I have students that shot scores in periods of time that are thought to be impossible. One physician in Phoenix was a legitimate 22 handicap in April of 1998. He took one lesson in April, one lesson in May and shot a 3 under par 69 (playing with the club pro) the first week of June. Another golfer (14 handicap) from North Carolina took a two hour lesson on a Thursday while visiting in Phoenix at a medical conference. His typical drives were 180 to 190 yards. He had no arm speed because he was using his big muscles (his body) to move his small muscles (his arms). Once I taught him to keep his body stable and move his arms with speed, he increased his club head speed by almost 20 mph. On Sunday, he shot an even par round at his club on the back nine with one drive going 260 yards. He had never shot nine holes in par and had never hit a ball over 250 yards. Prejudices die hard. If the tour players are not doing it, it must not be right. The last players in the world to change anything will be a tour player. You will see LPG on the tour in about 30 years. It will take a new generation of golfers.

Kirk R.

Kirk,

The grips should last a minimum of two years and could last as many as five. The replacement price is $8. They can be installed by any clubmaker. You can change to any grip and the balance will remain. The only thing that changes is that the weight distribution will move toward the head if you put on lighter grips. This will require more torque to generate the same club head speed.

Jerold Sit

Mr. Sit,

Studies using machines show that offset clubs hit balls slightly higher than non offset clubs. Using a machine, the more the offset, the more loft the club will have at impact due to the offset. I have not done any personal studies with golfers. The only information published is by manufacturers and that can NEVER be trusted. The design makes no sense to me. The offset is a fraction of an inch. If the ball is that fraction of an inch farther back in your stance at impact, then the offset effect would be eliminated. When Payne Stewart was forced to use these type of clubs, he added about 2 strokes around to his scores and almost went off tour. It took him another two years to get his game back when he returned to blade clubs. Tiger Woods still plays his old Titleist blade club heads. Almost all tour pros who win, still play blade type clubs. The reason for oversize, offsets, hookfaced, etc., clubs is correct a mechanical fault. If you use these types of clubs you must develop the mechanical fault to have the club perform correctly. Purchase a good set of standard blade design or cavity back blade design. The following companies have excellent heads: Titleist DCI tour, Muzino T zoid tour, and Taylor Made tour are three good choices. My new IMPACT design takes club assembly to the next level. Besides the head being the lowest center of gravity on the market, there is a 10 gram spread between heads instead of the industry 7 gram spread. This allows INNOVATION Golf to match an entire set of clubs for total weight, 1st and 2nd moment of inertia.

Rod Capps

Mr. Capps,

Yes, I recommend three wedges. Wedges are your scoring clubs. You need a 60 degree lob wedge, a 55 degree sand wedge and a 50 degree wedge. Click here to see the full story on my short game and wedges . Innovation Golf - A New Kind of Golf Club Company

Alvin Gennes

Alvin,

First, no practice swing is the same as when there is a ball. The only scientific study I have seen shows that the majority of practice swings will hit shots out of bound right. The brain performs acts with specific outcomes. There is a different act (set of neuronal patterns) with and without a ball. Also, when there is a ball, the vast fear mode circuit is always part of the equation.

Second, it is not a backswing problem. It is a forward swing problem. Numerous tour players take the club back outside. Numerous tour player take the club straight back. All the great ball strikers (Jones, Nelson, Snead, Hogan and Moe Norman) took it back inside. The backswing's only function is to get you to the correct position at the top of the swing to make the correct first motion downward. You must get your focus on the forward swing from the top through impact. You must learn to make both the correct movement and the power movement when you start the downswing. My updated Science & Myths manual (available by August 1, 2000) will have all of this explained in detail.

Dennis

JK: In 1995, when I was president of Natural Golf, Ken Elsworth spent around a month teaching Mr. Heard my single axis system (see patent 5,803,827 assigned to Natural Golf). Scott Hazledine then spent time with him teaching him my system. Then Larry Koerner spent time with him teaching him my system. We were trying to find a way for Mr. Heard to be envolved with Natural Golf.

I left Natural Golf in December of 1995, after an investor take over. No deal was ever completed between Natural Golf and Mr. Heard. In 1996 or 1997, Mr. Heard came out with his discovery of my system. Unfortunately, he and his associates do not understand the system. They teach many things which are incorrect and which none of them do in their swings, especially Mr. Heard.

If you will take a close look at the video and what Mr. Heard actually does, you will see that he is using a traditional finger grip and performing a traditional swing. There are so many faults to the book and video that your brain must override most of the instructions if you are to have any success. I do not recommend Mr. Heards version of my discoveries.

Rod Capps

Rod,

Bob May was using single axis and was very close to what I teach. I wanted to jump into the screen and tell him to start the downswing with his arms and not his lower body. That is why he hooked the last five shots off the tee.

I am waiting for your reflection on that remark,
Yvan

Dr. Galdu,

You are ABSOLUTELY correct. You need to keep the head and shoulders up and back until the arm pull them through impact. At that time let the entire upper body and head mover forward and rotate with the arms and shoulders. Try to remove all torque or tension in the body. Even in the keeping of the head and shoulders up and back, you should feel no torque. If you feel any torque or tension in my Lever-Power-Golf swing, you are doing something wrong.

For the most part, the most consistent part of my game is inconsistency. However, there is one characteristic that IS consistent. I (almost) always hit the ball toward the toe of the club. I'm literally wearing out the grooves in my clubs at the toe. Is this problem with my swing, my equipment or in my head?

JK: It is your swing. Your are pulling across the ball as you go through impact. Look on my new web site : Click here: and go to the training aids section. Either make or purchase the training sponges. They will cure your problem.

Incidently, at 55 everyone says "for a crappy golfer, you sure have a nice swing". I only play about once or twice a month but I hit a lot of range balls. I am a 20 handicapper but when I played regularly back in my 30's and 40's I was a 10 handicap. HELP!

JK:Get rid of your "nice" swing. Try the LPG swing if you want to improve your scores.

Thank you,
David Randolph

Mr. Randolph,

If you follow the instructions, you will have a weak push shot out to the right and a good possibility of elbow injury. If your brain overrides the mechanics they teach, you will have a dramatic hook. They do not teach Moe Norman mechanics and they definitely do not teach my discovery. They teach a conglomeration of what a group of their teachers believe. If you took a lesson from five different instructors, you would get five different lessons. One Senior tour player who came to me after one of their presentation, left the presentation laughing. He said that director apologized for such a poor demonstration due to being sick and that another instructor was hitting most of his shots fat and weak. They are a humiliating and complete embarrassment to my discovery.

The last couple weeks I changed my golf swing because I had been hooking. I normally took a 8 iron from 150 now I can hit my pitching wedge 150 with incredible height.

JK: There is absolutely nothing good about hitting wedges 150 yards. Wedges are scoring clubs. If you are hitting your wedge 150 yards, what do you do from 120 yards in with control. It is the reason Tiger Woods has become a dominant player. For his first two years he was hitting wedges 150 yards and could not hit a green between 80 and 120 yards. Now he is swinging under control and removed 75% of his hip rotation.

My right wrist has been bothering me ever since i have been hitting the ball far. What can cause the right wrist to be sore all the time?

JK: I would have to see a video of your swing to give you any advice that could be taken as medical. However, hitting correctly with power does not cause wrist damage. Very few tour or long drivers complain of wrist problems.

Also, how come I can't hit my drive very far, only about 250 compared to my wedge?

JK:What is the loft on your wedge? Many manufacturers make very strong lofted clubs to make you feel you are hitting the ball farther.

If the club is really a wedge with a loft around 50 degrees that is 35" long, you would have to generate close to 110 mph to air carry 150 yards. That means that a 45" drive will be moving at 130 mph. You should be air carrying around 300 yards. With roll you should have a normal drive around 350 yards. To air carry 230 yard and roll to 250 yards require a 100 mph club head speed.

Because the physics does not work for the questions you have asked, I would have to see a video of your wedge and driver swing and know the lofts and construction of your clubs to explain your questions.

Thanks in advance,
Myra

There are different variation of my single axis discovery swing being taught on Scigolf. Scott Hazledine, in your area, teaches an excellent version of it. However if you want my new Lever-Power-Golf system, which takes my single axis discovery to the next level, you will have to come to Phoenix or learn from the video and instruction manuals.

Thanks,
Michel

Michel,

For a straight chip shot, I play the ball off the right foot with a square stance. I usually have even weight distribution. However, the weight position in a chip shot is anywhere you will keep your body still and use your right arm like a piston. It can be on the right foot, even or on the left foot. You are chipping a ball 30 to 60 feet. You don't need any more mechanics than a simple right arm piston.

Do you use this method (lever) when you play nowadays.

JK: I am going to assume that you are serious and not joking. Why would I even consider using any other method? Lever-Power-Golf is superior to any other system that has ever been used.

And also do you think that your lever method will ever be seen on the P.G.A tour.

JK: There is no real answer to this question. The current generation will have to pass and new generation will have to take it place. Golf is too tied up in false perceptions to accept change in a short time frame.

My questions are: Will bulking up create a problem with my swing?

JK: ABSOLUTELY NOT! Adding muscles and losing fat can do nothing but help your golf game. Additional strength (and bulk) is just one part of the equation. You need speed with the strength increases. Practice high speed swings with progressive resistance using a weighted club, the swing fan, or the medicus weighted club.

What is your view about creatine?

I personally use it. My book on, Golf, Exercise, Nutrition and Sex over 40, will be available in 4 to 6 months. I will detail the things I do to be chronologically 60 and physiologically 25.

You, however, do not need my opinion on creatine. The scientific verification of its usefulness is overwhelming. Just type in creatine and search on the web and you will find all the intelligent evidence that anyone (even a doctor) should require.

There have only been a few negatives written by yellow journalism and physicians who make their living on convincing you that the only solution to reparative health is the use of prescription drugs. Anything seen on Liberal, Socialistic TV, should be examined for the truth or the real reason.

I've read many baseball players use it, especially the power hitters. Absolutely, it works.

1) almost no stress on the lower back,

JK: One of the major features of my LPG swing is the virtual removal of stress on the lower back. Since there is virtually no stress on the lower back with a square stance, there should be very little stress from any stance.

