Post by imperfectgolfer on Dec 24, 2023 14:08:52 GMT -5
Watch this BBG video.
This video features Ryan Faust who is teaching Brendon how to better improve his pelvic motion in the later downswing and through impact.
I think that RF's opinions are very wrongheaded and misinformed, and I will now explain why I think that his opinions are unscientific and irrational.
Most golf instructors and analytical golfers would agree that most pro golfers have a common pelvic and upper torso motional pattern between P5.5 => P7+. What happens in most pro golfers during that mid-late downswing time period is that i) the lead leg straightens thereby elevating the lead pelvis and lead hip joint, ii) the lead buttocks continues to rotate back towards the tush line and also around-and-away from the target iii) there is stretching-out of the lead side of the mid-upper torso while the upper torso is rotating counterclockwise. The combination of i) and iii) causes the lead shoulder socket to elevate and move inside-left.
Here is Ben Hogan manifesting that pattern.
This video features Ryan Faust who is teaching Brendon how to better improve his pelvic motion in the later downswing and through impact.
I think that RF's opinions are very wrongheaded and misinformed, and I will now explain why I think that his opinions are unscientific and irrational.
Most golf instructors and analytical golfers would agree that most pro golfers have a common pelvic and upper torso motional pattern between P5.5 => P7+. What happens in most pro golfers during that mid-late downswing time period is that i) the lead leg straightens thereby elevating the lead pelvis and lead hip joint, ii) the lead buttocks continues to rotate back towards the tush line and also around-and-away from the target iii) there is stretching-out of the lead side of the mid-upper torso while the upper torso is rotating counterclockwise. The combination of i) and iii) causes the lead shoulder socket to elevate and move inside-left.
Here is Ben Hogan manifesting that pattern.
Image 1 is at P4 and image 2 is at P5. Note that BH squares his pelvis between P4 => P5 and that he manifests the "Sam Snead sit-down look" at P5. Note that there is very little squatting motion happening during the P4 => P5 time period and there is very little dropping groundwards of either his belt line (= line that is parallel to a line between the hip joints) or head during the hip-squaring phase.
Image 3 is at P6 and image 4 is at impact. So, what is happening during his late downswing? Note how he is straightening his lead leg which elevates his lead hip joint; ii) note how his lead buttocks is moving back towards the tush line and also rotating around in a counterclockwise direction so that his lead buttocks moves around-and-away from the target; iii) note that there is stretching out of the lead side's mid-upper torso and iv) note that the lead shoulder socket moves up and away from the ball-target line.
What is the best way to accomplish those biomechanical movements that happen between P5.5 => P7?
RF has obviously been influenced by his experience as a devoted Swing Catalyst exponent and he talks a lot about generating vertical GRFs (pressure forces) under the lead foot as the major factor responsible for these biomechanical motions.
Starting at the 2:05 minute time point of the BBG video, RF talks about the body's COM dropping at the start of the downswing as a golfer performs a squatting move. The apparent logic of dropping the body's COM, which is biomechanically due to increased hip/knee joint flexion, during the P4 => P5 time period is that it allows a golfer to "jump-up" with more force during the P5.5 => P7 time period. I have no objection to a squatting move as an optional choice, but I know of no scientific evidence that it increases clubhead speed at impact and increases ball flight carry distance when driving a golf ball. There are many pro golfers (eg. Luke List, Gary Woodland and Adam Scott) who do not squat much and who are among the longest drivers in the PGA tour.
Note what RF asserts between the 4:25 - 5:14 minute time point of the BBG video. RF claims that one should get the vertical GRF under the lead foot to be very high at P5 (when the lead arm is parallel to the ground).
Many golf instructors and golf biomechanists harbor that same opinion.
Here is Sasho MacKenzie's image where he claims that many pro golfers generate a very high vertical force under the lead foot when the clubshaft is vertical in the early downswing (which is roughly at the P5 - P5.2 time point) and that it is causally related to maximum clubhead speed at impact.
