Posted by: () on Tue Oct 3 21:04:19 2000

Dear Sir,
> I like the articles very much on the physics & mechanics of increasing bat speed. However, I am a golfer and I wanted to know if the same principles apply. Here are my questions: (1) I am not clear on the information on "opposing forces" on the bat. Is the lead hand pulling the club and the trailing hand pushing the club to create opposing forces on the downswing? Is this the circular path/orbit that the hands travel? (2) On the downswing, is the swing initiated by the front hip moving towards the catcher & the back hip moving toward the pitcher. Does this occur before or during the lateral hip slide to initiate the downswing? (3) Which comes first, the lateral hip slide or rotaion of hips on the downswing? Lastly, will a circular arc of the hands in relation to the body create a short window for a square clubface to meet the golf ball? Meaning, by increasing clubhead speed with a rotational shape vs. a linear path to the golf ball sacriface accuracy for distance? I visualize the golfs swing path as a circle rotating around a fixed axis sustained by the hips while the target line is tangent to the circle. However, the idea is to hit accurate ling shots, not just long shots. I would very much like your input and solutions to my problems. I really enjoyed your articles. Thank you for your time and consideration. John Basden

John-
Interesting questions.I will answer with some thoughts I have had which are along the same lines-differences and similarities between golf/hitting-,but not direct answers to your questions.

Some of the principles underlying the swings are the same.Torso turn is the power generator.This power is best connected with a circular handpath/fairly straight firm front arm.Footwork and hip turn are very similar.Jack feels the hip slide does not translate into faster batspeed,but can be important as a timing move.I am not familiar with opinions in golf about this.In both swings the most power /clubspeed comes from swinging the club perpendicular to the upper torso.

In baseball and fastpitch you want the shortest fastest possible swing from launch to contact,and you want to make contact with the sweetspot of the bat which is nearer to the hands than the end of the bat.You want to get the bat swinging on the plane of the pitch from launch through the contact area.In golf you make contact with a clubface at the end of the club and the turning of the club becomes important.The golf ball will go in the direction of the swinging club end(plane of swing/tangent),but a closed club face will impart hook spin and an open clubface will impart slice spin.If the ball is struck way off center(with respect to the tangent you mention) it will also significantly effect the line of the shot.

These differences give rise to different mechanics,length of swing,torque and grip being among the most striking.I think of the baseball swing as making contact at the equivalent of about 1/2 way into the downswing in golf when the back elbow is still quite flexed.To develop maximum speed by this point in the swing,accentuating the torque component with tophand torque at initiation is necessary.Jack gives a nice demonstartion of this on his video.When you start a golf club from the top of the swing with top hand torque to reach high clubspeed much earlier in the downswing.
This early club speed is not important in golf.Clubspeed comes with the circular handpath(straight front arm)and club radius(higher speed with long driver).The golf grip is engineered to add some speed by snapping the wrists(not torquing) and to allow the clubhead to remain square for a period of time around contact when the arms and wrists are at full extension(this V position should be well after contact in hitting).Hook and slice can be added by strengthening or weakening the grip to be closed or open through contact instead of square.So you snap the wrists to full extension then make contact as the club head stops or slows its opening/closing rotation through the contact zone.