Moe Norman’s Lead Thumb – The Long and Short of It

September 4, 2019 by admin

The lead hand grip is more than just where you place the club in the hand. How your place the hand is just as important. If the golf swing were a jigsaw puzzle, I would consider the lead hand position my final piece.

When I first learned Moe’s Single Plane swing, was always intrigued by how comfortable he appeared at address. He was neither relaxed nor was he tense. it seemed that he was both. His lead arm was straight and rod-like as it aligned and extended with the club. His trial arm was straight but more underneath and soft.

The tilt of his body created a perfect alignment of the club to his lead shoulder as he lead arm extended. Much of his lead arm alignment was related to his unhinged or ulnar deviation and lead thumb positioned down the grip.

Here is a picture of the Single Plane address where you can see the extension of his lead arm.

And how the hand is positioned when holding the club.

When the wrist is in the proper position, there should be no stress on the top of the wrist due to the extended lead thumb position. The thumb is long but not extended too far down the shaft. There is a gap between the thumb and the knuckle of the index finger where the fingers are tightly wrapped together under the club.

The extended thumb and wrist position at address translate into the proper hand action at the top of the backswing where the hinge of the hands leverage and support the club.

Another view of the hand position at the top of the backswing shows the pressure in the trail hand as well.

When the hands are positioned correctly they can work together and hinge correctly to the top of the swing. This allows the club face to move correctly where it moves in rotation with the lead arm.

Achieving the ideal lead hand position was the final piece of my Single Plane puzzle. With a little attention to the detail of where you place your lead hand, it might be your final piece too.

You can find out more about the lead hand position and every detail of the Single Plane Golf Swing in my latest DVD product, The Domino Effect – Back to Basics.

The Domino Effect – Back to Basics DVD

Long Game & Short Game Instruction / Q & A

September 3, 2019 by admin

August Instructional Webinar REPLAY

Topic – On Range Q & A Session & Long Game & Short Game

Instruction

To View Webinar Replay: CLICK HERE

CLUB FITTING INFORMATION

September 2, 2019 by admin

By: Tim Graves, PGA

To View Informational / Instructional Webinar: CLICK HERE

Struggle is Your Friend

September 2, 2019 by admin

I hope you have had some great experiences on the golf course this Summer.

However, I know that if you are at all like me, you may be experiencing some struggle in your game right now.

Or, perhaps your game is solid, but you just can’t seem to put it together on the course, or in competitive events – where it seems to matter most.

I totally get that.

Today I went back in the blogs to find this message about struggle and it’s value on our journey to mastery.

Check it out here:

The Sun’ll Come Out…

“It’s always darkest before the sunrise.”

Have you ever heard that before? I have. And honestly, I’m not sure if it’s technically true.

However I think that the metaphor still works for me. It goes something like this:

Occasionally, it seems like we will never emerge from our struggle. While plodding away in the darkness (a metaphor for struggle) things can begin to feel very heavy. And this can cause us to lose hope in ever transcending the darkness (or ultimately overcoming the struggle).

But then something magic happens. After working a long time on something, breakthroughs happen. Insights appear. Hope grows. The struggle ends.

And then the sun comes out. And life is good again.

My wife and I recently spent the weekend in Nashville with our son Kevin who is a young musician and producer. (It was dark and rainy in Nashville…which made me wish for the sun…and partially inspired the idea for this blog.)

For people like Kevin and his peers in the music biz – smart, talented people working very hard on their passions, but having not yet reached the level of success they are aiming to reach one day – the darkness of struggle can be an impediment to realizing dreams.

What is so inspiring about being around Kevin and his music-industry friends though, is that they are so committed to the work that they never stop moving forward. Yes…they are tempted sometimes to compare themselves to others…but the ones who thrive in these conditions are dedicated to the process of improvement. They just don’t get stuck (very often – or for very long) in WHERE they are at any given time. They TRUST in the process so much that in essence, success is already theirs.

