Loading, Storing and Releasing Energy!

[TwinkleToes]

LOADING, STORING AND RELEASING ENERGY
By: Steve Williams

You know the old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”! Let’s think about that, a picture can be construed as many thoughts or feelings, wrapped up in one package. If we can put a picture in our student’s mind…that effectively conveys the thought that we would like for them to remember, they will have a vivid picture that they can replay at any time.

Kind of like zipping an e-mail. Once a person gets an e-mail that has been zipped, all they have to do is open it and voila, many words…maybe thousands, that were zipped into a nice little package so that the computers involved, didn’t have to send and receive all of the bits of information associated with thousands of words but…just one package as a whole.

You’ve probably also heard the statistics about how much of a speech we remember after one hour, one day, three days or even a week! It is difficult for our students to remember very much of the things we ask them to do unless we can put a picture of what we are trying to achieve…in their mind.

Then they can always call that picture back into their conscious mind and with that picture they have a flood of thoughts that might convey many things that both of you had worked on earlier. Ever tried to convey a thought to a student and they just didn’t seem to get it? Maybe even to the point that you became frustrated. If you can get into their world to paint a picture of what they are familiar with, you might see their eyebrows raise a little as they nod their head, when you relate what you are trying to convey to a picture of something that they understand a little better than they do, the golf swing.

Into their world? Uhhhhh, how do I get there, you might ask? You will get there by becoming familiar with their background. I ask many questions that may even seem to be of a personal nature when I am working with a new student. I ask questions so that I can enter that person's mind and then maybe find out what they do and do not relate to. By becoming familiar with their past, I have a better idea of what they might relate to. I use lots of analogies, metaphors and mental pictures when teaching. Some pictures, virtually everybody can relate to but this process helps me to use things that they are familiar with when possible.

Just think, all they have to do is recall the picture that they have stored in their memory…and they have something that will give them information each time they think of it. Do you notice everything about a picture the first time you see it? Not likely! Each time you look at it, you may see things that you’ve never noticed before.

Correspondingly, each time your student can recall the picture that you’ve put into their mind, they will understand more and more, what you want them to understand. Would they be able to recall all of the things that you associated with that picture if they tried to think of each and every word you had used? Not unless they put the picture back in front of their conscious mind.

I am going to give some examples over the next few issues of American Golf Pro Magazine, which create pictures that you can use to convey thoughts. You might want to call these analogies. Webster’s Dictionary defines “ANALOGY” as follows: resemblance in some particulars between things otherwise unlike: similarity: correspondence in function between anatomical parts of different structure and origin.

In an effort to stir up your minds to become like natural springs that have a never-ending source of enlightenment, I would like to give some examples that I have formed in my mind that aid me in teaching my students.

Amazingly, these analogies that sometimes just seem to jump into my mind out of mid-air…serve to help me to understand things better than I had reasoned in the past. Imagine that, pictures that I have formed in my own mind…further educate me about the golf swing, human nature, physics and the learning process. I am just a normal person with a normal mind, which ought to prove that virtually anybody can experience what I have been experiencing for many years.

Whereby each of you, based upon your life’s experiences such as; your temperament, occupation, hobbies, sports you have played in the past, things that you have struggled with for many years and have thereby learned tremendous lessons…and any other things that go into the creating of your disposition, intellect, interests, emotions and paradigms can become sources of knowledge to us all. That is, if you will share your knowledge and ideas with us.

Sometimes, all we need is a little priming to open up our minds to inspired imagery, concepts and many other thought processes that are seemingly out of reach. I have no doubt that after reading what little I have to offer, many of you will become sources of information to all of us as you open your minds to those images that are the result of your experiences in life. Experiences that make you unique and therefore, able to see things differently than the rest of us.

The first analogy that I would like to use is comparing the golf swing to a compressor and air tank. As I explain this, let your mind create the corresponding pictures. There is a ½” hole where the air can escape on top of the tank. You put a golf ball on top of the hole. Your goal is to shoot that ball as high into the air as possible.

