Secrets of Owning Your Swing: The Revolutionary Power3 Golf Approach

Contents

Using This Book

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Part One Setting the Stage

Chapter One The Journey

Chapter Two The Golfer’s Story

Chapter Three The Game’s Fundamentals

Chapter Four Hitting, Throwing or Swinging?

Part Two Accuracy

Chapter Five Swing Path

Chapter Six Swing Track

Chapter Seven Wrist Lever Action

Chapter Eight Lever Delivery Action

Part Three Power

Chapter Nine Swing Anchor

Chapter Ten Torque System

Chapter Eleven Clearing Action

Chapter Twelve Axis of Symmetry

Part Four Good Feel

Chapter Thirteen Swing Linkage

Chapter Fourteen Swing Slotting

Chapter Fifteen Postural Release

Chapter Sixteen Arc Management

Part Five Techniques, Methods & Myths

Chapter Seventeen The Biomechanics of Ben Hogan’s Technique

Chapter Eighteen Tiger Can Own His Swing

Chapter Nineteen The David Duval Saga

Chapter Twenty Continuing The Journey

Glossary Of Terms

Using This Book

As we begin discussing the Secrets of Owning Your Swing, we are going to start with an overview of the Power³ Golf (pronounced Power-of-Three Golf) approach. And we will do so by studying the 12 biomechanical features that make up the approach. While examining those features, it is important to understand that each one has three options, and only one of those options matches your body type. Once you truly understand each feature and which options fit your unique body mechanics, you can then develop the golf swing that suits you best. The golf swing you can OWN.

The Power Golf approach is a comprehensive study of how body structure influences the mechanics of the golf stroke, and as a result, you will need to make a commitment to study the terms and concepts used to explain the approach. I strive to use ones that are reader friendly, yet at the same time adequately portray the scientific nature of the topics being studied.

Each term has been chosen for a very specific reason, and the more you understand the approach, the more they will make sense.

Once the terminology is understood, the process will seem simpler to grasp. Some people fall into the trap of trying to figure out how to apply the information before they remember the terms and understand the process. Doing so is a grave mistake, because the Secrets to Owning Your Swing are being revealed in this overview, and they must be understood before you can apply them.

So be patient with your studies. Make a commitment to first learn the terms being used. Use the glossary of terms in the back of the book whenever you feel it necessary. And keep an open mind-set so you may have the best opportunity to understand the Secrets Of Owning Your Swing.

Lastly, you will notice that there is a clear column on the side of every page. It has been organized specifically so that you have room to take notes and write down your thoughts as you read this book. I hope you find it useful and convenient in your study the Power3 Golf approach.

To get the most out of this overview,

I suggest you follow the guidelines listed below:

1st    Study the information with the intent of understanding each of the 12 features independent of the other ones. And that will involve learning the terms and definitions that describe those features and their options.

2nd    To acquire a thorough understanding of the whole process, I recommend you first read this book in sequence from cover to cover. That will help acclimate you to its general feel and organization. It will also introduce you to terms and concepts with which you may be unfamiliar. Reviewing them in that manner is a better way to start the process than trying to completely wrap your mind around them right from the start.

3rd    During your first read-through, I recommend you use the space on the side of each page for notes, or keep a notebook handy, to jot down things that come to mind. There is a glossary of terms in the back of the book to help clarify those with which you are unfamiliar.

4th    During the second read-through, I recommend you commit to understand thoroughly what is being presented to you. That means thoroughly understanding each of the 12 features as well as the three options related to each feature. Once again, jot down things that come to mind as you study them.

5ft    As you continue your in-depth study of the Power3 Golf approach, you will notice that examples of each feature and option are supported by examples of professionals who utilize particular feature/option combinations. There will also be examples of pros who fail to use the feature/option combinations that fit their individual needs. But in the end, those readers who use the feature/option combinations that fit their particular needs will play well, ho employ feature/option combinations that fail to fit theirs will struggle.

Acknowledgments

I would like to give special thanks to the following people for their constant guidance, support, friendship and generosity throughout the development of this book as well as my teachings and career. Their contributions to the quality of my life have largely influence my approach to the game and the development of this book:

My Father for setting a good example for me to follow. In doing so, he introduced me to the game while instilling in me patience, etiquette, sportsmanship and a true love of golf.

My Mother and the rest of my family for helping forge through the trying times of my career. They all know how important it has always been for me to keep my dreams alive.

My partner Dick McConn for believing in me and choosing to support the approach I have spent a lifetime developing. He has become a true friend and mentor, and it is because of his encouragement, assistance and backing that this book has come to life.

My writing colleague John Steinbreder for helping me organize this book into an organized and accessible form so that all golfers can easily grasp the Secrets of Owning Their Swings.

My Friend Joe Olvey, for taking the time to photograph all the pictures needed to make this book possible. And more so for simply being one of those friends who is always there for you when you need someone.

