The Big Picture of Biokinetics in a golf swing motion

[Dariusz J.]

So when you say the palms are angled 90 degrees to each other, is that the same as a strong left hand/weak right hand grip? The palms are not parallel though?

 

Yes. The palms are not parallel.

 

Also I am unclear about natural hang. If I hang my arms and then rotate my elbows in to get them pointing to my hips, my hands are no longer apelike and more in an "anatomical position". Will the clavicle be neutral if I have to rotate my elbows to get them to point to my hips (cause I do...they point down the line naturally)?

 

Jackie, the anatomical position is completely unnatural. The palms are facing forward, therefore, both forearms are turned backwards - you could not grip literally nothing. It serves for defining anatomical planes (sagittal, coronal and transverse) that are dissecting the human body in halves:

 

 

 

I have not said anything about rotation of elbows in a free position. If you stand erect and let your arms hang down freely, you will learn that your elbow joints point south-west (LH) and south-east (RH) while your RH palm plane is directed north-east and your LH plane is directed north-west (assuming you are facing north). Other words, the orientation of the elbow joint is parallel to the orientation of your palms.

If you bent from your hips in an attempt to grip a club, you will see that the most natural position of your hands is when your LH is in a strong position and your RH in a weak one, making both palms act at a 90* angle towards each other. Note that e.g. when you want to clap your hands in a fashion that both palms are facing each other you would need to turn both forearms back - i.e. to change the natural position of the whole arm system. The whole trick is to grip the club the way that is closest possible to a natural position of both hands/palms, thus, not changing anything.

 

I am sorry that I can't make it clearer with my English - but I really do try my best. If anyone thinks that pics would help - I'll prepare something tomorrow.

 

Cheers

[Dariusz J.]

Hey Dariusz,

 

What you've done is very informative, thank you very much. I'm not sure if it's been done before, but I (for one) would be very interested in a Biokinetic study of the putting motion. Have you ever thought of doing that? How different variables affect the putting motion from a Biokinetic standpoint, and what the optimal combination of these variables would be?

 

- eye dominance

- stance (open, neutral, closed)

- straight arms vs. bent

- straight back and through vs. arc motion

- putter lengths (regular, belly, long)

 

 

Swats, frankly speaking I have already started to think about biokinetical aspect of putting, but haven't finished it yet, since I have been sacrificing almost all my time to the early elbow plane and the "biokinetic" grip. However, what I can say for now is:

- I am of the opinion that the grip, should be exactly the same as in case of all shots. It would help to avoid messing with the grip at the course; moreover, the "biokinetical" grip is a great one due to the reasons I described in my above post (clavicle bones natural orientation);

- the impact of the eye dominance is exactly the same as in case of full shots, i.e. golfers with a rear dominant eye will tend to open their upper body (shoulders) in relation to the target line; conversely, golfers with a cross dominance may tend to be in a too closed position at address;

- the whole trick, again, is to take off the impact of the arms/wrists/hands out; therefore, the arms shouldn't be straight because the elbow joint can rotate only when the arms are straight; simultaneously, the presetting of the turn of the forearms (exactly the same as in case of full shots) combined with the "biokinetic" grip takes out the impact of the hands/wrists;

- the natural motion is always on an arc; not so emphasized as in case of Utley, but on arc; the face should move parallelly to the swing arc which is hardly noticeable because the backswing/downswing of a putter stroke is very small even comparing to a half-shot;

- I am also a believer, that the spine angle bend should mimic the spine angle bend of other clubs - of course, depending on the length/lie of a club; classic putters are shorter than wedges, thus, the bend must be bigger; I am also believer of counterbalancing in case of putters - and when a golfer wants to benefit from counterbalancing fully, he/she needs to grip the club down a bit; it would make the spine angle bend even bigger.

 

Unfortunately, I have no laboratory system to confirm my theories as regards putting (my Bengston simulator is too weak an instrument). But my motto of creating as automatic motion (for all clubs !) as possible let me formulate the above assumptions concerning a perfect biokinetical putting stroke rules.

When I am ready with something more, I'll not hesitate to post it here.

