CHARPTER FOUR 第四章

HOW TO SWING 挥杆（4）: SLOT 上杆顶点

I talked about positioning the club correctly midway through the backswing. The reason I stress that so much is because you then have a much better chance of setting it in that elusive position known as the “slot” at the top of the swing. Check your reflection in the mirror or a window to see where your club is, then work on setting it correctly.

我非常注意上杆到一半的位置，因为这能保证我杆到顶点位置的正确。练习时，要对着镜子或是窗玻璃，这样能保证上杆的到位。

*** I’ve Found the “Slot” 顶点位置

    This is the ideal top-of-backswing position. The shaft is parallel to the target line, just as it was midway through the backswing. If I start the downswing by shifting my lower body to the left and un-turning my hips, the club will drop down and approach the ball on the perfect path and plane.

    杆身平行于目标线，就如同上杆到一半时一样，这是最理想的顶点位置。身体下盘左移但保持胯不转以此来启动下杆，杆就会循着完美的路径和平面来击球。

=== The Club Is “Laid Off”

    If the club points to the left of the target at the top, you are prone to “coming over the top” on the downswing. You’ll cut across the ball from out to in and hit a slice or pull.

=== The Club Is “Across the Line”

    If the club points to the right of the target at the top, you are “across the line” and will likely swing the club down too much from the inside. That means a block to the right or a big hook.

    上杆滞后。如果上杆到顶点，杆头指向目标线的左侧，那么下杆时就会出现outside-in的挥杆轨迹。大右曲和拉左就在所难免。

    上杆过度。如果上杆到顶点，杆头指向目标线的右侧，那么这根越位的杆下杆时就会出现inside-out的挥杆轨迹，眼睁睁看着球右直或者大左曲。

*** Let Gravity Rule 顺其自然

The faster you swing the club through impact, the farther the ball goes. That’s a simple equation, but obtaining speed and power on the downswing is easier said than done. A problem almost every golfer encounters is rushing the downswing – letting loose with every thing you have the moment the backswing is complete. When you do that, however, nothing works in proper sequence. The shoulders outrace the arm, the arms outrace the hands and the hands outrace the club. All that speed is expended too soon and the club-head is actually losing speed as it strikes the ball, when it should be accelerating.

谁都明白，击球的速度决定距离，但是下杆时的速度和力量并不是那么容易得到的。几乎每个打球的人都曾有过急促下杆的体会，这把好不容在上杆顶点蓄积的力量链打破了。下杆的顺序成了肩膀，手臂，手和杆，全错了。释放过早，当杆头击到球的那会，加速成了减速。

I like to start the downswing by shifting my weight easily back to my left side, and then letting my arms “fall” downward in front of my chest. I don’t want my shoulders unwinding so fast that they get way ahead of my arms. By giving my arms a little head start, they work in concert with my shoulders to create a real package of power coming into the ball. That good timing allows me to hit the ball a mile, and I don’t have to try very hard to do it.

我的下杆是以把重心移到左侧开始的，然后让手臂在胸前下降，我的肩膀的转动略滞后于手臂。让手臂微微地先于肩膀，然后他们才能和肩膀一起在击球的瞬间释放最大的能量，掌握最佳时机，让球远飞，这一切就这样自然而然地发生。

*** Tiger Tale: Trial and Error 试错

I feel very lucky to play golf in an era where so many technological resources are 

available to optimize my performance, speed my improvement and widen my

understanding of the golf swing. There are many ways to get an edge, and technology

 is one of them. I’m very open-minded toward any innovation that can potentially

 make me a better player.

我十分幸运地在一个技术为球技提高提供各种可能性的时代打球，使我能够对挥杆

有更深入的理解并获得不断地提高，当然提高球技的办法不仅仅是技术的进步，对于能够让我成为更好球手的各种创新技术手段，我从来都不拒绝尝试。

I have a lot of tools at my disposal, and I use them all. High-speed video cameras 

have  made it possible to view my swing from several different angles at once and

 spot even the tiniest flaw. There is no guesswork involved in my swing now—when

 I hit a bad shot, my understanding of cause and effect enables me to pinpoint the

 reason immediately. My clubs are manufactured exactly to my specifications, the

 lofts, lies, shaft flexes and overall weights optimized with painstaking precision.

 I play a ball that feels and spins just right. My workout regimen is one designed

specially for golf, with emphasis on strength, flexibility and endurance. I’ve

 learned a great deal about nutrition and human physiology in general. My

understanding of sport psychology has made me a better golfer emotionally and

intellectually.

All this to improve the way I whack a ball with a stick! What really excites me is

the prospect of even greater breakthroughs in all of these area. We can’t help

 but be better golfers for it.

我有许多可用的工具。高速摄像机，能随时从各个角度摄下我的挥杆，任何挥杆

的瑕疵都逃不过摄像头。我的挥杆被剖析的淋漓尽致，任何一个打坏的球，凭着

我对挥杆因果的理解，我能立即找到原因。我的杆是特制的，杆面角，杆底设计，

杆身硬度和杆重量都是极度精确的，我击打的球的球感和倒旋都是最合适的。我

的身体训练计划是专为高尔夫这个运动特殊的力量需要、灵活性和耐力而设计的。我

对营养学和人体生理学也有比较透彻的了解，至于运动心理学更是让我成为一

个理性的球手

所有这些，都是为了提高击球效果，期待着这些领域的进一步的突破！有了这些，

所有的球手必定成功！

*** Delivering the Big Payoff  用力一击

I’m letting it all hang out on this particular swing, and why not? My setup was

 sound, I made a smooth, unhurried backswing and my downswing was timed just

 right. Having studied a thousand pictures of myself just before impact I can tell

 you where this shot is headed—about 310 yards down the middle with about a

 five-yard draw. I’ll take it.

Everything I’ve down from the time I pulled the club from the bag was designed

to get me to this point. There comes a moment in the swing when I’ll sense that

everything has fallen together perfectly, and I just let it rip. It doesn’t happen

 on every swing, but it happens often enough to give me goose bums just

thinking about it. At that moment, every ounce of strength, speed and emotion is

 applied into just hitting the ball.

There’s no science about it, no conscious though at all. Just pure joy.

挥杆是我所有努力的体现和回报。到位的站姿，平稳的上杆，应时的下杆。无数次

我研究挥杆图片，每一次击球前，我都能预知我球的落点和方向：310码球道中，

偏左5码，这就是我所想要的。

从球包中抽出杆的那一刻起，我就预备了那个落点，我不急不躁，所有的一切都是为

了那个落点。并不是每一杆都能打成那样，但是成功的几率已经让我很激昂了，那

一刻，我的力量，速度和情感都投入进去了。

在那一刻，无须科学测算，无须强化意识，只是水到渠成而已。