The three imperatives?
 

Would some one please list the three imperatives?
Thank You

Do not have the book handy, but I believe it is:

- A flat left wrist (at impact)
- A clubhead lag pressure point (at impact)
- A straight plane line (The line on which the titled arc described by the clublead rests)

Note: For leftys, the first imperative reads
- A flat right wrist (at impact)

These are correct. Except for the descriptions of the plane line and clubhead lag pressure point. The plane should be seen as a flat surface with four sides that extends to infinite. THE STRAIGHT PLANE LINE IS THE BASE OF THAT RECTANGULAR PLANE(the part that sits on the ground) it is parrallel to and slightly inside the target line.

The clubhead lag pressure point is present from the TOP to FOLLOW THROUGH.

Hope this helps.

Hunter

Sorry, this may be a little bit off topic, but why did Homer use the words Imperatives as opposed to Essentials (stationary head, balance and rhythm), or vice versa? What message is he trying to get across? Imperatives are more important than Essentials?

Exactly. You cannot function without the three Imperatives. You can, however, play decent golf without the Essentials - but it's certainly recommended that you incorporate them as well.

I can find pros that do not operate on a straight plane line throughout their swing. So if there was a laser pointer on both ends of their club, it will not be pointing to an extension of the plane line all the way through their stroke. Although, obviously as the club nears impact, if will have to start tracing again.

I may have missed the point. Someone please explain...!

I had two but not the third!
 

I was at work without access to The Book when I originally asked the question. I had the flat left and clubhead lag but I was hung up on the third. I was trying to fit extensor action in to the list .
I wonder why it isn't an imperative?? It seems pretty darn important to my stroke!
Steve

Imperative: definition
 

Imperative: "Impossible to deter or evade"
Essential: "Basic or indispensable; necessary"

ideally trace the plane back, trace the plane through. But we aren't robots...so there will be variations used just like the golfing machine says you can do.

Re: I had two but not the third!
 

Tough to get it in as an Imperative. They are physical or conceptual states. Might be able to slip it in with Essentials, because they are composites of Actions (or intentional lack thereof).

Maybe a 3rd category .... "Actions That Make a Whole Lot of Good Things Happen and Cleanup a Bunch of Bad Things You May Have Been Doing for Years."

Doesn't quite have the snap or economy of expression of "Imperative" or "Essential". I'll have to work on it. :)

I agree, working on the Extensor Action is like mining gold.

Charlie

Plane ANGLE may be varied, but not the plane line. There are no variations for tracing different plane lines in TGM. Please correct me if I'm wrong...

Variations
 

There are no acceptable variations for being off-plane in The Golfing Machine that I'm aware of. There are many pro's that have compensations and manage their way around them, but pro's need lessons too!!!

The variations are listed in the book and some are compatible with swinging others with hitting, and some both. Compensations by their nature are not in the book as there is no book large enough to hold them all. Compensations are not geometrically sound.

A bent plane line will almost always produce compression leakage. So while the pro managed to compensate and hit a decent shot, the sour expression on his face indicates he didn't "pure it" like he was expecting.

Bagger

Re: Variations
 

Doesn't compression leakage depend on where the plane line is bent, i.e. if plane line is bent during impact interval, then there obviously will be compression leakage, but not if it's bent anywhere else in the swing. Also, the sooner you get back to a straight plane line before impact, the better.

Imperatives First
 

I've found it very interesting that Homer wouldn't teach anything else until a student first learned the imperatives.

Bagger