My Friend and colleague Matt Hall (Director of Golf for the Turtle Bay Golf) for allowing us to use his facility to take the spectacular photos used throughout this book. Turtle Bay Golf is True Hawaii!

My Coach and Friend Fred Shoemaker whose guidance has helped open my life to what’s truly possible. Along the way, he has taught me what real coaching is all about.

Michael Murphy and Timothy Gallawey for giving us all with Golf In The Kingdom and The Inner Game Of Golf. Their works have provided tremendous insights into the nature of the game we dream of playing. With the introduction of their approaches into my life, my game has always journeyed down a path that has been anything but traditional and ordinary.

My fellow golf professionals Greg Nichols, Dean Wilson, Stan Souza, Keith Kollmeyer, Kuniko Yada, Mark Wurtz, Chad Fribley, Josh Persons, Larry Stubblefield, Tad Fujimaki, Ronnie Castillo Jr., Regan Lee, Beau Yokomoto, Kevin Hayashi, Casey Nakama, Leland Lindsay, Jeff Ferry, Britney Choy and Masa Ishikawa for their continued friendship and inspiration. They have all made me a better coach and person simply by continuing to be a part of my life.

All my students who have continually re-committed to the Journey. For they have taught me much about myself, coaching and how to apply the Secrets of Owning Your Swing.

Lastly, to Homer Kelley for providing us with The Golfing Machine. Since I was a boy, it inspired me to studiously investigate the golf action in an effort to truly understand how each and every golfer can come to own their own swing.

Foreword

By Richard D. McConn

The Power³ Golf system of

biomechanics provides you the

secrets you need for owning

your golf swing.

Foreword

By Richard D. McConn

Several years ago I received an excited phone call from tour professional, Mark Wurtz. Mark knew I was an avid student of the game and had struggled for many years with my golf swing.

As an international businessman working mostly in countries with more sand than grass, I had decided to feed my love for golf by taking along a book or two on swing theory during my trips. Unable to play at these locations, I thought I could at least learn the proper swing concepts and apply them when I returned home.

Little did I realize that after going through almost 300 books and thousands of articles on the subject, I would be more confused than ever.

Back to Mark’s phone call; He had been struggling for years, having seen numerous swing gurus but finding no one whom could really help him.

Working his way to Stage One of Q-school that year, he had bumped into Edward A. Tischler, a San Jose pro/instructor. Mark told me that Tish (as many of the pros call him) not only understood the golf swing better than anyone but also had the best eye for it.

He could identify the faults of someone’s swing quickly and with great accuracy. Mark went on to play some of the best golf of his career after working that week with Tischler and easily moved onto the next stage.

Mark’s call led to an initial meeting with EA, and we played a number of rounds of golf together in Hawaii, a place where he had taught for many years before migrating to the San Francisco Bay Area. We had several long dinners after those games, discussing swing theories and the swings of successful PGA pros and those who had fallen from the top to the bottom, such as David Duval, Chip Beck and Ian Baker Finch. EA’s explanations were clear and truly amazing as I compared his analysis against all of the swing thoughts I had read over the years. Even though he understood swing theory, he had even a more refreshing and logical approach to teaching the swing.

You see, EA believes that advocating a one swing fits all theory is faulty. Instead, he believes there are many different ways to swing a club properly because each person is different due to body structure, type, shape, weight distribution, strength, past injuries and even the way they think of the game. In EA’s views, all of those factors contribute to each person’s swing characteristics. So, he watches and analyzes your swing and then tells you what kind of swing you have. Even more importantly, he can determine that type of swing that is best for you based on your body mechanics and your athletic attributes.

There is a set of measurements EA uses to make his determinations. A good case in point is the pivot. By the pivot, I mean the balance point that each one of us swings around.

In my case, EA determined me to be what he calls a front anchor golfer-in other words, my best pivot point is my left hip. Just knowing that allowed me to get rid of all past instruction confusion that told me to load significantly into my right leg and hip in the back stroke.

With all that traditional instruction I constantly got stuck on my right side and would rarely get back to my left side, and I always wondered why. Eureka! With EA’s help, I was able to stabilize my swing and eliminate a bad move that I tried to perfect for years with little or no success. (And the process to learn how to establish one’s anchor takes approximately 15 minutes.)

Now, keep in mind, when I mentioned that loading the right side was a bad move, I meant it was a bad move for me. As EA has so clearly shown me, there is a best swing for each and every one of us.

And that swing is based on our body structure, or body mechanics. He has devised a way to determine how each golfer’s biomechanics are organized and after testing you can definitively tell you what you are. For example, as I stated earlier, I am a Front Anchor Golfer. You may be built to be a

Front Anchor golfer like me, or you may own Rear Anchor or even Center Anchor characteristics.

