The First Part of the Swing(2)          

It should be added, of course that every golfer, no matter how sound his game, must expect to experience some ups and downs. Being a human being, he cannot always be at the peak of his game. He will win his share of tournaments, but there bound to be occasions when he cannot keep pace with some of his wonderfully talented colleagues who that week happen to be at the peak of their games.

The fundamentals of golf, as I see it, fall into four natural groupings: those that relate 1) to the grip, 2) to the stance and posture, 3) to the first part of the swing (from address to the top of the backswing) and 4) to the second part of the swing (from the start of the downswing to the finish of the follow-through). In this chapter we will be discussing the first part of the swing. This phase of the swing requires some instinct, a sense of organization, some thought and a fair control of muscular action. It is, however, much less involved than this makes it appear. Learning the backswing actually consists of getting a few movements clear in your mind and then learning to execute them. This is where the golf shot begins to be played.

作为一名球手，不管他是如何出色，也是普通的人，他不可能总是处于巅峰状态，会经历一些起伏。他有赢得时候，但有时恰好他不在状态，而他的同样有天分的伙伴却刚好在状态。

高尔夫挥杆的基本原理，我分成四个部分。1）握杆，2）站姿和身位，3）挥杆第一部分，即从瞄准到上杆顶点，4）挥杆第二部分，下杆到完成收杆动作。这一章我们讨论挥杆的第一部分，这一阶段的挥杆需要一些直觉，协调，思考和对肌肉活动的控制能力。当然，还有很多因素，无法一一而述。上杆时需要在脑中有清晰的一串动作，然后试着把脑中的动作完成，这就是击球。

The first point about the backswing (and the swing in general) I want to emphasize is this: if his body, legs and arms are properly positioned and poised to begin with, any golfer with average physical equipment can learn to execute the proper movements. This is why you must build on a correct grip and stance, for the golf swing is an accumulative thing. All the actions are linked together.

在正常球位和站位的情况下，关于上杆我想强调的第一点是：身体，腿，手臂在正确的位置，身体平衡，上杆如果是建立在正确的握杆和站姿的基础上，任何一个普通身材的人都能做到上杆正确，高尔夫挥杆是正确动作接连正确动作之后的一个必然结果。

For instance, when your grip is correct you will have the proper live tension in the muscles which run along the inside of the arms all the way to the armpit. These are the arm muscles you want to work with-they tie in with the muscles of the body that should be used in the golf swing. Coordinated movement results. Same thing with the legs. The inside muscle which stretch form the ankle to the thigh are the right ones for the golf. When a player uses them-to cite just one illustration-his left knee is bound to break in correctly to the right on the backswing. It won’t shoot out straight ahead and, as it buckles, cause his whole body to buckle over with it. Just as one fault movement leads to others, each correct movement makes it that much easier to execute other moves correctly. With practice, these movements will all blend harmoniously together and fuse into one smooth over-all movement. A bad swing is tiring drudgery. A good swing is a physical pleasure.

如果握杆正确，那么从手臂内侧直到胳肢窝的肌肉是一种自然的牵引。这些手臂内侧的肌肉，将与身体其他协助挥杆的肌肉共同作用，配合完成上杆。大腿也是同样。从脚踝直到大腿的内侧肌肉是挥杆时要用到的，举一个例子，在上杆时，左膝盖相应地朝右侧转动，如果把左膝盖锁住，就会导致整个身体僵硬，击出的球就不会直。错误带来错误，正确的起始动作，有助于下一步动作的正确完成。不断地练习，所有的动作就能协调一致，浑然一体。不正确的挥杆很吃力，正确的挥杆是动能释放，身体的享受。

The bridge between the address and the actual start of the backswing is “the waggle.” As a golfer looks at his objective and figures out the kind of shot he’s going to play, his instinct takes over: he waggles the club back and forth. Possibly because the word waggle suggests that any armless kind of oscillation fills the bill, many golfers have the mistaken idea that it doesn’t really matter how you waggle the club. To put it another way, they think the only purpose in waggling is to loosen yourself up so that you won’t be tense or rigid. There’s a great deal more to the waggle than that. It is an extremely important part of the shotmaking. Far from being just a lot of minute details, it is a sort of miniature practice swing, an abbreviated “dry run” for the shot coming up. As the golfer takes the club back on the waggle, he accustoms himself to the path the club will be taking on his actual backswing. As he waggles the club forward, he adjust himself to that the face of the clubhead will be coming into the ball square and on the line.

在站位和上杆之间是杆头摆动，球手看准目标，他的本能促使他来回摆动杆头，确定他将要击出怎样的一杆。也许摆动这个词让人想到那种完全没有目标的摇动，使得许多球手错误地认为不管怎么摆动都是可以的。或者他们认为，摆动杆的唯一目的是放松自己，让自己不至于过分紧张和僵硬。事实上，杆头摆动的作用远胜于此，这是击球的一个极其重要的部分，远不是仅仅细节问题。这是微型试挥，是即将击出一杆的简短演习。球手把杆往后摆动，预习上杆的途径，而朝前摆动的时候，他微微校正自己，使得杆头能在目标线上方正地击到球。

During the waggle, as he previews his shot an attempts to telegraph his mental picture from his brain to his muscles, the golfer makes the little adjustments necessary to be perfectly in balance for hitting that particular shot form that particular lie. As he waggles, he tunes himself up and tones himself up for his swing. The shoulders do not turn during the waggle. The feet make only small adjusting movements. The hands and arms move. As they waggle the club, the hands and arms pass their rhythm, their tempo of coordination, on to the legs and feet. The trunk of the body and the shoulders pick up this beat, smoothly, form the arms and legs. The whole body, in effect, becomes synchronized to the rhythm in which the various parts will be working cohesively together during the swing.

在杆头摆动期间，他试图把脑中的挥杆画面的电码传递给肌肉，同时作一些必须的细微调整，使自己身体稳定而紧凑，适合于这个特定球位的特定一击。肩膀在摆动时不转，双脚站位轻微调整，手和手臂摆动杆头时，就把协同的节律传到了腿和脚，身体和肩膀从手臂和腿慢慢地感受这种节律，身体各部分紧密合作，整个身体事实上在挥杆时同步于的同一个节律。