Bryce Harper's Swing

[dsc123]

Here's an interesting article about Bryce Harper's swing.  Similar to Babe Ruth's, and the video shows his weight shifting almost completely to his front foot.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/sports/bryce-harper-swing-of-beauty/#

Quote:

“What makes him special is the amount of bat speed he can generate, and the amount of rotation that he has, and still stay completely balanced,” Rizzo said. “For me, that’s what separates him. He can generate that club head speed and stay as balanced as he does. I compare it a lot to Tiger Woods’s swing with a golf club.”

[iacas]

Originally Posted by dsc123

Here's an interesting article about Bryce Harper's swing.  Similar to Babe Ruth's, and the video shows his weight shifting almost completely to his front foot.

His "weight" doesn't shift towards his front foot much at all. It's still back at impact.

Weight != Pressure or Force.

This is one of the reasons I don't think comparing one sport to another works very well most of the time.

[Lefty-Golfer]

well i an not an expert on the golf swing...lord know anyone who has seen mine would agree to that. on the baseball side of the swing i am not a profesional but i would be + index for sure. having coached, taken and given lessons, observed video and so forth there are many similarities between the swings.

Bryce Harper is a freak of nature and the way he swings bat is not going to work well for most players, to have the amount of cock in his hands, his shoudlers so far out of rotation with his hips, his load is dramatic and close to 100 percent,  his front arm opens early in his swing....and yet he looks awesome at contact...he is truely in the top 1% or higher! i actually think he would be better dialed bacl just a hair but it is very hard to argue with the results.

Per Issac comment that his "His "weight" doesn't shift towards his front foot much at all. It's still back at impact." his weight is back - but it is also 100 percent transfered to his front side. i don't ever recall seeing a more dramatic move to the ball. the reason his weight is back is due to his stiff fron side, it creates tilt annd allows all the power to go to the end of the bat - think of a whip. just don't get confused with his weight being back as the same as not being transfered...it is transfered in a HUGE way.

i have watched hundreds of pro swings and this is the most dramatic. i would not recommend kids attempting to use it. see link below for what i consider a text book swing for kids to pattern off of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4e7p6nvA6po

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Golfer

Per Issac comment that his "His "weight" doesn't shift towards his front foot much at all. It's still back at impact." his weight is back - but it is also 100 percent transfered to his front side.

His weight can't be back but "transferred" to his front side. That's my point.

I can pick up a foot and put it down again without shifting my "weight" much. His weight is back and stays back, he just happens to let his back foot come off the ground due to the location of pressure/force in his swing.

I'm trying to use the word "weight" very carefully here. Basically, his CG is closer to his back foot than his front foot.

[dsc123]

I knew I was going to get in trouble when I said his weight shifts....

[Lefty-Golfer]

Originally Posted by iacas

His weight can't be back but "transferred" to his front side. That's my point.

I can pick up a foot and put it down again without shifting my "weight" much. His weight is back and stays back, he just happens to let his back foot come off the ground due to the location of pressure/force in his swing.

I'm trying to use the word "weight" very carefully here. Basically, his CG is closer to his back foot than his front foot.

not 100 percent what we are disagreeing on, i do appreciate you are using the word weight carefully. i have no doubt there is a golf swing arguement here that i am unaware of.

what i can from the video is

his left foot is off the ground, his entire body plus his forward movement (his head moves forward a foot or so from the start of swing)  is on his right foot, the only thing keeping him from falling forward is the fact that his front side is stiff, which creates the tilt he is looking for to keep his bat on plane as long as possible while make straight movement to the ball...but in the world i live in he is off his backside, he has trasnfer his weight and by doing so has created massive power thru the lag being unleashed as the angles in his wrist and elbow open up. if done properly his hands will extend towards the pitcher or separate from the body (depends which terminology you prefer) for a few more inches before they start to rise and complete the swing...

if we put a scale under each of his feet and recorded the the readings in real time we would not have any arguement on what is going on with his weight

[Golfingdad]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Golfer

not 100 percent what we are disagreeing on, i do appreciate you are using the word weight carefully. i have no doubt there is a golf swing arguement here that i am unaware of.

what i can from the video is

his left foot is off the ground, his entire body plus his forward movement (his head moves forward a foot or so from the start of swing)  is on his right foot, the only thing keeping him from falling forward is the fact that his front side is stiff, which creates the tilt he is looking for to keep his bat on plane as long as possible while make straight movement to the ball...but in the world i live in he is off his backside, he has trasnfer his weight and by doing so has created massive power thru the lag being unleashed as the angles in his wrist and elbow open up. if done properly his hands will extend towards the pitcher or separate from the body (depends which terminology you prefer) for a few more inches before they start to rise and complete the swing...

if we put a scale under each of his feet and recorded the the readings in real time we would not have any arguement on what is going on with his weight

At the moment Harper is making contact, most, if not all of his pressure is forward.  We're all agreed there, I believe, because his back foot is barely touching the ground.

If I understand correctly, what I think Erik is saying about his weight not being forward is that if you were able to freeze time at impact, where his back foot is basically off the ground, Harper would tip over backwards because his CG - his weight - is still mostly all over his back foot.

I think that is the difference.

[rehmwa]

Originally Posted by Golfingdad

If I understand correctly, what I think Erik is saying about his weight not being forward is that if you were able to freeze time at impact, where his back foot is basically off the ground, Harper would tip over backwards because his CG - his weight - is still mostly all over his back foot.

yes - we've discussed this in other threads.

Eric is being very precise for discussions of this sort to allow a meaningful discussion between the way body is aligned vs the forces acting on the stance.

