New local golf book could have positive impact on your game

Considering the average golf swing takes about a second to begin, complete and, in my case, butcher, it's amazing how many swing thoughts can be stuffed into a single round of golf. You likely know what I'm talking about -- slow down that swing; speed it up. Stand closer to the ball; back away a bit. Keep your head down; get your head out of your ... uh, never mind. I think you get my point.

Bottom line, golf is the most cerebral game there is, and the average player can't get out of his or her own way because they can't get their minds out of his game. With every takeaway there are multiple moving parts; with every result there is instant evaluation. It is, for the most average among us, too much to figure out without some serious help.

A local golf instructor with an international reputation, however, is challenging the complex nature of the golf swing, opting instead to break the physical nature of the game down to three key elements that will define a solid swing -- no matter how pretty or ugly that swing may be.

Andrew Rice, Berkeley Hall's director of instruction, is the author of "It's All About Impact -- The Winners of Over 100 Majors Prove It," a book that examines the swings of 25 of the game's greatest professionals and then breaks down the key elements that must be present when the average golfer makes contact with the golf ball.

His first foray into the publishing world, Rice has determined that there really is no right or wrong swing, only several key elements that must be obeyed as golfers develop their own style and motion.

"We're all different so we can't be expected to swing the same way," Rice said. "I can tell you that the majority of golfers don't care what their swing looks like. They just want to hit the ball better and post better scores. That is what this book is about."

Rice's book, which debuted in December and is available for purchase on his web site www.itsallaboutimpact.com, identifies the point of contact as the key moment of the golf swing and details the importance of a strong grip, the proper stance and a consistent swing pivot to maximizing a golfer's pass through the hitting area. While each golfer he examined during his preparation for the book had their own unique swing style, these three elements were all present in their setup, takeaway and execution of the swing.

"All of their swings were impact driven and they all made the same sound upon impact," Rice said. "Everything they did all the way through their swing helped to get them in the right position to hit the ball."

While thrilled with the results of "It's All About Impact," Rice never actually intended to write the book. He began analyzing the swings of greats such as Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus, Raymond Floyd and Tiger Woods and was surprised to see so much variety among the players, who combined have captured more than 100 majors among them. Rice has long thought too much emphasis has been placed on creating the perfect swing and seeing the difference between graceful swingers such as Woods and Ernie Els compared to more custom swings of Palmer and Floyd only further validated that belief.

"The Raymond Floyd golf academy has never opened, but he has more majors (four) than any current player on tour other than Tiger," Rice said. "It's testament to the fact that we are all going to have different swings. It's about substance over style and function over form."

Instead of trying to build the perfect swing, Rice's book, which was written, edited, illustrated and designed all by Lowcountry talent, focuses on the key moment of impact and ensuring all the elements of the swing are working toward that critical micro-section of the action. The foundation of a good result is solid impact with the ball and that is guaranteed by a strong grip, a stance that has a golfer's head looking down at the center of the stance and a shoulder pivot at the right angle to ensure the clubface is square through impact.

"It really is the moment of truth in the golf swing," Rice said. "If golfers can focus more on the impact point of the swing they will do much better."

An easy-to-read and follow 118-page book, "It's All About Impact" includes dozens of illustrations and photos describing the fundamental elements Rice preaches throughout the read. While Rice was not permitted to use the exact likeness of the players he studied for the book, knowledgeable golf fans should be able to discern their favorite players from the illustrations -- or at least have some fun trying.

"It could be a good challenge to see how many of the players you can guess just from the illustrations," Rice said. "The actual writing of the book was easy, the illustrations were challenging because we were limited in what we could do with a player's likeness."

In addition to studying Rice's swing fundamentals in the book, readers can access the instructor's video clips of those same lessons on YouTube by searching Andrew Rice Golf. Additionally, Andrew's site www.andrewricegolf.com features more than 100 blog posts concerning golf instruction and a myriad of other topics pertaining to the golf lifestyle. An eBook edition of "It's All About Impact" is also available at www.itsallaboutimpact.com.

Rice plans a second printing of "It's All About Impact" that will likely include even more illustrations and photos of the swing process though no timetable for that publishing has been set.

"I can say I truly enjoyed writing this book and at the same time hated it that much," Rice said of the effort.

Considering it simplifies one of the most complex motions in sports, reaction to "It's All About Impact" is sure to be much more the former than the later of those two emotions -- and deservedly so.