Post by imperfectgolfer on Nov 14, 2023 12:32:56 GMT -5
Watch this Milo Lines video on how to avoid an OTT move.
At the start of the video, Milo and Henry discuss whether the trail upper arm should go into more external rotation (like losing an arm wresting match) or go into more internal rotation (like winning an arm wresting match) during the transition to the early downswing. They imply that neither motion is appropriate and they believe that the trail upper arm should remain relatively neutral (in terms of its degree of internal/external rotation) between P4 => P5.5. I agree with their opinion.
So, consider what happens between P4 => P5.5 in Milo's golf swing action.
Here are capture images from the video.
At the start of the video, Milo and Henry discuss whether the trail upper arm should go into more external rotation (like losing an arm wresting match) or go into more internal rotation (like winning an arm wresting match) during the transition to the early downswing. They imply that neither motion is appropriate and they believe that the trail upper arm should remain relatively neutral (in terms of its degree of internal/external rotation) between P4 => P5.5. I agree with their opinion.
So, consider what happens between P4 => P5.5 in Milo's golf swing action.
Here are capture images from the video.
Image 1 is at P4, image 2 is at P5, image 3 is at P5.5 and image 4 is at P6.2.
Note that Milo is avoiding an OTT move. What advice does Milo provide in his video to avoid an OTT move - other than stating that the trail upper arm should remain neutral (from an internal/external rotation perspective) between P4 => P5.5?
Milo talks about the arms "being transported" downwards so that the hands can reach waist level by P5.5, but he provides no detailed advice on what precisely should be done from a biomechanical perspective to get his hands to reach the position seen in image 3 - where his hands are below waist level and where the hands are vertically above a point in the ground that is closer to the ball-target line than his toes.
I believe, in contrast to Milo, that there must be a lot of independent downward motion of the arms/hands between P4 => P5.5 where the two arms move independently of the pivot motion, which mainly changes the positional alignment of the two shoulder sockets. I also believe that the major biomechanical factor causing the downwards motion of the hands is an active trail upper arm adduction maneuver using a pitch elbow motion of the trail arm, while keeping the trail arm continuously bent.
Note that Milo's trail upper arm is adducting towards his trail side of his mid-upper torso between P4 => P5.5 thereby driving his trail elbow to a position that is just in front of his trail hip area by P5.5. Note that his trail arm is bent to a ~90 degree angle at P5.5 and that it only straightens by ~15 - 20 degrees by P5.5.
Note that Milo's trail palm remains *under the club handle (facing skywards) between P4 => P6.2 which requires increasing trail forearm supination while maintaining an extended trail wrist.
(* do not make the mistake of thinking that his trail palm is facing groundwards in image 3 by looking at the thenar area of his trail palm, which only reflects the opposing motion of the trail thumb metacarpal area relative to the trail palm area, which is primarily the palm area just proximal the base of the 3rd, 4th and 5th trail hand's fingers).
A good sign of how actively a golfer is adducting the trail upper arm (while using a pitch elbow motion of the trail arm) is to look at the height of the trail elbow relative to the lead elbow during the early downswing. Note that Milo's two elbows are at the same height at P4 and that the trail elbow drops slightly below the level of the lead elbow by P5 - but the amount is small because he is only demonstrating his downswing action in a gentle manner at a slow speed.
Consider his "real life" driver golf swing action.
The red splined path is his hand arc path.
Image 1 is at P4, image 2 is at P4.5, image 3 is at P5, image 4 is at P5.2 and image 5 is at P5.5.
Note that Milo's two elbows are at the same height at P4, but his trail elbow is much lower than his lead elbow by P5, which is an useful physical sign that he is very actively adducting his trail upper arm between P4 => P5 (while maintaining an unchanged degree of trail arm bending). That active trail upper arm adduction maneuver that is combined with a pitch elbow motion of his trail arm allows him to actively drive his trail elbow to a position in front of his trail hip area by P5.5 and it also helps him to maintain most of his clubhead lag angle.
Note that Milo's trail arm is neutral between P4 => P5, but it becomes externally rotated to a small degree between P5 => P5.5 as he drives his trail elbow from a position alongside his trail shirt seam at P5 to a position just in front of his trail hip area by P5.5. That small degree of external rotation of the trail humerus is not obligatory, but it allows Milo to shallow his clubshaft even more between P5 => P5.5.
What role does his pivot motion play in getting his trail elbow to its desired pitch location by P5.5?
Note that Milo's trail shoulder is higher than his lead shoulder socket at P4, but significantly lower than his lead shoulder socket at P5.5 and that his trail shoulder socket lowering phenomenon has to happen because the trail elbow can only get to its desirable pitch location where it is positioned below his belt level at P5.5 considering the "anatomical fact" that his trail upper arm has a fixed length.
Milo does not discuss in this video how to lower the trail shoulder during the active pivot motion that is happening between P4 => P5.5 while the pelvis/upper torso are both rotating counterclockwise. I think that the key pivot motion that is necessary is to ensure that the kinematic sequence starts with a pelvis shift-rotation motion while keeping the upper torso back slightly by generating a slightly greater degree of torso-pelvic separation.
Here are capture images of the golf instructor, Russell Heritage, demonstrating the correct pivot motion in slow motion.
Note how his trail shoulder is moving downwards between a simulated P4 position (image 1) to a simulated P6 position (image 4) while he maintains a rightwards tilted spine (that increases slightly in degree as his pelvis/sacrum moves targetwards relative to his relatively fixed T1 spine location) during his active pelvic shift-rotational motion where his upper torso is kept relatively closed relative to his pelvis.
Getting the trail shoulder lower is impossible if the kinematic sequence is disordered and where a golfer starts the pivot motion with an upper torso rotation while keeping the pelvis static from a shift-rotation perspective.
Here are capture images of Russell Heritage demonstrating an OTT move.
Note that RH is rotating his upper torso counterclockwise while keeping his pelvis static in the initial downswing action. Note that his rotating upper torso causes his spine (and head) to angle targetwards while his trail shoulder socket remains higher than his lead shoulder socket and that will invariably lead to an OTT move even if the trail upper arm is being actively adducted in a desirable manner. Note that RH cannot possibly get his trail elbow to be positioned below his waist level at P5.5 (image 4) if his trail shoulder socket is that high.
In other words, to perform a golf swing correctly, and to avoid an OTT move, a golfer must actively perform the correct pivot motion while actively performing the correct trail upper arm adduction maneuver at exactly the same time in a synchronised manner.
I personally think that Milo/Henry did not provide enough details in their video on how to avoid an OTT move.
Jeff.