Post by imperfectgolfer on Aug 22, 2023 10:45:27 GMT -5
Janik stated in another thread that he disagrees with my opinion that the PA#3 release action happens passively/naturally in pro golfers, because he inferred that if it was a passive/natural phenomenon that it would result in too many wild shots due to an inconsistent PA#3 release action - and that if a pro golfer was avoiding hitting wild shots due to an inefficient performance of a PA#3 release action that the pro golfer must be actively controlling the release of PA#3.
What does it mean to state that a pro golfer is actively controlling the release of PA#3?
In a pro golfer's driver swing, the clubhead speed during the PA#3 release phase between ~P6.5 => P7 is probably >100mph. If the major biomechanical phenomenon affecting the release of PA#3 is lead forearm supination, how could a pro golfer actively control the speed of lead forearm supination in that short time period between P6.5 => P7 when the PA#2 release action is completing its final phase of execution and when the clubhead is traveling >100mph?
I don't think that it is possible!!!
I think that pro golfers, who use a TGM swinging action, set the stage (optimum conditions) for an efficient release of PA#3 so that it can happen passively/naturally in a consistent manner.
What do I mean by creating the optimum conditions for an efficient release of PA#3?
Consider Justin Thomas driver golf swing action.
Image 1 is at P6, image 2 is at near-impact and image 3 is at P7.2.
The red splined path is JT's hand arc path.
Note how U-shaped his hand arc path is and note that his hands reach the nadir of his hand arc path at ~P6 when his hands are just outside his trail thigh. That is also approximately when lead hand speed has reached its maximum speed due to the release of PA#4.
Note that the hand arc path becomes nearly horizontal between P6 => P7 with a small degree of uplift (mainly after P6.5) due to elevation of the lead shoulder socket. We also know, from golf research evidence, that lead hand speed decreases by ~25% in many pro golfers between P6 => P7 and that is a useful fact because it allows for the timely completion of the release of PA#2.
Note that the lead hand rotates counterclockwise at a fast speed between P6.5 => P7.2 and part of that counterclockwise rotation is due to lead forearm supination and part of it is due to external rotation of the lead humerus.
What allows a pro golfer, like JT who uses a weak lead hand grip, to consistently control the rate of counterclockwise rotation of the lead hand during the PA#3 release action so that the clubface is consistently square at impact?
I personally think that JT is not actively controlling the rate of lead forearm supination and the rate of external rotation of his lead humerus between P6.5 => P7 by using some active muscular torquing action, and I believe that the PA#3 release action happens passively/naturally as a result of the conical pendular motion of the clubshaft that happens naturally in the late downswing. All pro golfers generate a conical pendular motion of the clubshaft between P6 => P7 and the particular shape of the conical pendular motion depends on i) how outstretched the lead arm is away from the torso during that time period and ii) the magnitude of the accumulator #3 angle.
Here are DTL capture images of Justin Thomas' golf swing action.
The red splined path is his hand arc path.
Image 1 is at P5.5 and image 2 is at impact.
JT is releasing PA#2 between image 1 and image 2 and the particular shape of his clubshaft's concical pendular path is dependent on i) how outstretched his lead arm is and ii) how large his accumulator #3 angle is during the PA#2 release phase. Because his lead arm is outstretched and because he has a small accumulator #3 angle, his clubshaft's conical pendular path is going to look very different to Sergio Garcia clubshaft's conical pendular path - as seen below.
Capture images of Sergio Garcia's late downswing.
Image 2 is at P5.5, image 3 is at P6.2 and image 3 is at impact.
Note that SG has a more vertical lead arm and a much larger accumulator #3 angle at impact - so his clubshaft's conical pendular path is going to be much more rounded than JT-clubshaft's conical pendular path between P6 => P7.
I believe that if a pro golfer can consistently control the particular shape of his clubshaft's conical pendular path and consistently control his speed of release of PA#2, then he will automatically/naturally be able to consistently control his speed of release of PA#3 in a passive/natural manner that does not require any active muscular lead forearm supinatory torquing action.
There are many factors that affect the efficiency of release of PA#2 and PA#3 and they can cause the release of PA#3 to become inefficient so that the clubface is too open, or too closed, at impact.
Here is a brief list of some of those factors.
1) V-shaped hand arc path.
2) Holding clubhead lag for too long beyond P6.
3) Lead hand speed too fast between P6 => P7.
4) "Handle-dragging" action with excessive tension in the lead forearm and excessive negative hand couple torque during the late downswing.
5) Keeping the trail arm excessively bent and the trail wrist excessively extended between P6 => P7 thereby restricting the fluid release of PA#2/3 => open clubface at impact.
6) Straightening the trail arm too fast and excessively pronating the trail forearm between P6 => P7 causing the clubface to roll too closed before impact.
7) Swinging excessively in-to-out in the later downswing and preventing the execution of a well-shaped conical pendular motion of the clubshaft.
8) Applying excessive alpha torque against the aft side of the club handle below the coupling point with the trail hand in the later downswing => flipping the club passed the hands before impact.
9) Casting from the top of the swing causing the PA#2 release action to prematurely happen before P5.
Jeff.