There is a gauge on the side of the tank that will show the PSI of air pressure. The gauge goes up to 100 PSI as…that is the maximum that the tank will hold without risking damage. There are two valves on the side of the tank that will let air escape through the hole in the top where the ball is.

One is a valve that you turn with your fingers; we will call it a “rotary” valve. When turned five revolutions, (which takes about 5 seconds) it is completely open. The other valve is one that you hit with your hand; we will call it an “impact” valve. When you hit it, it will release virtually all pressure from the tank in 1/2 of a second.

You now have all of the facts that you need to send that golf ball skyward. However, there are a few things that you need to consider to send it as high as possible. Let’s think about them.

• You need to load as much pressure as possible…in this case, 100 PSI.
• You will also want to make sure that there are no leaks because leaks would reduce the amount of pressure that is available when you use
one of the valves to release the air.
• You will need to decide which valve you will use.

Can you see how the wheels inside your head are turning as you think about the best way to send the ball as high as possible? This is a simple picture that you can paint with words to your student. Personally, I wouldn’t use this analogy with a beginner unless they are pretty analytical. People can get overwhelmed very easily and decide to work with someone else if you make things seem too difficult to understand in the beginning

You can explain to them that our first goal in the backswing, is to load PSI or…ENERGY! After loading as much as we are able, we want to store this energy until the last possible second before impact. When we do start to release the energy, we want to do it as quickly as possible and we want to release ALL of it. Any energy left over after impact becomes wasted energy.

If I have a student that has made the commitment to invest time in developing a good golf swing, I might use this as a picture of what we will be trying to achieve with their swing over a period of time. They will need to understand that this project is virtually never-ending. The more they refine their swing, the more efficient it will become. You will want to make them aware of four terms that will be used to describe their RELEASE.

 

• EARLY

• LATE

 

• SLOW

• QUICK

For the sake of simplicity, I will be referring to a right-handed golfer. EARLY and LATE refer to the point in the downswing that the release starts. Let’s think of the release starting when the angle of the left arm and the shaft become greater then 90 degrees or more importantly, the cup in the back of the right wrist starts to flatten. SLOW and QUICK refer to the duration of the release.

Let’s think of the release as being finished when the right arm is fully extended and has rotated past the left arm. If the student doesn’t accomplish both of those in the swing…they didn’t finish their release. Believe it or not, many people don’t ever finish their release in a swing.

Actually, these examples are just guidelines. The release would be finished before the events that I described take place. Everybody is different and so defining these facts for each person would be relative to that person’s swing characteristics. However, I find them to be the simplest in helping the individual to understand principles of releasing energy in the golf swing.

Now, let’s relate the compressor and tank to the swing. The process of the compressor loading energy into the tank is like the muscles loading torque into the body in the backswing, through shoulder rotation and resistance of the right leg. When you start to turn the rotary valve or hit the impact valve, you have started the release. This is analogous to the person starting to lose the left arm and shaft angle or…the cup in the back of the right wrist in the downswing.

Either one of those is going to leak pressure (energy) out. The rotary valve (slow) is going to have a much longer duration of release than the impact valve (quick). Eventually, the same amount of energy will be released with each valve but the impact valve will send the ball higher because it will release virtually all of it’s pressure in 1/2 second while the rotary valve will release it’s energy in maybe ten seconds or a few seconds after it is completely opened. When the rotary valve is opened, the ball will be propelled upwards but only after the escaping pressure overcomes the weight of the ball. However a certain amount of energy will escape first, since the release is so slow.

Think about this now, the rotary valve will be causing the tank to hiss before the ball leaves and after it is gone. The impact valve, for all intents and purposes, will be silent until the ball leaves and have no sound afterward. Hissing is the sound of energy escaping. Hissing before the ball leaves is energy that will not propel the ball and hissing after, is energy that is wasted since it was not used to propel the ball.

If a person is “chicken winging” the left arm after impact, they would be unable to finish their release. The left arm must provide resistance so that the right arm can transfer energy down the shaft. If the upper left arm does not stay close to the body through and after impact, it absorbs much of the energy that should have gone to the shaft, which delays the finish of the release. This becomes wasted energy since it was diverted along a different path and didn’t make it to the shaft and eventually, the ball.

