Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.
Meet your new instructor.

Why Start With The Motorcycle

Imagine you have a swing that produces the following situation. 

  • Club face open
  • Steep arm movements
  • Cast sequence
  • Body stalls through impact
  • Flip release

You may have a hard time deciding where to start, but if you think about what each movement does to the face and path then the answer might be easier than you think. If a golfer needs to work on shaft rotation, I almost always start with it early in the learning process.

Show more

Imagine you have a swing that produces the following situation. 

  • Club face open
  • Steep arm movements
  • Cast sequence
  • Body stalls through impact
  • Flip release

You may have a hard time deciding where to start, but if you think about what each movement does to the face and path then the answer might be easier than you think. If a golfer needs to work on shaft rotation, I almost always start with it early in the learning process.

Hide
Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.500
This video is addressing why you might want to start with the motorcycle.

2
00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:10.400
So many golfers come into working on their golf swing from, let's say, a home-

3
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:11.420
grown swing

4
00:00:11.420 --> 00:00:14.440
and they've got a few issues that they got to work on.

5
00:00:14.440 --> 00:00:17.840
Oftentimes I hear, you know, "I get really steep.

6
00:00:17.840 --> 00:00:18.840
Clubs kind of like this.

7
00:00:18.840 --> 00:00:20.300
I need to work on challenging it.

8
00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:24.070
Oftentimes I hear I early extend, you know, hips kind of move in towards the

9
00:00:24.070 --> 00:00:24.800
golf ball.

10
00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:26.880
I got to work on staying down."

11
00:00:26.880 --> 00:00:31.840
Or, "Get to impact and my right arm's too straight and my butt hasn't rotated."

12
00:00:31.840 --> 00:00:36.800
So I got to work on rotating my body or one of the more common ones.

13
00:00:36.800 --> 00:00:40.000
I know I've got a flip shaft as vertical just like this.

14
00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.160
I need to get a little bit more shaftly.

15
00:00:42.160 --> 00:00:46.480
But I rarely, rarely hear someone come in and say, "You know what?

16
00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:52.080
I need to work on twisting the club and closing the face a little bit earlier."

17
00:00:52.080 --> 00:00:55.150
And here's why I might suggest that that's one of the early things that you

18
00:00:55.150 --> 00:00:55.640
work on.

19
00:00:55.640 --> 00:01:01.220
If you are reading the feedback and you're starting with, you know, "What's my

20
00:01:01.220 --> 00:01:01.760
ball flight?

21
00:01:01.760 --> 00:01:03.400
What's my contact light?"

22
00:01:03.400 --> 00:01:07.320
Like, very often you are going to find that you want one of those other things.

23
00:01:07.320 --> 00:01:09.200
You may want to shallow the club.

24
00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:10.800
You may want to get more body rotation.

25
00:01:10.800 --> 00:01:12.120
You may want to get more shafting.

26
00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.790
Those are all really good things for helping produce a swing that has more flat

27
00:01:15.790 --> 00:01:16.480
spot, a

28
00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:21.080
little bit more consistency, more body power, all good things.

29
00:01:21.080 --> 00:01:22.920
But they also have one thing in common.

30
00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.440
They all open up the club face.

31
00:01:25.440 --> 00:01:29.900
So many of the good movements that you are going to want to work on are going

32
00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:30.240
to create

33
00:01:30.240 --> 00:01:34.720
leg and are going to create shaft lean and are going to cause a club face to go

34
00:01:34.720 --> 00:01:35.080
from

35
00:01:35.080 --> 00:01:38.600
here to there and point more out to the right.

36
00:01:38.600 --> 00:01:43.720
So many times I'll humor the student and we'll work on whatever it is that they

37
00:01:43.720 --> 00:01:44.080
want

38
00:01:44.080 --> 00:01:49.400
to work on and we'll see that they'll hit the ball thin or possibly even on the

39
00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:50.040
heel,

40
00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:53.760
maybe even shank, or they'll hit it just off to the right.

41
00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:56.910
And then what they'll usually end up doing is they'll end up scooping, standing

42
00:01:56.910 --> 00:01:57.440
up, stalling

43
00:01:57.440 --> 00:02:02.160
the rotation, getting steeper, always to re-close the club face.

44
00:02:02.160 --> 00:02:07.860
So I've often helped golfers work on rotating the club or working on that

45
00:02:07.860 --> 00:02:09.400
motorcycle early

46
00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:11.640
in the swing and early in the learning process.

47
00:02:11.640 --> 00:02:16.240
It's usually one of the first things that I'll work on because it almost always

48
00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:16.880
produces

49
00:02:16.880 --> 00:02:22.490
a more crisp or solid contact because it helps create some shaft lean, helps

50
00:02:22.490 --> 00:02:23.240
bring up

51
00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.200
compression or ring down spin loss.

52
00:02:26.200 --> 00:02:30.030
But the other thing it does is it gives them the skill of knowing how to rotate

53
00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:30.520
the club

54
00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:34.540
face closed so that when we shallow, if they hit it right, I can say, hey, just

55
00:02:34.540 --> 00:02:34.840
twist it

56
00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:36.480
a little more and they know what I'm talking about.

