What in your opinion was the worst advice or tip or instruction that you received or that is just generally accepted in the golf world?
For me, it was the "impact is a return to address position" dogma. Turned me into an instant flipper requiring exquisite timing to be effective. I became overly aware of the clubhead and remained so until finding this forum.
I started playing golf in my early 20's in 1981 and from what I know now, was pretty much a natural "hitter" -- standard tee shot was a 3-wood off the deck...just hit down and to the right and it went. Sort of baseball on an inclined plane. Probably a pretty good RFFW. Then, I started reading golf magazines and the like and discovered that I'd been doing it "wrong."
I had always wondered if impact looked like a lower case "y" or an uppercase "Y." Since most at address look like "Y" and you were supposed to return to that (and with your hips not open to boot), well, we all know that that leads to. I like what Martin Hall said on his show about swings should be sequenced (hips, then shoulders, then arms/hands) and not synchronized (everything arriving at same location).
What was your "bad instruction" and what did it do to you?
Low and slow and straight back from the ball.......Steering in other words. And its sister move Rock the Triangle with its frozen right elbow. Id say this set me back 20 years . 20 years Ill never get back , all thanks to Jimmy Ballard and his line of thinking as supported by the golf magazines of the day. I normally wouldnt name the culprit but......if it saves one golfer from my plight its worth it.
In modern times Id say the towel under the arm pits is a terrible drill. How TGM r types can embrace this is beyond me. They missed a big concept from Homer. Its pivot to hands on the way back and through the ball too. In Startdown it would be ok, when the left arm is pinned to the chest but thats about it. Its a recipe for the pivot to drag the hands in the direction its going. To say nothing of the loss of power. So other than geometry and physics its an ok drill. The arms must swing independent of the Pivot in Startup and post Startdown. See the glossaries definition of Pivot for some food for thought. See Force Vectors, 2-N-1 and see how the pivot and arms move in different directions and the clubhead orbit is resultant. Cant do this with a hanky under your arms.
Actually as I think about things the towel drill and "connection" might be not so distant relatives. Gentlemen, relax, free your arm to pivot connections at the shoulders and watch your shots soar long and true. For a good anti drill , put a towel under your arm pits and try to function normally around the house , maybe do the dishes (your wife will like this)........but please dont do this drill while driving your car.
Keep your head down.
That return to your address position idea got me for 30 years!
I am right there with you...gave up the game for about 10 years because I was just too inconsistent. I remember Bobby Clampett and TGM from back in the day -- oh how I wish I'd bought the book!!!
Low and slow and straight back from the ball.......Steering in other words. And its sister move Rock the Triangle with its frozen right elbow. Id say this set me back 20 years . 20 years Ill never get back , all thanks to Jimmy Ballard and his line of thinking as supported by the golf magazines of the day. I normally wouldnt name the culprit but......if it saves one golfer from my plight its worth it.
While I did NOT buy Homer's book, I did unfortunately buy Jimmy's book. Between the "connection" issues and the installation of a darn near permanent sway in my swing I think Jimmy owes me a few years of my golfing life back!
Several of my fav's have already been mentioned, but who can forget Five Lessons and the arms banded together with the elbow pockets up? Ugh. It gives me the "creeps" to even look at it!
Compare the illustrations below to clearly differentiate what he said to do with what he actually did.
You can also consult my avatar (personal identifier on this post) for the correct configuration.
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