Forehand Playing Tips with Rege Ludwig

Playing tips with Rege Ludwig Swing Time vs Riding Time

Five phase hitting process

Renowned polo coach, Rege Ludwig gives his expert advice on how to get more out of your game

My style of teaching the hitting process is to break it down into five phases: 1. Approach

Phase, 2. Swing Preparation Phase, 3. Downswing Phase, 4. Contact Phase,

5. Follow Through Phase. The first two phases are riding issues taking place before the swing of the mallet down to the ball is initiated. I compare those two phases to a golf player standing over the golf ball or a baseball player standing at home plate in preparation of swinging at the ball. That preparation process is so essential, with a significant aspect of it being, it takes so much longer to execute than does the actual swing of the hitting instrument to hit the ball.

To facilitate the first phase, Approach Phase, I have created a six step Hitting Checklist that is intended to have you prepared to initiate the downswing upon arriving at the ball. I am assuming you are preparing to hit an offside fore shot. The same six steps apply to all twelve shots; however, they must be adjusted to fit the shot intended.

Hitting Checklist (offside fore shot)

Step 1. Forty yards from the ball pick a spot approximately one yard to the left of the ball. Ride your horse to have its nose arrive at that spot upon reaching the ball. Under those conditions, the ball will be an almost ideal distance from your horse for hitting the ball straightforward or straight back on the offside.

Step 2. (the most critical step) Thirty yards from the ball establish and maintain a forward, and secure riding position, i.e., half seat. From that secure half seat riding position, you can establish and maintain a stable hitting platform.

Step 3. Twenty yards from the ball, without rotating your hips or torso, lean your upper body to the right side of your horse. The purpose of which is to begin positioning your upper body out and over the ball, and to establish solid contact onto the left side of the pommel of the saddle with the inner side of your upper left leg well up into the groin; which, is an incredibly important facet of a stable hitting platform.

Step 4. Fifteen yards from the ball rotate your torso so as to place your head and the center of your chest (sternum) directly above the toes of your right foot. It is under your toes where the ball should be when hitting a straightforward offside shot.

Step 5. Ten yards from the ball establish your upper body elevation above the ball by bending your torso down and over the ball to where if your arm and the mallet were hanging straight down, the mallet head would be almost touching the ground.

Step 6. Approximately five yards from the ball from the forward, leaning, rotated and bending down position initiate the Swing Preparation phase by moving the mallet back and up to the top of the downswing position.

While reading one of my resource books, Observation Upon the Nature of the Gallop, and the Timing of a Polo Stroke and Form in Striking, written by seven goal player, Dr. John D. Richards in 1939, I became intrigued by what he had written. In that book Dr. Richards states “…. possible for the polo striker to swing the mallet head from the upper primary vertical position to the lower vertical position and complete the half arc swing in 5/22 of a second”.

That statement establishes for me the fact that, from initiation of the downswing to contact with the ball, can take place within a quarter of a second.

Photography courtesy of Rege Ludwig

My reasoning for mentioning that is to stress the fact that the total hitting process is much more of a riding issue than a swing of the mallet issue. From my understanding of the polo ball hitting process, at least 80% of the hitting process has been accomplished prior to initiation of the downswing. To verify that, I ask you to consider that: The first phase

If the amount of time spent on each phase is considered as an indicator of priorities, then because the Approach Phase uses the greatest amount of time, by far, it must be considered to be the most critical of the five phases. Additionally, the Approach of the hitting process, The Approach Phase, is the time spent riding and positioning your horse to the ball, and yourself in the saddle, in preparation of hitting the shot intended, usually five to ten seconds to complete.

The second phase, Swing Preparation, is the process of moving the mallet to the top of the downswing position from the Phase is also critical because it is the first phase. That is significant from the perspective that if mistakes are made early within the hitting process, they are manifested in an increasingly negative manner as they proceed through the hitting process. static position of being approximately twelve inches in front of your right shoulder just before arriving at the ball, usually one to two seconds to complete.

If the actual swing is considered to begin with the downswing and end with the follow through; usually completed in less than half

Beginning of swing preparation to beginning of downswing

Beginning of downswing to end of follow through

a second.

If you need a reason for working on improving your polo riding skills, a good reason could easily be – improve the

greater portion of the hitting process,

i.e., RIDING.