3Jack's Translation of TGM: Part 3A

In Chapter 9, Homer Kelley breaks down the motions of the entire human body into 3'zones.' He claims that these 3 zones move simultaneously and in a synchronous motion in each part of the swing as described in the 'twelve sections' of the swing in Chapter 8

Homer then describes the principles of cause and effect in the golf swing.

Laws (geometry, trigonometry, physics, etc) = cause

Ball Behavior = effect

The type of swing, procedures, etc = means.

Thus, a player's choice of Means (their individual swing) for applying law (their swing geometry, etc) will produce an effect (ball behavior)

He then lists the 3 zones:

Zone #1 = Body Zone (includes the pivot, the body, balance and overall body control)

Zone #2 = Arms Zone (includes Power, Force, and club control)

Zone #3 = Hands Zone (includes direction of ball, purpose of the shot, and ball control)

ZONE #1 (Body Zone)

This zone includes the following basic components:

- Pivot
- Shoulder Turn
- Hip Turn
- Hip Action
- Knee Action
- Foot Action

Homer states that the motions in these components above are not compromised by the motions of the Arms and the Club. The Pivot is a large part of Zone #1 and the hands are not 'educated' unless they control the pivot. That doesn't mean the pivot can be neglected

ZONE #2 (Arms Zone)

This zone includes the following Basic Components:

- Basic Grips (overlapping, interlocking, etc)
- Grip Types (strong, weak, etc)
- Basic Strokes
- Stroke Types & Variations
- Impact Fix
- Address
- Hinge Action
- Pressure Point Combinations
- Left Wrist action
- Lag Loading
- Trigger Types
- Power Package Assembly Point
- Power Package Loading Action

The arms are responsible for power as they include all of the elements of force and motion of bringing the clubHEAD into the ball.

The arms also dictate whether a golfer is a 'swinger' or a 'hitter' and what type of lag loading procedure the golfer uses. A golfer can either drive load, drag load or float load, all of which help determine if they are a 'hitter' or a 'swinger.' I will go into these procedures in later posts, just note that this is part of the fuction of the arms.

Another important quote from Homer Kelley:

'Good Golf in Power Golf -- don't be mislead by 'Accuracy' problems. As you master power (aka Zone #2) you will gain a basic Clubface Control (Accuracy...aka Zone #3).'

Homer also notes that Zone #3, which is responsible for accuracy, can never be any better than its Zone #1 and Zone #2 support.

From my experience and talking to people who have gone from the same experience, usually golfers are swinging and striking the ball their best when they are hitting the ball with optimal power. I'm not stating that they are swinging harder, I'm stating that when they take their normal swing they are hitting the ball as powerfully as they can hit the ball. When they do this, not only do they gain distance, but they also start hitting the ball more accurate. A great example was Greg Norman in the final round of the '96 Masters. Norman noted that on the par-3 4th hole he hit one flush and still wound up short of the green and into the bunker. He mentioned that he knew his timing was off that day since he wasn't hitting the ball with his usual power. As a result, his accuracy suffered as well. Thus, Zone #3 (accuracy) can never be better than Zone #1 (pivot/body control) and Zone #2 (power/arms control)

Homer then talks about when you're practicing to improve your stroke, you should look, look, LOOK in order to monitor the motion of your arms. Zone #3 deals with the hands, but you should swing the club by swinging your arms (you can use your pivot to help you swing those arms). The reason why Homer wants the golfer to monitor the arms is that if they are not using the proper motion and they are not swinging, then the golfer will tend to use the hands (Zone #3) to move the clubhead thru the ball...aka 'flipping.' Homer states that when monitoring the motion of the arms (Zone #2), if the flat left wrist, lag pressure and/or delivery line become lost or even vague, stop immediately and find that flat left wrist or that lag pressure or that delivery line before you start creating a bad habit.

I believe Homer Kelley was a big fan of Hogan's practice of swinging in slow-motion as a way to monitor the components of the swing, particularly the arms.

ZONE #3 (Hands Zone)

This includes the following components:

- Plane Line
- Plane Angle - Basic
- Plane Angle - Variations
- Power Package Delivery Path
- Power Package Release

As I discussed before, the hands zone is responsible for accuracy while the arms zone is responsible for power. Here again is the Lee Trevino video showing how the hands, in particular the left hand controls the clubface. Control the clubface and you control the ball flight and improve your accuracy.



When practicing the Zone #3 (Hands Zone), it should be done without a ball first 'until a reasonable skill and understanding are evident.'

7-0 (24 Basic Components)

This is quite simple. Like I have stated in earlier posts, Homer Kelley viewed the golf swing as a 'machine.' This particular machine had 24 basic parts (or 'components') and each part has 3-15 variations to it. At the bottom of page 93, Homer just lists the 24 basic components of the golf swing.

All Section 7-0 is for to give the reader a basic introduction to what all of the 24 basic components are.

Chapter 9 and Section 7-0 is more meant for the instructor instead of the golfer looking to improve their game. The zones are helpful for the instructor because they breakdown the motions and what to look for when it comes to issues with the student's golf swing. Section 7-0 can be used by the instructor in order to make a list of all of the components of the student's swing and then try to make sure that a 'swinger' is using 'swinger components' and a 'hitter' is using 'hitter components.'

It's very much like a checklist or a 'catalog' of the components of a golfer's swing. Here's what my swing component list would look like:

No.........Component........Des

1................Grip Basic.............D (Interlock)
2................Grip Type..............B (Strong Single Action)
3................Strokes - Basic........A (Right Arm Punch)
4................Stroke Types...........C1 (Triple Barrel - 1,2,3)
5................Plane Line.............A,B,C (depends on club)
6................Basic Plane Angles.....B (Turned Shoulder Plane)
7................Plane Angle Var........B (Single Shift)
8................Fix....................A (Standard)
9................Address................A (Standard)
10...............Hinge Actions..........C (Angled)
11...............PP Combinations........B-2 (PP #1 & #3)
12...............Pivot..................A (Standard)
13...............Shoulder Turn..........A (Standard)
14...............Hip Turn...............A (Standard)
15...............Hip Action.............A (Standard)
16...............Knee Action............A (Standard)
17...............Foot Action............B (Flat)
18...............Left Wrist Action......A (Standard)
19...............Lag Loading............A (Drive Loading)
20...............Trigger Types..........B (Right Arm Throw)
21...............Power Pkg. Assembly Pt..A (Top)
22...............Power Pkg. Load Act.....B (Random Sweep)
23...............Delivery Path..........A (straight line)
24...............Power Package Release..B (Non-Automatic Sweep Release)







3JACK