Expanded Second Edition- 151 pages,(8 1/2" X 11"). Golf Instruction. Hebron, nick named "The Teacher's Teacher", is a speaker and consultant on golf instruction to 42 PGA sections in America and many PGA's around the world. This book, filled with a wealth of research and interpretations on the golf swing, is his original Master Thesis for his PGA Master Professional designation.
SEE AND FEEL THE INSIDE MOVE THE OUTSIDE, COPYRIGHT MICHAEL HEBRON 1984, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
In our golf instruction we ask people to label the ARMS, HANDS, and whatever is being held as the "outside," and the rest of the body,FEET, LEGS, HIPS, CHEST, SHOULDERS and HEAD, the "inside."
We want people to have their inside move their outside when making a golf swing. To put it another way, we do not want a golfer to use their arms consciously during the swing. We feel when the arms are used, centrifugal force is either stopped or interrupted. When you consciously do nothing with the arms, they will follow the laws of physics and perform, as they should in a sound swing.
Energy in golf or other sports is a result of a transfer of weight; you cannot transfer weight with your hands and arms (or the outside)! Weight will only be moved back and forth by your body (or your inside). When asking you to see and to understand that the inside moves the outside in sports, I am also talking about the transfer of weight that is part of every efficient athletic movement that is under the influence of centrifugal force.
Your golf swing is very personal to you. At times it is very hard to get a golfer to change his mind on what he should be trying to do with his swing. My hope for you is improvement. I believe that the arms do not have to do anything consciously in a sound swing. With the visualizations and concepts that will be shared with you, along with the statements from some very knowledgeable men, you may start to feel that "The inside moves the outside."
"Golf, while not an easy game, above all is a game of ease." Alex Morrison told us, and he went on, "You are probably saying, golf may be easy for you or some people, but it is hard for me. I have to concentrate or I'll miss the ball and I have to give it all I've got or it won't ride. If there is such a thing as easy golf, there must be some formula for acquiring it. There has to be a positive method of overcoming my faults." There is a formula: "The Inside Moves the Outside." (Mike Hebron)
Listed below are a few of the many statements I have come across over the years suggesting the same approach to the swing.
Ben Hogan: "The action of the arms is motivated by the movements of the body, and the hands consciously do nothing but maintain a firm grip on the club."
Bobby Jones: "The proper order of movement is body, then arms, and last the club head."
Alex Morrison: "The swing starts from the center of the body, under the influence of centrifugal force."
Paul Runyan: "The swing is entirely controlled by the shifting and turning of body weight. The arms become a connecting link, and nothing more, between the pivot point and the club head."
Ben Hogan: "The main thing for the average golfer is to keep any conscious hand action out of his swing. The correct swing is founded on a chain action. If you use the hands when you should not, you prevent the chain action."
Paul Runyan: "It is my experience that as you 'cease' consciously directing the swing by the use of shoulders and arm muscles, you establish an automatic grooved swing."
Carl Lohren: "Whenever the arms and hands are involved in your mental concept, they will steal the show. If the hands and arms move first, they will not direct the club in the proper direction."
Ben Hogan: "Next time you see a good player in action, note how his body appears to drive forward before he hits the ball."
Paul Runyan: "Do not try to uncock or snap your wrists. This is an automatic motion caused by the natural flow of the club head as maximum speed is attained."
Ben Hogan: "To start the downswing, forget about the shoulders, arms and hands."
Carl Lohren: "As you start, exert no influence on the club with the hands and arms. Do not be afraid that they will not go where they are supposed to go."
Paul Runyan: "Note the club is not lifted back, but the initial movement in the backswing of shifting and turning results in the club moving back."
Tom Watson, Jack Nicklaus, and Alex Morrison talked in length about the hands and arms playing a less important role in the swing than they had originally visualized.
Alex told us, "I have been convinced. A careful study of the technique of every expert who has played in the United States, proves conclusively that every successful shot played by any one of them is the direct result of the employment of centrifugal force. Despite everything I had heard. I could not make myself believe that the main force of a golf swing should originate in the hands and arms. Trial and experiment demonstrated to me that the necessary whirling motion of the club was produced only when the force activating the club had its origin near the center of the body."
"Moreover, Bobby Jones' swing illustrates this motion better than the swing of any other golfer. In other words, the sound swing is not my swing, nor Jones, nor Smith, but simply the exemplification of a scientific principle correctly applied." "My definition of the swing is 'One full smooth flowing motion without any mental or physical interruption'. Only by winding up the body to its fullest, then releasing the accumulated force in any expanding motion, can a golf club be swung easily, naturally, accurately, and with maximum power."