the golf swing itself all have a profound effect on the quality of your golf shots.

We encourage you to play as often as you can, and remember that even a little practice of some of the things you have learned in this Academy can go a long way toward making you a better golfer.

Just repeating your grip or club takeaway using slow motion swings in the backyard can help you become a better golfer.

The old saying was that “golf is the game of a lifetime.” Like all fundamentals, this statement is still very true. Golf is probably the only game you can play as long as you are able to swing a golf club.

Please make every effort to enjoy and “stay in the game!”

“Get Golf Ready” is the new standard for bringing new golfers and keeping golfers in the game. The foundation for this program is one simple word: “FUN!”

When you play golf enjoy it, relax, take satisfaction in your good shots and keep trying to improve on the not so good shots. The important thing is to keep playing.

There is no better “total well-being exercise” than the game of golf. It is played outdoors in the fresh air. It is total mental and physical relaxation and exercise. But the bottom line is that golf is just plain good for you.

Thanks for your help in making us better teachers, and for your participation in our program Dutch Hollow Country Club. We hope to see you on Wednesday evenings once the Academy is finished playing in the Ladies Scramble League.

Keep Swinging!