Let’s make a comparison of a touring pro and a club golfer.

TOURING PRO                                                 CLUB GOLFER

LOADS APPROX. 100 PSI:                           LOADS APPROX. 50 PSI:

Maybe through a good shoulder               Maybe because of a reverse pivot, poor
turn. Correct upper body shift to               shoulder turn and outward bowing of
the inside of the back leg that is                the back leg.
also resisting the turn of the
upper body by maintaining its flex.

VIRTUALLY NO LEAKS:                               MANY LEAKS:

Maybe because of starting the                   Maybe because of starting the down-
downswing with the lower body,               swing with the shoulders, casting the
dropping the right elbow into the              club, changing the spine angle, and
right hip and maintaining the angle          breaking down the left wrist.
in the back of the right wrist and
between the left arm and shaft.

RELEASES ALL ENERGY                           ENERGY STILL REMAINING
AT IMPACT:                                                     AFTER IMPACT:

Maybe from transferring the weight         Maybe from cupping the back of the left
to the left foot, clearing the left hip           wrist, shortening the radius and spinning
and maintaining the radius through        out with the hips.
impact.

I often tell my students that when I see people swing, I sometimes hear a great deal of hissing. I hear it because I have tremendous hearing you see. I like to explain to them that they’ll start to hear it also…now that they know what to listen for.

After understanding this analogy, the student has a picture that they can always refer back to. This picture helps them to understand how ENERGY in the swing is loaded, stored and released. If you happen to video and review their swing with them at the start of your lessons, they will see how their compressor might be faulty. They might see some leaks in the tank.

The point is, they will have incentive to work on things and even be able to see progress clearer because they now understand the principle and therefore the objective of what you want them to work on. They will also see that they can now judge their immediate progress by accomplishing correct positioning and not worrying about how it affects their ball striking.

It is absolutely essential that the student KNOWS that they are progressing. If you cannot show them what to look for, they will judge their progress by how they hit the ball immediately, not by getting into the correct position. This will cause them to get distracted and lose sight of the objective that you two have agreed upon. Remember, they will help you to define the objective by what their goals are, physical limitations, talent and their work ethic.

Make the objective too difficult to achieve by normal means (for that person) and you have made a mistake that you will have to repair at some time in the future. Make the picture clear to them through better communication (use analogies), support them with positive feedback by commenting on things they have overcome and always be willing to LISTEN.

Good golfing!

[iacas]

Before I get into it, you're this guy, right? http://www.thetexasgolfacademy.com/Contact.html

Do you know who I am? It's not a requirement, and I don't say that with any expectation and certainly no deference or anything like that… just a curiosity.

14 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

You’ve probably also heard the statistics about how much of a speech we remember after one hour, one day, three days or even a week! It is difficult for our students to remember very much of the things we ask them to do unless we can put a picture of what we are trying to achieve…in their mind.

I feel my students are able to recall and retain things… because I make sure they understand them, and send them all away with photos, notes, etc. that directly speak to the one or two things covered. Oh, that's important too: keeping the message simple and down to one or two things at most.

Which, if I'm being honest, this post fails to do, because it's about "loading and storing and releasing energy" and yet… we're talking about speeches and retention of information?

12 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

Can you see how the wheels inside your head are turning as you think about the best way to send the ball as high as possible?

Gotta be honest here… I don't see where this is going. The golf swing is not a pressure-filled tank of air.

I get the analogy, but… to what end? The golfer still has to know how to swing the golf club. All this is telling them is that they make a backswing to store some energy, and then they should release it during the downswing. But how? The "how" is where golfers stumble, not the very generic "why."

12 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

Now, let’s relate the compressor and tank to the swing. The process of the compressor loading energy into the tank is like the muscles loading torque into the body in the backswing, through shoulder rotation and resistance of the right leg.

Hmmmm.

Curious as to your thoughts on this topic:

I don't see many top golfers "resisting" with their right leg.