I could go on and on about the teaching myths I suffered through before I met EA. His knowledge and explanations have given me a solid foundation and knowledge of my own swing for the first time. Oft repeated rules of the golf swing such as the toe of the club must point straight up when the club is half way back or straight down when at the top of the swing, just are not true.

After understanding EA Tischler’s analysis, you will see what fits you personally and be able to avoid many of the fallacies and improper lessons that are out there.

I must warn you that while this is an excellent book, it will take some effort to digest. This is mainly because EA will be opening your mind to concepts that are relatively new to the golfing world. Though they have been employed by the game’s great professionals since the game originated, they have yet to be explained with such detail and precision.

Despite the conventional attempts to make the golf swing as simple as possible, swing mechanics and biomechanics are complicated. However, there are many basics, such as learning your anchor point and the proper downswing slotting, that can be easily understood.

As a matter of fact, each of the biomechanical features he has identified are easy to understand and train individually. The true difficulty in learning comes from getting past all the ideas we have been bombarded with over the years. I might add that EA Tischler is one of the most available and affable instructors in the world, either through his web-site, his blog, by telephone or by taking lessons in person.

In 1969, Homer Kelly published the first addition of The Golfing Machine an extremely complicated book on golf swing mechanics. I read it five times and never understood it. EA Tischler read it when he was 13 and immediately had a firm grasp of the books major concepts. EA’s knowledge and simplified explanations allowed me for the first time to understand what Kelly was saying in his very scientific way.

Kelly had developed a vast knowledge of golf swing mechanics but it took Tischler to explain it to me. Additionally EA explained to me that the swing mechanics that Kelly explained were applications that needed to be performed by our body mechanics. Thus it is our biomechanics that determine the structure of our golfing machines! And since we all own a unique pattern of biomechanical features, we each own a unique golfing machine.

For all of you who strain to comprehend the golf swing, improve your game and enjoy the golf experience more, this book will open your mind to totally new dimensions of understanding. Simplifying complicated issues is one of the keys to life, and here is your opportunity to do that with the golf swing. EA Tischler’s analysis and approach provide us an insight that has never before been presented.

Enjoy studying the process and I urge you to commit the time needed to understand the Secrets of Owning Your Swing so that you can experience the type of game you desire.

Dick McConn

Power3 Golf biomechanics will

help you understand how your

body is built and what type of

swing techniques fit your best

style of play.

Introduction

Secrets Overview

Power3 Golf has identified 12

biomechanical features that

relate to the human body.

Each feature has 3 options and

only one of those options fit

you.

Introduction

Secrets Overview

One of the most desirable goals in golf is to own your swing, and understandably so. If you own your swing, you can play your best. And I would bet that is something every player desires.

The problem is, golfers have had a difficult time finding a comprehensive instruction system that makes owning a swing an attainable ambition.

That has changed, however, with the development of the revolutionary Power³ Golf approach. Based on the concept that the ideal swing is one that best fits an individual’s unique body type, it goes well beyond simple consideration of whether a player is tall or short, skinny or fat.

Rather, it looks at all aspects of a player’s anatomy and physiology, while it also identifies his biomechanical needs and limitations. By doing so, the golfer is able to develop an optimum swing, one customized for the individual, and then come to own it.

To truly own your swing, you need to understand how your body functions in a variety of ways and for a multitude of tasks. As far as the swing is concerned, your body’s mechanics are constructed to work most efficiently with a particular combination of biomechanical features.

Discover the ones that fit your physical make-up best, and you can truly own your golf swing-and finally begin to play the best golf of your life.

The primary purpose of this book is to overview the Powef Golf approach in such a way to give you a clear understanding of how each of the 12 biomechanical features plays an important role in the process of owning your swing. Our secondary goal is to inform you of the three options related to each feature. Knowing you have options, and knowing that there are options best suited for your needs, can be powerful assets as you develop your swing. In doing so, the book will lay out the secrets of owning your swing while

e  stablishing the foundation needed to develop those secrets. Our third goal is to understand how these 12 biomechanical features are at play in the actions of all golfers, and we will study the swings of three great players to obtain a more clear idea of the roles they play.

Part One of this book will set the cornerstones for learning the secrets. Part Two will lay out the secrets that relate to developing Accuracy, Part Three will explain the secrets related to producing Power and Part Four will unveil the secrets related to sustaining Good Feel.

Then, in the last part, we will examine the swings of Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods and David Duval and shed additional light on their body mechanics and how they relate to the Po wer3 Golf a p p roac h.

With Hogan, we will simply break down his famous swing. With Tiger, we will show how the world’s greatest player can truly own his swing. And with Duval, we will detail biomechanical considerations that influenced his hard and fast fall from golf stardom-and how regaining his own true form is helping him find his way back.