 

Cheers

[JackieTreehorn]

If you stand erect and let your arms hang down freely, you will learn that your elbow joints point south-west (LH) and south-east (RH) while your RH palm plane is directed north-east and your LH plane is directed north-west (assuming you are facing north). Other words, the orientation of the elbow joint is parallel to the orientation of your palms.

If you bent from your hips in an attempt to grip a club, you will see that the most natural position of your hands is when your LH is in a strong position and your RH in a weak one, making both palms act at a 90* angle towards each other.

 

When facing NORTH I felt that my elbows were pointing almost due WEST and EAST when relaxed, but someone just helped me measure and they do point SW and SE. My right palm faces SW (about 90* to the R elbow) and my left palm faces SE (similarly). Nevertheless this in not pointing to my hip (due SOUTH for both), so I forcibly rotate my arms to get the elbows pointing due SOUTH.

 

I was just wondering if this is preferred biomechanically (as per your reading on the clavicle?). I would think overall it helps synchronize your arms and torso.

[dlygrisse]

Dariuz, in terms of the biokinetic grip and putting....

 

IMO, it helps to use a reverse overlapping grip, and IMO a DOUBLE reverse overlapping grip with the index finger of the lead hand overlapping the ring finger of the trailing hand. To me this helps keep the lead wrist from breaking down. Where as with a standard grip it is easy for the left wrist to break down and the right hand to take over. IMO it does make sense to otherwise hold the putter in the same way as the full swing grip. Your thoughts????

[Dariusz J.]

When facing NORTH I felt that my elbows were pointing almost due WEST and EAST when relaxed, but someone just helped me measure and they do point SW and SE. My right palm faces SW (about 90* to the R elbow) and my left palm faces SE (similarly). Nevertheless this in not pointing to my hip (due SOUTH for both), so I forcibly rotate my arms to get the elbows pointing due SOUTH.

 

Yes, this is correct. When one has already gripped the club, both elbows should be "forced" to a tucked in position (pointing more south, to the hipbone). It is being done sort of automatically when one thinks about presetting the forearms turn at address.

 

Cheers

[Dariusz J.]

Dariuz, in terms of the biokinetic grip and putting....

 

IMO, it helps to use a reverse overlapping grip, and IMO a DOUBLE reverse overlapping grip with the index finger of the lead hand overlapping the ring finger of the trailing hand. To me this helps keep the lead wrist from breaking down. Where as with a standard grip it is easy for the left wrist to break down and the right hand to take over. IMO it does make sense to otherwise hold the putter in the same way as the full swing grip. Your thoughts????

 

A very good post. My thoughts are:

- first, if you use a reverse or double reverse overlap - most probably you use this kind of grip only for your putter. Therefore, it is not possible to have one grip for all clubs, putter included - what was one of main arguments;

- I do agree that a reverse overlapping grip must limit the depth of the lead wrist breaking down because of the LH index finger position; nevertheless, if you use your clavicles as a source of power there are no possibility of any unnecessary wrists/hands movements during the putting stroke; BTW, the "biokinetical" grip per se limits the wrist/hands range of motion since the orientation of the primary importance motion of the wrists (hinging up/down) are not parallel but perpendicular or almost perpendicular. This is also why it's difficult to flip in a full swing, too.

 

Cheers

[swats]

Hey Dariusz,

 

What you've done is very informative, thank you very much. I'm not sure if it's been done before, but I (for one) would be very interested in a Biokinetic study of the putting motion. Have you ever thought of doing that? How different variables affect the putting motion from a Biokinetic standpoint, and what the optimal combination of these variables would be?

 

- eye dominance

- stance (open, neutral, closed)

- straight arms vs. bent

- straight back and through vs. arc motion

- putter lengths (regular, belly, long)

 

 

Swats, frankly speaking I have already started to think about biokinetical aspect of putting, but haven't finished it yet, since I have been sacrificing almost all my time to the early elbow plane and the "biokinetic" grip. However, what I can say for now is:

- I am of the opinion that the grip, should be exactly the same as in case of all shots. It would help to avoid messing with the grip at the course; moreover, the "biokinetical" grip is a great one due to the reasons I described in my above post (clavicle bones natural orientation);

- the impact of the eye dominance is exactly the same as in case of full shots, i.e. golfers with a rear dominant eye will tend to open their upper body (shoulders) in relation to the target line; conversely, golfers with a cross dominance may tend to be in a too closed position at address;