12 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

Think about this now, the rotary valve will be causing the tank to hiss before the ball leaves and after it is gone. The impact valve, for all intents and purposes, will be silent until the ball leaves and have no sound afterward. Hissing is the sound of energy escaping. Hissing before the ball leaves is energy that will not propel the ball and hissing after, is energy that is wasted since it was not used to propel the ball.

This analogy breaks down when you consider that the duration of the downswing is irrelevant, really. The only thing that really matters is clubhead speed at impact. A longer downswing that reaches a higher speed at impact is going to generally work better than a shorter (time) downswing that reaches a slower peak speed at (or possibly before) impact.

Timing is important - you want to reach peak speed at the golf ball, or very close to it, but whether that takes a second or a tenth of a second is irrelevant. Some players will use their arms a bit more, some the rotation of their body more, etc. Some throw out the lag earlier, some later. Some hold onto it too long and achieve less than optimal results that way.

12 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

If a person is “chicken winging” the left arm after impact, they would be unable to finish their release.

So Jordan Spieth is unable to finish his release? What about Zach Johnson? Both are two-time major champions. One chicken wings, the other doesn't but never really "releases" the club by rolling the hands over.

12 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

TOURING PRO                                                 CLUB GOLFER

LOADS APPROX. 100 PSI:                           LOADS APPROX. 50 PSI:

Maybe through a good shoulder               Maybe because of a reverse pivot, poor
turn. Correct upper body shift to               shoulder turn and outward bowing of
the inside of the back leg that is                the back leg.
also resisting the turn of the
upper body by maintaining its flex.

Gotta be honest… I don't see many reverse pivots. I honestly don't remember the last one…

And… I think you're operating on outdated information with the "maintaining its flex" stuff. See the topic I linked to above.

12 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

Good golfing!

In a sentence, what was the point of this post?

[Phil McGleno]

6 minutes ago, iacas said:

In a sentence, what was the point of this post?

"Good golfers are better than bad golfers"?

Or maybe-"I am not here to talk just to repost my content on multiple sites and forums"?

@TwinkleToes-can you respond to some of the points and questions above? Or are you just going to post things like this from time to time?

[Mr. Desmond]

No comment since momma said, "if you don't have anything nice to say..."  I was thinking, and that's always dangerous,  too bad we don't have a twitter type word limit on articles ... just post a link.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Mr. Desmond

[iacas]

3 minutes ago, Mr. Desmond said:

just post a link.

I don't mind too much… if Steve responds here.

If it's a drive-by, then… there's little to no value in that.

[CarlSpackler]

I can't figure out if this post is meant for instructors or an average Joe such as myself. 

[Hardspoon]

I stopped reading at:

2 hours ago, TwinkleToes said:

It is difficult for our students to remember very much of the things we ask them to do

I'll let others address the content, but, @TwinkleToes, I'd suggest you look at the instructional content on TST to review how it is clearly and competently articulated.

You may have the best intentions of helping golfers (both your students and on this site), but if you can't communicate more clearly the quality of the information won't even matter.

[RussUK]

I may be the only one, but i started reading it, then looked back at the "By Steve Williams" bit and thought "hang on, why is caddie giving swing advice?" 

I really need a holiday guys!! 

[iacas]

@TwinkleToes, basically, please discuss things here rather than copy/paste drive-by posting.

The guy who owns this site (me) started it because he loves to talk about golf. Discussions are at least two sided, though.

[TwinkleToes]

iacas, no...I don't know who you are.  I apologize for not posting a link, if that is the preferred method on this site.  The point of the article, is to stimulate discussion and/or, help golfers to look at the process of loading, storing and releasing energy, in a different manner than they might have in the past.  You made a lot of generalizations about what you think I should have done with my article.  I have used this article many times in years gone by, to help other instructors to look at the process in ways that would stimulate their minds to consider things they haven't in the past.  I am sorry that you haven't seen what I have accomplished with the article but I have had many seasoned instructors through the years, to tell me that they saw and understood things that they haven't considered before. Good...that was the intent of the article.  I have also had many of my students to share with me how they finally understood things about the release that helped them to understand the kinetic chain more completely.  Good again...that was my goal.  No, the swing isn't a pressure filled tank of air, but when using analogies of any kind, anybody can pick apart the differences of the systems used for the analogy.  Since this is your site, I will be happy to back off and let you conduct things the way you see fit.  I gave my first lesson over 40 years ago and have worked with beginners, through many touring pros.  My experiences have taught me many things.  One of those being discernment as to when something could be profitable for all involved or not. I could go on and on and on, responding to your questions and comments but without doing it in a way that an open, give and take discussion, face to face, using our voices could be had, it would simply take too long to accomplish.

