"President Ford actually has a smoother and faster over-all swing than Nicklaus but his timing is not as good. He can't snap the club as well."

swing as a whole that would prevail for all golfers. To the latter. Ariel the scientist cannot commit himself fully. again because of physical differences. He allows, though. that in certain basic respects what Jack Nicklaus does and Gerald Ford does not do can be reasonable guidelines for the Everygolfer. Those "basics" are what follow.

Ariel concentrated his analysis on the downswing, after concluding that the backswing was not especially important. "The downswing is where everything starts and what makes everything happen."

Where it happens most is at impact with the ball. The positions of the hands and club at this moment are extremely vital. In his analysis. Ariel writes: 'The application of force is most efficient when it is applied at a perpendicular angle. in other words, when the shaft is perfectly vertical at impact.

Jack Nicklaus at impact is almost perpendicular-a mere one degree short. Gerald Ford is 30 degrees past perpendicular; he uncocks his hands too soon. The club is losing velocity as it hits the ball, so Ford cannot hit it as far as he might.

Should golfers conscious/• uncock their wrists so the club is perpendicular at impact'' Do the hands supply the most power?

Ariel: "The hands have to be held back at the start. I think Nicklaus does it by starting his hands almost straight down, like when you pull a window shade. The radius of circle he makes coming down is very small. He is also loading his club with more energy. Ford makes more of a parabola, which is weaker, and which causes his wrists to uncork too soon.

"The hands provide power, but only as a result of what the big, heavy muscles do; the trunk, hips, legs, shoulders do the real work. A violinist trying to play very quickly using only his forearms and wrists goes slower. Same idea in golf. If you try to power the ball with the hands and arms, like President Ford, the club slows down because the muscles do not contract fast enough. And you can't make them go faster. You need to move only one inch in the waist to get 10 inches of movement in the

hands. You use the club like a whip or when you snap a towel. You start it moving with the big muscles and when you stop their movement the hands release by a natural reflex action and the whip, towel, or golf club is snapped at the end. Whoosh, goes the ball."

Stop the big muscles?

"If your body could come to an abrupt stop at impact with the ball. you would be perfect. It is like a car ramming into a tree. You go through the windshield. Very fast. Another way to put it is, say you have a shot put on the roof of a car and you want to shoot it as far as possible. Would you step on the brake gradually or slam it? You would slam it. Same for golf. Even Nicklaus could improve on this. He could put the brake on harder and sooner. Better yet, he could hit a tree. I could make a machine to train on for this. so golfers could get the feel for doing it.

"According to the way Nicklaus does it, the downswing is initiated with the legs and hips, which begin to go forward before he finishes his backswing. His legs go laterally, his hips rotate, but everything stops at impact. Almost stops

"With President Ford, the legs and hips go pretty much in the same direction. towar4the tar et, even as he hits the ball. He actually has a smoother swing than Nicklaus, and a faster over-all swing velocity, but his timing is not as good. He can't snap the club as well. Even if Mr. Ford should do it exactly the way Nicklaus does, he wouldn't hit the ball as far, but he would hit as far as he could. Everyone has an optimum capability they must try to attain.

"Some body segments act as movers, some as stabilizers. The legs are stabilizers. Try swinging a golf club wearing smooth-soled shoes while standing on ice or on a skateboard. The legs must counteract the forces produced by the swinging motion of the arms and club. It is not likely an efficient swing could be produced in such a slippery situation. You would slide backward with a force equal to that produced by the swing.

icklaus could stabilize his legs a little better. Mr. Ford could use a lot

GOLF October 1978