2) it is easy to achieve an inside out swing path even if I cast the club at the ball,

JK: It is just as easy with a square stance to achieve an inside to out swing.

3) the club head and forearms don't have to rotate -- the club head stays pretty much square to the target line throughout the swing (except the follow through),

JK: Forearm rotation is one of the main sources of club head speed. If you do not rotate your forearms, you have very little club head speed or accuracy. You cannot achieve either pushing at the ball.

There are lots of tour professionals that believe they do not rotate their forearms. One write up in Golf Digest by one of their staff showed David Duval just after impact and makes the ridiculous statement that David does not rotate his forearms.

What you feel and what you actually do will always be different.

and 4) it gives the feeling of looking down the target line with both eyes.

JK: I don't understand this statement. I would have to see your head during a swing to understand why you think this is important.

So, the question is, do you think I might be on to something here, or am I just compensating for a fundamentally flawed swing? Have you ever evaluated the wisdom of keeping the feet parallel to the target line? It seems to me this might be just another tradition (like gripping the club in the fingers) that everyone follows even though it may not be optimal.

JK: :Setting up open (Lee Trevino) or closed (most poor playing amateurs) causes swing mechanics that must have mechanical compensation in order to achieve consistency. Many player have played successfully from an open stance. I don't know of any who played well with a closed stance.

One of the few things that the traditional swing promotes that is correct is the square stance, square hips and square shoulders at address.

I admit to being a total hack who just doesn't seem to be able to get the hang of this game. Any advice you could give would be appreciated.

JK: If you took lessons from me personally, I would work on getting you aligned properly. However, after having said all of the above, if you play better from a closed stance, play from a closed stance.

There is and elastic modulus which is the stress divided by the strain. This is used to determine the sliding of molecules across each other in metals. I have no idea what it would mean for a golf swing.

Tiger Woods optimizes his club head speed by using simple Newtonian mechanics. He has all the correct physical characteristics for creating high club head speed. He is tall with long arms. He is very strong. He moves his arm with high speed inspite of his body and hip motion (his lower body rotation is the reason you hear the pundits on TV saying he gets his hands caught behind his body). Tiger has too fast a lower body motion and it moves his right shoulder out and he cannot release his forearm rotation correctly when that happens.

I explain all these movements in picture detail in my current version of my Science & Myths manual. .

I will simple make a statement here. 85% of club head speed comes from arm speed with the majority being created by forearm rotation approximately 0.05 seconds before impact. Because Tiger Woods is such a dominant golfer now, all the authority figures will be trying to take advantage of his playing skill. He does nothing mechanically superior to any tour player in his basic swing. He has physical and mental characteristics that allows him to play one level above.

I will post his swing on the Innovation Golf site within the next 30 days with an explanation of what he actually does versus what Butch Harmon and the other pundits believe..

Also, what would you consider to be the correct biomechanical way to setup to the ball? Jack, your reply would be greatly appreciated.

Thank You,
Bob Montello

Moe Norman has the only perfect mechanics in golf. Set up like Moe.

Professor, please explain and clarify,
Allen

The power comes mostly from the right arm. No one at Natural Golf has a clue. If you ask a different person at Natural Golf, they will give you a different answer.

No player know what he or she is doing during a golf swing. They feel something and tell you that is what is the cause. Jack Nicklaus does 100% opposite of what he thinks he does in a golf swing. Moe Norman makes statements based on what others have told him. It is good to listen to what they say, but you have to interpret it using science. If you really want answers, purchase the Science & Myths manual. I explain the golf swing in detail.

Robert Mottram

I usually just ignore these types of questions or statements. However, this one is such an attack on science, that I wanted to respond. If I didn't know better, I would think this was from Al Gore.

When I do 8 hour continuing education seminars for the PGA, the first thing I do is ask each person to prove any statement I make is incorrect. If they can, I will change. To date, no one has disproved any statement I make. I have been making my statements in public for twelve years. No one has disproved a single one.

That does not mean that can't be. If you can disprove any of my statements, I will change them.

"You are incorrect about your biomechanical and kinesological ideas."

JK: Generalized statements like this are useless. Be specific!

"Before making those comments you should have scientific data to support your opinion."

JK: I don't give opinions. I use nothing but science. Every statement I make can be backed up with data or a scientific reference. Before you make any more comments, you should be specific with your data.

"The golf industry has way to many opinions...most of them seriously confused."

JK: You finally made one correct statement. You are a very seriously confused individual about the golf swing. Unless you can disprove any of my theories, you should keep your opinions to yourself.

JK: There is absolutely nothing good about hitting wedges 150 yards. Wedges are scoring clubs. If you are hitting your wedge 150 yards, what do you do from 120 yards in with control. It is the reason Tiger Woods has become a dominant player. For his first two years he was hitting wedges 150 yards and could not hit a green between 80 and 120 yards. Now he is swinging under control and removed 75% of his hip rotation.

My right wrist has been bothering me ever since i have been hitting the ball far. What can cause the right wrist to be sore all the time?

JK: I would have to see a video of your swing to give you any advice that could be taken as medical. However, hitting correctly with power does not cause wrist damage. Very few tour or long drivers complain of wrist problems.

Also, how come I can't hit my drive very far, only about 250 compared to my wedge?

What is the loft on your wedge? Many manufacturers make very strong lofted clubs to make you feel you are hitting the ball farther.

If the club is really a wedge with a loft around 50 degrees that is 35" long, you would have to generate close to 110 mph to air carry 150 yards. That means that a 45" drive will be moving at 130 mph. You should be air carrying around 300 yards. With roll you should have a normal drive around 350 yards. To air carry 230 yard and roll to 250 yards require a 100 mph club head speed.

Because the physics does not work for the questions you have asked, I would have to see a video of your wedge and driver swing and know the lofts and construction of your clubs to explain your questions.

JK: An overlapping grip guarantee a two axis swing. The mechanics are considerably more difficult than what I teach. The average score for the last 100 years has bee around 100 with this grip.

I have been hitting a mean duck hook off the tee. It appears two things are happening:

1. My left arm is not staying straight on the backswing

JK: Keeping your left arm straight just adds tension to your back and shoulders. It also reduces club head speed. You should look at Lever Power Golf

2. I am swing at two shallow a swing plane.

JK: This is ABSOLUTELY NOT your problem. The steeper the plane with your driver, the more you will drive it into to the ground.

When I keep my left are as straight as possible (without being to rigid) and concentrate on swinging on a steeper plane I am more consistent.

JK: That is amazing. You should have disastrous shot from this.

Do you have any training tips so that I may use in order to maintain this steeper plane?

JK: NO! I find that every amateur is on too steep a plane. I have to flatten it substantially so they can hit the ball with speed and accuracy.

The problem really compounds when I try to "kill" a drive.

That is true for a different reason. It has to do with neuroscience. That is explained in my Science & Myths manual.

I have been using Scott's single axis swing since last year. I read about your LPG system and find it very interesting. I like the idea of not having any stress on the back and not having to keep the left arm straight on the backswing. How long would it take me to learn your LPG system now that I swing using the single axis method?

I discovered the single axis swing (patent 5,803,827), over 16 years ago. Even though it has accomplished some incredible results with a lot of golfers, science never stands still. In July of 1997, I discovered Lever-Power-Golf. This take my single axis discover to the next level and makes golf mechanics incredibly simple. It takes most people around 30 days to make an effective mechanical change. You will hit the ball farther and have more accuracy than you can ever imagine.

I am having very good results with woods, but my irons lose distance and height compared to traditonal mechanics, the only way I can hit irons with any authority is to resort to 3 lever swing. Would adding weight to irons via lead tape be of any help ?

Adding weight will have virtually no effect. When you add weight to the club head, it take more torque to produce the same club head speed you had at the lower weight. When you want more distance, make the shafts longer and the head lighter.

You are losing distance because you are not making the backward and downward POWER move. If the first thing that moves in the downswing is your hands moving backward and downward, you will have more club head speed than any straight left arm mechanics will allow.

JK: Since none of these words describe what I want you to do and the pictures in the book did not help and the videos did not help, I do not know how to use words to describe the movement for you. You will have to come to Phoenix for a lesson for me let personally move you throught the exact position enought times to establish a pattern in the brain sections that control movement.

Also, are you still using the wide stance and reaching for the ball?

JK: For a full shot, your heels should be a minimum of the width of your shoulders. Your arms should be comfortably extended. I don't like the word reach. It sounds like your are forcing the arm extension.

and placing the club head 1 foot behind the ball before you start the backswing?

JK: I personally place the club about 3 inches behind the ball with irons and about 6 inches with woods. Moe Norman places the club about 5 inches behind the ball with irons and around 12 inches with the woods. It is not so much how far you place the club head behind the ball as it is setting up in perfect posture and letting the left arm and shaft create a straight line from the left shoulder to the club head (when viewed from the front). There is an angle between the left arm and shaft when viewed from behind.

This allows for and easier start of the backstroke. This is the only reason to do it.

How much upper body turn do I make in the backswing and you say to start the downswing by moving your righ hand away from your body instead of down.Does this mean straigh back,or back to and behind your right shoulder?

JK: Since none of these words describe what I want you to do and the pictures in the book did not help and the videos did not help, I do not know how to use words to describe the movement for you. You will have to come to Phoenix for a lesson for me let personally move you throught the exact position enought times to establish a patern in the brain sections that control movement.

Also,are you still using the wide stance and reaching for the ball?

JK: For a full shot, your heels should be a minimum of the width of your shoulders. Your arms should be comfortably extended. I don't like the word reach. It sounds like you are forcing the arm extension.

...and placing the club head 1 foot behind the ball before you start the backswing?

JK: I personally place the club about 3 inches behind the ball with irons and about 6 inches with woods. Moe Norman places the club about 5 inches behind the ball with irons and around 12 inches with the woods. It is not so much how far you place the club head behind the ball as it is setting up in perfect posture and letting the left arm and shaft create a straight line from the left shoulder to the club head (when view from the front). There is an angle between the left arm and shaft when viewed from behind.

This allows for and easier start of the backstroke. This is the only reason to do it.

