Perception of "effort" in your full swing

[sundaypins]

3 hours ago, Simpsonia said:

Everything before that was just a bit of a "running start" to the effort in pulling that sword from the stone. 

 

I like your post too.  The running start up to the strike is critical momentum which many players unknowingly sabotage in their quest for additional speed.   The after strike pull sensation is a braking mechanism of sorts generally confirming momentum was not interfered with up to the strike. 

Edited July 7 by sundaypins

[Rbsiedsc]

1 hour ago, bladehunter said:

Love this post.  And I appreciate you being brave enough to make it. I bit my fingers to not type similar earlier. Mostly because I couldn’t decide how to word it. And .  Because I was afraid of being confusing.  But I think of it the same way.  For ME.  My feels mirror what tiger says. I feel speed right at or post impact and up. Whne I’m in good tempo and swinging good. I feel very slow going back. I’m not VERY slow. But I feel that way.  Feels controlled.  And feels like the only time I get my hands coming back down out front.  

Agree. I feel when things are clicking I don't feel like I am swinging with much effort until I see the ball go a mile.

[MonteScheinblum]

There are two huge axioms here that ruin golfers.

 

1.  In efficient movement is perceived to be more effort and efficient movement is perceived to be less effort.

 

2.  More effort is perceived to create more club head speed and less effort is perceived as less powerful.

 

1 is a good swing catalyst and 2 is a good swing destroyer.

 

If all you do is reduce effort, you are just making your bad swing weaker.  Make your swing better and perceived effort goes down.

[ThinkingPlus]

Effort => how about heart rate while hitting range balls vs. resting HR

 

Mine is low 130s while hitting range balls and resting is low 60s. I'm seriously efforting - LOL! Might have gone higher when I finally hit the stump today (been trying to hit the stupid thing for a couple years now)! Basic ~95 yard shot a little down hill into a quartering 10 - 15 mph wind. Choke down PW FTW...

[Ty_Webb]

For me, on the days when I play well, it feels "easy". When I'm not playing well it's much harder. On the days when I play well, even though it feels easy, for example in transition and downswing with my driver, I'm pushing off my front foot as hard as I am able. There's nothing left in the tank there. 

[Nickb333]

As my grip pressure increases, so does my swing speed but, other than the grip pressure, the swing effort feels easier. 

[me05501]

4 hours ago, MonteScheinblum said:

There are two huge axioms here that ruin golfers.

 

1.  In efficient movement is perceived to be more effort and efficient movement is perceived to be less effort.

 

2.  More effort is perceived to create more club head speed and less effort is perceived as less powerful.

 

1 is a good swing catalyst and 2 is a good swing destroyer.

 

If all you do is reduce effort, you are just making your bad swing weaker.  Make your swing better and perceived effort goes down.

 

Thanks. This is what I’m working on. Focusing on applying good technique and sequencing in lieu of just trying to “swing harder.”

[RickyBubbs]

Tension masquerades as effort or exertion or whatever you want to call it. When I swing, I feel (1-10, 10 most tension), starting at the top—halfway down—impact for the spots I work on feeling:
Left wrist: 2—8—10

Right wrist: 3—3—3

Left leg: 5—8—10

Latissimus Dorsi: 1—10—10

 

 

[Pepperturbo]

Interesting idea, but I can't put numbers to either. 

 

I've recently gone from 220 lbs. to 215 lbs. It's only 5 lbs., but driver SS is effortlessly becoming faster on the sweet spot, which adds distance. Me likey... My irons, however, necessitate a little bit slower on the takeaway.

[me05501]

OP here. 

 

I spent last week working through this feel and had a couple rounds over the weekend. This refined my thinking and feeling of what I'm trying to describe. 

I think it comes down to having adequate patience in transition.

 

My negative tendency is to cut my backswing off a bit short and try to hit from the top to make up for it. I can correct this by focusing on finishing the turn and having more patience as the club changes directions. 

I hit some of the best iron shots I can imagine hitting during my weekend rounds. That was the confirmation I needed to continue down the path I'm on. 

 

FWIW it's a lot easier to be patient with a mid/short iron than with a full-length driver! But the gains in path, face control and contact are worth it. 

[RoyalMustang]

I'm trying to figure this out as well. The best balls I hit feel effortless, because of proper sequencing. Load and drive off that back foot, giving my hands time to shallow, makes for a good swing. Ball goes straight-ish and a long way. 

 

The issue is finding that "flow" on a consistent basis. Too tight or too quick: the ball can end up in the next neighborhood over. I'm seemingly incapable of managing it throughout an entire round. Counting or deliberately pausing at the top, to reduce the arm and shoulder tension, seems to help, but then I forget and it's gone again.

 

It's been an issue ever since I started playing as a kid. I was leading a tournament one time though the 14th hole and what happened? I got quick and tight, carded a 12 on the next hole. I'm beginning to think it's my makeup to be tight: my wife (who is a PT) sure thinks so. I'm just incapable of relaxing much, even in day to day life. I always have to be going, progressing, pushing myself. Just yesterday I was at the water park with my son and he challenged me to see how many laps I get on the big slide (8 stories tall). I was able to get end to end in 2:15 without slipping on the wet steps and get in 12 laps total. That approach doesn't work well in golf. 

 

FWIW, relaxing and letting the terrain and forces dictate your movements is very hard to learn in skiing. It's how elite skiers release and move down the fall line but teaching someone how to relax and redirect the forces they've created is somehow difficult. 

[RoyalMustang]

1 hour ago, me05501 said:

OP here. 

 

I spent last week working through this feel and had a couple rounds over the weekend. This refined my thinking and feeling of what I'm trying to describe. 

I think it comes down to having adequate patience in transition.

 

My negative tendency is to cut my backswing off a bit short and try to hit from the top to make up for it. I can correct this by focusing on finishing the turn and having more patience as the club changes directions. 

I hit some of the best iron shots I can imagine hitting during my weekend rounds. That was the confirmation I needed to continue down the path I'm on. 

 

FWIW it's a lot easier to be patient with a mid/short iron than with a full-length driver! But the gains in path, face control and contact are worth it. 

 

For me it is a bit of a float. It almost feels like the club goes weightless at the top and I then I suddenly feel it again later as I'm turning toward the target. Almost as if I dropped the club and re-caught it. There's no tension, then suddenly an aggressive sling and good release. I've certainly felt this and hit bombs for drives when I've done it. Most of the time, there is tension, I'm pulling my hands through too soon, and it's a bad swing. 

[Ri_Redneck]

My swing is best when I make the same swing as with the Rope Drill. BS, transition and acceleration have to be smooth to get maximum speed. Also, in my best swing, it feels like my hands are always accelerating. There's no "slow down" as the club begins to catch my hands as others have mentioned in posts. I'm sure they slow a little, but it can't be much. I've seen too many videos of myself to think that. The most effort is in the followthrough as mentioned above. Hanging onto the club because all that energy is trying to rip it out of my hands.

 

BT