- the whole trick, again, is to take off the impact of the arms/wrists/hands out; therefore, the arms shouldn't be straight because the elbow joint can rotate only when the arms are straight; simultaneously, the presetting of the turn of the forearms (exactly the same as in case of full shots) combined with the "biokinetic" grip takes out the impact of the hands/wrists;

- the natural motion is always on an arc; not so emphasized as in case of Utley, but on arc; the face should move parallelly to the swing arc which is hardly noticeable because the backswing/downswing of a putter stroke is very small even comparing to a half-shot;

- I am also a believer, that the spine angle bend should mimic the spine angle bend of other clubs - of course, depending on the length/lie of a club; classic putters are shorter than wedges, thus, the bend must be bigger; I am also believer of counterbalancing in case of putters - and when a golfer wants to benefit from counterbalancing fully, he/she needs to grip the club down a bit; it would make the spine angle bend even bigger.

 

Unfortunately, I have no laboratory system to confirm my theories as regards putting (my Bengston simulator is too weak an instrument). But my motto of creating as automatic motion (for all clubs !) as possible let me formulate the above assumptions concerning a perfect biokinetical putting stroke rules.

When I am ready with something more, I'll not hesitate to post it here.

 

Cheers

 

Very interesting, thanks! I look forward to anything else you have to post on the subject.

[bell812]

Dariusz-

You've done great work here, my friend. I have always used a strong grip, primarily because something about having my right hand more underneath "felt" powerful. I have experimented with your "biokinetic grip" and the putting aspects of it are eye opening. I don't have the technical expertise to explain what it allows or doesn't allow in my stroke, but I can see and feel the way it rolls, and I do believe it "automatizes" to some degree the stroke. I am struggling, however, with this grip in hitting shots, but I believe that is mainly from trying to get a feel for what this grip promotes at impact and how it effects the trail arm. It is quite different from the way I placed the right hand on the club for many years so I know it will take some practice not only to achieve a comfort level, but because I believe it will also effect my current motion. I look forward to more of your findings.

[Dariusz J.]

Dariusz-

You've done great work here, my friend. I have always used a strong grip, primarily because something about having my right hand more underneath "felt" powerful. I have experimented with your "biokinetic grip" and the putting aspects of it are eye opening. I don't have the technical expertise to explain what it allows or doesn't allow in my stroke, but I can see and feel the way it rolls, and I do believe it "automatizes" to some degree the stroke. I am struggling, however, with this grip in hitting shots, but I believe that is mainly from trying to get a feel for what this grip promotes at impact and how it effects the trail arm. It is quite different from the way I placed the right hand on the club for many years so I know it will take some practice not only to achieve a comfort level, but because I believe it will also effect my current motion. I look forward to more of your findings.

 

I do appreciate your kind words and am happy that my researches could be of a little help. :)

 

As regards ingraining this kind of grip - it is not easy if someone got accustomed to another one; someone wise said that it is the most difficult and time-consuming issue - to change the grip. However, it is worth doing it.

If you struggle with weakening the RH grip towards the LH one (I believe it is the issue) and you use the Vardon grip - the quickiest way is to change the function of the RH pinky. It should not seek its place in the slot between the LH index and middle fingers, but to hook around the inner side of the middle joint of the LH finger. Very similar to what Hogan recommended in "5 Lessons".

Besides, I have one old wedge in my room and I like to grip it several times a day if the club "drops" in my hands :) It's a great unintentional training.

 

Cheers

 

 

P.S. I have received some mails recently concerning making photos for a better visualization of the issues I've touched in this thread. Unfortunately, we have already a regular winter here in Poland, thus, it would be difficult to do it outside. But, I can try to do it indoors - please, stipulate what partucularily should be pictured, if someone is still interested to see it. :)

[bell812]

I would be interested to see pictures of the elbows at address, as well as your grip. I am more of a visual learner and am having trouble seeing exactly how the elbows and arms should be oriented at set up. Thanks D!

[Dariusz J.]

I would be interested to see pictures of the elbows at address, as well as your grip. I am more of a visual learner and am having trouble seeing exactly how the elbows and arms should be oriented at set up. Thanks D!