57
00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:40.560
Or if they get better body rotation and they hit it a little right or they hit

58
00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:41.040
it a little

59
00:02:41.040 --> 00:02:43.880
thin, I can say, go ahead and close the club face.

60
00:02:43.880 --> 00:02:48.920
So having the skill that you're going to need before you need it is a great way

61
00:02:48.920 --> 00:02:49.440
to approach

62
00:02:49.440 --> 00:02:54.420
the learning process and many of the good body things and good arm things

63
00:02:54.420 --> 00:02:55.040
during the

64
00:02:55.040 --> 00:02:57.800
downswing open the club face.

65
00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:01.520
You really have two major options for squaring it or closing it.

66
00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:06.000
One is twisting the shaft, that motorcycle movement, and the other is the scoop

67
00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:06.160
.

68
00:03:06.160 --> 00:03:09.770
The scoop works well with short irons and wedges, but it doesn't really work

69
00:03:09.770 --> 00:03:10.240
too well

70
00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:11.640
with the longer club.

71
00:03:11.640 --> 00:03:15.060
So if you're looking at it from a long-term approach, it may make sense for you

72
00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:15.520
to work

73
00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:20.200
on the skill of closing the club face first by using the motorcycle.

74
00:03:20.200 --> 00:03:24.680
If you do so, then any shot that flies pretty straight or has a little bit of a

75
00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:25.080
draw to

76
00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.520
it should be taken as a success.

77
00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:32.740
And then you can figure out which of the pieces you may need in order to get it

78
00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:33.000
to

79
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:34.480
go less left.

80
00:03:34.480 --> 00:03:40.160
Perhaps it's more Jackson 5X still, perhaps it's more arm-shallowing, perhaps

81
00:03:40.160 --> 00:03:40.680
it's more

82
00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:46.840
white movement, but you'll at least have the tool in place to be able to use

83
00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:47.280
those good

84
00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:50.570
downswing movements that open the face if you already know how to rotate it

85
00:03:50.570 --> 00:03:51.160
closed.

Have questions?

Ask Mulligan for help
Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America. Meet your new instructor.

Why Start With The Motorcycle

Imagine you have a swing that produces the following situation. 

  • Club face open
  • Steep arm movements
  • Cast sequence
  • Body stalls through impact
  • Flip release

You may have a hard time deciding where to start, but if you think about what each movement does to the face and path then the answer might be easier than you think. If a golfer needs to work on shaft rotation, I almost always start with it early in the learning process.

Show more

Imagine you have a swing that produces the following situation. 

  • Club face open
  • Steep arm movements
  • Cast sequence
  • Body stalls through impact
  • Flip release

You may have a hard time deciding where to start, but if you think about what each movement does to the face and path then the answer might be easier than you think. If a golfer needs to work on shaft rotation, I almost always start with it early in the learning process.

Hide
Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.500
This video is addressing why you might want to start with the motorcycle.

2
00:00:04.500 --> 00:00:10.400
So many golfers come into working on their golf swing from, let's say, a home-

3
00:00:10.400 --> 00:00:11.420
grown swing

4
00:00:11.420 --> 00:00:14.440
and they've got a few issues that they got to work on.

5
00:00:14.440 --> 00:00:17.840
Oftentimes I hear, you know, "I get really steep.

6
00:00:17.840 --> 00:00:18.840
Clubs kind of like this.

7
00:00:18.840 --> 00:00:20.300
I need to work on challenging it.

8
00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:24.070
Oftentimes I hear I early extend, you know, hips kind of move in towards the

9
00:00:24.070 --> 00:00:24.800
golf ball.

10
00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:26.880
I got to work on staying down."

11
00:00:26.880 --> 00:00:31.840
Or, "Get to impact and my right arm's too straight and my butt hasn't rotated."

12
00:00:31.840 --> 00:00:36.800
So I got to work on rotating my body or one of the more common ones.

13
00:00:36.800 --> 00:00:40.000
I know I've got a flip shaft as vertical just like this.

14
00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.160
I need to get a little bit more shaftly.

15
00:00:42.160 --> 00:00:46.480
But I rarely, rarely hear someone come in and say, "You know what?

16
00:00:46.480 --> 00:00:52.080
I need to work on twisting the club and closing the face a little bit earlier."

17
00:00:52.080 --> 00:00:55.150
And here's why I might suggest that that's one of the early things that you

18
00:00:55.150 --> 00:00:55.640
work on.

19
00:00:55.640 --> 00:01:01.220
If you are reading the feedback and you're starting with, you know, "What's my

20
00:01:01.220 --> 00:01:01.760
ball flight?

21
00:01:01.760 --> 00:01:03.400
What's my contact light?"

22
00:01:03.400 --> 00:01:07.320
Like, very often you are going to find that you want one of those other things.

23
00:01:07.320 --> 00:01:09.200
You may want to shallow the club.