Note that SMK claims that he found a correlation coefficient of 0.91 between the magnitude of the lead foot force at shaft vertical and clubhead speed at impact in pro golfers' driver golf swings.
Scott Lynn (Swing Catalyst's foremost ambassador/biomechanist) checked his data bank of Swing Catalyst measurements of pro golfers and found that there was no correlation and the results of his more extensive data-collection contradicts the wrongheaded belief that one has to generate a very high vertical GRF under the lead foot at P5 - P5.2 I believe that it is an optional choice and not an obligatory choice!
Between the 5:25 -5:51 minute time point of the BBG video, RF makes the outrageously unscientific claim that if one applies that high vertical GRF in the manner that he describes, that it will get the lead hip to rotate better through the late downswing into the early followthrough and that "it will cause the clubface to travel quieter and more consistent through the impact zone". I know of no "evidence" that there is any correlation between the generation of a high vertical GRF under the lead foot during the early downswing and a lower clubface ROC through impact. A lower clubface ROC through impact more likely happens when a golfer uses a DH-hand release action, rather than a flipping/rolling subtype of non-DH hand release action, through impact, but one does not need to generate a high vertical GRF under the lead foot in the early downswing in order to perform a DH-hand release action through impact.
Between the 6:25 - 7:07 minute time point of the BB video RF demonstrates his "stop-and-go drill" and he claims that he is applying the maximum amount of force to his lead leg/foot at his simulated P5.5 position and that this "force" will be causally responsible for releasing the club (releasing PA#2) with maximum speed-and-efficiency through impact. In other words, he is claiming that there is a direct causal relationship (correlation) between the magnitude of the vertical GRF being generated under the lead foot at P5.5 and the efficiency of the release of PA#2.
That claim is totally irrational and unscientific.
Consider the Swing Catalyst measurements of Gary Woodland (who is one of the longest drivers of the golf ball in the PGA tour).
The cyan-colored graph at the bottom shows his vertical GRF measurements. The black zone represents the PGA tour range of vertical GRF measurements. Note that the peak of Gary's cyan-colored graph never even reaches close to the lower limits of the PGA tour range. But that does not mean that GW cannot perform the needed biomechanical motions required to optimally ensure the release of PA#2 - which I have previously described as i) the lead leg straightens thereby elevating the lead pelvis and lead hip joint, ii) the lead buttocks continues to rotate back towards the tush line and also away from the target iii) there is stretching-out of the lead side of the mid-upper torso while the upper torso is rotating counterclockwise. The combination of i) and iii) causes the lead shoulder socket to elevate and move inside-left.
Here are back-view images of GW's late downswing and followthrough action.
Image 1 is at his P5 position - end of the hip-squaring phase. Note that he did not perform an exaggerated squatting move during his early downswing between P4 => P5.
Image 2 is at impact. Note what has happened in his later downswing - note that he has i) straightened his left leg and elevated his left hip joint; ii) that he has simultaneously rotated his pelvis counterclockwise in such a manner that his left buttocks has moved in a direction that is away from the target; iii) that he has stretched-out the left side of his mid-upper torso and iv) that the combination of i) and iii) have caused his lead shoulder socket to elevate in an optimal manner.
Note that his lead foot is solidly grounded at impact and that there is only a small degree of displacement of his lead forefoot in a targetwards direction in his followthrough time period (image 3) as he spins around his left heel as a result of the torque being generated by his fast-rotating upper torso. Note that there is no displacement of the left heel area.
Now, listen to what RF states between the 9:20 - 9:45 minute time point of the video. RF states that when one pushes against the ground under the lead foot, thereby generating a large vertical GRF under the lead foot, that one must also use a component of that "push force" to get the pelvis to rotate better in a counterclockwise direction and he then expands on this topic between the 9:45 - 10:20 minute time point of the BBG video (when talking about his "lead foot displacement drill") where he asserts that the "push force" being generated under the lead foot must also displace the lead foot backwards away from the ball-target line so that the lead buttock can move away from the ball-target line and that the lead buttocks can also simultaneously continue to rotate counterclockwise away from the target. I disagree with RF that the "push force" being exerted under the lead foot is causally responsible for the rotary torque needed to continue to rotate the pelvis counterclockwise after P5.5 and I also disagree that the lead hindfoot needs to be displaced during the P5.5 => P7 time period (in the manner demonstrated by Brendon in his practice golf swing action between the 10:25 - 10:50 minute time point of the video). I believe that it is the optimum muscular contraction of certain muscles that are needed to perform this pelvic rotary motion in the optimum manner.
