Minimalist Golf Swing

The MAGIC MOVE of the MGS Many MGS users think the trick is in the set-up. Some feel it is a wrist-less arms-only stroke which cannot produce power. Some think MGS is counter-intuitive because it requires positions which are not used in other sports. The answer to all of these statements is that MGS WORKS (to a great extent) because of it’s MAGIC MOVE, which is a continuation of the set-up but an important independent part of the actual swing movement. Look at the 2 pictures here: The ‘normal’ swing - which most instructors consider very important and Titleist Performance Institute considers the absence of as one of 12 major ‘faults’. The left side of the body is below the right (in golf terms a steep shoulder tilt of the left side, and in anatomical terms a left lateral flexion of the trunk - both with respect to right-handed golfers).                     Even with no technical knowledge, one can imagine that to un-do this top of backswing position, the body must, at some stage in the downswing achieve 3 things:

1. Unbend the left side so the right side can be lower than the left at impact (because the right hand is lower while gripping the club)
2. Rotate the arms forward from behind the body
3. Drop the arms down so the club can reach the ground

[In anatomical terms, trunk flexion happens in the frontal plane, which at the top of the backswing backs the target. So, the golfer must make the 3 moves described above or find a compensatory move which can being the right side back down and the arms forward of the chest simultaneously. This compensatory move is always a complex one; does not work all joints in their anatomical planes of movement; and is not easily repeatable to the minute level required when a small club must contact a smaller ball while moving at great speed! With the MAGIC MOVE - keeping the right waist, arm and shoulder lower than the left - there are many advantages.

1. No longer are 3 separate moves required to be clumsily ‘rolled into one’
2. The upper and lower bodies remain connected forever, so the lower body can fire at the correct time. This ‘connection’ is the only thing preventing MGS from becoming an all-arms move
3. The wrists are able to set, pre-impact, at the appropriate time - neither too early or too late, while allowing width of backswing through ‘no intentional wrist-set’
4. The right heel remains grounded, and the head stays behind the ball at impact, for more push-off-the-ground power, and fore-arm roll-over, especially with the longer, lighter clubs

Watch out for future posts in the ‘mgs for the pros’ section, which shows how ‘transitional’ moves (going from top of backswing to downswing) are not power-producing but inconsistency-producing! And we, lesser mortals, are expected to copy them!!!!