 

OK, will try to do something about it in a next few days. Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Cheers

[Dariusz J.]

OK, as promised, the visualizations - first, the 'biokinetic grip'. Please do note that the positions on photos are exaggerated as much as possible without jeopardizing the meritsso the concept is clearer.

 

When a man stands freely, the natural orientation of the direction of palms and elbows are as follows:

 

 

 

The direction of both elbow sockets is in line with the direction of palms. The clavicle bones are in a perfect neutral position. It remains the same when we bend as in the address over the ball:

 

 

 

When we move both hands in order to blend them together they are still at a 90* angle towards each other, therefore, one of two hands is on top of the other being simultaneously perpendicular to it; on the pic, the RH is on top because it is like this in reality on a grip:

 

 

 

The 90* angle between both hands ensures the maximal possible effectiveness of the wrist movement in the swing - the lead wrist cocks/uncocks (radial/ulnar deviation) while the rear wrist hinges/unhinges (dorsi/palmar flexion), and the orientations of those motions are exactly perpendicular to each other:

 

 

 

In order to achieve it, the lead hand grip should be as strong as possible (with the so-called short thumb for control)...:

 

 

 

...while the rear one should be as weak as possible...:

 

 

 

...without and lack of comfort. Some people can achieve a bigger angle between both Vs, some a smaller one. What is worth remembering is the bigger (or better said the closer to 90*) the angle between both Vs is the closer we are to the maximally efficient grip. However, there are some anatomical limits (different for different people) that are great checking points. First, there should not be any gap between the ring finger and the grip. Such a gap can be created when the RH grip is too weak. Secondly, the RH pinky finger should be able to hook around the LH index finger and the strength of this hook must be big enough to ensure a proper tieing of both hands.

The Vardon overlapping grip is the best for two reasons: 1) it lets all the fingers (except RH pinky only) lie and exert pressure on the grip; 2) RH pinky finger can easily wrap around the mid joint of the LH index finger, because, as all fingers, it has three parts and two joints. It should look either Mr.Hogan presented in '5 Lessons' or, in an exaggerated to the maximum version, like this:

 

 

 

Please note that such a method of hooking the pinky finger is much more stable than a conventional method of putting the RH pinky finger in the slot between mid and index fingers of the lead hand. The more, with a strongish position of the LH the LH index finger becomes in sort of a trigger finger position and the mid joint is being raised, creating a great base for the pinky's wrapping around action.

 

Finally, the weak RH position on the grip forces automatically the RH index finger to be in a trigger position, that is really important in sensing the lag as the most important pressure point on the grip.Moreover, the weak RH position creates the optimal condition for presetting the rear forearm turn at address (that has a lot of importance in both the upswing as well as the downswing). The preset should be visualized more or less like the combination of the weak RH and keeping the elbow socket up from the beginning till entering the impact zone (what Mr.Hogan recommended to Mr.Venturi):

 

 

 

 

Please do not hesitate to comment or to correct me (BTW, sorry for my broken English) or to ask if something is still not clear enough.

 

Cheers

[bell812]

Thanks for the pics, Dariusz. My preliminary results with this biokinetic grip are impressive to say the least. I have finally hit the knucklefade, and feel like I can eliminate the "oh crap" left shot. I don't change this grip one bit for putting, and the results are even better. It seems to eliminate the impact from the hands, if that makes sense. Almost as if I can't help but strike the ball with the putter face dead square to my arc. If only there were a biokinetic way to read greens!

[Dariusz J.]

Thanks for the pics, Dariusz. My preliminary results with this biokinetic grip are impressive to say the least. I have finally hit the knucklefade, and feel like I can eliminate the "oh crap" left shot. I don't change this grip one bit for putting, and the results are even better. It seems to eliminate the impact from the hands, if that makes sense. Almost as if I can't help but strike the ball with the putter face dead square to my arc. If only there were a biokinetic way to read greens!

 

:) I am happy that it could be of help. What you said is dead right, it is almost impossible to send the ball to the left with this kind of grip no matter how hard you hit, provided the ball stance is OK and your pivot works correctly. What's important as well, everything (grip + forearm preset) happens at address, where you have true time to set it all.

