The second part of the swing (1)

One of the greatest pleasures in golf-I can think of nothing that truly compares with it unless it is watching a well-played shot streak for the flag-is the sensation a golfer experiences at the instant he contacts the ball flush and correctly. He always knows when he does, for then and only then does a distinctive “sweet feeling” sweep straight up the shaft from the clubhead and surge through his arms and his whole frame. Not even the best golfer can hit the ball this well on every shot, for golf, in essence, is a game of misses. Every seasoned sensible golfer knows this, and accordingly, he tries to build a swing that is so basically sound that his “misses” are, in truth, not bad golf shots at all-fairly well struck, accurate enough, eminently serviceable.

打球最快乐的事莫过于感受一记清脆扎实漂亮的击球（比这更快乐的当然是直奔旗杆而去的球），从杆头到握把，畅快轻松感涌过手臂，一直到全身。并不是高手每一个球都能有这样的体会，对高尔夫而言，一项遗憾的艺术，经验丰富而又明智的球手都懂这条。所以，球手设法让自己的挥杆成形而流畅因而经久耐用，这样即使那些球有些遗憾，也仍然不失为好球，仍有足够的准度。

In this chapter we will be taking up the phrase of the swing in which the player actually hits the ball. This second section of the swing-form the start of the downswing to the finish of the follow-through-is the most crucial part, necessarily. This is where everything a player does form the moment he takes his club from the bag either pays off or doesn’t. Since, in the method we are teaching, each action is the direct result of preceding actions in the chain-action sequence of the swing, it strikes me that it would be extremely profitable, before tackling the downswing, to review briefly the plane of backswing. As we brought out in the last lesson, staying on his plane as he swings back is a golfer’s best insurance of being in a correct and powerful position at that critical juncture where his backswing ends and the downswing begins.

在这一章，我们要进入击球阶段了，挥杆的第二部分，从下杆到击完球，是至关重要的一个章节。不管是有奖金的比赛和没奖金的比赛，球手从球包取出杆，就为了这一击。在挥杆的连锁动作中，每一个动作都是前序动作的直接结果。因此，让我们先回顾一下上一节课的上杆平面，倚着平面上杆，确保上杆顶点也就是下杆起始点的那个关键位置的正确和能量的储蓄是一个球手完美击球的保证。

As he addresses the ball, the golfer creates the angle of the plane of his backswing: the plane inclines along this imaginary line running from the ball to the top of his shoulders and on upward at that established angle of inclination. If a golfer rotates his shoulders on this plane and swings his arms and club back on this plane-neither dropping them below the plane nor, what is much more disastrous, lifting them above the plane-then at the top of his backswing his left arm will be extended at an angle to the ball identical with the angle of the plane. In terms of functioning, which is more to our point, the shoulders, arms and hands will then be in a perfect position to carry out their interrelated movement on the downswing.

瞄准，上杆平面的角度就形成了，从球到双肩再往上延展，贴着这条想象中的线，离开球上杆，到肩膀继续贴着这条想象中的线形成的角度。球手在平面上旋转肩膀，使得手臂和杆贴着平面向后，不能往下掉落而低于平面，更不能高于平面，这样，当上杆完成到达上杆顶点时，球手的左手臂与球的连线形成的角度与瞄准时球与双肩形成的平面角度一致。肩膀，手臂和手将会在一个互相牵制协作的位置，来完成接下来的下杆。

Learning to think in terms of this plane has helped tremendously to improve and stabilize the swings of many friends of mine. Like no other visual suggestion, it seems to induce a golfer to make the correct backswing movements time after time. He folds the right elbow in, just as he should; his left arm is fully extended but not rigid, just as it should be. He completes his full shoulder turn, his hands cock themselves naturally, without any conscious effort, and the back of his left hand is an unbroken extension of the line of his left wrist and forearm. Not only are his arms and the upper part of his body correctly aligned throughout the backswing, but these various component parts tend to be poised time after time with proper degree of live, stretched muscular tension ready to be released on the downswing.

我的朋友们因为学习上杆平面而改善和稳定了挥杆，不像那些能看得见的建议，但挥杆平面的概念却使得球手的上杆能一遍又一遍地重复。右肘自然屈，左臂充分伸展但不僵硬，肩膀完全旋转，双手自然翘起不紧绷，左手背与手腕和前臂形成一个完整的平面，手臂和身体上半部分，密切配合，灵活舒展，一遍一遍重复上杆，并最终把蓄积的能量释放于下杆。

When I am studying and evaluating a golfer’s swing, I always make it a point to check how well he adheres to his plane on the backswing. Standing several yards behind him and facing down his line of flight, I slant my forearm and hand (with the fingers extended and joined as in a salute) along the angle of his plane. As he swings back, I can then observe whether or not he stays on the plane throughout his backswing. If he doesn’t then I know that this golfer’s swing is not soundly constructed and will not be able to repeat under pressure.

我在仔细查看和评估一个球手的挥杆时，我总是用一个方法来检查他是否贴着上杆平面。站在球手的右侧几码远的地方，面对他球的飞行线路，我如行军礼一般并拢伸直我的右手手指，与前臂和手形成直线，斜放我的手臂与他的上杆平面平行，那么当他上杆的时候，我能看到他是否一直与上杆平面紧贴，如果不是这样，我就能断定，球手的挥杆路径并不好，不能保证在压力之下的不变形。