"Experience is the Measurement of Truth"

You learned in Lesson 5.0 Part 1 the first links in the setup and motion chain. Why stop? As noted in Part 1, unless your student is a single digit index, their grip will continue to show up as too strong or too weak creating an open or closed hip line. Following the Wright Balance Express, they can play without impacting the Downswing Club Path Test and restriction in shoulder rotation.

Setting the proper Power Spots, Sequence of Motion and Posture that matches their Dominant Core Zone is enough for your student's first lesson. They will experience greater Power and center face contact, a common focus of most players. They should have "homework" for using the Downswing Path Test to practice the first 6 chain links of their first lesson. Emphasize that their practice on those links should be done at home in their or yard.

Lesson 5.0 PART 2

Review Practice Diary

Ball Striking

The Wright Balance® Express

Revisiting Grip Style Test (Complimentary or Butterfly?)

Revisiting Grip & Grip Sizing

When to Grip the Club

Dominant Core Subregion & Delivery to the Ball

Full Motion to Top of Swing with Grip (Tape vs No Tape)

Secondary Tilt

Clubface Aim with Posture and Secondary Tilt

Downswing Path Test With & Without Secondary Tilt

Which Hand to Hold the Club Behind the Ball

Routine and Alignment

Recommendations for Home Practice & continued practice Diary

11. Review Your Student's Practice Diary

The first thing you should do upon your students return for any lesson is to review the Wright Balance® practice diary. The Wright Balance® practice diary is your check on their progress and your and your student's path to success in their lessons. Some students will practice as requested; some will fail to return with their diaries; and others will have simply forgotten their practice diary.

Your students are not used to having to complete a practice diary. They have never kept a practice diary following a golf lesson or most lessons for any sport. The diary is the single best predictor of practice compliance and a structure that will help your students remember to practice.

If you don't request and review the diary with with your student, that suggests you don't place a great emphasis on their home practice. They won't do their home practice unless they are highly motivated, organized and understand the importance repetition to minimize error during practice and play.

Note: To do the following, be certain to place a bar on your student's hips and ask them to "rock" heel to toe 2 or 3 times to square their hips. Have your student swing to the top and test their Wright Balance® Downswing Path. If the Wright Balance® Downswing Path Test shows that your student's hips remain square when tested at the top, be certain to CONGRATULATE them on how well they are doing. Your students will respond to praise when melded with gentle correction.

If, when your student swings to the top of swing, their hips show an open or closed position. Use this as a teaching moment. Repeat for your student how to do the Wright Balance® Downswing Path Test in the following order.

    a. Repeat the test of their Power Spots while standing and gripping the club or with the Power Test, depending on their current pain or injury history. 
     b. Test their Posture
     c. Test their Sequence of Motion without a club. If their hips remain square when tested without a club,
     d. Test Sequence of Motion with a club.

You will find their "miss" in one of these 4 tests.**

If your student's hips were square when tested at the top, have your student raise one foot an inch or so off the ground to disconnect their kinetic chain. Their hips will open or close again. Again, have your student rock heel to toe 2 or 3 times to square their hips. Have them swing to the top and back to impact. Do the Wright Balance® Downswing Path Test at their impact position. If their hips are square, repeat the Wright Balance Downswing Path Test to impact a second time. If the result is a square hip line a second time, CONGRATULATE your student on their home practice. Verbal acknowledgment is so very important to communicate how you perceive the important of practice. PRAISE for success and a "soft" correction of errors will facilitate your student progress, make your lesson conflict free and create a positive learning environment.

Grip Sizing

Does your student need to have their grip size changed? There is a simple test to determine if your student's grip size fits. That test is illustrated here in this brief video with LPGA Tour Player, Laurie Rinker.

How to Determine the Correct Grip Size by Core Zone

The following EBook link is to Grip Sizing by Core Zone. This EBook describes in detail the importance and process of Grip Sizing.

https://instructions.wrightbalance.com/grip-sizing-by-core-zone/

Tell your student that the Wright Balance® Downswing Path test is their immediate feedback on the shot outcome. When they follow the order of their practice chain and record it in a diary, they will have greater success as measured by their Wright Balance® Downswing Path Test.

