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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.
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.
Video Transcript
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 helpWhy 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.
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.
Video Transcript
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.
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