tm22721

A single digit score has earned an attitude. High performance thrives and survives on ego. In fact it is encouraged. The rest of us may not like to admit what is a fact of life.

In Five Lessons Hogan says "tension is the key to the whole downswing". "It unwinds the shoulders the arms and the hands in the correct order". "It helps the downswing so much it makes it almost AUTOMATIC". Tension is created by the hips turning in the downswing against the stretch created at the top of the backswing. How do you get tension at the top in slow motion ? The swing is dynamic. Learning static positions is pointless. Instead learn to automate the swing and action-reaction will get you into the right positions automatically.

Don't worry about static positions even at setup. The swing is dynamic and must be automated leveraging natural forces like action-reaction to eliminate the inconsistency of manipulation. Here is a hint to automating your swing. In Five Lessons Hogan says "tension is the key to the whole downswing". "It unwinds the shoulders the arms and the hands in the correct order". "It helps the downswing so much it makes it almost AUTOMATIC".

What Hogan did not emphasize enough, and you cannot see in his swing because it is felt and not seen, is the tremendous tension he developed at the top. When you have that kind of tension between your left heel and left hand at the top you can explosively turn your hips to start the downswing. It totally automates your downswing - perfect sequence, maximum lag, peak speed at impact, proper weight shift and secondary axis tilt. It works because you are abandoning manipulation to the laws of physics. In "Extraordinary Golf" Fred Shoemaker shows us that something like this occurs when you give a group of new golfers a few dozen attempts at throwing a club at a target without a ball. Amazingly, videos of their swings mimic the downswing of a PGA tour pro.

The key is not to stretch before it is to stretch DURING the swing

My epiphany came when I abandoned swing thoughts after finding a simple way to totally automate my swing. Once you know what it is you will see it in Hogan's and other pros' swings. Otherwise it's invisible. It's in Five Lessons page 71/74 in CAPS you can't miss it.

IMO the key to golf is at the bottom of page 71 continued on the top of page 74 where he talks about elastic bands. It works. If you stretch at the top your left hand to left foot should feel like a banjo string.

Trying to work the ball is a pro level skill IMO. It is a major accomplishment just to learn to hit a ball straight. I play with nothing longer than a 7i and maintain a 10 handicap because with the shorter irons I can hit fairways and greens. Par the 3s and 5s. Bogey the 4s because they're too long for 7i. Now if I ever want to go single digit I need to learn to hit the long irons/woods/driver straight. But even for single digit I would never consider working the ball.

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I earned it because it took a lot of trial mostly error until I stumbled onto the single swing key that automates the entire sequence. No more thought about lateral shift, flat left wrist, lag pressure, axis tilt, etc. Now when I go back and read Five Fundamentals I know why Hogan did not discuss lateral shift. It occurs automatically when you focus on only one key : stretch. Windup wide and deep, STRETCHING at the top into a firm rear side then fire the hips. This has nothing to do with power. The stretch initiates proper sequencing and prevents deceleration.

After five years of research and experimentation I am concluding that it is nonsense to break down and study a sequence of movements that the body can perform automatically. IMO experimentation is much more valuable. Moe Norman had it right, swinging a club cannot be taught or learned it must be earned.

I'll bet he does anything to avoid using a 9i.

A lateral hip slide is simply the rear hip rotating behind you to the target in the back swing IF you completely wind up. As you turn the hips in the downswing the camera sees an illusion - the lead hip appears to be sliding to the target but it is NOT, it is rotating back to the left heel. What appears to be magic in the pro swings is a natural reaction to a proper windup to the top. Stretch the elastic bands in a wide and deep arc then unwind the hips to LET the down swing happen. Physics does the hard part in fulfilling the downswing imperatives.

Over acceleration in start down can be fixed by putting a little stretch at the top. Over acceleration

Lag is relatively easy to generate the trick is preserving it .

That's the ONLY shot I know how to do. No fancy lateral shift or axis tilt required. Just aim a little right of the flag and punch it.

To get down to a 10 handicap quickly, find your limitations and play within them. For instance if you can't consistently hit anything longer than a 7i straight, then the leave the longer clubs in the garage. If you only practice with a 7i you can get very good with it. Good enough to par the 3's and 5's and layup on the 4's for bogey. That's a 10 handicap !

The only time clubface angle matters is when the ball is leaving the clubhead. Pronation has a number of advantages and when used in conjunction with a low left release it naturally squares the clubface eliminating the problematic roll of the wrists.

If you release the club low left then the clubface will close naturally as the core continues to turn well after impact. If you release the club down the line then the core stalls at impact and you have to time the roll of the wrists to close the clubhead, which is problematic. This video explains hinge action. The angled hinge being the low left release that occurs naturally if the core continues to turn after impact. The horizontal hinge is the down the line release requriing a timed roll of the wrists.

In the downswing I throw my right shoulder in a straight line at the ball to preserve lag as long as possible for a delayed release.

I had the same problem until I read that Life magazine article from the 50s on Hogans secret of cupping the left wrist at the top by pronating the left forearm in the backswing. It has the added benefit of a flatter swing plane, just like Hogan had. Another way to block out the left side of the course is to keep your left arm tight to the chest starting at impact. The club finishes low left instead of down the line which GUARANTEES you won't go left. In fact the ball flight is called a 'knucklefade' it ascends as a draw then descends as a slight fade a Hogan trademark. Anybody who practices 16 hours a day like Hogan did tend to figure this stuff out.

Stretch I am curious whether this tip helps anybody else with overacceleration, sequencing and flipping problems. Stretch so that your left hand is as far as possible from both the ball AND the planted left heel (there is only one point in space where this is true).

Shifting hips to the target should be automatic, occurring at the end of the backswing. Look at the panel entitled 'the first compression phase ends' : BioKinetic chain My goal is to feel like a rubber band stretched to the limit between these two points : - my left heel (actively pushing into the ground) - my left hand (as far from my left heel and the ball as I can get it) Then I just let the rubber band go with no manipulation on the way down.

Actually during transition the best ballstrikers dip their heads slightly due to axis tilt. As their hip moves to the target the spine will tilt lower and the head is attached to the spine so...

Here's how to preserve all of that lag created in transition.