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By Roy Love
Editor IncaGOLF
Ever since Senior Tour Player, Jim Dent and
Teaching Golf Professional, Rick Bradshaw were on the Golf Channel's Academy Live, Rick has been
answering phone calls every day.
| Jim, Rick with The
Golf Channel's Kelly Tilghman |
In the Academy Live session Rick and Jim explained their teaching
concept which they call P-O-W-E-R. |
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| On the Phone,
Teaching Golf Professional Rick Bradshaw |
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| P-O-W-E-R |
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P - PIVOT O - OPPOSITION
W - WIDTH E - ENERGY
R - RESISTANCE |
According to Jim and Rick these are the five most important elements
of the golf swing. Teaching these elements is the core of their golf
instruction.
The following is an
interview with Rick at their Golf School: (Jim was out on the Tour)
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What do you think is
unique about your approach to teaching golf?
It may not be unique, but we teach a lot of feel, how to
keep it simple and how to propel the club head .We teach what makes
the club head accelerate and how to make it go around the body. |
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What are the
important features at your school?
"We emphasize that the center controls the outer. We work on the body as
the engine turning and using the legs. We teach how to swing the club
head and how it accelerates with an outside swing motion.
Not many people understand the physics of the swing. When they do it
makes everything easy. When you oppose the club head your body positions
are formed and you don't have to think about twenty five different
positions in the swing. When you oppose an outer force that’s balance.
The same balance that we learned when we started to walk. Students come
up to me and say, you need to
work on my balance. (phone rings)
I tell them they have been in balance
since they learned to walk. Its not the balance we need to work on it's
what 's throwing
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you off balance. Off balance is
usually caused by trying to hit the ball with your arms and
shoulders - by trying to make the ball go far. When you
learn to create a centrifugal movement you’re going to stay on
balance. That’s how you get club head speed. We teach how the
resistance of the ground effects the golf swing. We teach the
swing from the ground up." |
P- Pivot -"We talk about P - Pivot, turning the body engine
and rotating
against the resistance of the legs."
O - Opposition - "Getting the hands to feel the opposition of
the swinging club head. This opposition keeps the club head on arc
which gives you consistency and maximum power."
Could you define Opposition a little further.
Opposing the momentum of the club head with your body. The idea
is to turn the potential energy in your body into kinetic energy. To
develop a greater centrifugal force. All golf is in a state (phone rings)
of opposition in every phase of the swing, even the waggle. The very
feel of the club is only sensed when we are in a state of
opposition. If I have an opposing force I have a sense of where my
club is through out the swing"" |
I heard you mention Percy Boomer.
"Yes I can probably quote three quarters of Percy Boomer's book.
I started reading him in 1984. What I liked about Boomer was that he
talked about opposition. He used the phrase "centripetal golf swing
" Which is the correct scientific term. You won't find the
word centrifugal in a scientific dictionary , but we're all used to
it, so that's the term used in teaching golf.
Boomers definition of opposition in the golf swing, is the pulling
in with the hands as the club head makes a wide smooth arc. This
action maximizes the centrifugal force that propels the club." |
W - Wide - "We teach our students to stay wide, Stay relaxed,
make a full rotation and release the club head
.Just what do you
mean by stay wide?
The analogy is, if you were going on a merry-go-round (phone
rings) and you want to get a good ride get on the outside of the
post and lean out. The horse on the outside is going to go faster
than the one in the center even though they both travel on the same
arc." Staying wide means creating that maximum arc as you swing the
club. |
E - Energy - "If I can get you to stay wide that’s going to
give you a natural unwinding and a release of the energy stored in
your shoulders, your body and in your legs. You get get the power
from your legs." |
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R - Resistance
–
This is the
result of lower
body resistance of the left leg and left side. The analogy for this
would be a fast pitch softball pitcher using the left leg for
resistance to help whip the arm through for tremendous velocity at
the bottom of the throwing arc. That’s why many feel the golf swing
resembles a throwing motion rather than a hitting motion because you
never hit at the ball but accelerate past it.
"This is the essence of
the POWER golf swing and that's what we teach." |
How important are clubs to the average golfer?
Clubs are important. Look at Hale Irwin. Since he got the latest
technology, he is hitting the ball almost up to Dent. Since Jim
changed his clubs he's hitting his drives 290 and more.
That's fine for the pros, but how about the average golfer?
"The average golfer needs good equipment. The shame is that when golfers
begin playing with inferior clubs they get discouraged and usually quit.
A good set of clubs will help them get the right start. Of course no
matter how good the set is they still have to swing the club, but if the average golf wants to reach his maximum potential he has to a
have good equipment."
Why is it helpful to wear a glove?
"Most people think that wearing a glove will prevent them from
getting blisters. If they are holding the club so tight that they get
blisters they're in trouble. The club should be held lightly. The reason for
wearing a glove is to get a better feel, not to prevent blisters."
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| Rick with former
Minnesota Viking Wide Receiver Tony Bland |
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What
about the right hand? What does the right hand do?
"What we don’t want is the right hand hitting from the top of the
swing. We want the right hand to come through at the bottom of
the swing. We want the student to turn the right hand like Tony’s doing.
Ben Hogan said I wish I had three right hands, at the point of
impact. That’s because Hogan was left handed, even though he hit
from the right side. Ben was just one of many left handed golfers
that swing from the right side. Sam Snead, Sergio Garcia, Johnny Miller, and Nick Price are all converted left handers.
They developed a strong right hand to keep the left from taking
over. The right hand is important at the point of impact.
Unfortunately the average golfer gets over anxious as he begins his
down swing and releases the right hand prematurely. Commonly known as
hitting from the top. This is caused by the player trying to add to the
swing. When they try to hit the ball it becomes counterproductive. It
actually makes the head go slower. “The more you add the more you take
away.” |
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| Rick with,
University Hospital Surgeon Dr. Art Walzer |
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What is your goal in teaching the
average golfer?
"We are going to take the average golfer and get them to swing at
their fullest potential.
(phone rings) "To get them to swing with elasticity, with an
effortless move yet maintain width. To get the ball to go far
with an effortless feeling."
Editors Comment.
I tried working on Ricks drill to maximize the centrifugal force by
taking a wider lower arc. As Jim Dent said, ("When you take the club
back, feed the alligators not the giraffes.")
I followed his advice on the take away
and made sure that I
released
the club at the bottom of the swing. At least I thought that
was what I was doing. The results was a god awful slice. |
It took a few more swings for me to realize that I was starting my
swing prematurely (hitting from the top). I was still trying to hit
the ball not swing the club.
After about fifteen minutes on the range I
began to get the feel of whipping or slinging the club head through
the ball and out at the target. You know what, it really worked. The
ball went straighter and farther off the tee.
The afternoon spent with Rick was both interesting and informative.
He is a great teacher.
Dr. Art Walz has been working with Rick for the past 6 years."
I'm now playing at a 16 handicap" said Dr. Art."
I'm so happy with how he has helped me, I shag balls for
him during my breaks at the hospital ." |
Gary Koch, 6
time winner on the PGA Tour said, "Ricks understanding and
ability to teach and communicate the fundamentals of the golf Swing
is among the best in the world."
Oops, (the phone is ringing again)
To find out more about what Jim and Rick are doing, go to
www.tourexperience.com
You can also call Rick at 813 220-8099 (if the phone's busy just
keep trying) |
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