Consider an example.
Image 1 shows me (author of this post) with a bent right arm that causes my right hand to be positioned close to my right shoulder socket. If I wanted to increase the distance between my right hand and my right shoulder socket, I would simply contract my right triceps muscle and that would straighten my right arm (as seen in image2).
Image 3 shows me leaning against a wall with a bent right arm and with my right hand abutted against the wall. How would I get the distance between my right hand and my right shoulder socket to increase (as demonstrated in image 2). The correct answer is that I would contract my right triceps muscles in the same manner and that would cause my right shoulder socket to move away from my right hand, which remains stationary against the wall - as seen image 4. Common sense dictates that I must be applying more right triceps muscular contractile force in image 4 than image 2, but it is irrational to claim that it is the push-force being exerted by my right hand against the wall that is causally responsible for my right shoulder socket moving away from my right hand. In fact, if I maximally increased the push-force being exerted against the wall by my right hand by actively leaning with my body towards the wall and simultaneously contracting my leg and torso muscles to allow me to lean more actively towards the wall, I could obviously generate a lot more "push-force" under my right hand where it abuts the wall, but all that added "push-force" would not cause my right shoulder socket to move away from my right hand if I do not contract my right triceps muscle and if I kept my right elbow bent.
The same analogy applies to the golf swing biomechanical action of rotating the lead buttocks away from the ball-target line and simultaneously around-and-away from the target between P5.5 => P7. It is the simultaneous muscular contraction of the left gluteus maximus muscle and left left quadriceps muscle that is causally responsible for that described biomechanical motion.
The muscle lying under the black arrows is the left gluteus maximus muscle, and it is attached medially (at its origin) to the outer (lateral) left edge of the sacrum and to a significant section of the posterior pelvic crest and it inserts at the back of the upper left femur. When that muscle contracts (and shortens in the direction of the black arrows) it pulls the left upper femur towards the sacrum (midline) and thereby contributes to the counterclockwise rotation of the left hip joint away from the target as the left hip joint simultaneously extends. The simultaneous contraction of the left quadriceps muscles (especially the vastus lateralis component) causes straightening of the left knee that happens at the same time. During the impact and early followthrough time period, one often notes that a pro golfer's left femur externally rotates to a variable degree and that is also due to the continued isotonic contraction of the left gluteus maximus muscle. The reason why contraction of the left gluteus maximus muscle causes external rotation of the left femur, as well as extension of the left femur in the left hip joint, is the "fact" that the gluteus maximus muscle's point of insertion on the back of the left upper femur is on the outer (lateral) side of the center of the back of the left femur. During this muscular contractile period, there is no obligatory need to displace the left heel area of the left foot (as seen in the BBG video where Brendon's left heel moves away from the ball-target line) - note that there is no displacement of the heel area of the left foot in Ben Hogan's and Gary Woodland's followthrough time period - even though their left lower anterior thigh and left knee cap rotate a lot counterclockwise during that time period.
My conclusion-: If a golfer wants to improve the counterclockwise rotation of his lead pelvis between P5.5 => P7+, then he must improve the timing and the magnitude of contraction of his lead-sided quadriceps muscle and gluteus maximus muscle. Generating a lot of push-force against the ground under the lead foot will be of no benefit if one does not actively contract those muscles with optimum timing and with optimum force. Any push-force being exerted under the ground under the lead foot should mainly be a reflection of the forces being exerted against the ground as a secondary result of the active muscular contraction of those two lead-sided muscles.
Jeff.