Ch. 2 – Hands & Arms Movements – Movement 8

[Jonathan]

In movement 8 – “Half/way Back Loading” – it states in the assessment materials that “Is the club shaft pointing at the target-line? (line between the ball and the target)”. What exactly does this mean? In movement 7 – Front Arm Punch – the front thumb is pointed directly up in the sky, so this would make the butt end of the club point directly down to the ground at a line directly on the front of the shoes. This would seem to be very steep from a traditional golf standpoint, but Nicklaus and Bubba are pretty much straight up and down with the shaft in this position. Is this what is right for the position per Tathata training, or is the butt end of the club supposed to point between the toe line and the ball? I know the video says it doesn’t matter and the down the line view shows something roughly pointing at the ball, but I just want to make sure that I am practicing the correct position. Thank you.

[David]

Hi Jonathan,

It looks like I may have come up a little short on this one, too. In general, the butt of the club will point between the feet and the ball line. Once you progress further in the program, especially in the pressure section, this will all become much easier. Like you, I had LOTS of questions and really dug around a lot to find answers. Keep it up! Hopefully this video will help in some small way.

Student Q & A: How the Shoulders Move in the Back Swing

[Bryan]

In the hands and arms movements does the right elbow move toward the target and under the right should and at what point does this happen. Is it before the club gets parallel to the ground. When I focused on moving my right elbow into the body I felt like getting on plan but also felt like was really cocking early which I think was resulting in random shanking during the round. Any advice would be much appreciated because I feel like this right elbow position is crucial just not clear when and where it should be moving relative to the takeaway.

[David]

Hey Bryan – Mr. Hepler has made a video just for you! 😉 The program doesn’t exactly prescribe a specific position for the back elbow but instead speaks to how to move with strength. Let me know if this doesn’t answer your question. Honestly, I wasn’t exactly sure if you were talking about back swing or coming into impact. Regardless, this should help.

Student Q & A: Pressurizing the hands & arms to the top of the swing