April 12th, 2010 | 
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Posts Tagged ‘84 degree secret’
Free “It’s All About Impact” Golf Seminar
On Monday, April 19th I will be offering a free Golf Seminar to anybody who has purchased or purchases “It’s All About Impact” - my recent golf instruction book. The seminar will take place at the Learning Center at Berkeley Hall in Bluffton, SC from 10AM-12PM.
For the cost of a book you get a two hour seminar included? That is correct!
Topics that will be covered include:
- The 84 degree secret and why it matters
- The correct shoulder pivot
- Fundamentals for the Impact Driven golf swing
- Impact Position basics
- Take home exercises and drills for long game and short game
The 84 Degree Secret
As an added incentive to attend, and of course purchase the book, all attendees who purchase additional books will receive a voucher for a $75 golf lesson (one hour) with Andrew Rice – that is 50% off the regular rate of $150!
In order to purchase your copy to ensure your place in this insightful golf seminar please go to www.itsallaboutimpact.com and make your purchase today. If you have already purchased the book and plan on attending please let me know by emailing me at andrew@andrewricegolf.com.
Please be sure to bring your copy of “It’s All About Impact” to the seminar so I can personalize it for you. I hope to see you all next Monday and “GET YOUR PLAID ON” this week!
Golf Instruction News
- Berkeley Hall Learning Center
Here are some instructional updates:
- The Berkeley Hall Learning Center has just been completely upgraded! We have just had all our computers upgraded with the latest software from V1 Golf. Students will now be able to view a summary from their golf lesson online in their own V1 locker or on their smartphone. Students will even have the ability to upload their lessons onto Facebook for all their friends and family to see. The changes at the Learning Center include an expansion of our indoor putting capabilities, two Casio EX-F1 Exilim 300 frame per second cameras (for amazing high speed footage of the golf swing!) and the ability to view your golf swing on a 50″ HD screen.
Casio EX-F1 Exlim Camera
- I will be holding a complimentary Swing Seminar based around the information in my book, “It’s All About Impact” at Berkeley Hall on April 19th from 10AM-12PM. The seminar is free of charge to anybody who purchases a copy of the book at www.itsallaboutimpact.com or from me in person. During the event I will address both the long and shortgame elements discussed in the book, along with a graphic explanation of the 84 degree secret. As an added bonus all golfers who attend the seminar will receive a one time coupon for a $75 golf lesson with Andrew – that’s a savings of $75!
- This Friday, on March 5th I will be participating in Hilton Head Golf Week at Sea Pines Resort. They are having an Instructional Day with great local teachers like Doug Weaver, John Farrell, Krista Dunton, Tim Cooke and our own local legend, Rick Barry. The cost is $25.00 per person and all proceeds benefit the Heritage Classic Foundation. Please come on out and support a great cause and your local community.
Verizon Heritage 2009 Champion Brian Gay
- I am excited to announce that I will be running a Spring Junior Golf Program at Berkeley Hall. This program will run from Wednesday March 17th to Saturday May 15th. Young golfers (8-18) will have the ability to work on their games for three hours each week in preparation for the summer tournament schedule. We will meet every Wednesday (4-5PM), Thursday (4-5PM) and Saturday (2-3PM) and the group will be limited to 6 students. The costs will be as follows: Three Hours per week $550; Two Hours per week $450; and One Hour per week $ 350. All students that attend the program will receive instruction on the complete game of golf including fitness, nutrition, equipment, on-course play and tournament preparation. If you happen to know a young aspiring golfer who might be interested please feel free to forward this information to them.
For further information on lessons, pacakges and golf schools please contact me at (843)247-4688 or andrew (at) andrewricegolf.com
Posted in Commentary, Equipment, Practice | 
Tags: 300 fps camera, 84 degree secret, berkeley hall, brian gay, casio ex f-1, Doug Weaver, facebook golf lesson, golf lesson, heritage classic foundation, it's all about impact, John Farrell, junior golf program, Krista Dunton, learning center, rick barry, sea pines, swing seminar, Tim Cooke, v1 golf, verizon heritage | 
3 Comments »
Ben Hogan’s Dynamic Golf Swing
If you have been following this blog you more than likely have heard about the 84 degree secret. Let’s take a look at how this line applies to the swing of Ben Hogan. It is important to remember that top golfers generally are flush up against the 84 degree line prior to any part of the body initiating the downswing. Some of the golfers are not necessarily all the way to the top of the backswing when they initiated a dynamic downswing, i.e. their hands and arms were actually still completing the backswing while their bodies (hips and legs) had already begun the downswing. A dynamic move is when one part of the body is travelling in the opposite direction to another part of the body. Starting the lower body forward while the arms and club are still going backward creates energy or snap in the swing – just like when a whip is cracked.
