Now the real fun begins.  The side-to-side drill you rehearsed in Part 1 was only setting the stage for the complete Symmetric Candlestick Loop, in case you were wondering.  In fact, if you were paying attention AT ALL during Part 1 (and the odds of that were slim to none, and “slim” just left town), you were probably muttering the following question under your wheezing breath:  “Didn’t this bozo say something about a LOOP ?”  Yes, (my groaning grasshoppers), we’ll be positively loopy in two wags of a dog’s tail, but first please review this JPEG image one more time, before shifting your oscillating arse back into the starting position, as illustrated by the lovely and talented Nick Faldo.  If you are a right-handed golfer, this means pushing the imaginary candlestick out to the right side of your body, extending your left arm, and keeping most of your weight on your right foot.

 

Okay, prepare yourself for complete loopiness.  Go ahead and sweep your arms and the upright candlestick through a low arc underneath your chin just like before, ending at the finish position explained in Part 1, with your right arm extended and your weight favoring your left foot.  Now, instead of simply reversing your motion from left to right and returning the stick to its starting position, try LOOPING the candlestick high overhead in a complete revolution as shown in the top-center sketch in the JPEG, and continue around until the upright candlestick returns to the original starting position.  Try it again:  move the upright candlestick like a giant wheel-spoke around the “hub” created by your steady head, as you freely rotate both shoulders and sweep your extended arms wide in a gigantic circle.  The direction of your revolving “wheel” coincides with the direction you wish the golf ball to fly – toward the target, of course.  If you are a right-hander and you are looking into a mirror, your arms should be revolving in a clockwise direction.  (Use your shadow or a reflective window if a mirror isn’t handy.)  The clock is a wonderful analogy:  simply pass both hands  -- which represent a clock indicator -- from the 3 o’clock starting position, through 6 o’clock, to the 9 o’clock finish position, and then swing them overhead through 12 o’clock, returning back to 3 o’clock.  In your mind’s eye, keep the imaginary candlestick vertically upright the entire way (to eliminate any confusion regarding wrist cocking, as explained in Part 1).

 

We’re having a blast now, aren’t we?  Come on, get really adventurous and start whirling your arms and shoulders freely around your head, keeping the wheel and spoke images in your mind the entire time. Everyone can perform this motion flawlessly… it is very basic, and what’s more it represents the fundamentally correct action of your shoulders and body during the real golf swing.

 

Don’t fret, (my loopy lassoes), if you’re not yet grinning ear to ear, because we are poised to complete your golf swing revolution.  Right now is a marvelous moment to rummage through the junk in your garage or your car trunk, to locate an old broomstick or a real golf club, and place both of your hands near one end.  I don’t much care how you prefer to grip it, because unlike most other golf teachers on planet Earth, in SSCL (Steve’s Symmetric Candlestick Loop) theory, good golf does NOT begin with a good grip.  (Sorry, Mr. Hogan.)  Good golf may not even “end” with a good grip, because my own grip is as homely as a mud fence, yet my swing looks as elegant as a Texas two-step by Baryshnikov.  So find yourself a yardstick or something similar in length, and place your funky frame one last time into the now-familiar starting pose.

 

We will perform the identical circular-looping motion I just described, but now at 6 o’clock we will sweep the tip of the candlestick across the ground, instead of maintaining it in an upright position.  Everything else stays exactly the same, except now we allow the candlestick to “fall” from its vertical orientation so that it brushes the ground at 30 minutes past the stroke of midnight.  Once the stick passes through 6 o’clock, you must endeavor to restore it to its vertical position immediately, and for the remainder of the 360-degree revolution.  This is not nearly as complex as it sounds, and as you become more limber in your arms and shoulder joints, you will quickly realize that you are simply WHIRLING A STICK around your head, allowing the tip to graze across the ground tangentially.  If I’ve sold you totally on the candlestick analogy, just imagine you are burning a line across the grass in the direction of your target with the flaming tip, spraying the hot liquid wax with as much wrist-whipping speed as you can muster.  Or, try to “extinguish” the candle as it “swishes” through impact, in other words.

 

If you can keep your head centered and steady, you will soon comprehend that the crucial speed in the loop is generated from 3 o’clock to 9 o’clock, with the maximum occurring at 6 o’clock.  Allow your left arm to rotate as much as it wants to through these “hours,” and use the immense “sidearm-throwing” power contained in your cocked right elbow to accelerate the tip across the “turf,” with most of the force being applied via the pressure of your right hand forefinger.   Don’t be concerned about the tip striking the ground… this is no problem, but try to achieve a shallower “divot” if possible.  Concentrate on allowing the flaming tip to UPSWING freely towards 9 o’clock, and force your wrists and forearms to vigorously “cross over” near 6 o’clock, directly beneath your head.  If you are a quick study, you will soon master this crossing-over “release” action, and you will be able to time it perfectly to produce a pronounced “whooshing” sound through “impact.”

 

There!  Nice swing, dude!  As a final note, have you ever been puzzled by the confusing concept of the “swing plane,” a geometric idea originated by Ben Hogan that is bandied about recklessly and unceasingly by teaching pros in golf magazines?  The path of your whirling stick from 6 to 9 o’clock IS the swing plane, (my releasing rascals), and you needn’t concern yourself about it anymore.  What you should do now, is integrate the feelings and positions of the Symmetric Candlestick Loop into a golf swing which starts from good posture in a stationary address position at 6 o’clock, has a backswing that essentially puts you into a poised 3 o’clock position, and then accelerates gracefully and powerfully forward, past 9 o’clock into a balanced finish.

 

Focus on a COMPLETE swing model first… a complete revolution of your own “spoked wheel,” and all the remaining details will fall much more quickly into place, as they did for yours truly.