Same result I found with leg presetting concerning the correct lower body motion, BTW.

 

Cheers

[Dariusz J.]

Mr.Hogan's version of biokinetic grip:

 

 

 

It is seldom being noticed that his grip change consisted mainly of weakening his RH in relation to his LH grip and not weakening the whole grip maintaining parallel V's. His LH grip, ideally, should be a tad stronger.

 

 

And here is an image showing the desirable effect of the presetting of a RH elbow joint:

 

 

 

Just in case someone would doubt that Mr.Hogan was not several dozens years ahead of his time with his concepts. Too bad that nobody paid special attention to such details in a Big Picture context. :)

 

Cheers

[bell812]

Never seen those Hogan pics before. Good find Dariusz. Really captures the role of the arms and right elbow at the very start of the take-away.

[ej002]

http://images.google.com/hosted/life

 

Go to this site and you can do a Hogan search and you will find a bunch of old stuff from Life

[Dariusz J.]

OK, I am receiving some questions why the Biokinetic Grip is so helpful while:

a. the hands are not working paralelly to each other;

b. the lead hand is not parallel to the clubface.

 

My answer is very simple. Because the so-called "classic" golf swing theories never truly concentrated on biomechanics and because golfers blindly believe in "imperatives". I say there are no imperatives until they are verified through all possible methods and sciences. The answers are:

 

a. the so-called "parallel V's" theory is biomechanically not optimal for the reasons I've just described. To remind them:

- wrists cannot achieve its maximal potential in creating lag;

- wrists work paralelly to each other accentuating the primary motion (hinging-unhinging) that is hard, or even impossible, to control.

The importance of lag does not need to be underlined. But should not we ask yourselves why is that so many golfers flip when trying to hit the ball ? The answer is - because they want to hit the ball the farthest (it's the role of the subconscious mind) and because the CP/CF forces in a rotary movement + gravity help in releasing the clubface...and - because the wrist are set the way that unhinging is almost a must in such a scenario.

OTOH, the BG creates a scenario when one (lead) wrist cocks/uncocks while the other (rear) hinges unhinges; no matter if all other factors (CP/CF, gravity, rotary motion) exist, the possibility of losing the rear wrist hinge lag is much more limited, because the lead wrist motion is of secondary biomechanical importance and one won't be able to flip the RH wrist so much. Simply, the lead hands will be tending to deviate ulnarly (downcocking) and will create a natural limitation for a more powerful palmar flexion (unhinging) action of the rear wrist.

 

b. why the lead wrist should be parallel to the clubface ? to control its movement in so fast an action ? sorry, I don't buy it. Moreover, think what position should have the lead wrist in a correct rotary swing when both hips and upper body are open at impact in relation to the target line. Should the lead wrist be square to the target line or is it the clubface that needs to be square ? If the lead shoulder is open at impact - the LH palm should not be square to the body motion, what means it must be also open in relation to it (say, "delayed"). It is the clubface that should be square (OK, very slightly open at contact with the ball, ideally), therefore, the LH grip must not be parallel to it but in a stronger position on the grip.

 

Lastly, the question of offsetting the wrist/hands motion. We must remember that wrists are very mobile joints. They consists of many small bones that are practically impossible to control in a very rapid action. Therefore, it would be silly, IMO, to let them be influenced by so powerful forces as CP/CF or gravity - we should concentrate on finding obstacles that help in reducing such an influence. The Biokinetic Grip is one important obstacle to consider.

 

I do hpe this post answer some doubts...if not, please do not hesitate to express opinions.

 

Cheers

[finalist]

Dariusz,

The pics are great. I'm a visual learner and they really cleared up the lesson. Any chance you would post some more pics of a swing sequence? Say address, 7'oclock, 9, 12, 9, 7, impact and so on? I'm curious how the bio-grip should look throughout. Thanks

[Dariusz J.]

Dariusz,

The pics are great. I'm a visual learner and they really cleared up the lesson. Any chance you would post some more pics of a swing sequence? Say address, 7'oclock, 9, 12, 9, 7, impact and so on? I'm curious how the bio-grip should look throughout. Thanks

 

Finalist, if it is helpful - I will try to do something about it during this weekend, but I am not the best model with my fat body, believe me :D

 

Cheers

[fats]

OK, I am receiving some questions why the Biokinetic Grip is so helpful while:

a. the hands are not working paralelly to each other;

b. the lead hand is not parallel to the clubface.