 

I wish you the best!

 

[TwinkleToes]

I have been nominated plenty of times for one of the top 100 teachers in America list.  I have always just thrown the questionnaire that they ask me to send back to them, in the trash.  I know how political the process is and I don't care to waste my time with it.  In the future, iacas, you'll learn more through the situations you experience, if you can always make yourself see what is being said, through the eyes of the author, so that you can gain context.  Or, you can just work to tear apart whatever they did say, and not learn anything.  I've read some of your articles and I don't have a problem agreeing with much of what you've said, but I could just as easily, tear apart what you've said, if that was my goal.  It always tends to be the young ones who do that sort of thing...always.  My experience in the teaching industry though, has proven to me that anybody can tear down what they want to.  It takes a person with a little more experience to leave the confines of their comfort zones and learn to see things the way they were mean to be seen, so as to learn more about the panorama of the discussion.  Then...after seeing it through the eyes of the author, a better  and more efficient discussion can take place.

 

I wish you the best!

[Hardspoon]

2 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

I have been nominated plenty of times for one of the top 100 teachers in America list.  I have always just thrown the questionnaire that they ask me to send back to them, in the trash.  I know how political the process is and I don't care to waste my time with it.  In the future, iacas, you'll learn more through the situations you experience, if you can always make yourself see what is being said, through the eyes of the author, so that you can gain context.  Or, you can just work to tear apart whatever they did say, and not learn anything.  I've read some of your articles and I don't have a problem agreeing with much of what you've said, but I could just as easily, tear apart what you've said, if that was my goal.  It always tends to be the young ones who do that sort of thing...always.  My experience in the teaching industry though, has proven to me that anybody can tear down what they want to.  It takes a person with a little more experience to leave the confines of their comfort zones and learn to see things the way they were mean to be seen, so as to learn more about the panorama of the discussion.  Then...after seeing it through the eyes of the author, a better  and more efficient discussion can take place.

 

I wish you the best!

[iacas]

10 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

iacas, no...I don't know who you are.

Look around. I do okay for myself in the world of instruction.

10 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

I apologize for not posting a link, if that is the preferred method on this site.

It's not. And so long as you return to engage and discuss, the current method is fine. Just don't turn into a copy/paste drive-by poster.

10 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

No, the swing isn't a pressure filled tank of air, but when using analogies of any kind, anybody can pick apart the differences of the systems used for the analogy.

I think I went a bit beyond just picking apart "the differences."

10 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

Since this is your site, I will be happy to back off and let you conduct things the way you see fit.

The way I prefer things is to engage in discussion and back-and-forth, sharing of ideas, picking apart of ideas, ultimately arriving at a better, deeper understanding. Posting, responding vaguely, and then leaving is not that.

10 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

One of those being discernment as to when something could be profitable for all involved or not. I could go on and on and on, responding to your questions and comments but without doing it in a way that an open, give and take discussion, face to face, using our voices could be had, it would simply take too long to accomplish.

I disagree… but maybe you type much more slowly than I do.  I think there's tremendous value in having the discussions.

2 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

I have been nominated plenty of times for one of the top 100 teachers in America list.  I have always just thrown the questionnaire that they ask me to send back to them, in the trash.  I know how political the process is and I don't care to waste my time with it.

Okay…

2 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

In the future, iacas, you'll learn more through the situations you experience, if you can always make yourself see what is being said, through the eyes of the author, so that you can gain context.  Or, you can just work to tear apart whatever they did say, and not learn anything.

I disagree.