Thank You
Bill Miller

Thanks for your time.
Mike Desautels Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Mike:

It is best to look at the result of players who tried to use such clubs. Those type of clubs added around 2 stroke per round to Payne Stewart, Freddie Couples, and Mark Calcavicca when they used them.

Any thing that a club is designed to cure, MUST be in your swing mechanics to have any effect. So any type of swing-mechanic-default design MUST have that swing-mechanic-default to be useful.

If you really want to improve, use what the pro's use - Blades, with no offsets, and no oversized heads. Do you really think that if the oversized and over-every-think-else marketing hype worked that the pros would not change? Tour pros will do anything to get an advantage.

You have listened to the marketing hype of Callaway and Cobra for 10 years now. How many of you have gotten any better because of your equipment?

Check the INNOVATIONGOLF.COM site for an explanation of the difference between scientific design and the current marketing hype.

I have been using Scott's single axis swing since last year. I read about your LPG system and find it very interesting. I like the idea of not having any stress on the back and not having to keep the left arm straight on the backswing. How long would it take me to learn your LPG system now that I swing using the single axis method?

Michel

Michel,

I discovered the single axis swing (patent 5,803,827), over 16 years ago. Even though it has accomplished some incredible results with a lot of golfers, science never stands still. In July of 1997, I discovered Lever-Power-Golf. This takes my single axis discover to the next level and makes golf mechanics incredibly simple. It takes most people around 30 days to make an effective mechanical change. You will hit the ball farther and have more accuracy than you can ever imagine.

A correct golf swing and a correct baseball swing are almost identical. The informations given by the golf channel and others about big muscles is scientifically incorrect. Arm speed creates all speed in all sports. Both sports will enhance each other.

When I taught Ozzie Smith this, he went for 250 hitting to close to 300 hitting his last 5 years.

85% of club head speed comes from arm speed. Work on strengthening your entire body to support higher arm speed. Then work on faster and faster arm speed and forearm rotation against a resistance. Try to keep the body as stable and quite as possible. Absoultely do not spin your lower body out (rotation) from under your upper body. Tiger Woods creates high club head speed inspite of his body (hips) not because of his body.

Note: A rule of thumb is 1 mph of club head speed with a driver is about 2.5 yards of carry and roll. So if a pro hits a 300 yard drive his club head speed is about (300/2.5= ) 120mph.

Click here to see the Power Swing which Jack uses himself and recommends to his students to increase arm speed.

Does all this sound right and should my other club maker have known that if I was going to add two inches per shaft to my irons he should have allowed for that and put in a stiffer shaft to compensate for the extra two inches?

You did not change the flex of your shafts. If you followed the advise correctly and went to my hammer grip, your right hand is at the same position as it was before you extended the clubs. Your clubs stayed the same frequency. You established an improved lever system and should be hitting the ball 3 to 5% farther.

The clubmaker who checked the frequency is both incorrect on the frequency and that stiff shafts hit farther than more flexible shafts. Golf Digest did a study and has shown that more flexible shafts hit the ball farther. This agrees with my experiments as well.

He checked your frequency by aligning the butt of the club with end of the analyzer. He should have checked it two inches down the shaft. YOU DID NOT CHANGE THE POSITION OF YOUR RIGHT HAND ON THE SHAFT. That is the length of the lever for checking the frequency.

Thanks,
Bob

Bob,

There is no best shaft type. You should have a shaft flex that fits your swing speed and a torque below four degrees.

When you look at the claims made by manufacturers, only look at the competition results. Manufacturers have ways to cheat on their results but usually perform the test correctly for the competition.

Oversized heads are open at impact due to wind resistance and torque necessary to square the oversize. They also move several miles per hour slower due to wind resistance.

The smaller heads are easier to square and create greater club head speed. You driver head should be 210 cc or less. This is the correct size.

Thank you,
Randy Montgomery

Mr. Montgomery,

When fitting clubs, the head weight, shaft weight and length and grip weight are all important.

The new IMPACT clubs allows INNOVATION GOLF to custom fit clubs for every age group. Traditional clubs have only a 7 gram spread between heads. This makes the heads to heavy for kids. IMPACT clubs can be assembled with up to a 10 gram spread and therefore the club heads can be made substantially lighter for kids. IMPACT clubs will be available in late April.

Spin is produced by the glancing blow off the club face. The loft of the club is one glancing blow. The path the club head moves relative to the ball is the second glancing blow. The on-plane glancing blow produces pure backspin. The off-plane glancing blow produces the sidespins (hooks and slices). Practical Golf by John Jacobs has very nice pictures showing all the possibilities.

Bill,

First, you do not need new clubs for Natural Golf, Jerry Heard's Super Swing, or my new Lever-Power-Golf system.

If you changed to the ten finger single axis palm grip, you should consider larger grips and a two inch extension of your clubs. The two inch extension is keep the same lever length in the right hand when you separate your hands. The left hand must move up, not the right hand down.

If you are considering new clubs and want to go with a major brand. Any of the new blade size low center of gravity clubs are excellent. Just have the grip replaced and the butts extended.

If you want an optimum club that can give you greater distance and height, please wait a few week for the New INNOVTION GOLF web page. My latest club design takes club assembly to maximum of scientific technology.

As for Natural Golf irons, I cannot recommend them. They are one of the single poorest designs I have ever tested. The head is too round. The upper right weight moves the vertical center of gravity upward and toward the heel of the club. The vertical center of gravity is the highest of any club I have tested. This makes it the most difficult club on the market to get a ball airborne.

Because of the location of the center of gravity, any ball hit on the outer lower toe area will go low and right. Any ball hit from a tight lie will be extremely difficult to get airborne. Hits on the outer toe area from tight lies will appear to be shanks.

I know very little about golf, but for a recent maths college project I have been asked to map the path of a golf ball in flight (ignoring air resistance etc.) in an attempt to get to grips with calculus and vectors. The problem I have though is that no matter how hard I search on the internet and what limited golf resources I have available to me I can't seem to find any figures for typical angles of dparture using different golf clubs, the only success(?) I have had is learning about a 60 degree wedge'which I can only assume means that the the ball leaves the club at roughly an angle of 60 degrees, as for other clubs I am completely in the dark. I was hoping you could perhaps help me out?

Brendan, Look at Golf Digest, Pages 76-78, February 1999.

Then go to golfscience.org They have three book from science conferences. They have a list of contents. You should find what you are looking for.

Thanks, James

James,

Basically, yes. An even better move is to move the right arm backward, downward, and away from the target. This is even more of a shortening of the radius than straight down. Look at photographs of Sergio Garcia, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Moe Norman and Sam Snead.

Charles,

There is no one shaft spec that will work. To get the maximum distance you need to launch the ball with low backspin (less than 3000 rpm) and the correct trajectory (between 12 and 15 degrees). This can only be assessed with a high speed video camera or special testing machines.

Once the video camera can show your angle of attack, the correct flex can be suggested to allow this. The club head loft and center of gravity is just as important as the shaft.

Only a trained clubmaker observing your swing can give you a correct answer.

2. How does the size of ball change flight and roll?

Mike,

Dimpled balls get lift from the high and low pressure. Smooth balls have greatly reduced lift due to the lack of friction. Smooth balls travel about 150 yards. Dimpled ball travel well over 250 yards.

The larger the ball, with the same dimple pattern and number of dimples per unit area, the greater the lift and drag.

I am a 5th grader and am doing a science fair project on golf balls. I am trying to determine which type of ball will travel the farthest. I will drop various types of golf balls from the same distance and see which one bounces the highest. What determines how far a golf ball will travel asssuming the force behind the ball is the same?

Matt,

This is an advanced physics problem. However, with the help of your parents and your teacher, you should be able to solve the problem. Go to page 60 , chapter 8 in the Schaum's Outline Series for College Physics 7/ed. The two formulas you need are the "elastic collision' and the "coefficient of restitution.

What do you think?

If Kruass has the mathematics to back his hypothesis, then he will be correct.

Steve

Sorry, I can't help you with this one. I looked through all my ball references and came up with a blank. I'm sure you can e-mail Titleist and get an answer.

On the lighter side, I have never had the problem. I either lose the ball or beat it to unplayable during a round.

JK: If you swing correctly, you will always be fighting a duck hook with strong left handed grip. You must perfectly time the right hip being even with the right hand just before impact in order to hit the ball like a professional. Paul Azinger, Gene Sarazen and Bobby Jones played single axis with a strong left hand. If you have their timing and tempo, you can probably play to a high skill level also. If you don't, you will be fighting the hook.

I've read that with a strong grip the body has to turn more and faster to keep the face from closing. Does this contribute to back problems?

JK: Absolutely!!

Thank you,
Michael

Michael,

All clubs should be longer when using a ten finger grip. You must move the top hand up and not the bottom hand down. You must maintain the same lever length to have the same club head speed with the same torque applied by the right hand. The effective playing length is not longer.

Take an overlapping grip. Move your top hand up until you have a ten finger grip. Measure how far the butt must be extended to allow you to have a correct grip with the top hand. It should be between 1 /2 " and 2".

Thank You,
Joe Humphrey

Mr. Humphrey,

I still teach Moe Norman mechanics and the Natural Golf that I invented. I do not teach the current Natural Golf that has been changed to pushing at the ball. It was not necessary to emphasize the forearm rotation because it happens naturally. The current Natural Golf and Jerry Heard Super Swing has made it necessary to go back and emphasize correct forearm rotation. I have not found any current Natural Golf or Jerry Heard student who have anything resembling a golf swing or being able to achieve distance or accuracy.

Natural Golf and Jerry Heard mutated my discoveries to an extremely unnatural and ineffective mechanics. Moe Norman's swing and my discovery of the single axis is absolutely a traditional swing. It simply has fewer planes on the downswing and simpler mechanics for aligning the right forearm with the shaft. The timing necessary to square the club face is dramatically reduced. Go back and look at Moe Norman on any of the videos you have. Watch how fast he rolls his forearms through impact.

I will have a new sponge product available by March that force you to learn to roll your forearms correctly. It will cost $30. This is the greatest single home teaching aid I have invented. My students are learning the correct swing path with instant feedback. So, after reading your myth about the large muscle group are you telling me the best thing to do is to increase my wrist and forearm strength? Sorry, just trying to understand it in layman's terms.