 

My answer is very simple. Because the so-called "classic" golf swing theories never truly concentrated on biomechanics and because golfers blindly believe in "imperatives". I say there are no imperatives until they are verified through all possible methods and sciences. The answers are:

 

a. the so-called "parallel V's" theory is biomechanically not optimal for the reasons I've just described. To remind them:

- wrists cannot achieve its maximal potential in creating lag;

- wrists work paralelly to each other accentuating the primary motion (hinging-unhinging) that is hard, or even impossible, to control.

The importance of lag does not need to be underlined. But should not we ask yourselves why is that so many golfers flip when trying to hit the ball ? The answer is - because they want to hit the ball the farthest (it's the role of the subconscious mind) and because the CP/CF forces in a rotary movement + gravity help in releasing the clubface...and - because the wrist are set the way that unhinging is almost a must in such a scenario.

OTOH, the BG creates a scenario when one (lead) wrist cocks/uncocks while the other (rear) hinges unhinges; no matter if all other factors (CP/CF, gravity, rotary motion) exist, the possibility of losing the rear wrist hinge lag is much more limited, because the lead wrist motion is of secondary biomechanical importance and one won't be able to flip the RH wrist so much. Simply, the lead hands will be tending to deviate ulnarly (downcocking) and will create a natural limitation for a more powerful palmar flexion (unhinging) action of the rear wrist.

 

b. why the lead wrist should be parallel to the clubface ? to control its movement in so fast an action ? sorry, I don't buy it. Moreover, think what position should have the lead wrist in a correct rotary swing when both hips and upper body are open at impact in relation to the target line. Should the lead wrist be square to the target line or is it the clubface that needs to be square ? If the lead shoulder is open at impact - the LH palm should not be square to the body motion, what means it must be also open in relation to it (say, "delayed"). It is the clubface that should be square (OK, very slightly open at contact with the ball, ideally), therefore, the LH grip must not be parallel to it but in a stronger position on the grip.

 

Lastly, the question of offsetting the wrist/hands motion. We must remember that wrists are very mobile joints. They consists of many small bones that are practically impossible to control in a very rapid action. Therefore, it would be silly, IMO, to let them be influenced by so powerful forces as CP/CF or gravity - we should concentrate on finding obstacles that help in reducing such an influence. The Biokinetic Grip is one important obstacle to consider.

 

I do hpe this post answer some doubts...if not, please do not hesitate to express opinions.

 

Cheers

 

 

Incredibly good post Darius...I am a fan of your studies...you are on the right track...congratulations on such detail and unbiased to the various fade swings in golf.

 

Couldn't resist putting up this picture from an Italy visit.

[Dariusz J.]

Incredibly good post Darius...I am a fan of your studies...you are on the right track...congratulations on such detail and unbiased to the various fade swings in golf.

 

Couldn't resist putting up this picture from an Italy visit.

 

Thank you very much for those kind words, especially, they are coming from you, Sir. I am humbled and honoured.

 

The pic is great...LOL. Thanks again :D

 

Cheers

[chrisfx811]

You know what's crazy? I'm one of those people that is constantly fiddling with my grip... never feeling totally secure that what I'm doing is right.

I do know that I play best when my left hand is strong, but because I've always read the palms should be parallel I've had to hold on for dear life with a strong right hand or play an intentional pull fade to offset the strong grip.

 

Otoh, when I went through phases of trying the left hand matching the clubface deal, I did feel that everything was straighter, but it felt lacking in power.

 

I do remember one day last year I think it was, when I had just pushed one OB on a par 3. frustrated as all hell, I slammed a ball down and just bent over, gripped the club as described above and tattooed one perfectly. Unfortunately, I considered it a fluke since surely there's no way a grip in which the palms form a 'T' so to speak could be correct. :shok:

 

Yet, I've always read about how the wrists are supposed to **** on the lead hand, and hinge on the right. All the while with parallel palms? WTF? Your idea makes sense.

[Dariusz J.]

