[Yoda]

Originally Posted by 12 piece bucket

Witcha . . . but . . . is the force that the Hitter applies the same as Angular Momentum? Or is he overriding it as a result of trying to thrust in a straight line?

Force is cause. Applying force results in movement. Angular momentum is effect. Mass moving about a fixed point has angular momentum. Applying force (cause) results in the club acquiring angular momentum (effect).

Very nice, Steph. That concise explanation helps us all.

Bucket, with Steph's description in mind, think of pushing a playground merry-go-round into its rotating motion. The straight line thrust (force) causes the merry-go-round (the mass rotating about a fixed point) to acquire its rotating motion (and hence its angular momentum).

The straight-line 'push' is against the centripetal force of the merry-go-round's fixed structure, and as a G.O.L.F. analogy, is a Hitting Motion.

Similarly, the identical angular momentum could be created by turning the axis of the merry-go-round, thereby inducing a centrifugal force and its 'pull'. This is analagous to the Swinging Motion.