CHARPTER FOUR 第四章

HOW TO SWING 挥杆（1）

*** Building An Action To Last 握杆是基础

After I won the 1997 Masters by 12 strokes with a record score of 270, 18 under par, I wasted no time before celebrating. I do know how to have fun, and I did not leave anything in the bag. I partied with my buddies, traveled a little and generally had a great time. I knew I would have to come back to earth eventually, but I was not in any special hurry to get there. One night, a week or so later, after the elation had started to die down, I decided to sit down and watch a tape of the entire tournament. I was by myself, so I was really able to concentrate on critiquing my full swing to see if there was some flaw I might be able to work on.

I did not see one flaw. I saw about 10.

1997年的大师赛，我以12杆的优势夺冠。我四天-18，270杆创下了一个新的纪录。我爱玩，放下了高尔夫，我和朋友们一起出游了，很开心！我离不开高尔夫，但我也不着急。大约一周后的一个晚上，夺冠后的兴奋劲渐渐消退，我独自坐下来，很专注地看这次比赛的录像，我要看看我的挥杆是否需要一些改进。

    我看到的问题不是一个，而是十个。

I had struck the ball great that week, but by my standard I felt I had gotten away with murder. My club-shaft was across the line at the top of the backswing and my club-face was closed. My swing plane was too upright. I like my ball flight, but I was hitting the ball further with my irons than I should have been because I was de-lofting the club-face through impact. I didn’t like the look of those things, and the more I though about it, the more I realized I didn’t like how my swing felt, either. From a ball-striking standpoint, I was play better than I knew how.

Even before the tape ended, I committed myself to make some big changes in my swing. Butch had pointed out some of these swing flaws before, and we had working on them slowly, but I decided right then and there to pick up the pace. I got on the phone and called Butch and let him know how I was thinking. He was all for the swing overhaul I had in mind.

那一周我击球很好，但是从我自己的标准来看，很多是侥幸。上杆时我的杆把已经戳穿了平面，上杆顶点的杆面是闭合的，我的挥杆平面太陡了。球的飞行轨迹很好，铁杆的距离涨了，但是距离的增加是由于我击球时杆面角的减少。这些让我觉得不对，而且越想越觉得我的挥杆有问题，虽然从击球效果来看挺不错。

还没有看完录像，我就决定，我必须调整挥杆。布奇在这之前已经指出我的这些挥杆问题，但是我没有很当回事，现在我决定要立即开始着手这些问题。我把我的想法电话告知了布奇，对于我提到的挥杆“检修”他完全赞同。

That overhaul took more than a year before the changes really started to kick in. first, my full swing started to look better. Then the ball started to behave better. Finally, my swing started to feel right, and that’s when I knew I had it. I had a very good year in 1999, and in 2000 I played by far the best golf of my life.

The point to this story is, the golf swing will always be a work in progress regardless of how good you are. The goal is to have a swing that is mechanically sound, repeatable, works with every club in your set and holds up under pressure. I don’t know if anyone will ever achieve a state of perfection—I know I haven’t. But you can bet I’ll keep trying.

这一次的“检修”持续了一年，效果开始显现。我的全挥杆看上去更加完美，球路也更稳，我的自我感觉也很好，我觉得自己完全能控制挥杆。1999年，我的表现很好，而2000年，更是我职业生涯中表现最好的一年。

即使已经很完美，挥杆仍需要不断地修正。一个完美而重复性高的挥杆是我的目标，球包中的每一根杆在压力之下都能表现完美。完美是每个人的目标，我觉得自己还远远没到完美，我将继续努力。

*** One Grip For All Shots 握杆

The grip is the cornerstone of the swing. It is related to almost every element of the swing itself, including path, clubface position, ball position and posture. It isn’t really necessary to explain how the grip relates to these other factors, except to say that to have a chance of building a good swing, you need a good grip.

My own grip has evolved over the years. When I was a junior golfer, I preferred a strong left-hand grip, my hand rotated well to my right on the handle of the club. That made both hands much more active during the swing, made it easier to square the clubface at impact, and gave me extra distance. Later after I grew and became stronger, I weakened my left hand considerably. Today it’s in a fairly neutral position, with 2¹/₂   knuckles of my left hand showing at address. That’s the best position of all in my opinion, and one I know will suit most every golfer.

When ever I made a grip change, I made sure I had a club in my hands constantly so I could “practice” my new grip. I wanted my new grip to start feeling natural as quickly as possibly.

