TELL TATHATA | What is your favorite movement or set of pictures from the greatest golfers and athletes video on day 8? Were there any pictures or movements that surprised you?

[Tathata Staff]

[Sheldon]

In the Hugs to Finish Movement does the head stay back on the ball as long as possible as you move into the finish position? Isn’t the finish position the old reverse “C” which is harmful to the hips.

Thanks
Sheldon

[Tathata Staff]

Sheldon,

You are correct in noticing that this position looks much more similar to what is commonly understood as a slight reverse “C” position at the finish. It is vitally important that the ribs, chest and glutes are as up and pushed forward toward the target as they can be at the end of this position. The feeling is very similar to the feeling of the superman pose from the stretching routine. You will notice in this pose that the arms are reaching to the front of the room while the feet reach to the back of the room. If you can translate this feeling to the end of the hug to finish movement, you can be assured that you are moving in as safe and injury free motion to the finish of your golf swing as you possibly can be.

[ted]

my favorite pictures were of ben hogan whom i am convinced was the greatest golfer of all time. why

you ask? because his legs were crushed against a dash board as the result of he and his wife being

hit head on by a bus. the swing comes from the legs. regardless, hogan recovered, and then went on to win

all of the three majors he entered in 1953. i never saw him play live but i’ve read that most pros say

he struck the ball more solidly than anyone ever did.

[ted]

my favorite movement is the surf board analogy which is the best description of achieving a balanced

pre swing sensation.

[Shonn Arndt]

Have to admit, I was excited to get to the pics of the greatest golfers and really like how you tied together the moves with the swings!

Big Hogan fan since he still holds some course records and I am the same build (short with long arms) and he still holds some key course records. The biggest surprise, however, was Jack Nicolas…when you see him swing full speed, his lower body looks like he’s “dancing”. Interesting to see at key moments in the swing, he is in all the right places! No wonder he was so good.

[Robert]

It is apparent that the forceful thrust of one’s hips up and forward into a reverse c or crescent is an extremely powerful move. This also puts multiple joints past neutral joint alignment: knees,ankles,hips,spine-secondary axis tilt. Nicklaus, Palmer, Watson have ALL had their hips replaced. Woods-bad back, lead knee. Growing up with their swings, I learned this powerful hip thrusting reverse c resulting in my left hip being replaced before my mid sixties. Is this only a young man’s swing? How can one do this beautiful technique properly and maintain joint health and golf longevity?

[Tathata Staff]

Thank you all for the replies and comments.

Robert, great question on this powerful move and finish position. Not only did this position help all of these players maximize their club head speed but as you are learning in the program it really helps to keep the club face “safe” and not closing too quickly. To execute this with less pain and more longevity, we would recommend you feel how this position mimics the last movement in the stretching routine, the superman pose.

You will notice that during this pose the feet stretch to the back of the room while the hands, head and upper spine reach to the front of the room. If you can imagine this translating to the slight crescent shape at the finish position, your head, spine and upper body are as “up” as you can get them. Almost all ailments are caused by the head and spine not being “up” and fully pressed forward. Be sure too that you are squeezing your glutes together and that they are tucked up and underneath your upper body and fully pressed forward as well. This should help ensure you are moving into this position in the healthiest way possible for your body and avoiding the potential for any ailments along the way.