The journey to mastery requires a comprehensive understanding of the game as well as one’s self. The process is time-consuming largely because finding the information necessary to complete a plan for your specific needs can be a difficult task. There are literally hundreds of teaching theories and philosophies, so the question becomes: which ones are right for you.

Another factor that adds to the enormity of the effort is that human beings require some 6,000 repetitions to internalize a habit. Imagine how many repetitions you perform on a daily basis, and you can make the basic calculations as to how long it will take to internalize just one of the required habits. In all, these habits involve the 12 biomechanical features, the game’s five fundamental aspects, and about half a dozen applications for executing the skills. Then, of course, you need to round out your skills with all putting, stroke-saving, and partial shots.

As you begin your quest to understand the secrets found in the Powef Golf approach, keep in mind that the study is comprehensive in many ways, yet it is also a work in progress. The more an individual studies a subject, the more he or she realizes there is always more to learn.

It is important, then, to undertake this endeavor in a way that allows present learning to clarify past understandings while also illuminating new truths.

Since I was a boy there have been countless theories introduced that claimed to have found THE METHOD, in other words proposing a universal system that answers all the needs of every golfer. The truth is, it is impossible to validate that claim.

One method systems often fall prey to the illusion that they have all the answers because they have the answers for assembling one particular type of action. And people are often quick to buy into such assertions, because human nature often compels us to believe in universal truths. However, the validity of one method only confirms that that particular method is valid for some people. It is a much different claim to say it is recommended, or even valid, for all. The fact is, one-method systems only provide solutions for one particular type of swing. And the only way you can benefit from that is system is if it fits your unique body mechanics.

History has proven that the greatest golfers of each generation utilized actions that were distinctly different from each other’s. As a matter of fact, it is extremely rare to find two players who have strokes that look exactly alike. Even golfers working with the same coach tend to have distinct techniques. This is because we all come in different shapes and sizes, and as a result, our strokes develop in their own unique ways.

Does this mean the game is void of standards that can be understood and used as cornerstones of developing a dependable technique? Though our individual body mechanics are indeed unique, there are still fundamental aspects of playing the game. And long ago, I made the commit to focus on discovering and studying those standards.

When I turned professional, I decided to name that study the New Horizons Golf Approach, and I did so for two primary reasons. First, the more I learned, the more I found myself expanding my horizons and beliefs about what was possible with the game of golf.

Secondly, it became very clear that true golfers were always looking to reach beyond the horizons of their present games.

Even great players chose to overhaul their games when they seemed to be at the pinnacle of their abilities. Witness Tiger Woods,

a  nd the ways he has revamped his swing in the midst of his extraordinary career. As a matter of fact, professional golfers have often opted to overhaul their games after they have accomplished their greatest playing achievements. I believe golfers do that because good as they may be, they have yet to discover the secrets of owning their swings and their games.

All golfers inherently know they have yet to fulfill their potential. Of course, some settle for less, citing time constraints, financial burdens, and family responsibilities as their reasons. Though these may be valid rationales, many individuals know inside that a greater potential exists. It is simply yet to be realized.

Being that we live a practical existence, as compared to a utopian one, I choose to write to golfers of all aspiration levels as well as those who know they will always honor the fire that burns deep inside. It is easy to inspire those that exhibit great passion. It is much more difficult to inspire those who have lost the desire.

However, if you meet someone who has a few embers still smoldering and if you can fuel those embers with just the right kindling, a spark sometimes starts the fire burning again.

Once burning, it simply needs to be refreshed in such a way to give it purpose, a purpose that will provide constant fuel for lifetimes to come. This is the ultimate goal of the New Horizons Golf Approach. By unveiling truths that are sometimes universal and other times individually directed, we can provide golfers with the appropriate spark.

It is amazing how often I’ve heard instructors prescribing their newest theory as the answer, and they make their arguments convincing enough that golfers still buy into the promise. Quick fixes and new technologies continue to be very marketable because people are always looking for the easy answer.

Hogan’s Mystique is still glorified by the concept that he had a secret that is often construed as the secret. However, Hogan had his biomechanical package, and each golfer needs to realize such a package if they are going to truly own their swings and their games. That is what Power3 Golf is all about.

People tend to forget that it took Ben Hogan over fifteen years to develop his total package, and all of a sudden there is supposed to be one secret. I think otherwise. For example, if you thoroughly study his influential book, Five Lessons The Modern Fundamentals

o  f Golf, you will find that Hogan says each lesson involves one or two fundamentals. So in Hogan’s view, there were more than 5 and as many as 10 fundamentals each golfer needs to learn in order to play fundamentally sound golf.

That is a largely misunderstood concept, as most people perceive Five Lessons as being about five fundamental concepts. And I see such a misconception as proof of how people in general tend to over simplify the process.

Additionally, golfers often fall under the illusion that one magic component will bring their whole game together.

Many times, the last integrated piece is viewed