Thanks,
Craig

Craig,

That would seem to be very logical. However, most people have enough forearm strength. It is learning to roll the forearms at the correct time and with the correct support of the body that produces higher club head speed. It does not hurt to have strong forearms, but the body is just as important as a stabilizer for the fast moving arms. If the stabilizer (body) is not strong enough to support the force created by high arm speed, you will lose your balance and club head speed.

Exercise your entire body.

Thanks,
Steve

Steve,

On a full swing, there is a slight sliding of the ball on the face. This is the lowest contribution to spin. The loft of the club face creating a glancing blow is the greatest percentage to creating spin. Search for the Perfect Swing explains the physics and demonstrates that a club with and without groves has very close to the same spin.

On very short shots, rough faced clubs can make a difference. The ball slides up the face farther and the rough face can have a noticable effect.

Thanks a lot,
Briton

Briton,

The club face is in contact with the ball for approximately .0005 seconds.

The impulse of the force is equal to the change in momentum.

Thanks,
David Immel

David,

Golf balls go out of round after about three holes. Balls that are frozen lose some of their compression. The cost and level of play determines the kind and how new a ball needs to be to usable.

One famous amateur, that I can't recall his name, used cut balls in competition to unravel his oponent - it worked. He won most of his matches.

Michel,

Any weighted club should help any golf swing. The power in all golf swings comes from arm speed. It is strength with speed that we are after. Swing the Momentus training club 20 or more times a day as fast as you can without injuring yourself.

Also take a look at the Power Swing which is now offered by Scigolf. My students get excellent results from using it.

Again, it is strength with speed -- not just strength that counts.

Thanks,
Tom K

Tom,

Azinger's swing is one of the best on tour. He plays with a single axis right hand palm grip. It is very similar to the grip Bobby Jones and Gene Sarazen used.

His grip has one fault that will kill most amateur swings -- his left hand is on top of the club (labeled a strong grip). With this grip, it is necessary to precisely time a hip rotation to have the right hip even with the right hand at impact. This is the only way you can keep from duck hooking the ball. When Azinger's hip timing is off, he is very wild off the tee. This is the reason that Natural Golf and the Jerry Heard Super swing fail with most students. I started with that grip 14 years ago. It only took a couple of years to discover the problem.

Jonathan,

No one ball flys the farthest. The physics behind ball flight are so complicated that even sophisticated computers have not been able to solve the problem - Scientific America, January 1997.

A few reference articles that may be able to help are as follows:

• Does Compression Really Matter? - Golf Digest, August 1986.
  
• The Hottest Balls in History? - Golf Digest, December 1983
  
• Little White Lies - Golf Digest, January 1994
  
• Science and Golf II. Proceedings of the World Scientific Congress of Golf - 7 articles on the science of golf balls.

Nick,

If you mean by easy, less backspin, you keep the left wrist straight and let the right hand make a tossing action. My Lever-Power-Golf trainer causes this type of action.

I'm nearly 6'5". Could it be I need extra long clubs? I stood up straighter and held my club out, imagining I had another 5 inches, and it felt more natural. Do such clubs exist or does an amateur like myself have to invest in custom-made?

Bill,

Clubs do not exist at retail outlets that will fit you. You need custom fitted clubs.

John,

The degree the leading edge is from the ground when the club is soled. You need bounce to keep a sand wedge from digging into the sand.

JK: The left wrist bend has vitually no effect on a traditional swing. All the late hit theories need a modification. It is the rolling of the forearms, starting from about waist high in the downstroke and the extension of the right hand that creates the incredible club head speed of the professionals. The little radial to ulna extension of the left hand has almost nothing to do with producing club head speed.

Thanks again for your comments,
Peter

JK: The new clubs will be available sometime between the middle of February to the first of March. The first set for the PGA have been here for a about two weeks and the results are beyond anything you could imagine. I have gone from a 195 yard 3 iron air carry to 220 yards with the height of a 9 iron. Literature and pricing will be available soon. We will e-mail you when information is available. Wait until you see these before purchasing any other irons. You can purchase a single club or any combination you would like.

Your input is appreciated

Steve,

The dominant hand is more coordinated than the non-dominant hand. The power and accuracy comes from the trailing hand. You should play left handed unless you are the typical left hander who is ambidextrous. Then it doesn't matter.

Julie:

Current science is showing that height to weight is not the best measure of fitness. Per centage of body fat and lean muscle mass are much better indicators of correct weight. I would recommend the ZONE Diet by Barry Sears as the basic diet for maintaining health. For periodic adjustment to keep body fat to the level you would like, I recommend either "Bodyopus" by Dan Duchaine or the Anabolic diet by Mauro DiPasquale, MD.

Everyone needs to use a weight resistance program. Bill Phillips of EAS has one of the finest program for getting people fit in 12 weeks that I have ever seen. His latest book Body for Life is on the best sellers list. His web site is: bodyforlife.com

He has both diet and exercise programs that are extremely good.

I enjoy your site very much. Thanks for your help,
Charles

Charles,

1. Extend the length by 2" with butt extenders.
2. Install jumbo grips
3. Have lie reset by a custom club maker.

Ron -

Not to give a flip answer, but the regular is the smallest, the mid-size is slightly larger and the oversized is the largest.

As to playability, mid-size and oversize have four major disadvantages:

1. Scientific studies show that they are open around 2 degrees at impact.
2. Divots are wider and therefore fat shots are really fat.
3. They are extremely difficult to get through the rough. This is one of the main reasons no tour players play them.
4. Wind reduces the club head speed and therefore the distance.

If you feel like you can hit the ball and swing at it, you will have a better shot.

A blade size club is superior to oversize in every aspect. This is why the majority of tour players use blade size clubs. Although some players will let their performance level decrease for money. Tiger Woods uses very old Titleist irons. His irons are one of the smallest heads ever made.

Peter Johnson

Thanks,
Laren

Laren,

My philosophy has not changed. I just never made an issue of the rolling over of the hands as it happens automatically unless you try to restrict it. It is now necessary for me to emphasize the roll over due to Natural Golf and The Jerry Heard Super Swing. Both the Natural Golf instructors and Jerry Heard misunderstood the importance of the roll over when I was training them.

It is the roll over from waist high in the downswing that produces the highest club head speed. Both new videos and an update on my Science & Myths manual will cover this in detail. I shall use a quote from Ben Hogan, "I rolled the face of the club open away from the ball. Coming down, the face was moving so fast, I couldn't turn it over and hook. I was rotating the club like a baseball bat, and the faster I could rotate it, the more distance I got. Training myself, I would roll the face as fast as far as I could, with this technique, I could hit the ball straight and farther. As far as power goes, I wish I had three right hands."

All, and I do mean all, the Natural Golf and Jerry Heard students that come to me have awful swings. They just punch at the ball. It is a total embarrassment to my discoveries.

Thanks,
Michael

I would have to see a video of your swing. The golf swing and the baseball swing are identical. It was one of Hogan's images. Roll the hands as much as possible and swing it like a baseball bat.

Thank you,
Charlie

Charlie, the power in a golf stroke comes from the rolling over of the forearms and the straightening of the right hand as you pass through impact.

Any attempt to Karate chop at the ball with no rotation reduces club head speed and accuracy dramatically. This is what is being taught by Natural Golf and The Jerry Heard Super Swing. Neither of them understand the golf stroke. I have two sponges that I use in my teaching that cures your problem. They force you to swing on the correct plane and roll your hands over as you pass through impact.

Note: The Ask Jack below shows the two sponges and explains how they are made.

Thanks,
Terry

Here is the training device I developed to teach the correct path:

Golfer’s point of view

It is simple to make. Go to a Walmart or Kmart and buy a swimming pool noodle. Cut two 12" sections and then cut one end of both sections at a 65 degree angle; i.e., an angle close to the lie angle of your 9 iron. Cut a groove to hold two weights to keep the trainers upright - I use donut training weights from Golfsmith.

The two trainers are set four feet apart. Place the ball in the center and take a short easy swing. A swing you’d use for a 10 to 20 yard pitch. The white line between the two trainers is the line to your target. The rope line is the swing path.

If you get off this swing path you’ll knock one or both trainers over. This gives you immediate feedback which is necessary in any training device; you won’t learn without immediate feedback.

Do this drill for 20 days striking 20 balls a day. This should ingrain the correct path.

Thanks,
Gene

Mr. Goldrick,

You are not describing the grip I recommend. The left hand grip is taken across the palm with the back of the left hand and club face pointing in the same direction. Absolutely no knuckles of the left hand should be able to be seen. You should have a short left thumb.

The right hand is taken in the lifeline.

Please look at the manual again. You will see that my hands are touching. If you follow the pictures, you will be able to get your hands close together.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreicated as I truley love the game and do not want to give it up because of my lower back.

Lee Howard

Mr. Howard,

As you have a medical problem, any specific statement I would make while not under the supervision of your primary care physician, if used or interpreted incorrectly, could result in further injury. Therefore I will only make general statements about Lever-Power-Golf and golf in general.

The lower body does not produce club head speed in any golf swing. This is an incorrect perception by all big muscles swing the small muscles (dog wags the tail) teachers. Tiger Woods creates great club head speed in-spite-of not because-of his hips.

With Lever-Power-Golf, when done correctly, the tension on the back and shoulders is as low as it is possible to get during a golf swing. Lever-Power-Golf will give you the greatest chance to continue playing.

I would want to work with you personally before I would make any recommendations.

Your clubs are fine. The slice is from rotating your body and not letting your arms swing freely and rotate. You need to learn to reduce body rotation and increase arm speed and rotation.

Mike

Mike,

As you already know, the IMA iron head incorporates more science than any club head on the market. The benefit to golfers is great feel with better control over the ball. My research (and trial and error testing with golfers) for the past three years has taken club assembly to the next level.

By using three equations, golf clubs can be perfectly balanced. This makes every club feel the same both when holding and swinging. This is accomplished by changing the head weighting (only possible with IMA heads), shaft length and grip weight to satisfy the three equations.

It is very time consuming because each length and weight must have less than a 1% error. It takes between one and two hours to assemble one club. You are paying for the assembly time as well as the component cost. This is the reason for the high cost of the clubs.

