Proper Transition Is Critical for Quality Golf Shots. Divergent Sequencing is the correct way!

Golfers, welcome to another session of Connecticut Golf University. I wanna introduce some research by Dr. Ferdinands, Hursting, and Marshall that disputes the concept of kinematic sequencing as being an optimal driver in the golf swing. We're gonna see that divergent sequencing is really what the tour players use and how if you've been training to improve your kinematic sequence, chances are your game is getting worse. So let's take a look at the research. So this is a traditional model that I pulled this data from TPI. We know the pelvis moves first and then the upper torso, then the arms, and finally the club in that particular sequence. But that's not the true definition of proximal to distal sequencing. Let's take a look at that and see how the system really works from a research standpoint. And we'll dive back in to see and how what this actually is not true proximal to distal sequencing, even though it's in the same order. So this is kind of a representation, artificial representation, of what a true kind of driving of the pelvis and then the torso, then the arms. And what I wanna kind of point out is based on the research and based on the definition of proximal to distal sequencing, is that there needs to be a peak acceleration. And we start hitting a deceleration of the proximal joints or proximal segments. Then that energy and that momentum is then transferred into the next segment. So we would see in this case, pelvis peaks, and then that energy is transferred into the upper torso. That starts just hitting deceleration. And then we would see the arms. Is impact, by the time the arms actually would have time to peak, it's after impact. So a lot of times when you feel in a poorly timed golf swing where it's kind of jerky, body's out racing the arms, arms then are racing at the bottom trying to catch up. So this idea that we bust out the pelvis, decelerates, then the ribcage decelerates, then the arms is actually not what happens in the golf swing. So let's jump in to see how this more of a divergent sequencing fits into a kinematic sequence, but it's definitely not the true proximal to distal sequencing. So back into this, yes, pelvis is always gonna move first, but we kind of see here that in transition, they're all kind of working simultaneously, and that we see a separation. And this is the divergent sequencing where we see the arms accelerate at a different rate than what the upper torso's accelerating compared to the pelvis. And the pelvis is really gonna be more of a stabilizer. It's not a power generator. It's more of a placing the body in the right position. And it's really gonna be more of the legs and then the upper torso, and especially the arms that produce the speed. So this is really true divergent sequencing with a kinematic sequence of an order. But this is not how proximal to distal sequencing works in the golf swing. So you can see that these models are different. And if you train by trying to peak out the pelvis first, and then the torso, then the arms, man, that's really messing up your golf swing. So let's take a look at what some of the tour players, their kinematic sequence looks like, and we'll see if they follow more of the divergent sequence or the true kinematic sequence, i.e. proximal to distal swing sequencing. Pretty famous tour player right here. Definitely one of the better drivers of the golf ball on tour. Let's take a look at his kinematic sequence and see if it really follows the order of the pelvis getting to a peak speed and then decelerating, then upper torso. And we're gonna see here that as the downswing starts, very much in this area, you can see things are moving at a very slow pace together. They're both accelerating kind of positively. And the pelvis is definitely the first thing to move. If we crank down on the numbers, let's pull up the numbers here, kinematic sequence. So negative is in the backswing direction. And so there we could say is transition. Okay, where we see, obviously the pelvis is a positive number. Ribcage, arms, club are still negative. So yes, we definitely see an order of the pelvis first. However, when we start looking at this as this kind of, everything starts catching up, okay, we've barely moved into the golf swing. And at this point, things are basically operating all at the same speed. We would need to see the pelvis peak first before the ribcage, before the arms. And we just don't see this in this swing. We see actually, again, this divergent sequencing that happens where they start breaking apart. Okay, and in this case, we can actually see the arm speed peak out as the pelvis is still kind of moving. So at over 1200 degrees per second, arm speed is actually now peaked out. And then we actually then get the ribcage to start peaking out. So the pelvis and the ribcage actually do follow a little bit of that, but the arms have already gone. So this idea of, I need segment independence is critical in the golf swing. And we can see here that this is a perfect case of divergent sequencing, not the pure kinematic sequence of the pelvis peaking and then the thorax, then the arms. So this is one example of how your arm acceleration has to be greater than your pelvis acceleration. And if it's not, you're really gonna feel a poorly timed golf swing. So this is the essence, how we talk about the ABCs of the golf swing, the arms, the body, and the club. Really, that is what's working properly in transition here is that segment independence, arms accelerating independent of the torso, upper torso, and then also of the lower body. Once we get up to the top of our backswing, if this kicks out really quick, couple things are gonna happen. This will have an influence on the upper torso and the club, and we'll see a tendency to kind of shift out. So if you start coming over the top real quick, that's one of the reasons why this is out, actually out racing, out rotating faster than what everything else should be doing. So if we were to do this first and then this, and then the arms, it throws it out. Now, from an overhand standpoint, we would definitely see that. We would definitely see more separation between the pelvis, torso, and the arms. We would see this big proximal to distal sequencing. But golf swing is more of a underhand throwing motion or sidearm throwing motion, so we have to have different sequence, and that's where this divergent sequencing happens, and that's what we wanna see in the golf swing. So this way, when we get up to the top, it's all working in its own direction, and then we see this acceleration separate. That's a properly timed golf swing. So when you feel your swing being quick and jerky, body's just out racing the arms, arms can't catch up, club gets behind, and then the last thing you feel is the hands and arms trying to fix it. So using the arms more in transition builds up that acceleration rate and coordinates what happens on the inside. So what are some drills that you can do? Feet together drill, flamingo drill. That's what divergent sequencing actually, that's a good way to train for divergent sequencing. It's all about a feel. It's all about smoothness. Thanks for watching. Stay tuned as we dive deeper into the golf swing using the gear system to really kinda quantify our feel so you can play better golf.