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Time to leave behindthose pre-conceptions

about the golf swing, the technicalthoughts that have failed to improveyour game, and to open your mind to amore natural way of playing the gameyou love. A good golf technique can – andshould – be as natural as walking, as 2003French Open champion Philip Goldingillustrates here. A flowing, swingingmotion can be yours if you learn to trustin your natural movement.Originally pioneered by Welsh profes-

sional Bill Owens in 1991, the concepts of‘Triangulaid’ provide a logical solution foreveryday club golfers who would love

nothing more than the pleasure of play-ing natural golf. Many of the problemsthat we see in the game today stem fromthe fact that people are obsessed withplaying ‘swing’ rather than actually play-ing the game. Wrapped up in themechanics of what they think theyshould be doing, they forget that thegoal is to make a golf swing – not a ‘hit’ –to propel the ball towards the hole.To find such pleasure, Triangulaid

places the emphasis on doing what comesnaturally and encouraging individual char-acter to shine through. Improvements inclub technology have helped to make thispossible; just as skiing instructors coach

differently today, thanks to parabolic skisthat make the sport easier for all levels,so coaching in golf should reflect the factthat modern equipment tolerates a swingthat is less than perfect. We have thetools to enjoy good ball striking with aswing based on natural motion.My belief is that the vast majority of

golfers out there can improve their gameimmediately if they let go of cliches andpre-conceptions and learn to embrace thenatural motion that lies within. This is astate of mind as much as anything else.So, the first step here is to do away withold habits and prepare to explore new sen-sations as you find your natural golf swing.

As Jack Nicklaus always said, good golfstarts from the ground up. To find yournatural movement, you have to engagewith the sensations in your feet – the inter-action you have with the ground. The truerhythm of your swing matches exactly yournatural walking rhythm. The kinetic chaincomes from the feet – you have to use theenergy you absorb from the ground toinspire a natural sequence of movement inthe body. Feel it through your toes. Thearms are like heavy ropes, relaxed as theyhang from your shoulders – they respond tomovement from the feet, not the reverse.Do you consciously think about control-

ling your arms as you walk? No, of course

not, because they are allowed to flowwith the logical chain of movement thatoriginates in the feet. The same orderedsequence must be allowed to happen inyour golf swing. To gain control of ballflight, you have to lose control of yourswing; you have to let your arms swingfreely in response to the turning motionof your body, to the right and then left(as long as your grip and set-up is perfect- more on that in the next issue). For fun, try this walk-in exercise.

Feel your walking rhythm morph into anatural swing, your focus purely onwhere you want the ball to go. Yourfirst steps, literally, to a flowing swing.

By Stéphane BachozPGA MEMBER / TITLEIST PERFORMANCE INSTITUTE CERTIFIEDWWW.TRIANGULAID.COMPHOTOGRAPHY BY ANDREW REDINGTON / GETTY

Weight shiftsnaturally, rightside to left sideas you swing –just as it doeswhen you walk

No sooner haveyou placed yourleft foot into anatural stanceposition andyou’re off, makingyour backswing inthat same walkingpace rhythm

Naturalwalking paceestablishes therhythm of yourmotion as youtake threesteps towardsthe ball

With the clubin front of you,lead in withthe right footas you place itbehind the ball

Rotating the hips all theway through the shot takesyou to a balanced finish –hold it for 7 seconds as youwatch the flight of the ballto its conclusion

SwıngPART ONE

Technically speaking, walking is almost impossible to teach,like a golf swing. And yet it could be as simple as placing onefoot in front of the other...and playing to your natural rhythm. In the first of a two-part series, Stéphane Bachozintroduces principles of the Triangulaid coaching system – which he describes as being ‘as efficient as it is unconventional’ – in a bid to help you experience the sensations, balance and coordination of a natural motion

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The routine I am rehearsing here is one thatyou should use to get in touch with your natu-ral rhythm as you place the emphasis on footand leg action, turning back and forth. Freeyour mind of technical thoughts and simplyrecreate your natural walking rhythm.Let your arms hang freely so that you are

able to hook that club across your back, justabove the hips, and then enhance the sensa-tions in the toes as you create a dance, turn-ing away from and then towards your imagi-nary target. Keep your eyes looking out direc-tion in front (don’t look down), and flow yourweight from one side to the other. Feel your

head turning in time with the movement ofyour right foot as you turn onto the right sideand then again in harmony with the move-ment to the left side en route to the finish.

I don’t want you to think about creating‘resistance’ with the hips, or flexing the rightknee – forget those notions. They actually inhibitmotion. Instead, I want you to let your bodyrotate as freely as you can in time with thatfootwork. Understand that the ‘gesture’ fromthe lower body must be allowed to filter all theway up through to the swinging of the arms –essential in the quest for a flowing swing. The key to this footwork is allowing the left

foot to initiate the backswing rotation to theright (for the right-handed player) and have asolid support on the right foot. In return, youthen spring off your right foot to reverse therotation back towards the target. Finish onyour left side – and hold it for 7 seconds!Rhythm is an essential element of swing.

It’s up to you to identify with your own natu-ral pace. The best solution is to swing thesame way as you walk. Look at Fred Couplesand Ernie Els: they walk and swing slowly, thisdoes not prevent them from being as power-ful as Padraig Harrington, for example, who iswalking and swinging more quickly.