When I start with new components, the above times will be applicable. If I have to disassemble a set already made under the current IMA specification, the time would be considerably longer. I would have to charge more to remake your set than a new set would cost.

Taking 10 strokes off your game adds another golfer that proves that my discovery of the single axis swing accomplishes what the traditional swing has not been able to do. As the only people using my latest physic equation assembled clubs are those who I used for field testing, the statistics are limited. However the ones in your category, shooting in the low 80's, where able to take another 3 to 4 strokes a round off due the club design.

Congratulation on cutting your handicap in half.

Tim,

The easiest way to answer your question is with photos. The two photos at the left show a set of irons with the Power Rings. Click on the photo for a larger image. The ring permits matching clubs on the second moment of inertia. Results have been excellent. More distance and consistent distance between clubs. For example, if you get 150 yards with your 6 iron your 5 will be 10 yards longer and your 7 10 yards shorter.

Click for larger image.

Hi Don, (for Jack)

First of all, let me introduce myself. I am a final year medical student, living in Australia. I am also a golf fanatic. While I don't get a chance to play that often, I am a single handicapper, and I like to analyse the golf swing ... it's a hobby. :-)

Now, about JK's articles ... does he get any "second opinions" from other scientist golfers? It's always useful to get someone to check the logic behind scientific arguments ...

JK: I have had many students take my work to other engineers and physicists that they are familiar with. They all agree that I am correct.

Let me pose some questions for JK:

a) Have you studied the dynamics of a "double pendulum"? A good example is a flail. Two levers, joined by a hinge. Let's say we have a flail that has an upper lever length of 1 meter, and bottom lever of 1 meter. Now, let's say we also have a single lever of 2 meters in length. If we were to put EXACTLY the same amount of energy into swinging the flail and the 2m single lever, which do you think will have a greater "tip speed"? The flail, of course. (Just ask Bruce Lee ... :-))

What happens when swinging a flail is that initially, the tangential acceleration causes the upper lever to LAG. The upper and lower lever form an angle. As the tangential velocity increases, the centripetal acceleration increases (v^2/r). Every point along the lever exerts an INWARD (centripetal) force to another point that is further away from the center. Using Newton's third law, every point exerts an OUTWARD force (reaction force) to another point that is closer to the center. This causes the angle between the levers to straighten out.

Thus, the inertia due to the TANGENTIAL acceleration initially causes the lower lever to lag (ie. maintains the angle). The inertia due to the CENTRIPETAL acceleration causes the angle between the levers to straighten out. Thus, the two levers will form a straight line when the centripetal acceleration to tangential acceleration ratio is the greatest ... ie. at the bottom of the swing.

Now, how does this help us. Let's see what happens as the flail straightens out through impact. Let's say that the upper-most end of the upper lever is the center of rotation. Let's say that the angle between the upper lever and the lower lever is 90 degrees. Let's now compare this with the golfer. I know that the golfer is a more complex model than the flail, but the triangle formed by golfers arms and shoulders can be compared to the upper lever, and the club can be compared to the lower lever. The wrists form the hinge. Now, when the flail is bent, the IMAGINARY LINE joining the CENTER OF ROTATION (ie. upper-most end of the upper lever) and the CENTER OF GRAVITY of the flail, is the true "position" of the flail, in its rotation around the center. The hands lie AHEAD of this line, and the club head lies BEHIND this line. Now, as the flail is straightened out, the hands FALL BACK towards this line, and the club head MOVE FORWARD towards this line. (This is shown by Cochran in Search of the Perfect Swing, which you have shown as fig. 2 in the "Centrifugal force myth" article) Thus, when the flail has fully straightened out, the center of rotation, the center of gravity of the flail, the hands, and the club head are COLINEAR. Now, during the golf swing, the hands don't actually move BACKWARDS. The COG of the flail is swinging forward, and what happens as the flail is straightened out, is that the hands SLOW DOWN, and the club head SPEEDS UP. (This "slowing down" effect of the hands have been shown through strobe photography ... It can also be seen in the diagram in your article "The reality vs the big muscle myth"). This burst of club head speed in relation to the hands does NOT mean that the hands have "thrown" the club head forward. The hinge in a flail is completely passive. The hinge in a flail does NOT create energy ... it just TRANSFERS it. Thus the hands at impact is slowing down, and the club head is speeding up. Just like how the upper lever of the flail is slowing down, and the bottom lever is speeding up, as the flail is straightened out.

Centrifugal force is a misnomer. As you have correctly mentioned in your articles, it is not a true force. It does not create energy. However, the concept is useful, because using the flail model, we can see how this "reaction force" can be utilised to TRANSFER the energy to the lower lever (ie. club head).

Now, if we were to STIFFEN UP the hinge between the two levers (ie. the hands), thus effectively forming a SINGLE straight lever, then the hands would actually move FASTER through impact (than in the flail model). However, the club head will be moving SLOWER (than in the flail model). Thus, the top half of the 2m single lever will move faster than the upper lever of the flail through impact. However, the bottom half of the 2m lever will be moving slower through impact than the lower lever of the flail. At impact, it is the speed of the lower part of the lever (ie. club head) that matters.

It is fair to say then, that so called "centrifugal force" can be utilised to transfer maximum amount of energy to where it matters ... the club head. This can be achieved while keeping the hands loose, and letting it act like the hinge in a flail. I believe that this transference of energy is what Cochran was getting at in his book, when he mentions the term "centrifugal force". With his background in science, I am sure he knew that centrifugal force is not really a force. The term is however, useful.

Good examples of those who closely resemble this "flail model swinger" are:

Colin Montgomery
Fred Couples
Phil Mickelson

JK: I would suggest that you build a flail golf system.

(Note: Jack attaches a second handle with a cord to a club's handle and shows what happens when you swing it from the attached handle, and then he turns it around and swings it from the club. The handle then shows tremendous acceleration. A real flail, i.e., one used for threshing grain, has a long handle with a short lever at the end.)

I have and I use it to demonstrate that only about 20 mph of club head speed can be obtained from centripetal force. The majority is produced by the forearm rotation and right hand extension 0.05 second before impact. An article from the proceedings of the first world scientific congress of golf demonstrate that professional golfer apply very high right hand pressure at 0.05 second before impact.

Stop using rulers. They do not duplicate the weights or weight distributions of a golf club or golf swing. Make a real flail and test it.

The three golfers you mention exactly duplicate high arm speed and correct upper body motion for producing high club head speed. They are absolutely not using a flail system!

They all talk about how they try to keep the hands "loose" during the swing.

JK: It is very easy to show that almost no golfer performs what he thinks he is doing during his swing. Asking an expert golfer, who is not trained in science, is just adding another incorrect perception. When you become a doctor, you will really enjoy your patients who come in with the latest voodoo cure for you to disprove.

b)Let's talk about the calculations in your article "Reality vs Big Muscle Myth". You use the conservation of momentum equation, and have come up with the conclusion that the mass of the golfer has very little effect on the outcome of the collision between the ball and the club head. I agree with this conclusion, but not the way you have deduced it.

m1 u1 = m1 v1 + m2 v2

This equation applies to a CLOSED SYSTEM where there is no external force on the system during the collision.

When you substitute values into your final equation, you say that u1 is the velocity of the club head, whereas m1 is the mass of the golfer. I argue that this is a false assumption. You are assuming that the club head and the golfer are perfectly rigid, with the information from the collision travelling throughout the club-golfer system DURING the collision. This is shown experimentally to be not true.

Have a look at Chapter 22 (page 144) of "Search for the Perfect Swing". During the collision, the club head acts as if it is free from the club and the golfer. Thus the ball and the club head can be considered as the only two objects undergoing collision. This is the reason why the golfer's mass does not matter during the collision. All that matters is the speed of the club head, and the mass of the club head. (providing, of course, e is constant, and the mass of the ball is constant). Thus, you should have substituted the mass of the club head for m1, not the mass of the golfer. You'll see how the mass of the club head does indeed matter because at around 200 to 300 grams, it is not that much heavier than the ball. The trick is to find a club head mass that will give you maximum club head energy at

impact ... i 1/2*m*v^2.

JK: This is a total misinterpretation of what I have shown. I start out with the club head calculation to show the effect of club head weight. I then show that no weight over 11 pounds can have any effect. I do the body calculation to perform the mathematics for people not versed in physics. It show that the mass is approximately one and can have no effect. The only thing that matters is velocity of the club head. This is in exact agreement with Cochran and Sobs.

Your 1/2*m*v^2 is the work necessary to get the club up to another velocity level. You do not transfer v^2. I do that calculation for you as well. Your reasoning is the typical misinterpretation of this term.

c) Let me comment on your deduction that the right triceps and the right forearm contribute 85% of the club head speed. You came to this conclusion by comparing the speed of various body parts during the swing. This does NOT tell you how much each body part has contributed to the energy of the club head.

JK: I came to this conclusion because I demonstrate in my clinics that I can produce over 80 mph of club head speed using just my forearms to rotate a golf club. This is a real life demonstration that my theories are correct. A simple calculation would provide how much energy is produced. It is not necessary to use energy equations. Straight forward force and torque equations are all that are needed.

Using your argument, it can be said that the hinge of the flail creates energy and contributes to the speed of the lower lever, through the impact area. As I have shown, this is simply not true. The hinge just transfers the energy, and does not create it.

JK: The golf swing is not a flail system and I have made no statement about a flail system. You have shown no mathematics of a golf system. You have used Aristotelian logic, which is always incorrect, for oranges to describe apples.

I am a "dog wag tail" swinger. My hands and arms are quite loose during the swing. I let the energy TRANSFER to the club head. Of course, if I tried to "drag" the club head into impact with my body, the energy would never have the chance to go to the club head. (BTW, have you heard the tip "don't let the hands get behind you" or "keep the hands in front of you"?)

JK: As a future medical doctor, I will assume that you have taken some anatomy. For the lower body to transfer any energy into the arms, I think you would agree, that is must go through the spine. Measure how much speed (translation and rotation) is in the spine at the base of the neck. You will find that there is virtually none. To transfer the energy, some motion must be present. The lower body produces virtually no speed or energy into the shoulder or arms. Again, you have another perception that a simple scientific observation proves to be false. Oh, YES, Ballard, Leadbetter, Hebron, McLean, etc., are all incorrect.

