Owning one’s Swing

 

I always thought that when people talked about “owning one’s swing”, they meant something like this:
To know the what, the how and the why of your swing inside out, and being able to perform accordingly. When it comes to your swing, there can be no unanswered questions. Nothing can stand in the way of you and the most efficient motion possible given your physical and mental capabilities.

I found this interesting quote in an old article about George Knudson:

“What is it that allows a golfer to own his golf swing? When you consider there might have been only three or four in the history of the game, the answer isn’t as complicated as you might think. 
It means repetition of the highest level.
It means a swing plane that is not rerouted and does not change regardless of the club.
It means impeccable posture and perfect balance.
But most importantly, in the cases of Hogan, Moe and George, it means a perfectly square clubface approaching impact that remains square through the shallow, long and low action after impact. One need just look at pictures of the three of them in action.”
~ Irv Lightstone, 2006 (source)

So Irv looked at what (he thought) were the similarities between the golfers who supposedly owned their swings.

So in the end it comes down to this:
Perfect execution of perfect technique with perfect consistency.

In my opinion, achieving this can only be helped by really knowing the what, the how and the why of your swing.

Or else just beat a lot of balls.

Extensor Action

What is it?
Extensor action is a preferred way of achieving a straight left arm in the golfswing.

Why would you want to have a straight left arm in the first place?
For starters it provides some consistency because the distance between left shoulder socket and hand stays the same this way.

Why can't you just use the muscles of your left arm to straighten it?
You could do this, but doing it this way builds up a lot of tension in the arm (and potentially the shoulder and back). This tension hinders the ability to freely move, turn or hinge your forearm and wrist.

What does it do exactly:
Extensor action pulls the left thumb away from the left shoulder socket.

How do you apply extensor action?
Grip a club with your left hand. Your left thumb should be riding on top of the shaft, somewhere between 12 or 1 o'clock. Now add the right hand. The lifeline of the right palm should now be covering the left thumb.
Apply pressure (push) to the #1 pressure point (the area where the back of the right thumb starts) with the right palm/heel. You can do this by actively straightening the right arm at the elbow joint throughout the swing.