12. Ball Striking With Face Tape or Dr. Scholl's foot spray

If the Wright Balance® Downswing Path Test resulted in a square hip line to the top.

13. The Wright Balance® Express

"Mobility serves as the precursor to all performance. You need to be able to create good joint alignment to have stability around that joint. Motor control refers to one’s ability to control their mobility and stability... Strength requires this joint alignment and control to be absolute. And if you have all your strength on the table, you will be able to access your power." Ash Williams

Be certain to video your student doing the Wright Balance Express. Emphasize position of the handle, locking out the knees in four (4) of the eight (8) positions and having something behind them when they lean back to avoid falling and a serious accident

The Wright Balance® Express will eliminate the disorganized, disrupted kinetic chain. When the kinetic chain is set with symmetry after the Wright Balance® Express, your student will have the ability to recruit maximum power from the ground. That power will be greater than without the Wright Balance® Express, especially when the Power Spots are set and the Sequencing of Motion matches the Dominant Core Zone.

This video is a demonstration face on and down the line of how to do the eight (8) isometric positions of the Wright Balance® Express.

NOTE: If you are not a Wright Balance® Professional and you wish to experience the results of this exercise, carefully follow the above video using a yardstick at 8 inches. Be certain the middle of each foot is at 8 inches and you hold any circular implement with a "baseball grip". Be certain to hold each isometric position for 10 seconds. When you finish the exercise walk a short distance and notice that you have minimal rotation of your hips as you do. Note that when you push off your back foot with each step how far forward you are. You have become a "toe walker". Also note that your hips remain square in all stance widths.

Next, do the Wright Balance® Express at 30 inches. When you finish, note that your weight is toward your heels, when you walk you will push off in your trail foot more toward your arch. This the tip of the iceberg. For more information on how to impact balance in all activities, contact your local Wright Balance® Professional. As you will note after following these videos that the Wright Balance® Express takes a maximum of 90 seconds.

Results of the Wright Balance® Express

The following are a few of the numerous changes created by the Wright Balance® Express

Heel to toe balance with a straight line of pressure / force matching the Core Zone

Unrestricted shoulder and hip rotation in all stance widths

Hips square in all stance widths

There is a leveling of the hips and shoulders (Coronal / Frontal Plane)

There is an elimination of pelvic rotation (Axial / Transverse Plane) in all stance widths

The pelvis remains square in forward and backward motion (Sagittal Plane)

The location of foot strike when walking or running is dependent on the Core Zone being trained and which of the 15 Stance Widths was used when doing the Wright Balance® Express

There is an elimination of "drag" in all motion creating freedom of range of motion in all activities

Knee pronation / supination is eliminated decreasing the chance of knee injuries

The arms and hands hang exactly the same at the side

The visual perception of lines or objects in space is accurate

You will now be able to isolate your hips facilitating instruction in golf, baseball, soccer or any running, jumping or athletic movement. In golf, grip is easily taught when the hips and grip are eliminated as variables. In baseball, you have eliminated bat roll through the hitting zone and your vision of the ball in space is enhanced. (Ask a Wright Balance® Professional for further explanation.)

Posture will be more upright and you will stand and sit taller

You will have increased ROM in all joints of your body

Soft tissue pain will begin to diminish

Your ability to separate your upper and lower body is greater

You have aligned your kinetic chain and created core symmetry

You have reducedbut not eliminated the impact of heel to toe balance changes created by any object you hold

19, Drag from hip rotation when walking, running or cycling is eliminated minimizing friction of movement.

You are no longer "blocked" when moving laterally reducing the chance of injury or falling, enhancing performance where lateral movement is desired.

Grip Style (complimentary or butterfly) no longer has an impact on shoulder rotation. Either grip style can be used and tailored to the desired delivery to the ball.