握杆是挥杆的基石，几乎挥杆的每一个环节都与握杆有关，挥杆路径，杆面位置，球位和站姿，这个大家都很清楚，可以这样说，要有一个好的挥杆，握杆是起点。

我的握杆是随着年龄的增加而逐步改进的。青少年时，我习惯于左手强势握杆，我的左手在握把上向右侧盖过去，这可以使双手在挥杆过程中更加主动，杆面在击球时容易回正，击球距离也远。随着年龄的增长以及体格的强壮，我的左手开始变得弱势，到今天，是比较中性的握法。握好杆，左手能看到两个半指关节，在我看来，这是左手最好的置放位置，我觉得适合一般的人。

每次改变握杆，我的手就不离开杆，这样我可以不停地练习我的新握法，直到我感觉新握法变得很自在。

*** My Left Hand Is My Control Hand 左手控制方向

     The handle of the club runs diagonally across the base of my fingers; from the forefinger to a point atop the callus pad below my little finger. That provides the best combination of sensitivity and control. At all costs, I avoid placing the handle too far toward the palm of my open left hand. I’ll lose club-head speed and the sensitivity I refer to.

     When the left-hand grip is complete and I lower the club into the address position, my thumb should be positioned to the right of center on the handle, and the “V” formed by my right thumb（原文right thumb，我觉得错了，因为这一节讲的是左手） and forefinger should point just outside my right ear.

杆把横过指根，从食指的到小指的茧上面。这样的握法既保证了手感也保证了手对杆的控制。我绝对避免把杆把放在我张开的左手的手掌，因为这样会使得击球时杆头减速，而且手感也会很差。

    左手握好后，我把杆下放到瞄准的位置，我的左手拇指应该在握把的中心右侧，我的右拇指（原文right thumb，我觉得错了，因为这一节讲的是左手）和食指所形成的“V”应该指向我的右耳外。

*** My Right Hand Is My Speed Hand 右手控制我的速度

     The right-hand grip is similar to that of the left hand. The main difference is the club is placed more among the fingers. The handle should run from the middle portion of your right index finger to the base of your pinkie. This activates your right hand so it can supply speed on the downswing.

右手的握法和左手相似，只是杆把更多地在手指，杆把置于食指的中间到小指的根部，这样的握法，让右手更容易采取主动，在下杆时挥出速度。

=== Why I interlock: （交互式握杆）

     As a little boy, I was taught the interlocking grip, the little finger of my right hand laced between the forefinger and middle finger of my left hand. That’s how Jack Nicklaus, my idol, did it, and I copied him. It gives me the feeling that my hands can’t separate during the swing. I’m in the minority though. Most players prefer the over-lapping grip, with the little finger of the right hand placed riding in the notch formed by the left forefinger and middle finger. My feeling is, either way is really just fine.

    小时候，我接受的是交互式握杆方法，右手的小指在左手的中指和食指间，并且与左手的食指交互在一起，我的偶像尼克劳斯就是这个握法，我学他的。这个握法让我觉得自己的双手在挥杆时是一体的，但是这样握法的人比较少，更多的是采用重叠式握杆，小指骑在左手中指和食指形成的凹口里。我觉得这两种方法都可以接受。

*** The Finished Product （握力）

     My complete grip provides a sense of snugness and unity between the two hands. They should feel as if they are melded together, almost as if you were born to hold a club. If you don’t have that sensation, practice gripping and re-gripping the club. Keep a club handy just for this purpose.

     You should hold the club lightly enough to allow plenty of wrist freedom and to have some feel, but firmly enough to maintain control of the club throughout the swing. The most important thing is to keep your grip pressure steady. If you increase your grip pressure at any point during the swing, it will cost you club-head speed and control of the club.

      On the subject of grip pressure, I believe a lot of amateurs hold the club too tightly because their hands aren’t on the club correctly to begin with. To prevent the club from sliding around the fingers and palm, they instinctively tighten their hold, usually at the beginning of the downswing. It proves once again why a technically perfect grip is so important. If your grip is sound, you don’t have to think about your hands at all during the swing. You’re free to concentrate on the other aspects of good ball striking.

双手握好后，杆把与手是契合的，两只手融合犹如一体。似乎杆把天生就是与手模合的。如果握好杆，双手没有这种感觉，那么不断地练习或者重新调整，身边备一根杆，以便于随时练习。

握杆不能太紧，手腕不能僵硬而失去手感，但是也不能松的脱手，最重要的是保持握力的一致，如果在挥杆的过程中，手的握力突然增加，这会导致杆头速度的下降和失去方向。

至于握力，很多业余球手往往会握得太紧，握得太紧的原因往往是由于握杆不正确，为了防止握把脱手，通常是在下杆的刹那，他们本能地握紧。所以我强调握杆的重要性，如果握杆是正确的，那么就不会担心脱手这些事，就能专注于击球了。