Module #2 student on his way…
Mod 7 soon Graduate:
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Two months into ABS:
[youtube]- YouTube
That is quite the transformation. Club shaft already looks very close to on plane and no goat humping. Get him going on post-pivot acceleration and that flip will be long gone.
Mod 2 student applying the Snead Squat and proper ground pressures.
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Module #3 student:
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What is PV5. I have no idea about this things. I have small knowledge about this things. I hope you will discuss about it in your reply.
Pv5 is our finish position with the club shaft vertical and perpendicular to the ground. In Module 3 we learn to bring our club from the P4 position (club shaft parallel after the ball) to the high finish with a strong pivot.
Module #2 Graduate
Congrats! Great to see!
Feedback from a recent Deck Lesson…
"First off, I wanted to thank you for all the insights into the swing I got out of those couple of hours. I laughed and have shared with many folks your assessment that my swing wasn’t a total disaster! Hopefully it’s getting better.
I wanted to share a couple of things that really helped me that I haven’t seen discussed much on the forums, because as a teacher I love getting insight on what I have done for my students that’s really helped. First was the drill where you had me going from a wide-open clubface at P3 or so and just moving into the finish position you taught. I imagined that the drill is to ingrain the last part of the swing, but it also had another great effect. From that position – which is more open than even Hogan from still shots I have seen!! – when I make good contact the natural shot pattern is a draw. So in my mind it taught me that I could square up the club with no conscious manipulation of the clubface. I have only managed to play a few early-morning back nines, but I already found that the drill took away the anxiety that led to the two-way miss I’d been fighting after the series of band-aid lessons I got a few years ago. So that’s been great.
The other one was the focus on the left shoulder. Other folks seem to concentrate on rotating the hips. I don’t know whether you thought about it this way, but to me that’s genius because if you try to get the shoulder way back the hips “know” they need to rotate – it’s just hard-wired, like if you reach across your body to pass the salt at the table you only worry about what your hand is doing and not your elbow, shoulder, and torso. As a result, now I’m getting a little stuck on my back foot, so now I see where that “fall” move or whatever one would like to call it at transition is really necessary."
JB
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Hello John,
For the past several weeks I have been studying all I could find on ABS and your swing. I’ve spend countless hours every day working on the technique and rationale for your interpretation of Mr. Hogan, yourself and other great ball strikers. My wife thinks I’m nuts. Yesterday I received my refurbished Tempo persimmon woods (They are exquisite) and I also discovered something important. While I was searching “YouTube with your golf swing”, I came across some still images. You said pay close attention to #7. It shows how well you cover the ball either at or through impact. This became a very important visual… I went from swing to hitting starting today
I unboxed my Persimmons and played 9 holes. Prior to playing I was having much difficulty understanding how the hinge works and how tightly the arms are bound to the body. As a swinger in transition not using active arms is a hard habit to break. My notes are clear that the position of the right arm half way down is both fully loaded and in the proper position ( aka Mr Hogan, Sneed and you), but it’s the body and bowing to the 4:30 line that sets the act of hitting in motion. What was missing for me was the rotation of the body to square the club face, not necessarily via the arms and hands,frame #7. This has allowed me to “hold shaft flex”! I finally understand.
Hole #1. I trusted the process, my first drive with persimmon went perfectly down the middle with the fastest ball speed that I have seen since my knee replacement surgeries. I was also able to flight my Hogan blades correctly for the first time. I should receive my button back irons this weekend, (then on to you for adjustments).
Holes 2, 3, 5, 7, 8 and 9 were the best drives squarely in each fairway and as long as I’ve been with any metal driver. The feedback was surreal. On the two par 5’s I hit my 4 wood and 5 wood with precision and amazing ball flight. You are correct “Persimmon Golfers…you will become a better player, develop a more proper swing and beat those Titanium giants”. Amen
I can’t remember enjoying Golf this much, with feedback from each club that has been missing for years.
John, thank you for sharing some of your techniques. I am fully committed to your teachings. I hope to see you in the near future for personal instruction. Once my notes are organized I will send them to you for your perusal and critique.
with joy and admiration,
PM
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Hello John,
I thought you would enjoy this story. Today playing Golf was most enlightening as far as my Golf swing goes. I have been working very diligently to understand the ABS process and foundation. I am somewhat limited as I’ve only digested the forum discussions combined with you tube analysis of your great swing.
