31. The purpose of the Golf action is, "To Swing the club head". Many of you will now be thinking that this is stating the obvious and that you already do this. But do you?

When asked the question, "What is the purpose of the golf action?", Most golfers usually give one of two answers. The first is "To hit the ball" and the second, "To Create power". Bothanswers are aired with a sense of "Stating the obvious".

"Hitting the ball" and "Creating power" are very important considerations but they are in fact effects, determined by something else. The purpose of the Golf action is "To Swing the club head". Many of you will now be thinking that this is doubly obvious and that you already do this. But do you?

Striking the ball and creating power are effects caused by swinging the club head. It need be said that the better you swing the club head the better the effects.
It is amazing how caught up we get in other ideas and neglect this primary objective.
We invest hundreds of pounds in the latest golf equipment yet fail to give it its proper
Recognition when we stand on the tee. Talk about buying a dog and barking yourself,
we buy golf clubs yet throw ourselves at the ball.

The two clubs in the picture ( one is a 3 wood with a rubber hose for a shaft and the other is a 5 iron with a hinge - need images!!!!) are the tools of the trick shot artist's trade but they both demonstrate wonderfully well the point I am making. We call them trick shots when we see the clubs used but there is no trickery involved just sound principles at work.

There is no way you can play the clubs unless you literally swing the club head. I demonstrate both clubs when necessary during a lesson and let people have a go with the hinged club but the rubber hose club is much too dangerous for the handicap player to use. If a higher handicap player was let loose with it, I am not joking when I tell you he would probably render himself unconscious. 

How is it possible to play great shots with these two clubs? When we truly swing the club head, (you will notice I am not referring to the whole club) it actually becomes a free swinging object through impact that the ball happens to be in the way of. In accordance with the laws of physics, it behaves like an independent object in free orbit about our bodies.

The great Bobby Jones spoke of a feeling of "Free Wheeling" through impact which implies he got the club head active and then let it get on with the shot on its own To achieve the experience that is truly swinging the club head, apply the principles discussed in other lessons on this subject when I state that the body action, for most players, must be a more complimentary quieter role to a more active hand action. When the hand action performs, then so does the club head. Remember, the better you do this, the better the effects.