24
00:01:09.200 --> 00:01:10.800
You may want to get more body rotation.

25
00:01:10.800 --> 00:01:12.120
You may want to get more shafting.

26
00:01:12.120 --> 00:01:15.790
Those are all really good things for helping produce a swing that has more flat

27
00:01:15.790 --> 00:01:16.480
spot, a

28
00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:21.080
little bit more consistency, more body power, all good things.

29
00:01:21.080 --> 00:01:22.920
But they also have one thing in common.

30
00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:25.440
They all open up the club face.

31
00:01:25.440 --> 00:01:29.900
So many of the good movements that you are going to want to work on are going

32
00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:30.240
to create

33
00:01:30.240 --> 00:01:34.720
leg and are going to create shaft lean and are going to cause a club face to go

34
00:01:34.720 --> 00:01:35.080
from

35
00:01:35.080 --> 00:01:38.600
here to there and point more out to the right.

36
00:01:38.600 --> 00:01:43.720
So many times I'll humor the student and we'll work on whatever it is that they

37
00:01:43.720 --> 00:01:44.080
want

38
00:01:44.080 --> 00:01:49.400
to work on and we'll see that they'll hit the ball thin or possibly even on the

39
00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:50.040
heel,

40
00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:53.760
maybe even shank, or they'll hit it just off to the right.

41
00:01:53.760 --> 00:01:56.910
And then what they'll usually end up doing is they'll end up scooping, standing

42
00:01:56.910 --> 00:01:57.440
up, stalling

43
00:01:57.440 --> 00:02:02.160
the rotation, getting steeper, always to re-close the club face.

44
00:02:02.160 --> 00:02:07.860
So I've often helped golfers work on rotating the club or working on that

45
00:02:07.860 --> 00:02:09.400
motorcycle early

46
00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:11.640
in the swing and early in the learning process.

47
00:02:11.640 --> 00:02:16.240
It's usually one of the first things that I'll work on because it almost always

48
00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:16.880
produces

49
00:02:16.880 --> 00:02:22.490
a more crisp or solid contact because it helps create some shaft lean, helps

50
00:02:22.490 --> 00:02:23.240
bring up

51
00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:26.200
compression or ring down spin loss.

52
00:02:26.200 --> 00:02:30.030
But the other thing it does is it gives them the skill of knowing how to rotate

53
00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:30.520
the club

54
00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:34.540
face closed so that when we shallow, if they hit it right, I can say, hey, just

55
00:02:34.540 --> 00:02:34.840
twist it

56
00:02:34.840 --> 00:02:36.480
a little more and they know what I'm talking about.

57
00:02:36.480 --> 00:02:40.560
Or if they get better body rotation and they hit it a little right or they hit

58
00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:41.040
it a little

59
00:02:41.040 --> 00:02:43.880
thin, I can say, go ahead and close the club face.

60
00:02:43.880 --> 00:02:48.920
So having the skill that you're going to need before you need it is a great way

61
00:02:48.920 --> 00:02:49.440
to approach

62
00:02:49.440 --> 00:02:54.420
the learning process and many of the good body things and good arm things

63
00:02:54.420 --> 00:02:55.040
during the

64
00:02:55.040 --> 00:02:57.800
downswing open the club face.

65
00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:01.520
You really have two major options for squaring it or closing it.

66
00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:06.000
One is twisting the shaft, that motorcycle movement, and the other is the scoop

67
00:03:06.000 --> 00:03:06.160
.

68
00:03:06.160 --> 00:03:09.770
The scoop works well with short irons and wedges, but it doesn't really work

69
00:03:09.770 --> 00:03:10.240
too well

70
00:03:10.240 --> 00:03:11.640
with the longer club.

71
00:03:11.640 --> 00:03:15.060
So if you're looking at it from a long-term approach, it may make sense for you

72
00:03:15.060 --> 00:03:15.520
to work

73
00:03:15.520 --> 00:03:20.200
on the skill of closing the club face first by using the motorcycle.

74
00:03:20.200 --> 00:03:24.680
If you do so, then any shot that flies pretty straight or has a little bit of a

75
00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:25.080
draw to

76
00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:27.520
it should be taken as a success.

77
00:03:27.520 --> 00:03:32.740
And then you can figure out which of the pieces you may need in order to get it

78
00:03:32.740 --> 00:03:33.000
to

79
00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:34.480
go less left.

80
00:03:34.480 --> 00:03:40.160
Perhaps it's more Jackson 5X still, perhaps it's more arm-shallowing, perhaps

81
00:03:40.160 --> 00:03:40.680
it's more

82
00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:46.840
white movement, but you'll at least have the tool in place to be able to use

83
00:03:46.840 --> 00:03:47.280
those good

84
00:03:47.280 --> 00:03:50.570
downswing movements that open the face if you already know how to rotate it

85
00:03:50.570 --> 00:03:51.160
closed.

Have questions about this video?

Ask Mulligan for personalized guidance on technique, drills, or how to apply what you've learned.

Ask Mulligan
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