Ben Hogan with the Club at the Top
Ben Hogan Approaching the Top
Let’s look at the swing of Ben Hogan. In the first illustration notice how he is just about against the 84 degree line with his right side and his swing appears to be the correct length. This is due to the fact that his arms and club have not completed the backswing, yet his body is about to start its move to impact. In the second illustration Hogan has completed the backswing with his arms and club, yet notice how far his mid-section is off the 84 degree line. This is because he is already halfway through the downswing with his body. I have read many an article about Hogan’s so-called reverse pivot, but he did not have a reverse pivot, merely a very dynamic swing.
It is this dynamic motion that allows golfers to have what appears to be a slow and easy swing, yet efficiently generates tremendous speed in the clubhead and causes the ball to go a long way.
If you try this in practice start with small swings with a 7 iron. Focus on the rhythm of the shot – it should almost feel like you are making miniature figure 8’s with your body. Well, you could either do that or take some rumba lessons!
Thanks for reading and please feel free to post your thoughts and questions.
Posted in Long Game, Practice, Swing Philosophy |
Tags: 84 degree secret, ben hogan, crack the whip, dynamic swing, figure 8, rhythm |
5 Comments »
Evidence of the 84 Degree Secret
Perhaps two of the sweetest swings in all of golf – Mickey Wright (who gets my vote as the best swing of all time!) and a young Ernie Els.
Both these golfers are at or approaching the top of the backswing. Notice how their right side is flush up against the 84 degree line.
These illustrations are just two of the 45 that you will see in “It’s All About Impact“. They will all sell you on the idea that preparing the body to get to impact is what the focus of the swing should be. After all, there are many ways to swing the club, but only one way to hit the ball!
Posted in Long Game, Swing Philosophy |
Tags: 84 degree secret, ernie els, impact position, it's all about impact, mickey wright |
No Comments »
The 84 Degree Secret
The 84 Degree Line at Address
The manner in which the body works through the swing is integral to achieving a proper and productive impact position. In fact, body motion is the prime fundamental for striking a golf ball correctly. By pivoting and loading the body correctly in the backswing, you set off a chain reaction that automatically directs your body to where it should be at the moment of truth: impact!
Let’s start with the prime objective: To have your body weight 80% or more forward at impact while delivering a downward blow (at least with the irons and fairway woods) with your head over the ball.
In researching the great golfers, it quickly became apparent to me that there was something eerily similar about the manner in which they all pivoted or rotated their bodies to the top of the backswing. Their arms and clubs, however, were doing quite different things. I drew a straight line up the outside of each player’s back side. This way, when each player approached the top of their backswing, I could focus purely on their body movement.
The result was uncanny. Not only were the majority of the back side lines I drew at exactly 84 degrees – almost every player stayed not only inside that line, but flush up against it just prior to initiating the downswing. They were flush up against the 84 degree line prior to any part of the body initiating the downswing.
A few interesting points:
- In the past I taught golfers to get the weight into the back foot in the backswing. The 84 degree line does not advocate a reverse pivot, or moving the weight to the target in the backswing; it merely encourages keeping the weight centered throughout the wind up.
- I do believe the 84 degree line to be vitally important to any player’s game, because it keeps the body from straying too far from its final destination – impact.
- The more the body moves away from the target in the backswing the greater the distance it must travel in the downswing to get the weight onto the front foot.
- The 84 degree line also allows a player enough space to develop the necessary power for the shot without driving too far forward and in front of the ball.
The 84 Degree Secret is applicable only to iron swings. The reason for this is, as the stance gets wider, the line remains at 84 degrees, but that line gets pushed further from the golfers’ center, making it very difficult to get the full back side to press up against it.
With my new understanding that the golf swing is — or should be – all about impact, I now see that getting the body into proper position at address and at the top of the swing allows it to then glide down into a sound hitting position.
Set that chain reaction and allow the rest to happen.
- The 84 Degree Secret
Thanks for reading and I would love to hear your thoughts on the 84 Degree Secret.
Posted in Long Game, Swing Philosophy |
Tags: 84 degree secret, address, body motion, pivot |
6 Comments »