Oh, and by the way, the last time I watched a dog wag his tail his body did not move. He used two muscles on the side of his tail to make it wag.

Many people conjure up this image of the body "dragging" the hands and the club towards impact when they talk about the "big muscle swing". That's not what "big muscle swing" is all about. The big muscles move relatively slowly, and quite effortlessly. As Homer Kelley said, "effort is not >power". Feeling the inertia of the swing, I utilise the "centrifugal force" to let the energy transfer to the club head, where it matters. This sort of "whipping" or "flailing" action is very effortless, and is not stressful on the body.

JK: You should inform all the professional on tour that it does not hurt their backs -- Tiger Woods, Fuzzy Zoeller, Freddie Couples, just to name a few. It is an established fact that the traditional rotary motion golf swing causes back and rotator cuff problems. Again, from the science congress on golf, one researcher showed that there is over 8 times you body weight (about 1600 lbs) on the lower lumbar spine using a five iron at the top of the backstroke and finish. You perceptions of stress on the body are not founded in science. Science proves otherwise.

d) Let me quote you from one of your articles: "Most long drivers, the guys who generate between 130 and 160 mph, who drive the ball consistently over 350 yards, are between 6' and 6'6" and weigh between 200 and 250 pounds. You must have the strength to increase the club head's velocity"

Have you heard of a player by the name of Marisa Baena? 5'4", petite build ... probably not that strong in the forearms. Yet she can hit the ball as far as Laura Davies!

JK: I have never seen Marisa Baena hit a golf ball. This one I cannot pass up. If you want to place a bet, you name the amount. I'll take Laura Davies and you get Marisa Baena.

Using your logic, this should not be possible!

JK: It is impossible, she cannot hit a ball as far a Laurie Davies!

Using my logic, we can see how if she were to efficiently TRANSFER the energy from her large muscles to the club head, this is very possible! Remember, this does not mean tensing up the large muscles. It does not mean moving them fast. The large muscles provide the required energy effortlessly, and relatively slowly. An efficient swing transfers as much energy as possible to the club head.

JK: I would like to see your calculation for this great build up of energy in the body that transfers to the shoulders and arms. I would like for you to show which bones and muscles are moving with enough speed to transfer this energy you say exists. Beside moving on the wrong plane, I have found nothing in the body moving with enough speed to transfer anything. I look forward to seeing your calculations.

Summary: I use strictly scientific theory. That means someone must observe the prediction of the equations and statements I make. To date, no one has disproved any of my statement with experiments. They only argue their perceptions.

Well, Don ... my time's up. I really have to be studying medicine instead of spending so much time in front of the computer.

Please understand I am not criticising JK's lever power golf ... I have not tried it or looked closely at it. I am just pointing out what I see as fundamental flaws in some of JK's articles.

Cheers,
Jono

JK: I disagree that this is not criticism. It is criticism of the worst kind. Using thought experiment instead of science. It is obvious you have not tried Lever-Power-Golf. You would be hitting the ball farther and straighter. You would have eliminate 80% of your lower body motion and taken virtually all the stress of your back and shoulders. The only fundamental flaws are in your perceptions. They are all incorrect.

Thanks,
Paul M.

Paul,

I would need to see a video of your swing to discover the reason. The ball should be at least 30% higher than with a traditional swing. In a traditional swing the hands are substaintially ahead of the club head at impact. This delofts the club and the trajectory is the low. In LPG the hands are just slightly ahead of the ball at impact and you get the full loft of the club.

Try the following:

• 1. Make sure your head over your right knee at impact.
  
• 2. Practice hitting different height shots:
  - hands are low for a low shot
  - hands are high for a a high shot.

PS: I have been looking through your pages and find them excellent -- they are also correct. So many populist accounts of mechanics sacrifice accuracy for style -- keep up the good work!

Mr. Shippen -

Thanks for the nice remarks. Science takes a long time to be accepted. Most golf instructors never let facts get in the way of their perceptions.

The answer to optimum golf club is very simple. US Patent 4,128,242 by Vance V. Elkins, Jr. issued in 1978 explains in detail how to assemble scientifically correct clubs. Three equations which specify total weight, first and second moment of inertia are used.

If a golfer has adequate distance, clubs are assembled using steel shafts. If a golfer does not have adequate distance, clubs are assembled with light weight graphite shafts so the savings in weight can be placed on the shaft where the equations specify.

The iron heads should be blade size, parameter weighted, and have a low center of gravity.

Metal wood heads should be 200 cc or less, perimeter weighted, and have a low center of gravity.

All oversized heads should be avoided. They have four problems:

1. They slow down the head due to wind resistance -- loss of distance.
2. They are open at impact -- push shots to the right.
3. They are extremely difficult to get through rough -- poor shots out of rough.
4. They take wide divot holes -- many more fat shots.

You now have the good news. The bad news is that no major company is doing this and likely never will. It takes about an hour to assemble one club. Every component must be exact to within one gram. It is also very hard to assemble irons using the equations because the iron head weights are not optimum.
I assemble a limited number of set in this correct fashion. You can get up to 15 yards longer with iron assembled in this fashion.

I've been told that Moe Norman used an overlapping grip and held the club in the fingers of his right hand. Did he ever do that?

Thanks,
Ben

Ben,

Moe played with with overlaping grip until he met me. He changed to a separated palm grip in 1993. He never used a finger grip. He always used a palm grip. The same as Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen and Paul Azinger.

Thanks immensely Jack, any correspondance would be most appreciated.
Jordan

Jordan,

I live in Phoenix also and I teach at the Fiesta Inn. You should contact me. All Sam 2000 type devices fail because it is impossible to have an effective traditional golf swing on one plane. Dr. Ralph Mann studied 52 of the world's leading pros and has shown that none of them swing on single planes. The club head and hands must move on different paths when you use a traditional finger grip. I explain this in detail in my Science and Myths manual.

Marilyn,

There are too many variables to calculate the velocity of the ball and be better than 60 accurate. A rough estimate will be as follows: A typical club head speed at impact will be around 85 miles per hour. The ball will the leave the club head around 120 miles per hour and travel around 175 yards. After traveling 150 yards, it should have lost about 30% of it velocity. So the ball was probably traveling around 80 miles per hour. Since I can be off by as much as 60% without testing the men with equipment, it could have been traveling as little as 50 miles per hour.

Too get an idea of how dangerous this is, imagine you are traveling a 80 miles per hour in your car and you stick you head out the window and hit a golf ball hanging from a tree limb with your forehead.

You are extremely lucky to be alive! Most people have no concept of how dangerous it is to be hit by a golf ball. If you are asking this for legal purposes, You need to pay one of several companies who have testing machines to provide you with better numbers than my estimates.

Thanks,
Sean

Fortunately, NO! You will hit your 7 iron up to 165 yards with Lever-Power. There is a 3 to 5% increase in club head speed.

Unfortunately, you only purchased the video and manual. It is virtually impossible to learn Lever-Power-Golf without the training device. You have too strong a neuronal program for breaking the left wrist. You will not keep it straight or even feel what I want you to do without the LPG trainer.

This is not the useless training aids that has turned the golf market off to training aids. The LPG training aid works.

JK: Scott's method uses straight to partially bent left arm. Therefore there must be more stress on the shoulders. With Lever-Power-Golf where the left arm is bent, tension on the shoulders is virtually eliminated.

I have heard that some folks experience some elbow pain with lever power...what causes this?

JK: Performing what they think I am saying incorrectly. Pain in the back, shoulders, arms, and elbows are all but eliminated with Lever-Power-Golf.

JK: That is the correct feel. When you use your triceps to sling the forearms around, you will feel like you are doing almost nothing. But the club head speed will be greater than when you torqued and twisted your body into a pretzel with the traditional swing.

2. Describe the movement of the left hand/wrist throughout the stroke.

JK: The back of the left hand pronates to be parallel to the plane at the top. Keep this same hand position until the hands are waist high in the downstroke. Now smoothly supinate the left hand through impact and bring it up between the left sholder and your head.

3. Do you begin your power move into the ball from the 8:00 position or sooner?

JK: You are correct, Keep the left hand in its pronated position until this position and then supinate it.

4. If I change my grips to jumbo grips, does that change any of the current characteristics of the club, i.e. swing weight?

JK: It changes your swing weight for the better. The club head does not change its weight. By installing heavier jumbo grips, the center of gravity of the club moves up the shaft towards your hands. This means it requires less torque to generate greater club head speed.

Thanks,
Dr. David F. Ring

Thanks,
Kerry Hostetter

Kerry,

Yes, there is.

The injunction that Natural Golf obtained expired on June 17, 1999. You may now purchase clubs from Scigolf or Kuykendall Golf assembled in the following fashion.

Traditional club designs work, but they are not even close to being scientifically optimum. They have been assembled for over a hundred years with the same weight heads and head weight difference between clubs -- typically 7 grams between club heads. This limits shaft length and optimum weighting of the entire club.

The industry uses swing weighting and frequency matching and convince golfers that this high technology. Swing weighting is absolute nonsense, and has no scientific meaning other than a complete mismatching of clubs -- longer clubs feel heavier when you swing them. Frequency matching is just an indication of how stiff a shaft is. If you get the "S" curve frequency, all the shafts have a different stiffness. The only thing stiffness affects is the height of the ball flight. Stiff shaft have a low trajectory. Flexible shaft have a higher trajectory. Getting a set that has the right aracteristics for you is virtually impossible.

Club design is explained in more detail in my current Scigolf article Optimum Club Assembly.

It is the clubs. The first generation NG clubs that I designed had a center of gravity that was too high. This causes the ball flight to be lower. As I cannot say anything about Natural Golf until June 19, 1999 (Court Injunctions), I will only ask you to have a local club maker give you his opinion on their current clubs.

Any of the current clubs with small club heads and low center of gravities will give you what you want. Put standard Jumbo grips on.

My latest system of Lever-Power-Golf will take you to the next lever. You will be slightly longer, but your accuracy will be far better.

