@trevormooreinc
What do Major League Baseball hitters and PGA or LPGA Tour golfers have in common?
This question could go in many directions so please allow me to provide some context first. I am referring specifically to the movement patterns found within their swings.
I ask this question in hopes of putting some of you at ease with my answer. When I meet with a new client, it is common for me to hear them disappointingly profess “I am told I have a baseball swing” as though it is a bad thing.
Don’t get me wrong, the two moves are quite different in look. This is not to say they don’t have things in common though. When you break the two movements down, you will find as many similarities as you do differences, the key is knowing which ones are which.
The two biggest differences in the swings come in the plane of the movement and the axis of the downswing rotation.
Swing plane is simply the relationship of the circle the club/bat makes around your body in relation to the ground during the swing.
In baseball, the plane is flatter and more horizontal as the bat moves around the body through the impact area. In the golf swing, however, the club moves both up and around the body, so the plane is more vertical than that of a batter.
The axis of the downswing rotation is different in the two swings as well.
Golfers will shift their weight more aggressively to the front leg as they move through impact, while a ballplayer will stay more centred within their feet as they turn their body through the ball.
These two differences create the illusion these swing moves are entirely different, when in fact, beneath it all, the two have one large key in common. They both generate rotational power in the exact same way.
They rotate on the downswing by unwinding the body from the ground up rather from the arms down. The feet, knees and hips will initiate the movement and create rotational torque which pulls the body and arms through the impact area much later.
If you can harness your inner ball player and initiate the downswing from the ground up, you will not only generate power more efficiently, but you may even cut across the golf ball less and hit less foul balls this season.
Clubhouse chatter
Shocking news in the golf world out of Calgary this past week when it was announced – seemingly out of nowhere – that Bearspaw Country Club has ceased operations effective immediately. Details on the closure of the high-end private club on the northwest side of the city are still somewhat vague; however, it appears financial problems were the root issue.
Trevor Moore is a PGA of Canada professional and a TPI Certified Golf Fitness Instructor with the Titleist Performance Institute. Based in Medicine Hat, he runs his Advantage Golf Academy Services out of Cottonwood Coulee Golf Course and coaches the Medicine Hat College Rattlers golf team. For comments or questions, you can contact him via his website trevormoore.ca or follow him on Twitter @trevormooreinc.