We now only need one stance width and 90 seconds to set the kinetic chain in symmetry when doing the Wright Balance Express.

Following the Wright Balance® Express, you can easily change your student's delivery to the ball by moving to a wider or narrower stance width within the 5 Dominant Subregions of the Core Zone where the Wright Balance® Express is done.

Following the Wright Balance® Express, the Carrying Angle / Power Angle will be the same on both sides.

Why Practice with NO TAPE on Fingers or Toes and Play WITH TAPE?

Several Wright Balance® professionals have commented, on leaving tape on the fingers or toes, about the major positive impact on the putting stroke and full swing during play. There is no shoulder restriction in the backswing or downswing regardless of grip strength or weakness.

You can play with any grip orientation:

Only when toes or fingers are taped.

The use of Tape on fingers or toes during play is meant to be a forerunner in a lesson before working on grip changes. When the toes or hands are taped, there is no backswing restriction. However that doesn't mean the clubface will be square impact.

When the fingers or toes are taped, the Wright Balance Downswing Path Test shows a square path, even if the grip is too strong or too weak in either hand.

Practice with NO TAPE

As your student progresses through lessons, remove the tape on the fingers or toes and demonstrate how to test grip strength and weakness.

Your goal is to have your student develop a grip that is neutral (matches the Carrying Angle) in both the lead and trail hand.

By practicing grip and ball striking without tape and playing with tape, your student will develop a grip that results in full shoulder rotation and a Wright Balance Downswing Path Test that is square over time.

Playing with tape on the fingers or toes will be a safeguard against a miss as a result of minor changes in grip strength or weakness.

Testing the Impact of Tape on Fingers or Toes

If you have toes or fingers taped following the Wright Balance Express, you can stand, add a little knee flex, turn your lead palm down facing the ground, you will have full rotation. Remove one piece of tape and you will stop at around 90 degrees when carrying angle is set in your lead hand grip.

The following video is a demonstration of the impact of tape vs no tape following the Wright Balance Express and the use of no tape during practice and then leaving the toes or fingers taped during play.

TEST

Summary

When your student practice's the placement of their lead and trail hands grip with no tape, they will learn a "neutral" grip with a square hip line when doing the Wright Balance® Downswing Path Test. When their lead or trail hand grip is not neutral during practice, the Wright Balance Downswing Path Test will result in and open or closed path, almost always open. An open path is always associated with a high trail hip, a steep angle of approach to the ball, an outside in path and a pulled or blocked shot. The same result is true of putter through driver.

When your student plays with tape on their fingers or toes, if their grip gets a bit too strong or too weak in one or both hands, they will still have maximum shoulder rotation and the Wright Balance® Downswing Path Test will be Square.

To test the above, with tape on both fingers or toes, turn your lead palm down and notice the freedom of shoulder rotation. Test the Wright Balance Downswing Path and note a square hip line.

Remove the tape from one finger or toe. Note the lack of rotation when the lead palm is turned down and the Downswing Path Test will result in an open hip line (sometimes closed) and a raised trail hip etc. Thus, playing with tape creates a Downswing Path that is square and there is no restriction in rotation.

If you use medical tape and place it on one toe of each foot, you can leave it on. It will naturally come off after a couple of showers and it is easy to replace.

8. Revisiting Grip Style Test (Complementary or Butterfly?)

Why revisit Grip Style? Simply because after your student does the Wright Balance® Express in one Stance Width, Grip Style is no longer an issue impacting shoulder rotation in the through swing. Your student may use either a Complementary or Butterfly grip. However, I have suggestions for both. In the interim Test both grip styles for your student and show them the changes and choices.

As noted, your student may use whatever grip style they wish following the Wright Balance® Express. However, I would encourage your Anterior / Upper Core player to use a Butterfly Grip for a more "ON TOP" delivery to the ball. Similarly, your Posterior / Lower Core players should use a complementary grip for a more "UNDER DELIVERY" to the ball.

