On a basic physics level movement of mass generates kinetic energy exponentially meaning a 2x increase in velocity increase kinetic energy (ability to do work) by 4x, 3x increase in velocity = 9x, 4x increase in velocity = 16x and so on. What turning the larger mass of lower and upper body does is pull the and accelerate the mass of the lead and trail arms and they in turn pull the hand and club down into the ball in a kinetic chain of events with the length of the lead arm and club shaft multiplying the force that winds up in the club head swinging on the end of the shaft.
When the swing mechanics are understood on that basis it is easier—I think—to understand how and when the hips and shoulders turn affect how the next biggest moving mass the arms swing — with trail arm controlling path of lead arm— and how that affects the path of the hands which pull the club into the ball.
By focusing on the orientation of his shoulders relative to the ground as they and hips turn what Sir Nick is actually influencing and changing at will is the swing path for the lead arm mass and hands. If those two things are controlled consistently via visual reference of where lead arm and hand wind up at various key waypoints in the golf swing the club head in the hands winds up also following a very predictable path.
The take way thought? As he says pay attention to shoulder angle but also be aware it’s affecting swing of lead arm mass and path of hands. Its the latter which needs to be made consistent to strike the ball consistently. If you instead focus on the club head and face you’ll wind up subconsciously trying to steer the face back to the ball with ‘hand-eye’ coordination because the lead arm mass and hands are coming down at it on a less than ideal path.
In practice focusing on just getting the body / arm / hand path consistent will INITIALLY result in in more bad shots if you CONSCIOUSLY resist the attempt to safe the shots with the hands but over the longer run will help identify and fix the underlying fundamental arm/hand path consistency problem and result in a more consistent swing, especially under pressure situations.
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On a basic physics level movement of mass generates kinetic energy exponentially meaning a 2x increase in velocity increase kinetic energy (ability to do work) by 4x, 3x increase in velocity = 9x, 4x increase in velocity = 16x and so on. What turning the larger mass of lower and upper body does is pull the and accelerate the mass of the lead and trail arms and they in turn pull the hand and club down into the ball in a kinetic chain of events with the length of the lead arm and club shaft multiplying the force that winds up in the club head swinging on the end of the shaft.
When the swing mechanics are understood on that basis it is easier—I think—to understand how and when the hips and shoulders turn affect how the next biggest moving mass the arms swing — with trail arm controlling path of lead arm— and how that affects the path of the hands which pull the club into the ball.
By focusing on the orientation of his shoulders relative to the ground as they and hips turn what Sir Nick is actually influencing and changing at will is the swing path for the lead arm mass and hands. If those two things are controlled consistently via visual reference of where lead arm and hand wind up at various key waypoints in the golf swing the club head in the hands winds up also following a very predictable path.
The take way thought? As he says pay attention to shoulder angle but also be aware it’s affecting swing of lead arm mass and path of hands. Its the latter which needs to be made consistent to strike the ball consistently. If you instead focus on the club head and face you’ll wind up subconsciously trying to steer the face back to the ball with ‘hand-eye’ coordination because the lead arm mass and hands are coming down at it on a less than ideal path.
In practice focusing on just getting the body / arm / hand path consistent will INITIALLY result in in more bad shots if you CONSCIOUSLY resist the attempt to safe the shots with the hands but over the longer run will help identify and fix the underlying fundamental arm/hand path consistency problem and result in a more consistent swing, especially under pressure situations.