Have You Tried the Master Key Instruction?

[JackLee]

“The Golf Swing and Its Master key Explained” By Noel Thomas
Available in both right handed and left handed versions
E-books and Printed Books

I asked iacas to post this book in the Reading Room. He declined because it cannot be found on Amazon, but said that I could post it here. I think it may be sold only by the author. It’s easily found with a Google search.

About 3 ½ months ago, I found a long thread about this instruction in another forum. The thread was mostly positive, so I ordered it. Then my friends that I play with ordered it. My friends and I have had great success with this instruction.

Then I thought wow, this is so easy, and it should work for everyone. But my second thought was maybe not. Everyone is different, so what works for one may not work for another. Even if it would work for everyone, others may have difficulty changing to it because of ingrained habits, or not understanding it correctly, or some other reason.

So, I am starting this thread simply because I am curious.

Have you tried this instruction? If yes, what has been your experience with it?

[Mr.Wedge]

I spent the $6.00 for it and have read it. There is much I do not agree with, but the idea of keying the swing with the lead shoulder is something which can help any beginning or intermediate player IMO.

[DaveLeeNC]

I bought the book and tried it. It just wasn't effective for me. But I can imagine many golfers finding that approach to be helpful.

dave

[jasongst]

I spent the $6.00 for it and have read it. There is much I do not agree with, but the idea of keying the swing with the lead shoulder is something which can help any beginning or intermediate player IMO.

Is that the master key? Guiding your swing arc with your left shoulder? Because a couple days ago I started doing this, in order to remove the focus from my hands (I wanted more lag). It works really well! Of course, you could be talking about something entirely different.

[Mr.Wedge]

Yes it is. The theory is that the lower body will sequence itself just fine provided you maintain leverage in the back leg by keying the entire swing with the left shoulder while keeping the armpit glued. The most salient part of the book IMO. This is not new if you consider Hogan's handkerchiefs and Ballard's "Connection", but has not been emphasized in this manner to any great extent that I am familiar with. I learned this concept from Ballard in 1983 and have found the most difficult feel for a former "arm hands" swinger is the swing radius seems much narrower, but it just feels that way if you have been disjointing from the shoulders. As far as lag goes, just allow your wrists to hinge and unhinge while swinging from the core and you will develop plenty of lag.

[hacker100]

Best description is the baseball bat swing described in the book itself. Not everyone has swung a bat however. Swing the bat at the ball. Simple. Your left shoulder will do the work if you just swing the bat and the rest of the body supports this movement. Mike LaBauve's instruction in his GolfLink videos says this very exact thing but it never stuck with me for some reason. I guess I never rehearsed the bat swing before swinging the club.