Dallas,

I explain and show golfers the option between traditional, my discovery and patented swing of the Moe Norman type mechanics and my latest discovery - Lever-Power-Golf (patent pending). My Lever-Power-Golf discovery takes my discovery of the Moe Norman type mechanics to the next level. No one to date has opted for any method but Lever-Power-Golf.

If your question is what would I recommend between Traditional and my discovery of the Moe Norman type mechanics, no one has chosen Traditional.

JK: Similarities: We both use the single axis palm grip that I discovered.

Differences: Scott motions is that of a good tour player. His mechanics are excellent for those who want to emulate a tour swing while using the single axis palm grip.

My mechanics are much more compact and all action of the stroke is reduced to supporting a tossing motion of the right hand. My body has less motion in the backstroke and follow through than Scott's.

Also, do you keep the club square to the plane at all times?

JK: NO! And neither does Moe Norman. We both take the club straight inside and pick the club up across the downstroke plane. During the first sit down and move the right hand away from the right shoulder motion, we both set the club on plane. From this point to impact, the club head is on plane.

I know that is what Heard Super Swing preaches, but I find it very uncomfortable and hard to release the club with the left hand so strong as Heard teaches.

JK: Before investor took over Natural Golf, I had several of my teachers work with Jerry Heard on the method. He and Natural Golf (after I left) have chosen to place the left hand on top of the club. This is the method I used with my first company, Right Way Golf. Everyone was always fighting a snap hook. Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen and Paul Azinger played or play with this type of grip. To keep from hooking the ball, they all had to time a hip rotation that has the belt buckle facing the target at impact. If you do what either Natural Golf or Jerry Heard teach, which is facing the ball at impact, you will either snap hook the ball or make some ineffective mechanical hang on blocking motion to keep the ball does from snap hooking. If you observe Jerry Heard and all the instructors on his tape during the full swing, none of them are doing what they teach. Jerry Heard is doing a traditional swing with a traditional grip.

I have asked several questions to you in the past and as always, appreciate your expertise.

Thanks, Laren

Laren, I hope my answers help. If you have more questions just send them to me.

Thank you,
Rob Trowbridge

Mr. Trowbridge;

I am sorry, but I do not believe there are any of the Natural Golf wood heads that I designed available. I have not seen any in years.

Major Manufacturers:
The 1999 design of wood heads and irons by the major manufacturers are excellent. They have all gone back to blade size clubs with a low center of gravity in the irons. Almost all of them have gone to club heads that are less than 200 cc and have a low center of gravity. Clubs from the Major manufacturers are on a fairly even playing scale. If you purchase from a Major company, you will be buying because of brand name recognition, not superior product to the others.

Custom Clubs:
The major companies have one major disadvantage. They build clubs to be sold off the rack at clubs and retail outlets. It is very difficult to get clubs that fit. Custom clubs are necessary in my opinion to be able to play your best.

Kuykendall Clubs:
When I announce my new club line it will be based around optimizing the radius of gyration. You will be able to hit balls up to 15 yards longer -- physics allows this to happen. Check back with Scigolf in July.

Thanks.
Jade

Jade,

No! This will cause you left hand to be hyper extended and you do not want any over exaggerated body position. The left hand should be only slightly ulnar deviated. The important thing is get the right forearm and shaft to align. The left arm will straighten due the inertia of club head during the stroke.

I get many students that have been to Natural Golf schools with hyper extended left wrist. They can't hit the ball very well because of this teaching fault.

Mark,

These questions remind me of the college professor who asked a student to build a working computer model of human arm for a summer project. It took an entire industry over 40 years to even approach building one.

The answer to these golf questions are the top secrets and knowledge of all the golf companies combined. They put together short simple sounding commercials, but the technology is very advanced.

Mark, you will have to pick only one subject, write all the manufacturers, read all the golf magazines, go to the library and read all the books on those materials. There is no short easy answer.

Thanks,
Fred

Fred,

Your mistake is in using force. A 10,000 lb truck moving at 10 ft per second would supply 100,000 lbs of force. The golf ball will go about 15 yards.

Your after energy exchange. The USGA uses a 200 lb fly wheel moving at 108 miles per hour. My Science & Myths manual starts out with the calculations that explains this.

Thank you,
John

John,

The curve on the face of wood-type club heads is designed to produce a gear effect. Golf The Science Way, (Aston Publishing Group, Editor, Alastair Cochran) has an article by Fuminobu Sato of Mizuno Corporation that provides an excellent explanation of the gear effect.

Mr. Sato states:

"Gear action happens in the following way: If a ball is hit from a point on the face towards the toe, and not from the sweet spot, the head starts to rotate around the center of Gravity with angular velocity. Because of this condition, the point of contact starts to rotate clockwise at the speed of V = W x R. If Vp is the component of the speed V parallel to the face plane, the circumference of the ball will also acquire the speed Vp unless slipping occurs. Thus the ball will spin counterclockwise at the angular speed of Vp/r. This phenomenon resembles two meshed gears rotating in opposite directions, which led to its being termed "gear effect." On the other hand, iron heads with their narrow head widths have their centers of gravity near the face plane. Because of this, a velocity parallel to the face plane will never occur even if the head rotates - Vp is zero or near zero. For the above reasons, the behavior of the ball when it is hit on the toe or heel is different between wood-type and iron-type clubs."

Thank You.
Brian

In a one arm swing, the only arm that can generate the torque is the hand you are using. If you practiced with a right arm only throwing motion, you would find that you can hit the ball farther than with a left hand pulling motion. I have one reference of a right hand man using the throwing motion and hitting the ball over 300 yards.

Although you can list some tour players who play with their dominant hand on top, the majority (estimated at greater than 90%) do not play that way. Left handed people are more ambidextrous than right handed people. Left handed people have brain neurons that are arranged differently from right handed people.

If a person learns a new skill using his body in a non-optimum manner and succeeds, it does not mean that they would not play better if they used their body in an optimum fashion. I have one example of a left handed tour player who played right handed during his playing career. When he retired, he wanted to see how good he could play left handed. He claims he played far better left handed than right. This in no way represent proof. It is just an example.

Simple scientific experiments can show that the power and control comes from the trailing or right hand for a right handed swing. The "fact" that a small number of golfer reach a high lever of proficiency does justify going against optimum.

The perceptions and feeling of the top tour player may be interesting, but they have very little to do with reality. The brain is performing billions of instruction simutaneously. Any sensations that the golfer may have are never, and I mean never, what his body is doing. It is very easy to show that Jack Nicklaus has sensations that are 100% opposite of what he is doing.

From neuroscience articles, it can be shown that when you are born, there are chemicals that guide neurons to the cortex. The ones that win are the dominant parts of your body. You have a dominant hand, eye, ear, leg, and arm. When the connections are made the chemical is removed from the body. Once the connections are made, there will be, in normal use, more neuron connection for the dominant parts. If you train a non-dominant part consistently you can reduce the dominant strengths and strengthen the non- dominant connections. This seems to me to be fighting the way you are designed. It has no advantage except that is take more practice to keep less neurons functioning optimally.

It is much easier to understand the science of the golf stroke and use you body the way it is designed. I explain all of this in great detail in my Science & Myths manual. Check out my web site.

Thanks. Laren

Laren,

The backswing is taken in a fashion that allows the club to come to a correct position at the top of the backstroke. The hips are rotated 45 degrees. The right shoulder rotates from 45 degrees in front of the right hip to inline with the right hip at the top of the back stroke. The left shoulder is in line with the ball. How you get there is unimportant. The back stroke is just to get you in correct position at the top. The method I recommend is one of the simplest. Pull the right elbow back and let the hands rotate naturally. Now biceps curl the club to shoulder height.

If you find any other backstroke works, use it. The backstroke does not need extension or torque of any kind. The downstroke is what's important.

Thanks.

Mr. Ridgway,

You do not need special clubs. I suggest you regrip your clubs with jumbo grips because I want you to separate your hands. A small grip may twist in the right hand. The lofts remain the same. The lie of the club will depend on your arm length. If you have short arms, they will probably need to be more upright. If you have normal length arm, they should be standard. If you have long arm, they will usually be flatter. The lie angles have to be checked and adjusted.

You can purchase the Sure Stroke putter I used in the Golf Magazine article from Scigolf.com.

Any comments?

This one pisses me off, and if David Lee were were not serious, this would be another case of too stupid for words. Lee believes that gravity and centrifugal force produce club head speed. Both are incorrect. His system is physics stupid. One of his teaching drill is to have golfers hopping around on one foot while hitting golf balls -- and he say Moe's swing is out of balance.

David is continually making claims that he can put someone on tour in less than six months. He has never put anyone on tour and never will. His system has one and only one positive. He creates good arm speed. With good arm speed, you get distance. His system cannot produce accuracy as there is too much body motion. If you examine any of the swings of the people on his video, you will see that they do not do what he teaches.

As for Moe's swing. When the entire golfing community acknowledges that he is one of the four greatest ball strikers to every play the game, you have to question his critics. Moe Norman is the only person in the world that tour players stop practice to watch. He is in perfect balance. This is why they watch. If you are a critic of a master, you should have some facts and not just stupid generalized terms. I would love to see his science and engineering principals.

The debate does not go on, SPIN goes on. They have no physics knowledge to debate with. They have to use SPIN. They must be related to Bill Clinton.

Thanks for your reply,
John

John,

I will not design a different iron from the IMA iron. The IMA irons are as good a designed club as I have played. There is an immediate feel in the difference in the solidness of the hit.

The IMA iron head has three major design advantages:

1. Perimeter weighted from toe to the heel. This allows for the maximum weighting around the perimeter and increases the moment of inertia of the club. The higher the moment of inertia, the less the twisting from off center hits.

2. The head is traditional blade size. This is the size head that most tour players are still using. Oversize heads have major physics design flaws.

3. The weight of the head can be varied by as much as 35 grams. This allow for optimum weighting. The clubs can now be assembled for the correct physics parameters - total weight, 1st and 2nd moment of inertia. When clubs are assembled in this fashion, you cannot tell the difference between the static and dynamic feel, i.e., when held at address and while swinging. This allows one swing for all clubs.

