Make no mistake about it. The golf swing is all about geometry. The body’s lines, angles, and arcs and the club must all align to produce solid, consistent results. The quality of this relationship, among the most basic in golf, determines the quality of your swing. Simply put, if your body type matches your swing type, you’ll achieve a powerful swing—at least that’s what T.J. Tomasi advocates in his theory of LAWS. It’s covered in his book The LAWS of the Golf Swing, which explains the theory and provides numerous golf tips on matching body type and swing type.

T.J.’s credentials are impeccable. He is an adjunct professor at the Keiser University School of Golf, an accredited university offering degrees in Golf Management, where he teaches numerous courses. Also, he gives golf lessons at the PGA Center For Golf Learning and Performance, and is one of golf’s most widely published instructors. His golf tips often appear in popular golf magazines. His theory of LAWS provides a unique approach to the golf swing—one that could help you not only develop a better swing but also reduce your golf handicap.

The Theory of LAWS
Tomasi’s theory holds that when it comes to your swing, you can’t escape your body type. Each body type has its own characteristics and its own requirements for a good swing. Each swing type has its own characteristics and it’s own requirements for the right body type. Your swing’s key elements (swing plane, takeaway, hip action, downswing and so on) must match your body type to produce a consistent swing—an idea not often covered in golf lessons. Three body types prevail—mesomorph, ectomorph, and endomorph. These are matched to three swing types—the leverage swing, the arc swing, and the width swing.

Mesomorphs have a symmetrical build, with evenly proportioned limbs and good strength and flexibility. To have a good swing, mesomorphs should use a leverage swing (think Fred Funk/Annika Sorenstam). Ectomorphs are thin-chested and have flexible builds and long arms. They have decent strength and good flexibility. To have a good swing, ectomorphs should use an arc swing (think Fred Couples/Lorena Ochoa). Endomorphs are barrel-chested and have thick frames and short arms. While they have good strength, they lack some flexibility. To have a swing that produces consistent results, they should use a width swing (think Craig Stadler/J.B. Holmes).

Swing Plane Must Match Body Type
Swing plane is a key swing element that must match body type. For instance, your body type influences the lie angle of your club. The lie angle, in turn, must match your swing plane at address and impact. The alignment allows your swing to travel along an almost identical path in the backswing and downswing, with little or no change in either the transition or through impact. Of course, each club in your bag has a different lie angle, thanks to their varying lengths. So it’s not truly possible to swing on the exact same plane with every club. Instead, every swing plane will be a little bit different.

Match Your Entire Motion
But matching your swing plane to your body type isn’t enough. To produce consistency, you must also match your entire motion to your body type, from takeaway to impact. If you look at players in a group golf instruction session, you’ll see many different body and swing types. All these players can function on the highest level, if they get their swing elements to match their body types.

You can find out more about the T.J. Tomasi’s theory of LAWS at his website ( HYPERLINK "http://www.tjtomasi.com" www.tjtomasi.com). The site has an online test that tells you what body type you have, so you can match it to the right swing type. The site also provides golf tips based on the Tomasi’s theory. Developing a consistent swing will improve not only your ballstriking but also your accuracy and distance control, enabling you to chop strokes from your golf handicap.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 6th, 2010 at 1:59 pm and is filed under Golf Articles. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.