My first reaction is to triage: to quickly determine whether some information has any potential to be worth the time and consideration. I'm reasonably smart, with a solid background in a few facets of golf instruction, and I can do this pretty well. If something can be picked apart in a few seconds or minutes, there's little point in continuing on. If a patient is a goner, better to move on to one who has a chance of surviving.

I'm not going to waste time, for example, discussing the trail knee maintaining flex if it fails both the observation test (i.e. virtually no PGA Tour pros do this) and the science test (what advantages would there be to doing it, biomechanically, etc.). Maybe if someone keeps insisting I'll take another look, but why spend time going down a road you're sure will be a dead end when there are more fruitful avenues to pursue?

2 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

I've read some of your articles and I don't have a problem agreeing with much of what you've said, but I could just as easily, tear apart what you've said, if that was my goal.

That should be your goal - it's what I ask of a lot of my closest friends in instruction. Please do try!

As a scientist (or a guy with a scientific background and degrees), learning "why not" is often far more advantageous than having another voice saying "that sounds about right." Learning that you're wrong about some idea presents an instant opportunity to upgrade. Someone saying "yeah, that sounds right" doesn't do that.

2 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

It always tends to be the young ones who do that sort of thing...always.

Okay… So if I say "it always tends to be the old guys who just teach the same old things they've always taught and who are closed to new ideas and exploration of the concepts they've always held dear… always" is that fair, too?

2 minutes ago, TwinkleToes said:

It takes a person with a little more experience to leave the confines of their comfort zones and learn to see things the way they were mean to be seen, so as to learn more about the panorama of the discussion.

I don't have any comfort zones. I'm constantly questioning everything. If I get two lessons in a row which feel like they have the same fix, I question myself and take another look, or a third, just in case I'm only seeing the second lesson the way it is because of the first lesson.

I don't have a comfort zone… except that I am comfortable exploring, expanding, questioning, and growing.

[David in FL]

1 hour ago, TwinkleToes said:

I could go on and on and on, responding to your questions and comments but without doing it in a way that an open, give and take discussion, face to face, using our voices could be had, it would simply take too long to accomplish.

But this is a discussion forum.  One of the primary benefits to the community is to be able to listen to the discussions that take place here so that we can learn from the discourse between those more knowledgeable than ourselves.  The only way we can "listen" here, is to read what you write.  Wasn't that what you had in mind when you posted in the first place?

[bm85]

24 minutes ago, iacas said:

I disagree… but maybe you type much more slowly than I do.  I think there's tremendous value in having the discussions.

So do I. It's not everyday an experienced instructor swings by with something to talk about. Of course I actually don't know if this guy is really just someone trolling from a high-school or not...

If he'd sincerely prefer to talk-talk, there are ways it could "be profitable for all." Podcast, skype, etc.

[TwinkleToes]

Initially, yes!  I absolutely love discussion. I have certified over 1,000 golf instructors and because of that, I've been asked thousands of questions that I've had to deal with in the last few decades. But, I believe in this case, it would be better to leave this site to iacas.  It is his site and he seems to know how he wants it done.  I will respectfully bow out and wish everybody the best.

[carpediem4300]

3 hours ago, TwinkleToes said:

Initially, yes!  I absolutely love discussion. I have certified over 1,000 golf instructors and because of that, I've been asked thousands of questions that I've had to deal with in the last few decades. But, I believe in this case, it would be better to leave this site to iacas.  It is his site and he seems to know how he wants it done.  I will respectfully bow out and wish everybody the best.

1) Just because you do something alot does not mean your any good at it, I know alot of lifelong electricians who fit this bill,....

2) Iacas was not inviting you into a pissing contest on who "knows more" about the golf swing, he was simply intimating that your posts are very welcome on the site but if you are going to post then stick around to discuss them and dissect them and learn a better understand of how you represent the golf swing theory to non-instructors. For example I read your post and understood the analogies fine but translating that into a swing I see for me would be very "rotational" which might be completely wrong? next person may translate your analogy differently?

[RussUK]

Wow, this poster didnt last long. 5 posts and gone. Is there a record for quickest exit?

Shame really, this could have turned into a really good discussion had the OP been a little more open minded. Still, he may return.