You know what's crazy? I'm one of those people that is constantly fiddling with my grip... never feeling totally secure that what I'm doing is right.

I do know that I play best when my left hand is strong, but because I've always read the palms should be parallel I've had to hold on for dear life with a strong right hand or play an intentional pull fade to offset the strong grip.

 

Otoh, when I went through phases of trying the left hand matching the clubface deal, I did feel that everything was straighter, but it felt lacking in power.

 

I do remember one day last year I think it was, when I had just pushed one OB on a par 3. frustrated as all hell, I slammed a ball down and just bent over, gripped the club as described above and tattooed one perfectly. Unfortunately, I considered it a fluke since surely there's no way a grip in which the palms form a 'T' so to speak could be correct. :shok:

 

Yet, I've always read about how the wrists are supposed to **** on the lead hand, and hinge on the right. All the while with parallel palms? WTF? Your idea makes sense.

 

Yep, it is crazy and not logical at all. I am astonished that noone has paid attention to it before.

 

Now, at the risk of causing many golf teachers lose a considerable amount of clients :D, the issue has been raised and explained well ;) J/k, of course :)

 

Cheers

[golfbulldog]

You know what's crazy? I'm one of those people that is constantly fiddling with my grip... never feeling totally secure that what I'm doing is right.

I do know that I play best when my left hand is strong, but because I've always read the palms should be parallel I've had to hold on for dear life with a strong right hand or play an intentional pull fade to offset the strong grip.

 

Otoh, when I went through phases of trying the left hand matching the clubface deal, I did feel that everything was straighter, but it felt lacking in power.

 

I do remember one day last year I think it was, when I had just pushed one OB on a par 3. frustrated as all hell, I slammed a ball down and just bent over, gripped the club as described above and tattooed one perfectly. Unfortunately, I considered it a fluke since surely there's no way a grip in which the palms form a 'T' so to speak could be correct. :shok:

 

Yet, I've always read about how the wrists are supposed to **** on the lead hand, and hinge on the right. All the while with parallel palms? WTF? Your idea makes sense.

 

Yep, it is crazy and not logical at all. I am astonished that noone has paid attention to it before.

 

Now, at the risk of causing many golf teachers lose a considerable amount of clients :D, the issue has been raised and explained well ;) J/k, of course :)

 

Cheers

Has it not been considered before?

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1...annel=773424822

Butterfly grip?

http://www.golflink.com/tipsvideos/video.aspx?v=13634

 

I think that you explain it well Darius.

[Dariusz J.]

Has it not been considered before?

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?title=1...annel=773424822

Butterfly grip?

http://www.golflink.com/tipsvideos/video.aspx?v=13634

 

I think that you explain it well Darius.

 

I was not aware that I have followers....LOL. Butterfly grip is a horrible name, BTW, that does not explain the merits at all. Biokinetic Grip is much better description, IMHO.

 

Thanks, GB :)

 

Cheers

[Dariusz J.]

The promised visualization of the biokinetic swing motion (I am a horrible model, unfortunately); red arrows show the direction of turning/rotating while the blue lines show the cupping/hinging/flexing, etc.

 

1. The address/set-up: biokinetic grip, mid body hands, presetting of the rear elbow joint and rear knee joint.

 

 

 

Presetting of the rear elbow in compliance with the biokinetic grip guarantees proper on-plane one piece takeaway without any danger of going too much to the inside or too much to the outside. Both wrists act parallelly to each other, as they should.

Presetting of the rear knee guarantees anchoring the body turn without the possibility of swaying; as a result of this the rear knee flexes slightly inward.

 

2. Takeaway: the rear elbow socket always tries to point at the sky while the lead arm rotates (pronates) and goes up the rear arm folds up; both motions, though of completely different orientations, are in synch, what can be seen watching the lead wrist **** while the rear wrist hinges.

 

 

 

The biokinetic grip ensures the lead wrist **** (radial deviation) and the rear wrist hinge (dorsi flexion) simultaneously.

 

3. Top: the pronation of the forearm has reached its limit a while ago; the consequence is that if the swing plane is low enough the lead wrist cups as a natural prolongation of the process of creating lag; the shaft angle reaches its apex point.

