How Good Is Your Golf Swing, A Test Of Measurement

Where do we start when trying to find an effortless natural swing, that for the most part you only see on a rare occasion that perfection allows? There are many last minute impressions from each swing you make, but defining what they are and why they happened can become a never ending maze if you let it. So where can we go, that will simplify it to it's most basic premises? Let's start with the absolute fundamentals and build from there. It has been said by some great teachers that the longer you spend in lesson 1 the better student you will be. This means the better understanding and foundation you have built off the most fundamental parts, will inevitably be your greatest asset.

Imagine that there is a circle that your ideal plane is working on, almost like a hula hoop that you are swinging on. As long as you can maintain this plane or come back to it at impact you will hit a flush shot. The more force that is behind the club at impact will directly effect how much power is created (mass x speed = power).

If you can take into consideration that when you rotate (back swing & down swing) your arms (avg. 12lbs a piece, 24lbs total) are moving in front of your body, thus pulling you forwards by the weight of the arms. This also means that if not corrected for, the "hula hoop" will be pulled forwards as well and causing the swing to go out of plane. As a visual you would see the hula hoop going straight into the ground. You can tell that its moving forwards by either the weight shifting to the toes or your front knee moving forwards.


To save the swing at this point you must bring it back into balance or the hula hoop (plane) back onto the path with the ball. This is accomplished by offsetting the pull of the arms. At this point the maximum amount of effort in the swing starts to take place. Every player will start straightening their front leg through impact which is a physiological act of "flexion & extension" to pull back and around. The amount of flexion and extension you have to use the more force it will take you to hit a good shot.


Both of these shots were struck very well but to even the untrained eye you can tell how much more effort it takes for Tiger(above right) to swing than it does Freddie(above left). If you look at a swing like Charles Barkley it becomes very apparent why he would have so much trouble clearing his rotation, because of being so far forwards and having to use a tremendous amount of effort to balance out the forces. The amount of flexion and extension you have to use determines how much force it will take you to reach a certain amount of power.


STEP OUTSIDE THE BOX TO MAKE IT EASIER

The less force that you have to use, the easier it is to create power and remain in plane throughout your swing. Imagine you were going to walk backwards, the first step that you make you will have to make a sub conscience choice to let go of your balance and fall backwards. There is a very subtle sensitivity that can grow out of this, that you can use to balance out the golf swing from the very beginning and find "rotary equilibrium or dynamic balance". If you will let go of your balance backwards at the start of the swing it will give you a completely different sense of freedom in its entirety.  Once you start to feel this in your move you will realize when I say that the proper vernacular for a golf swing is a "Gravity Aided Rotary Sling". Don't be afraid to step outside of the box to find something extraordinary!

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Reading Greens Like A Professional by Danny Lee in Greenville, SC

Every individual that has ever picked up a putter with the realization that this 15 footer was for BIRDIE and the $15 Nassau is on the line, knows how crucial it is to have the right read on a putting green. That being said if you can't learn first how to properly power your putting stroke it won't do you a whole lot of good.




Some of the most perceptive people I have met at reading greens have been on the maintenance crew. One of the first rules to learning how to read a green is in the details. Being able to read the grain of the grass, looking at the landscape to tell the high and low side of the green and feeling the speed over the contour which your putting will be what makes or breaks your green reading ability.

 3 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF 

What side of the hole is dead?  

Answer: The grain is going to pull it in that direction

Where do I want to miss this?

  Answer: "On The Pro Side" Always plan on putting
  to the high side, this will up your chances of
  have the ball fall in towards the hole.

Can you feel the green through your feet?

Answer: Trevino used to say he could always feel the
green through his feet. What this means is that
you want to try to sense which direction the
green is trying to push your body and settle into it.

 Danny Lee

501-617-2132



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What Is Your Safety Envelope? by Danny Lee in Greenville SC

When taking a golf lesson from your friends or a golf instructor, it's very likely they will tell you how to remain balanced while swinging. Understanding the difference between "Static" & "Dynamic" balance is what makes all of the difference in a rotational movement like the golf swing.

Try this for me. Please "STAND UP" wherever you are...

Are you standing?

Ok now! I want you to move as far forwards as you can in your toes before falling over. I want you to feel the edge in the front of your body. You can now shift your weight all the way back to your heels and further more all the way around your "Safety Envelope". What this means is that you will begin to fall and gravity will get the better of you.

Now that you have a sense of where your edge of balance is located. I want you to feel the weight of your arms in your mind. The average golfer's arm weighs 10 lbs, so imagine that both arms are equal to a 20lb dumbbell. Envision that you are swinging that 20lb dumbbell in front of you very fast like swinging a golf club. That is a lot of centripetal force.



Lets go back to what you were feeling with your "Safety Envelope". What I want you to take into account is that the more force (weight x speed) you are swinging in front of you the more it's going to expand and you will need to move farther back to maintain a dynamic balance.

If you want to hit your drives farther while staying on plane and in balance, explore how far you can move away from the force that is pulling you forwards (your arms and the club) and you will find power that you never believed was possible!
Danny Lee

(C) 501-617-2132


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Gravity Will Work For You... If You Let It - By David Lee in Greenville SC

Ever wonder why some professional players swing so effortlessly and others look as if they’re working themselves to death?  

The ones that look effortless feel how to utilize gravity to decrease their internal effort and how it can aid them in moving their core-mass through impact.  They may not be able to explain exactly how they do it (Freddie Couples can’t – or won’t), but they certainly sense the recipe for allowing it to work.  The more you get gravity to help you in the swing, the less you have to rely on your own strength to create the power.  Moving a golf ball properly can be one of the most euphoric sensations imaginable, but I would say with a great deal of confidence that less than one person in a hundred has felt the total freedom of movement that Freddie feels.