I believe you will find that the Interior / Middle Core Player who uses a Butterfly Grip will have more Vertical ground reaction force with a notable rise through impact. I also believe that if that same Interior / Middle Core Player uses a Complementary Grip they will show more Rotational ground reaction force without rising through impact. (Please note an emphasis in the above statements on "believe" as I have not tested the Interior / Middle Core player grip changes and their use of the ground. However, my experience is that the ON TOP delivery of the Anterior / Upper Core and the UNDER Delivery of the Posterior / Lower Core Player are simply desirable deliveries for the most efficient use of the ground.)

You will find, as I have, that a player who is Anterior / Upper Core has difficulty with a Complementary Grip if their trail hand gets too strong and resulting in restriction in their shoulder rotation in the downswing, a common issue. Similarly, if the Posterior / Lower Core Player uses a Butterfly grip, they tend to get too weak in their trail hand and, once again, they experience shoulder restriction in their downswing and a "stuck" feeling and errant shot. Following the Wright Balance® Express, your student has a choice. Guide that choice with grip changes using the Wright Balance® Downswing Path Test and ball striking.

The Grip Style was covered in detail in Lesson 5.0 Part 1 # 6 and in one of our Zoom sessions in Octobe, 2024. The link below is to the EBook on Grip Style, Complementary or Butterfly. The video in this EBook is 10 minutes followed by a quiz to test your retention of content. Here is a link to that EBook.

https://instructions.wrightbalance.com/october-28-2024-questions/

9. Revisiting Grip & Grip Sizing (Overlap vs Interlock?)

NOTE FROM TEXT

Note: I gave a lesson to a 20 plus index with card on the grip square to clubface and the Billy Casper / A Scott strategy and was square each time...saw only edge of card... after WB Express with tape...any zone can use butterfly or complementary grip set by trail hand... complementary sets more rotation and butterfly sets more vertical ground force...Upper Core needs to be set for Upper Core...Larry has always shown complementary in his videos. Butterfly creates a steeper angle and higher ball flight when all else in setup and motion is good...Lower definitely needs complementary...However, when WB Express is done without tape...there are no choices as each is different...

Overlap vs Interlock

The following image is Tiger Woods Grip. Note that he uses an interlocking grip. Also note the space between his index finger and middle finger of his trail hand. However, also notice that his index finger of his trail hand is touching his trail thumb.

Note Tiger's grip at address below vs his finish above. These images are not from the same swing. Regardless, he has an interlocking grip and he does not have a trigger finger in either photo.

If your student uses an interlocking grip they must have NO SPACE between their index finger & middle finger of their trail hand. Or, as is the case with Tiger Woods, his index finger is touching his trail thumb. Similarly, if student uses an overlapping grip, the index and middle finger of the trail hand MUST NOT be touching.

If you look carefully at the image below, you will note that Tom Watson played with an overlapping grip. Note the space between his index and middle finger.

The following video was shot in 2019 demonstrating the impact of these grip positions and what happens with and without a trigger finger on irons, woods and putter.

10. When to Grip the Club

A closed Kinetic Chain is defined by

Have your student place their hands on their club. Have they placed their hands on the club at the right time in their routine? That is easy to answer when you use the downswing path test.

Here is a link to the EBook: The Kinetic Chain, The Wright Balance® Express & Kinematics

https://instructions.wrightbalance.com/the-wright-balance-express-the-kinetic-chain/

11. Dominant Core Subregion & Delivery to the Ball

12. Full Motion to Top of Swing with Grip & Downswing Path Test

13. Secondary Tilt and Downswing Path Test

14. Downswing Path Test With & Without Secondary Tilt

15. How to determine which hand in which to hold the club behind the ball**

Yes, which hand you hold the club in will change your visual perception of lines. Alignment is a visual process. Visual perception of lines was tested in the original biomechanics lab study at Centinela Hospital. The player stood 30 feet from a chart on the wall on a lined mat. There were 3 test of vision. The first test was to have them stand as they normally would behind the ball. The next two (2) tests were to stand with both feet on the same line square to the chart on the wall.

