JackieTreehorn

Just by looking at pics, I think Hogan had long arms for his body size...but that may be skewed by the fact he wore his belt so high! I have been in a debate about Hogan-arms (elbows together, arms more in front of pecs) or military arms (shoulders back, arms to your side) for awhile. I can swing well both ways but neither is consistent or feels that good. Hogan arms just feels unnatural at address with a little too much tension. Military arms feels like almost the entire length of each arm is blocked by my ribcage and the R elbow can easily gets behind me. But just letting my arms hang gives almost the same feeling. A pro recently told me to try L arm military and R arm Hogan so I need to see where that leads...

Yes, mine is 37.5" and I think that puts me into 4* upright for standard fitting...but the club lie angle affects the pivot and swing plane....I use more knee bend than normal and I am trying to swing more rotary, but I think it may be more difficult with hands so high off the ball. I kind of feel that my natural swing should be the Hardy 1-plane (R elbow is supposed to fly behind) but for some reason that flying elbow scares me (probably because it has been my biggest enemy for awhile).

I actually need longer clubs. I use +1/2" because my arms "relatively short" so that my hands are very high off the ground. But other than fitting, I am wondering if there are aspects of the pivot motion that need to be adjusted for short arms. For example, I feel that I can't easily setup with my arms in front of me (more to the sides), and therefore tend to have a flat backswing and sometimes cannot easily keep my R elbow from getting behind me.

What swing adjustments are needed for short arms (but not short body)? I have heard "swing with your chin up" but I don't know how that will help. I have also heard more obvious tips like "more knee bend" "round your shoulders" but I am not sure if those cause other problems. I think Raymond Floyd and Notah Begay fell into that category and both had odd swings. I think they had very upright clubs though.

To bring back an old post again... I also have this blister on the R ring finger. I am pretty sure it is from interlocking and from your ring finger moving across the L index finger mid knuckle during the swing. I have to think it is bad and would also like to figure out how to stop it.

This book is excellent for intermediate and advanced golfers looking to get to about scratch or better. He talks about general "dynamics" you need to exhibit in your golf shot...not about positions and pivot styles. I have not had a chance to try out the forward aiming technique yet, but I do agree with his theory about the forward swing bottom. My only minor complaint is that the images are sometimes too small and the layout gives it a weird Microsoft Word feel. Overall one of the best books I have read because of his universal "dynamic" point of view.

I completely agree...also an Utley player...I used to (and still do I guess) play a lot of Muni-type courses that put no effort into maintaining their traps. Sometimes you go in there and it is like a sprinkling of sand over hard pan. I actually just had this exact shot my last round. For that shot I completely forgot that I was in sand and played it like a pitch shot. Still a tough shot, but you can get out of a lot of New England muni course sand traps this way.

Thanks you, that Shawn Clement video is a good one I've seen before. I seem to be messing up the first "wipe" part as my R butt leaves the tush line on the backswing. This means I must be too much on my heels at setup or swinging too flat (moving to ball keeps me in balance)?

I agree not to think when you play...but during this swing re-construction period at the range I need to think a bit to make the changes. I made a swing sequence of images below. The main thing I am having trouble with is that during my downswing pivot, my body tends to get closer to the ball at impact than at address. To compensate, you can also see my lower spine "stands up" and my upper spine "caves down"...the two offset for contact, but it would be better to have a more stable spine. Any suggestions on ways/drills to correct the motion to eliminate the move into the ball and the spine compensations?

I have been working on my setup and pivot the last few months. I can hit it good sometimes but I want to get more consistent day-to-day. I still need more work. Any suggestions what to concentrate on? I have a down the line video:

What is the left shoulder secret? Also, to reply to the original post, try this swing thought: "Rotate L knee in front of L hip on downswing. Keep it in front of the hip"

I enjoyed this thread, but I wonder how this relates to the notion that the thumb should be pressed into the pointer finger on both hands. That is how I have been swinging for a bit. But I notice 1) a hole in my glove where my thumb rests on the grip and 2) my thumb is centered or diagonally going left (wrong way) on top of the grip. I think it may make sense for me to keep the same neutral L hand position but just unglue the L thumb and pointer finger a bit near the thumb tip to get it to the R side of the shaft. Just doing it in my living room right now feels great.

I would say it depends on your swing and setup. If you have a bent-over, flat rotary swing, you might lose your balance on the backswing if your weight is on the balls of your feet. I've heard 50/50 but I think you have to experiment based on your body type. I have a long neck (combined with a heavy head gets a lot of weight towards the ball) so I feel like I need to have my weight a little more centered towards the heel to stay balanced. Ideally you'd like to keep half of your body on each side of the balance point. If you are upright, 2 planed, I think it is preferred to have the weight shifted toward the balls of your feet.

Sometimes I think some thumb wear may be unavoidable. I get the same hole in my thumb but I thought I had a sound grip. But, now that I think about it, you (and I) may want to re-evaluate the left hand grip, specifically how secure it can brace the club at impact. I've seen that you want the sensation that you can securely swing the club with only your left arm. With a neutral grip I don't really have that secure feeling. I have smaller hands and I think I need a stronger grip to feel like I can swing a club with only my left arm.

Opening the face at address should help cut through the rough better. The grass catches the face and closes it through the hitting area. I also agree with someone above in keeping more weight forwad...that always improves contact in tough lies. And don't let the back shoulder get too low at address.