GOLF POWER IN MOTION.
By RobertMcGurn '39 and S. A. Williams. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1967. 144pp. Illustrated. $4.95.
Messrs. McGurn and Williams state, "We discovered that a successful golf swing can not only be reduced to only a few 'key moves' but also that it results from these moves." Thus, to establish the success of the writers' objectives one must judge how well they reduce the swing to "only a few key moves" and how effectively they separate cause-effect relationships.
Their first key move, Setting Up to the Ball, is summarized in a 19-step stance and grip study. For the second key move the authors state, "The complete backswing should be described as a whole and not the sum of many parts." Yet they include a detailed 28-step description of these points from showing the proper wrist cock, "formed just under the third segment of the left thumb," to the hip turn, . . in the case of the left beltline this lower point is still on the plane of the revolving belt, toward the position of the buckle at the address." The third key move, the downswing, is a bit more complex.
Regarding cause-effect relationships it is obvious that their final point in the Introduction is true. "The instruction presented ... is based on observation." They state everything that happens and illustrate how it happens. The "why" of it, however, through laws of physics or kinesiology is never touched on. For example, they witness in good swings a straight left arm at impact and attribute it to "the right side being fully released into the shot at the moment of impact." This violates principles of centrifugal forces in a true swinging motion, yet is only one example of their new concept in golf instruction.
Mr. McGurn presents a 63-page flip study of six pro swings, which is almost worth the price of the book. The explanations of the swings, however, contain not only false conclusions but contradictions. On p. 93, . . at the moment of impact the hands will be in the same position they were in at the address," is followed on p. 101 by ". . . Compare the hands here (at impact) and at the address. Although all three golfers began their swings with their hands behind the ball they now have their hands ahead of the ball."
It took the editors of Golf Digest 12 years to compile and organize data for this book, and the authors disclose that Golf Power in Motion might not conform to the popular concepts of golf instruction. It must at least conform to scientific and natural laws of force, however, before all the minute details presented can result in a "coordinated mental picture" of the proper golf swing. Unfortunately, the beginner or expert golfer will find it difficult to find the important truths among the blurred imagery.
Associate in Physical Education at Dartmouth, Bill Johnson is also Coach of Golf,Chairman of Ivy League Golf Coaches, andPGA Pro at the Hanover Country Club.