There was a plumbed line hanging from the ceiling that was parallel to the center line on the chart on the wall. The chart had 24 lines one inch apart with a dotted line between every half inch. There were large numbers on the horizontal plane through the middle of the chart. No matter what the player saw, the plumb line was always parallel to one of the numbered vertical lines.

We had the player hold the club in their left hand and say which numbered line on the chart was bisected by the line hanging from the ceiling. Then we had them move the club to the other hand and again say what line on the chart was bisected by the line hanging from the ceiling. Many of the subjects held the club in one hand and used the shaft to site the hanging line relative to the chart.

The results showed that there was one hand that produced a correct visual perception. The players reported movement of the line as much as 7 inches from 30 feet when they changed hands.

Yes, which hand a player holds the club in when they stand behind the ball plays a significant roll in aligning to a target on the tee box, fairway and green.

This video will show you how to determine which hand to hold the club in behind the ball. This is the first step before starting your routine.

This video demonstrates 2 other ways to determine which hand to hold the club in behind the ball as you begin your routine.

To determine which hand to hold the club in at home, place your feet about 6 to 8 inches apart as you face an empty corner. Stand 3 or 4 feet from the corner. Be certain your feet are parallel and the corner is through the middle of your body. Close your eyes with a club in your right hand. Take a deep breath and relax. Open your eyes and notice whether you are facing the empty corner. Does it feel as though your upper body rotated left or right? Close your eyes and repeat with the club in your left hand. Take a deep breath and relax. Open your eyes and note the orientation of your upper body to the corner. If you notice a difference, the hand that squares you to the corner is the hand in which you want to hold the club behind the ball.

Generally speaking, when you look in a mirror, if you are able to determine which hand internally rotates more than the other, that is the hand in which to hold the club. If you have done the Wright Balance Express, your hands will hang the same. However, you can still determine which hand to hold the club in by doing the test facing a corner with a club in your hand. My personal experience is that having done the Wright Balance Express for several years, I am square to the target line when I hold the club in either hand. There was a time when I had to hold the club in my left hand and line up the ball on the green with my left hand. I can use either hand now due to the daily use of the Wright Balance Express.

16. Routine and Alignment

Below is an image of links in a routine necessary for most players to find proper alignment.

Once your student is able to verbally descirbe their routine behind the ball, they are ready to learn to align to the start line of their ball flight.

You have built a series of links in a setup chain where each link "passed" the Downswing Path Test. You learned that process as Backwards Chaining. It is time to learn the last link of a routine in that Backwards Chain that sets alignment to a target.

Alignment is a fundamental that requires practice. In my experience, alignment is seldom taught much less practiced. When a player arrives at the range before practice or play, alignment should be checked with a full routine It takes very little time to check and it is a game changer when alignment is consistent.

When alignment is inaccurate, the club will be behind the player through the swing leading to errant shots.

Alignment requires a specific routine, a precise target and a primary focus on that target as the player sets up to the ball. It takes practice. A precise routine with a visual focus on a precise target will save your student strokes on the course and often correct swing issues. If their alignment is off, the club will likely be behind them in their swing. If they are working on keeping the club in front of them, alignment is their first step in that process.

When I am checking alignment, first I ask the player to show me their routine. I ask them to show me how they align to a target when they play. Some have no routine and others are diligent as they prepare to walk into the shot and setup to the ball. If their alignment is accurate, I ask them to set up again to another target on the opposite side of the range. If both are accurate. I stop and say whatever you are doing, keep doing it. I also suggest they check their alignment themselves frequently during practice and before play.

In the 1990s, one of my students was Dan Ahmad Bateman. Dan was Number One in putting on the Buy.com Tour (formerly Hogan, Nike, Nationwide Tours, etc.). When I asked Dan to align to a target, he stood with his back to the target, turned, walked into the shot and he was aligned perfectly every time. He had a great sense of his body and his visual setup to his target over the ball. He is the only student I have ever had that could set up accurately without standing squarely behind the ball.

