Pushing down of the arms & hands

[Robert]

Just finished Day 14 and there is a lot of good information so far especially starting in Day 11. I play to a 8.6 handicap with good athletic ability and have been playing for 35+ years. Would it be correct to have a feel of the traps in my shoulders the catalyst for pushing my arms down and wrists down during this particular movement? I have been a player that has a “late wrist hinge” and it feels strange to me when the wrists are set early in the swing.

[Tathata Staff]

Hi Robert,

You are going to want to watch the deeper discussion on the takeaway that sits on Day 17. This is located below that day’s lesson video in the online version of the program. This will bring more clarity to the takeaway as a movement to build strength and leverage. From this perspective, each and every takeaway should match the shot at hand. In most cases, it is quite alright to have a late wrist hinge in the golf swing. We want to create strength and width in the backswing and you will come to find that there is a difference between the wrists being hinged independently and the wrists hinging as a byproduct of the hands and arms pushing away from a strong and centered body.

Thanks again for the question Robert and being a part of the Tathata family.

[Robert]

Thanks for the response back and the 10 minute Daily Extra video Bryan did with the martial arts weapon and 6 lb. ball brought everything together for me. I was actually doing the movements wrong until I watched that video. It is an excellent explanation of the movement incorporating the body movements of lifting the ribs and sitting into the glutes while pushing down of the hands & arms. My last 2 rounds of ball striking have been a lot more consistent because of this video. Thanks a bunch!!

[Tathata Staff]

Great to hear this Robert, thank you for providing this feedback!

[Chester]

Robert, I don’t think I’m as good a golf athlete as you are, but I had an interesting experience with the knowledge I’ve acquired up to Day 12, which, of course, includes “pushing down with the arms and hands. I did not hit any balls, but I did swing my new Tour Striker 8-iron training club using some of the techniques I have learned. I gripped and set up according to Tathata and made sure that I stuck my butt out a bit and lifted up with my sternum. I also concaved my back a bit, and then, took three swings. On all three, I focused on pushing down a bit with my arms and hands. The results were in sequence: 1) a six inch long, deep excavation about a foot behind the ball, 2) a light brush of the grass with a pull divot, and 3) a sweet divot in the correct spot pointing directly at the target. I hadn’t swung a club in three weeks, but two straight at the target divots is good news to me. One perfect divot, straight at the target is music to my ears.

[Chester]

Day 16 is a terrific review. One move that I forgot is to “push the right elbow toward the stomach on the backswing move”. I screwed up every shot on the driving range until I began tucking a driver head cover under my right armpit. Within a few shots, I began hitting the ball dead straight, right at the target. I have no idea if that made me mimic the push the right elbow towards the stomach move, or not, but it sure helped. In addition, I felt as if I was following through by extending the right hand toward the target. I know that is wrong because my divot pointed left of my ball flight. When I came home, I took a few practice swings and studied my divot; I soon learned that if I drew my right foot further back, I’d make a perfectly straight divot. I’m going to video tape myself to see what I’m actually doing. I’m sure that I should be doing that “arm turns with the body thing”, but whatever I’m doing, the ball is consistently flying dead straight at the target. I did well on the test – only got 2 or 3 wrong, but I’ll have to check my video to see what I’m really doing. One thing is for sure, I’m getting better & I’m getting more confident.

[Ronnie]

Played a round today. Was 5 over on the front and spraying the ball all over the course. On the back side I started making an effort to push the right elbow forward on takeaway plus the feel of pushing the arms together in the backswing. My ball striking improved immediately with woods and irons. Hit everything pretty solid and shot even on the back. Just finished day 13 and am learning things I have never heard. Been playing 35 years and more excited than ever to continue learning.

[Tathata Staff]

Hi Ronnie,

Thank you for sharing and posting your feedback here for our staff and the Tathata community to see. We love seeing students starting to self-assess themselves and know exactly what’s going on if they happen to hit an errant shot. This is the intention of the program and to create a foundation where the assessment and enhancement is very minimal and simple to do.

Thank you again for sharing!