There is a “recipe” that enables the “gravity” swing to work for anyone.  As in so many other sports where timing and technique are critical, a totally efficient golf swing requires that it be set into motion properly for all the physical “dominoes” to fall.  Once an individual stands upright on his/her feet, gravity can be used to shift the body’s weight and give effortless momentum to the follow-through.  In a proper swing, gravity also starts the arms down at the completion of the back-swing with no flex requirement from the arms and shoulders.  Knowing how to use gravity to diminish the need for using your own strength, will allow you to hit the ball farther with a fraction of the effort, and allow you to play to a very advanced age with minimal loss of power.


Study the Gravity Golf “heel-to-heel transfer drill” online and you can witness the modern day golf swing that we call the “gravity” swing in its most efficient and dynamic form.



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Using Gravity In Your Golf Swing

Have you ever felt "Gravity" in your swing?

Do you know what it feels like to let go completely of all the tension in your body and swing with total freedom?




Gravity is working with you at all times and the more you fight it the more you are going to lose..plain and simple. We all have the ability inside of us to let go of our beliefs and ideas of what we can control. We tell ourselves so often that if we can do this one thing or have the right swing that everything will be perfect. "If only I can get my weight to the left side or set my hands this will help keep me in control". This is a false sense of what control really is!


If you want to find your perfect swing, you have to let go of all your thoughts and feelings that create tension inside of you. Every thought has the potential to put tension in or out of your swing. Sports psychology is relatively a new field, but as old as philosophers writing about the "human condition".


Feeling pure gravity in your swing only comes from being able to relax your body and mind to the fullest potential. The Gravity Golf drills are designed to make you self aware of how your leverage and tension are working against your golf swing. The personal journey is for you to learn how to control your thoughts and free your mind. If you do not let go and relax your body; the tension will tighten your muscles into the swing and you will hit a wall in your improvement.


Next time at the golf range try to observe how you're thinking and try to relax both your body and mind. If you notice that your thoughts are trying to force your body to make something happen or not then this will add tensions to your golf swing. Believe it or not the way your mind is working will directly relate to how your mechanics will function in your swing. Enjoy yourself when you have the opportunity to make it to the golf course or the practice range and use your awareness to approach every shot with a positive relaxed mind.



Daniel Lee

Gravity Golf Pro

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How To Teach Your Kids Golf by Daniel Lee in Orlando Florida

At the driving range, I've seen too many parents trying the latest tip from Golf Digest, to help their kids make solid contact with the golf ball. They will try anything to steer their kid into the right direction.

If the approach isn't laid out well enough, or the information doesn't connect with the young golfer than it could leave a bad taste in their mouth. Your future, "Saturday golfing partner" may never develop the enjoyment or satisfaction of playing golf correctly.

So all the parents out there please keep in mind a few things when first getting your kids into the game. All kids are born with the same instincts to a certain degree when it comes to golf. They will all try to get to the top of the swing and bash at it with their upper body, in an effort to move the ball ("The harder I swing, the farther this will ball will go!").

If you want to instill the swing with thoughts and feel that will give the young golfer the ability to create an easy, yet very powerful swing. You need to train them from a position of the Gravitiy Golf drills that will not let them fall into an incorrect technique or mind set.

For instance, if you start your child in a drill with their feet crossed, they will feel when they use their arms to power the swing, they will begin to lose their balance. It won't be long, before they immediately begin to soften up with the upper body and release their mass through the golf ball.  

This drill can be used for full shots and short game as well. Watch my video to learn more or please feel free to contact me for private golf lessons in Greenville, South Carolina, Asheville, NC, or Columbia, SC .




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"How It Works & How To Learn It"
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"The Evolution & Revolution on Golf Instruction"

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Don’t Be Afraid of Sand Traps by David Lee in Greenville SC

If you’ve heard a golf professional or good amateur say that a trap shot is the easiest shot in golf, they are telling the truth – to a point.  It’s the easiest shot in golf – if – you know how to hit it correctly, but one of the spookiest if you don’t.  Truthfully, it is an easier shot than a pitch from the rough because you can spin the ball.  Pitch shots from the rough are unpredictable in carry distance and are difficult to stop.  In a tournament, most professional players would much prefer to be in a greenside bunker than in three-inch rough.
There are a few things one needs to know that are different form a pitch or chip, before sand shots can be mastered.  On greenside bunker shots, we normally hit behind the ball a couple of inches.  Because the club doesn’t directly strike the ball, we get less compression (or help) from the golf ball – and therefore, we need to turn the body past the flagstick in the follow-through to provide “insurance” that the ball will come out of the bunker.  The full rotation through the shot increases the foot-pounds of energy in the impact zone and ensures that the ball will come out with very little effort.
In addition to the full follow-through, there is another important variation from a pitch or chip.  On greenside sand shots, we don’t want to hit the ball before we contact the sand.  To ensure this, we widen the stance an extra eight inches or so wider than we would stand for a pitch or chip.  Widening the stance will drop the bottom of the swing arc and cause the player to hit the sand instead of the back of the ball.
The distance ones carries the ball from a bunker is a function of how much loft is on the club you choose, and how far you heave the arms and club in the back-swing.  The arms should be in a state of total dead-fall starting down, and the rotation of the body simply “turns” the ball out of the bunker.  Practice the Gravity Golf “three-mode drill” and you will soon learn just how easy these shots can be.

David Lee- Gravity Golf Pro at Orange Country National in Orlando Florida.


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