Let your armshangs freely fromthe shoulders –make them feelheavy, like rope.By looking witheyes forward – notdown – you willfeel the balancemore readily inyour toes

Release the leftfoot to initiatethe motion as youturn freely awayfrom the target –you don’t walkwithout raisingthe left heel, andit similarly facili-tates a flowingnatural swing

‘Sink’ the knees alittle as you shiftinto the through-swing – this littlesquat will increasegravity and addspeed to the club

Keep your momen-tum going all the wayway to a straight fin-ish, chest facing leftof your target

Learn to dance with the club – feel it in your footwork/toes

“When you lookforward - and not down - you willfind you immedi-ately aware of thesensation of move-ment and balancein your toes!”

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Identify your ideal,natural golfposture

Work your body! Do this correctlyand you will feel the stretch in thecore abdominal muscles as youturn your left shoulder under yourchin and load up your backswingwith energy

There is no such thing as a ‘text-book’ posture – we are all of dif-ferent height and build and so willeach have our own ideal posture.Here’s a a simple way to think

about finding it – and the moreyou do this and improve the wayyou stand to the ball, the easierit will be to make a good, naturalswing. Conjure in your mindimages of Arthur, the skeletonused in medicine, and think ofthe way the arms hang verticallyto the side when he is suspend-ed – just as yours will if you standstraight and take a deep breath.(Your arms are the only part ofthe body that is suspended – therest is stacked.) Now, bend fromthe pelvis and you will feel yourarms hanging below your shoul-ders – suspended!Now, to create a good spine

angle, return to a tall standingposition and hold a club downyour back. You want to feel 2points of contact: (1) where theclub touches the back of yourhead, and (2) where the shafttouches your tail-bone. Ideallyyou want the lower part of yourback to touch the shaft for about10cm. That’s comfortablystraight, not curved.Keeping that club firmly in

place, tilt your upper body for-wards from the pelvis to experi-ence the sensation of creatinggood spine angle at the set-up;can you still feel those 2 contactpoints?Just as I am demonstrating on

the opposite page, release yourarms and let them be as free asthey can be. They hang directlybelow the shoulders and are nowready to respond to the movementof your body during the swing. Youwill add a final sense of motionand natural athleticism if you thenjust flex the knees gently.You are now in a position to

make a flowing movement – onethat is based on the feeling youtake from the ground.

Shoulders back,chest out andarms relaxed andsuspended atyour side

Feel those twocontact points,head to tailbone,as you bend gen-tly from the hips

Perfect! No sim-ply let the armshang freely, andrelax your head

Relax your head tocomplete a good pos-ture - make it comfort-able. Feel the weightof the arm-club unithanging down

Exhale fully asyou bend fromthe hips, add alittle flex to theknees and allowthe arms to hang

Stand tall andtake a long deepbreath to fullyinflate your chest

Pulling a club against your spine like this heightens your awareness for the angle you createas you bend gently from the hips/pelvis. Try to keep the club in contact with your tail-boneand the top of your head as you ease your upper body forward and then flex your knees toadd a sense of balance to your overall posture. Then release the arms and let them hang.

Bend from the hips for spine angle

Bend from thehips, stick yourrear end out, andflex the knees toadd balance

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NO FINISH, NO FUTURE!“I am the ball” – hold it for 7 seconds, the ‘drop down’ completes the swing

1. 2. 3.I am exaggerating thelength of swing with alazy rhythm, but thekey is to simply toallow your hands andarms to swing the clubover the right shoul-der. Do not try andcontrol it – let thearms respond to themovement all the wayfrom the toes up

GET RID OF PARASITES! Look straight ahead, take your mind off the ball, and feel motion and balance in your toes

To summarise thus far: we are looking for anatural movement that shares the samerhythm as your regular walking pace; amovement that is inspired by the naturalkinetic chain working from the feet-knees-

hips-chest-shoulders-arms, and we are doingthis without a single technical thought inmind. I hope you can sense the flowingmotion in this sequence, which you mayhave noticed I have made without looking at

the ball. There’s a reason for that. Whenyou walk you look into the distance – youdon’t look down at all potential hazards thatmight trip you over. You instinctively knowwhere to place your feet. Drawing on that

notion, making a golf swing without lookingat the ball is a wonderful exercise thatenables you to focus on making a fluentswing without being fixated on the ball. Feelthe inertia and the weight of the arm-club

unit moving around you. Let your arms andthe club respond to your natural body move-ment. Do not try to hit the ball, simply let itget in the way of the clubhead – it has theforce on its side.

You will find that in doing this you forget allof those negative instructions that typicallyrun through your mind – the parasites thatare so good at ruining a natural swing!

I tell all of my pupils to find their finish and holdit for 7 seconds. I don’t know where I came upwith the number, it just seems right somehow.Doing this enables you to watch the ball until itstops completely (and avoid losing it!), and alsoto check your balance all the way to this ‘dropdown’ of the arms.All coaches agree on this point: If you want to

hit solid and consistent shots, you need to focuson making a full and balanced follow-through.The priority is to rotate your hips all the way

through so that you are able to find your balanceon the left leg (right for lefties) and ‘live’ theflight of your ball into your finish. Swing yourhands all the way around behind your head andthen let the arms fall down in time with the flightof the ball, the club coming to rest on your leftshoulder.The finish is more important than the swing.

Even if you hit a bad shot, finish your move. Youwill be well surprised at the results very quickly!

Experience the simplicity of a natural walking ‘swing’... ...and not a technical thought in your head!

1. Unwind all the way to a full finish, the hands now over the left shoulder, chestand belt buckle aiming left of target2. Keep the same pressure in both hands until the end3. And there is the final swing position – ‘I am the ball’!