 

 

 

4. Downswing: everything reacts back in the same order; the lead wrist loses its cup, the forearm rotates back (supinates) and the grip power package releases gradually (lead wrist uncocks and rear wrist unhinges gradually); when the hands reach impact position, the rear wrist is still not unhinged while the lead wrist is in downcock position (ulnar deviation); it is invisible from this angle but the small cupped blue line shows the real position; the lead wrist cannot have another impact position but flat or slightly bowed because it reacts back and the CoG shift at transition happened linearily to the direction of the target. Everything is purely automatic although needs an individual approach.

 

 

 

What is crucial is that ulnar deviation (of the lead wrist) is a motion of a much smaller range than palmar flexion (of the rear wrist) and limits considerably the possibility of flipping. One can use 3 right hand power and won't flip. Moreover, when this limit is being achieved, the momentum (and remaining energy of the rear hand that has not been fully unhinged) theoretically, either would push the whole lead arm (or the elbow joint) to the SouthWest direction or forces the forearms to crossover.

Since the body is open at impact and the lead arm is pinned across the chest (also we want the socket of the lead arm go up after impact, same as we wanted the rear arm socket go up in the takeaway) only the latter option can happen and the crossover of forearms (swivel) happens, but well after impact. No chances for an inferior crossover release type then.

 

The beauty is that it ALL happens AUTOMATICALLY. One needs only to master the feet work and pelvis area work, especially at transition, and we have a decent motion that guarantees decent quality of ballstriking for everyone. True players can and should add their "fine tuning" but the basics remains the same. Besides, all of the pictured action has already been described in my broken English in this thread months ago indetail, thus, please scroll up for references.

If I forget about anything or anything unnatural/wrong/stupid can be seen in this post - please comment and correct me.

 

Cheers

[finalist]

I really like your latest posts Dariusz. Lately my grip has been moving over to a strong RH with draws and hooks becoming too common. I experimented with the Bio-K grip and realized my hooks were all derived from a bad grip. Fixed the grip and played some GREAT golf yesterday(dart-throwing-even par). Also, I really like presets at address and the pic demonstrating the direction of tension in the right forearm and wrist/hand is a keeper. Thanks for the in swing pics too.

 

I did make one adjust. I don't have my RH as "weak" as you describe only because it produces fades, and I prefer a draw for now, but knowing that I can keep my strong left hand and adjust my RH only is a new concept for me.

[Dariusz J.]

Congratulations, mate ! :)

 

Yes, the grip on the pic is an exaggeration. In fact, I do not use either so weak RH, but when you got accustomed to this grip you'll never want to abandon it. More powerful shots with a shorter backswing and so easy to repeat...I love fades, therefore, I suspect my RH grip is a tad weaker than yours anyhow.

 

Try (even for fun) to use THE SAME Bio-K grip for putting - when you discover the feel that you can putt using your clavicle bones, you can be amazed. Believe me. :) I never had such a great feeling that I can do everything with one grip. Too bad that the majority of my "discoveries" came after the seazon and I can use them only indoors...:(

 

Cheers

[zukszoo]

Congratulations, mate ! :)

 

Yes, the grip on the pic is an exaggeration. In fact, I do not use either so weak RH, but when you got accustomed to this grip you'll never want to abandon it. More powerful shots with a shorter backswing and so easy to repeat...I love fades, therefore, I suspect my RH grip is a tad weaker than yours anyhow.

 

Try (even for fun) to use THE SAME Bio-K grip for putting - when you discover the feel that you can putt using your clavicle bones, you can be amazed. Believe me. :) I never had such a great feeling that I can do everything with one grip. Too bad that the majority of my "discoveries" came after the seazon and I can use them only indoors...:(

 

Cheers

 

First, I would like to say that I have enjoyed your theories and have found them to be very true. Please keep sharing, as it is helping some of us understand some of the actions in a golf swing that aren't so obvious.

 

I started using the grip you suggested for putting, it was hard for me to accept it because it goes against what many instructors teach for putting. However, it just felt so natural. There was great success for me with that style of grip, I was able to feel the putter head better and thus distance control improved tremendously. I went from having two or three 3-putts a round to maybe one, on a bad day.

 

Edit: I just want to add, that I started using that putting grip in September, through some experimentation.