All other custom made clubs on the market are assembled for swing weight and frequency. Neither of these have a physics relationship to the swinging of a golf club by a human. Swing weighting and frequency matching is a quality control measure. Further, off the shelf clubs vary greatly in parameters.

Is it necessary to have scientifically perfect clubs? The answer is no. No one, especially tour players, have had clubs designed in the fashion I mentioned above. I am just now finishing the patent on the process. Great golf is played with non-optimum clubs. I believe, however, even greater golf (lower scores) will be played in the future with optimum clubs.

Thanks,
Paul M.

Paul,

You can let the right foot come of the ground after impact. You do not want any torque on the body during the stroke.

I personally find it more comfortable to keep my right heel down. Make sure the right heel coming up is just to relieve tension and is not a mechanical flaw. If you have a problem keeping it down, there could be two things that are not correct in the stroke.

Two mechanical flaws can happen when the right heel is pulled off the ground:

1. The start of the downstroke is not a backward and downward motion.
2. The ball is too far forward in the stance (off the left heel). All iron shots should be around 7" from the right heel.

Thanks,
Kelley

Kelley,

To produce the type of ball flight you described, the path of the club head is slightly outside in, with the club face slightly open at impact.

To correct the problem, you must learn to move the club head down the target line with a square club face at impact. Purchase a sponge swimming noodle ($4.95 at K- Mart). Cut a piece two feet long and then cut a 60 degree angle at one end. Place this one inch on the outside of the target line about 18 inches behind the ball. This is the plane of the swing. This sponge will not let you swing outside in. Cut another piece 18 inches tall. Place this piece two feet in front of the ball just inside the target line. This makes you extend down the target line. When you can swing and not hit the sponges, you have a correct club head path.

It only takes a couple of days of training to correct this path and face problem.

Thanks in advance.
Gregg Sharp

Dr. Sharp,

The spinning of the lower body is a major problem in all swings. The body is moving on a plane parallel to the ground and is independent of the shoulders and arms. The arms are moving on a plane at an oblique angle to the ground. Lower body rotation produces less than 5 mph toward club head speed and is one of the major causes of back injuries.

How do you reduce lower body spin? One quick way is to hit balls with a 4 to 6 inch object (inverted golf ball basket at the range) under your left foot. A second method is to focus on sitting down approximately 1 to 2 inches as the first move in the downstroke. If you are sitting, you can't be spinning.

How should one use tempo devices and swing speed analyzers? The backstroke is much slower than the downstroke in any good golf swing. If you use a tempo device, make sure it records the backstroke time as well as the downstroke time. The backstroke should be at least one-second and downstroke to impact should be around one-fourth second.

When using a speed analyzer, try to produce the same timing and club head speed at impact with each club. Your wedge should be around 60 mph, your 5 iron around 85 mph and your driver around 100 mph. There is a major problem with speed analyzers. Everyone wants to get one mph faster. You start over-swinging and destroy your tempo.

Thanks in advance for your answer,
Gary

Gary,

If you are only getting 75% of the distance with the LPG trainer on, you are not making the first move at the start of the downstroke correctly. You should get approximately 90% of the distance with the LPG trainer on as you do with the LPG trainer off. The first motion must be a backward and downward motion. Move the right hand away from the right shoulder with virtually no shoulder rotation. When you take the LPG trainer off, you will have a slight cocking of the left wrist (between 10 and 20 degrees). This is caused by the momentum of the club head during the swing direction change at the top. Try to keep this wrist cock to minimum. You will get both increased distance and accuracy if you keep it to less than 20 degrees. It is not necessary to call this slight cocking of the wrist another lever.

Thank you,
Ben

Ben,

The rotation of the hands and arms is not a forced rotation. When you move your right elbow backward while letting the left shoulder move backward (not downward and backward), the right hand will fully extend (cock) and the back of the left hand will be perpendicular to the ground. This means that the left forearm rotated through 90 degrees. There will be NO tension or strain on the arms. If the rotation did not take place, there would be tension in the arms.

Now, you just do a biceps curl to bring the club to shoulder height while letting the left shoulder continue to rotate backward until it is pointed at the target line.

When you simply reverse that for the downswing, there will be virtually no tension on any body parts and the squaring of the club head face is extraordinarily easy.

Thank you!
Tom

Tom,

Read page 60 of College Physics, Schaum's Outline Series (ask your teacher for help in finding it).

A very good scientific analysis is on pages 296 to 301 in Science and Golf II. Proceedings of the World Scientific Congress of Golf by A.J. Cochran and M.R. Farrally. Published by E & FN SPON; 2-6 Boundary Row, London SE1 8HN. telephone 071 522 9966.

Also read my columns at Scigolf.com.

Best of luck on your project.

Thanks,
James

James:

It is the correct interpretation of the knowledge of the various sciences that can assist you in becoming better. A large number of top teachers CLAIM to use science. However, when their theories are subjected to independent observations, the theories turn out to be false. My Science & Myths manual explains over 50 of the myths of golf as well as the realities.

I have a lot of trouble with overswinging. I also do not have a consistent rhythm & tempo, which can kill you on the course. What is your tempo like?, or what type is used with Lever golf?

I'm definitely intrigued with the new swing.

Do you have a 30 day warranty on the instruction manual & video for lever golf, or must you buy the entire package? Can't afford all of it. How many people do you have that are playing using the new swing?

Thanks,
Scooter

Scooter,

There are over 300 people using the Lever-Power-Golf system. One 22 handicapper shot a 3 under par 69 in less than 90 days. The average is a reduction in handicap of 50% in 90 days.

All my products have a 30 day money back guarantee. Without the training device, it is virtually impossible to do the mechanics. Your left wrist will bend until it trained not to bend.

Over swinging is a major problem in any swing. The start of the downstroke must be smooth and positive. You must have a feeling of complete control. About waist high in the downstroke is when you make the conscious effort to accelerate the hands through impact. The great majority of golfers, who have switched to Lever-Power-Golf, make their greatest improvements when they start the downstroke under absolute control.

Les

Les,

I have not been involved with Natural Golf since December 1995. A group of investor took over the company and changed both the clubs and the teaching.

I do not endorse either the clubs or their current teaching methods. I have heard from several people who have taken lesson from some of their certified instructors and they were very disappointed. One even demanded his money back from Natural Golf. This particular teacher was teaching narrow stance, hands close to the body and pull with the left arm. Natural Golf's teaching method is not what I teach or what Moe Norman does during his golf stroke.

I conduct schools in Phoenix. Please call or e-mail if you would like information on Kuykendall Golf schools.

Gary

Gary,

The right arm levers do not change. They stay the same in all good swings.

It is the left arm lever that changes and adds club head speed with less effort with Lever-Power-Golf. In a traditional swing where the left arm is keep straight, it produces virtually no club head speed. It is in a totally disadvantaged position. Only the left deltoid and latissmus muscle are used as support.

In Lever-Power-Golf, the length of the left forearm is added to the length of the shaft as a lever. This new lever, approximately 14" longer is now moved by a powerful left triceps muscle during the downswing. The longer lever using the added left triceps creates the increased speed.

Best regards,
Alan Jackson, New Zealand

Alan,

Your pro is correct in being skeptical. The average golf score has been around 97 for the last 100 years. No teaching method or clubs have made a difference. The triple coil had to fail because it was based on the false belief that the body generates the power in the golf stroke. All the triple coil can accomplish is major back problems.

I have one 22 handicap golfer who took two lessons and in less than 90 days shot a 3 under par 69. Over 50% of the people who have taken up LPG have cut their handicaps in half in 90 days. I offer schools and training on my system. If your pro would like to talk to me, please have him call.

Thanks,

Lever-Power-Golf improves club heads speed by about 3%. My driver speed with a traditional swing was between 100 and 105 mph. With the Moe Norman type swing I developed at Natural Golf, my club head speed improved from 102 to 107 mph. With Lever-Power-Golf, my club head speed is between 106 and 112 mph. My top speed with LPG, when swinging as hard as I can, has been 118 mph. My average distance with a one iron is 225 yards. I can also hit a one iron out of a divot hole. The angle of attach of Lever-Power-Golf allows improved ball contact.

The short game and the long game videos will continue to be separated because most golfers consider them to be separate task.

Thank-you Jeramy

Jeramy:

Sorry, I have spent no time with the long driving market. I do not know whether their organization has a web site, but suggest you do a search for it.

I'm certain you can call Golf Digest or Golf Magazine and get information about any long drivers' organization.

Assuming this is the case, how can they do it?

One arm golfers are similar to the two lever model used in the Search for the Perfect Swing.

club head speed still comes from arm and hand speed. A one arm golfer will be much stronger in the remaining arm.

No one that I know of, who has both arms, can hit a ball farther with one arm than with two.

Mark - Kingston, Ont.

Mark,

Tommy Armour marketed a set of clubs like you talked about for two years. They were a big failure. Short irons hit the ball to far and long irons do not hit the ball far enough.

As Dr. Jorgensen states in his book "The Physics of Golf" clubs can be matched to within 1% and for total weight and the first and second moment of inertia. The clubs will feel the same in both static and dynamic motion.

Is it necessary to have a perfect set of clubs with the above parameters? Absolutely NOT. Tour players' clubs don't even come to close to be matched. They are matched for the feel tour players like.

Is it desirable to have perfectly matched clubs? Absolutely YES. With perfectly matched clubs, you will become a more accurate golfer.

I will be marketing a system after June 19, 1999 that will allow the clubs you have to be balanced properly. I have a noncompete with Natural Golf until that time.

Weight distribution is determined by the position of the center of gravity of the body. The center of gravity of the body is the center of the body in thehip area.

This weight distribution is for the Lever-Power-Golf system.

Rick

Rick,

Centrifugal Force DOES NOT EXIST, period!!! There is no such force. Everyone who claims that centrifugal force exists, flunked physics 101. They got an F- because they did not study the chapter.

Suggested Reading for proof:
1. The Cartoon Guide to Physics; by Larry Gonick & Art Huffman, Pages 59 to 61.
2. Conceptual Physics; by Paul G. Hewitt, Pages 121 to 125.

Both of these book can easily be understood by someone not educated in science. They have very nice pictures and very clear explanations.

Centrifugal Force does not exist and has nothing to do with a golf stroke.

tj