Even if it seems dark right now. Even if there is no guarantee that “the sun will out” on their career.

And this is exactly as it should be. Struggle is necessary to grow talent.

Dan Coyle (Author, Cleveland, OH resident and friend to the Moe Norman Single Plane Swing Community) revealed a decade ago in his book The Talent Code the importance of embracing struggle when learning new skills. Coyle references advances in science which show that struggle actually BUILDS and REINFORCES the physical network of neurons in our brain which allow us to successfully build the skill needed to perform at high levels.

(In The Talent Code, Coyle also reveals the importance in practice.)

As you think about preparing for another year of golf, you no doubt may be faced with the idea of struggle as you work on matching the Single Plane Swing model and ultimately plaingy better golf.

Since we never know how long this is going to take – there are many factors and variables to consider – it certainly can seem like the struggle to improve (or maybe just stink a little less?) is never-ending. If you are feeling that, I want you to know that that is ok.

You are exactly where you should be.

Having said that, there are a couple things you can do.

Stop comparing yourself to other golfers. Compare yourself today to the golfer you were yesterday. This is the only comparison that matters.
Reframe the Single Plane Swing journey. Remember that it is not about IF you can get this…it’s only about WHEN. (And then drop any attachment you have to WHEN success will come for you. )
When things get really heavy for you, step outside of yourself and focus on serving others for a little while. (When we operate from the perspective of “service to others,” our mindset is much more positive and productive.)
Enjoy the journey. The small victories.
Know that success is already yours. And remember that growth comes from struggle.

Struggle is what is required for growth. Struggle is what is required to layer your neurotransmitters with the amazing brain protein sheath (myelin) that will make the changes to your swing long-lasting. Struggle in practice is what is required to ensure that you can take your swing onto the course and actually play better.

So if it feels a little “dark” right now. That’s ok. It’s actually supposed to.

With some continued focus, intentionality and practice and maybe a little reframing, the sun’ll come out for you and your swing. I have no doubt.

Have a great week!

-Paul

paul@paulmonahancoaching.com

Body Match-ups and the Domino Effect

August 27, 2019 by admin

Our recent Instructional Series “The Domino Effect, Back to Basics” is an apotheosis of my time in development of the Single Plane 3D – my deepest dive (to date) into measuring the mechanical model of the Single Plane Swing. Single Plane 3D allowed me to quantify the exact positions, called metrics, of the body throughout the swing motion. It also helped me understand body match-ups.

A Match-up is the relationships between body metrics whereby one body movement affects another. For example increasing rotation of the torso decreases the forward bend. Another match-up would be how one body segment affects another. And example would be how increasing pelvis rotation will also increase torso rotation. Understanding match-ups is how the idea for the Domino Effect began.

It becomes overwhelmingly obvious that if you move incorrectly at any point during the swing, you must also proud a “make up” move somewhere in the swing motion. The corrective movements that “make-up” for the mistakes, create inefficiencies. The inefficiencies can devastate golf swings and power. This is why Moe would often stress the importance of what he called “The Purity of Technique.”

It is not necessarily more movement that produces speed. Speed is a result of efficient movement. Great golf swings are powerful because they contain power through efficiency and technique – not effort. One of the most common match-ups can be seen in the movement of the head throughout the golf swing. I am not one to teach that the head stays still throughout the golf swing. Ideal Single Plane Mechanics show that the head should stay in in the same area throughout the backswing and downswing but should move censurably forward after impact. The forward movement of the head after impact allows the torso to continue rotating past the ball – allowing the arms to produce impact and speed at the proper places through impact.

The Domino effect can clearly be observed in the sequence of events through the ball where the rotation of the torso matches the movement of the head. The motion of the arms match the rotation of the torso and so on.

Head movement is just one of the many body motion match-ups evident throughout the swing motion. These match-ups are cause / effect relationships that start at address. To find out more about my latest product that can help you learn the golf swing – from the beginning and avoid costly mistakes, check out The Domino Effect – Back To Basics.