Today I was in a transition swing caught between two worlds. On the 11th hole a par 3, my absolutely worst swing in months. I clunked a 5 iron (35 yards short) about 140 yards ( great up and down for par). My playing buddy says those blades seem hard to hit. On the contrary I said, each swing offers the utmost in feedback, good or bad. The poor swing brought to light the following. I was out of position all the way through that swing because:
I missed the slot
Cut across the 4:30 line
Didn't hold the shaft flex
Right hand was overactive.
I knew instantly what my problem was. I Love errors. It usually leads to improvement if one knows what to do. From hole 12 through 18 (after correcting all 4 flaws) I experienced a joy in my Golf I hadn’t seen in a long time. I split every fairway and was at least 20 yards longer than normal. My iron play was positively impressive (beautiful, high 1 yard controlled draws). I had no more than 10 foot putts on each hole to finish my round. Two putts were kick- in birdies.
The point is, it all came together because ABS foundation allowed me to recognise the cause for a bad shot. My W/S button back irons are unbelievable, thank you again for assisting me.
with much appreciation,
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Donald Trump has a model ABS swing imho. He slots it well. And turns maybe the best low and left I’ve seen for an older amateur golfer
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Fake news!!!
I’m afraid I’d have to disagree with this one. His swing looks like an OTT hack to me!
His takeaway is very rolled inside on the way back and while he doesn’t steepen the shaft quite as much as it looks like he’s about to in transition, he definitely goes OTT and has to raise the handle and dump the right arm through impact. His release is to the left, but it’s to the left only because he is OTT…
To his credit, the lower body work looks pretty decent! He is making it work, that’s for sure!
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Disclaimer: I’m not an ABS student, not yet! However, I’ve read the forum with a fine-toothed comb, bought some gear and altered the specs. With great anticipation (and experimentation), I attempted a round with the gear and knowledge I’ve collected on the forum/videos. I was hoping by some small miracle that I would be knocking down the flagstick. Many of my first iron shots were low and right. I encountered a number of “pork chop” divots. It felt like it was impossible to hit the irons left. I did hook a few drivers, which I guess would suggest the stock Spalding Model 83 shafts are too loose. I did hit a few flush, world class irons, surprising enough with the 2-iron. On the #3 handicap hole at my home course, I managed to split the fairway with a 270 yard drive (what a feeling and sound), followed by a purina 6-iron into the wind to about 15 feet of the pin. My putt came up an inch from perfection with 60 year old golf clubs.
My lightbulb moment: NO Shortcuts! The handful of good shots were few and far between, but reassuring. I think it’s my time to sign up for Module #1!
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You won’t regret it ! Cheers
The age of the clubs really isn’t important. What is important are the specs of the clubs. The heavier clubs force the core of the body to do the work and they are much harder to over accelerate. The shafts were thicker and stiffer back then which give better feedback and feel than lightweight shafts. Flatter lie angles put geometry on your side for accuracy by moving the left vector of possibilities to the right… or toward your intended target. The older clubs have less offset which allows you to hit from the 4:30 line aggressively with the pivot rotation and not have to throw your right arm at the ball or flick your hands at the ball to compensate for unnecessary offset.
That being said, the best designed clubs for accuracy were mostly made in the 1950’s - 1960’s. I think 50’s are better. This era supported some of the greatest ball strikers that either played in that era, (Hogan, Snead, Nelson) or where the clubs that juniors were learning on (Nicklaus, Palmer, Player, Knudson, Moe etc)
The only thing technology has improved is with the distance the ball can be propelled with very long and lightweight drivers where swing speeds have increased. This is really long drive contest stuff where accuracy is not important. The problem with the modern drivers regarding accuracy is that the players over accelerate by default because they can. Too light from the top. Once the acceleration is gone or reaches zero… the player loses contact with the tangential pressure in their hands to feel where the clubhead is… so where the ball goes is more of a guess, hope or prayer.
That being said, it’s fine to arm yourself with such a weapon when the hole doesn’t require a laser straight drive down the correct side of the fairway to best open up the angle for the approach shot. Use such a club sparingly. The rest of the game is about accuracy and strategy.
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