Dan used a long putter in those days. He told me he would set a line on the ball to a precise target and adjust his setup, until the line looked like it was going where he wanted to start the ball. I will talk more about Dan and the importance of visualization of lines in the Putting section, all related to balance and alignment.

An intermediate Target vs Primary Target:

The majority of amateurs who use a target describe using an intermediate target, many citing Jack Nicklaus' use of an intermediate target. Truth be told, Nicklaus used 4 intermediate targets, one 3 feet behind the ball, one 3 feet in front of the ball, another before his primary target and his primary target. He was drawing a line through his 4 targets.

I teach a precise visual focus on a primary target in the full swing, not an intermediate target. Moving your student from an intermediate target to their primary target often resolves alignment issues. A precise focus on the intermediate target from behind the ball into their final setup to the ball is imperative for accurate alignment.

Check alignment at different points in subsequent lessons to give your student a break from the learning process. I would also use the Downswing Path Test, test Power at the Top of the Swing at different times during lessons, again to give your student a break from their new learning and reinforce the positive changes they have made in their lessons.

Why is Alignment to a Target Important?

As noted, if alignment to the target line is left or right (open or closed) the club will get behind the player in their backswing. Alignment is a visual process and it is totally dependent upon a focused routine on a precise target.

Here is PGA Tour Veteran, Kevin Stadler learning a visually focused routine for alignment.

Note in this illustration that Kevin has the club in his left hand and he is looking at a precise target on the horizon. The ball is on the ground about 9 feet in front of Kevin.

DO NOT automatically move the club to your left hand until you learn to test in which hand to hold the club and why. Every player is different.

In the following illustration Kevin glances at his feet as he aims his feet at his precise target

Once his feet are aimed at his target, his eyes return to his target as he prepares to walk. As he begins to walk, he moves the club to his right hand while his eyes remain fixed on his precise target.

Note that his eyes remain fixed on his precise target as he approaches the ball.

Kevin makes a "shallow turn" to the ball. Look at his feet and you will see he is ready to turn to the ball. Your students will need to make a wider approach to the ball. Otherwise they will likely set up closed to their target line. At Kevin's level, he has ingrained a routine and approach that works for him.

The only time Kevin's eyes leave his precise target are when he grounds the club behind the ball. AS LONG AS HIS FEET ARE MOVING, HIS EYES ARE ON HIS TARGET. WHEN HE LOOKS AT THE BALL, KEVIN STOPS MOVING AND GROUNDS THE CLUB.

Before Kevin moves his feet again, his eyes return to his precise target as he settles into his setup. Notice that Kevin's chin is rotated under. He doesn't raise his head. Many players stand taller and turn their head opening their shoulders. Be sure your student's head rotation is under.

Great players have different strategies to get their body square as they spread their feet into their setup. Kevin takes his lead arm across his chest as he spreads his feet into his address position as shown above. This "move" squares his shoulders. Many players will put their lead hand on their lead thigh to square their shoulders as they spread their feet into their setup.

Place an alignment stick or club on the player's heel line as I am doing for Kevin above. Never use the toe line as the slightest flare of either foot will create inaccurate feedback. Always use the heel line.

Step back behind the ball and check the players alignment after you have placed the alignment stick as shown below.

The alignment stick should be parallel to the target line. The majority of right-handed players align to the right of their target or, closed. Very few align left of their target.

Most of your students will stand with one foot in front of the other and their body angled, generally closed to their target line.

Notice again that when Kevin stands behind the ball that he aims his feet down the target line.

This takes practice and should be the first link in the routine behind the ball. I place a dowel pole on the heel line when checking both alignment and the players aim of their feet behind the ball.

In the above illustration, the heel line behind the ball should be perpendicular to the target line and the stance line. This video will give you a comprehensive narrative of Kevin's alignment and a live demonstration of teaching alignment to an elite player, also using a dowel on his heel line.

This video will also show you the history of the research behind the factors that impact alignment.