Weight - being used to describe the static distribution of the player's mass relative to the earth.  it's a good way to simply described the location/positioning and distribution of the body itself

Pressure - odd usage, but the intent is to describe the dynamic forces distributed against the stance of the player during the motion of the swing

is one just accepts those definitions as intended, then it's pretty clear, that for a body in motion, the weights on the stance can be dramatically different than the transient pressures on the stance during a big ol' golf swing

[Lefty-Golfer]

Originally Posted by rehmwa

yes - we've discussed this in other threads.

Eric is being very precise for discussions of this sort to allow a meaningful discussion between the way body is aligned vs the forces acting on the stance.

Weight - being used to describe the static distribution of the player's mass relative to the earth.  it's a good way to simply described the location/positioning and distribution of the body itself

Pressure - odd usage, but the intent is to describe the dynamic forces distributed against the stance of the player during the motion of the swing

is one just accepts those definitions as intended, then it's pretty clear, that for a body in motion, the weights on the stance can be dramatically different than the transient pressures on the stance during a big ol' golf swing

so we are splitting hairs over the terminology? whatever - I can go home and get a ridiculous argument over countless items that are just a matter of terminology.

i think we all agree on what is going with the swing.

[rehmwa]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Golfer

I can go home and get a ridiculous argument over countless items that are just a matter of terminology

really? - that's just like my home.....I suspect that's called marriage.

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Golfer

so we are splitting hairs over the terminology? whatever - I can go home and get a ridiculous argument over countless items that are just a matter of terminology.

That stuff is important, especially when (paraphrasing) you say things like "his weight stays back, but he's transferred all his weight forward".

Actually, to NOT paraphrase, you said this: " his weight is back - but it is also 100 percent transfered to his front side."

The reason to be clear about terminology is to avoid confusion. "his weight is back, but it is also 100% transferred to his front side" is confusing.

[Lefty-Golfer]

Originally Posted by rehmwa

really? - that's just like my home.....I suspect that's called marriage.

LOL you have it nailed - and to make matters worse we are in the process of updating entire first floor...down to the studs with an addition! ugh can't end soon enough!!

Originally Posted by iacas

That stuff is important, especially when (paraphrasing) you say things like "his weight stays back, but he's transferred all his weight forward".

Actually, to NOT paraphrase, you said this: "his weight is back - but it is also 100 percent transfered to his front side."

The reason to be clear about terminology is to avoid confusion. "his weight is back, but it is also 100% transferred to his front side" is confusing.

i get it, you are a very detailed person...i am much more big picture...it is not a right or wrong it is just how you want to define it. i am very content willing to say we agree in principle but can't agree on definition!! LOL

[iacas]

Originally Posted by Lefty-Golfer

LOL you have it nailed - and to make matters worse we are in the process of updating entire first floor...down to the studs with an addition! ugh can't end soon enough!!

i get it, you are a very detailed person...i am much more big picture...it is not a right or wrong it is just how you want to define it. i am very content willing to say we agree in principle but can't agree on definition!! LOL

No offense, but it has nothing to do with being "big picture" or not. You said in the span of one sentence that his weight was back AND forward at the same moment.

That's not "big picture" - that's just confusing. Words have meaning. I don't go around saying "Apples square asphyxiate SD cards while watches scream battle axe" and claim that it's "big picture" because what I'm trying to say is that the flowers are beautiful this time of year in the prairie states.

Words matter. Their definitions matter. It's the entire principle upon which communication is built - that we have a common understanding of the words and their meanings.

[Lefty-Golfer]

Apparently words do matter, I was just reading golf digest and according to them to hit driver longer you need to keep your weight behind the ball but on transferred onto your front to generate power....darn close to spot on what I said

[Ernest Jones]

Not sure quoting Golf Digest is a good way of validating your point.

[Lefty-Golfer]

well it was actually David Ledbetter...but hell what would he know.

http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2013-06/david-leadbetter-secret-to-longer-drives

[Ernest Jones]

Apparently words do matter, I was just reading golf digest and according to them to hit driver longer you need to keep your weight behind the ball but on transferred onto your front to generate power....darn close to spot on what I said

[quote name="Ernest Jones" url="/t/66952/bryce-harpers-swing/0_100#post_848564"]Not sure quoting Golf Digest is a good way of validating your point.[/quote] [quote name="Lefty-Golfer" url="/t/66952/bryce-harpers-swing/0_100#post_848704"]well it was actually David Ledbetter...but hell what would he know. [URL=http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2013-06/david-leadbetter-secret-to-longer-drives]http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/2013-06/david-leadbetter-secret-to-longer-drives[/URL] [/quote] Guys like Ledbetter are one of the reasons why quoting Golf Digest is not a very good way of validating your point. Check out "The Comics" thread on this forum, a plethora of terrible and erroneous advice being published in various rags like Golf Digest. It's like getting medical advice from the bag lady.

[Lefty-Golfer]

So I went to the comics section and what I learned is that Butch Harmon, Johnie Miller, Hank Haney and all of the rest of the guys referenced are stupid, stealing your money and worthless...but the 20 or whatever the number of contributors is in the thread are raising the golf swing to new levels... so the obvious question of why do those guys make millions teaching the best players in the world we the rest of you who are obviously much more informed on the golf swing are posting on an internet forum... wait now i remember - in this thread you don't think the weight in swing referenced has been transfered to the front side - good luck with that.

this is kind of like the movie back to school - where the professor who never ran a business was explaining to the guy who donates building - how to run a business. thanks for the laugh.