lolzzlolzz

Yes you will lose distance, Hogan says this. You will however make up for it in accuracy.

Hogan's method has always worked for me.

The range is great; it's how you improve.

It's okay to let it go up an inch or so, but not too much. Don't even think about it... if your hips lift your foot up, fine... if they let it stay on the ground, fine.

I disagree with this idea (and most of the other stuff in this thread). There is a difference between style and fundamental movements. One should execute the fundamentals and let their natural style show... in fact, if you focus on feeling the fundamentals instead of memorizing positions, you can't help but have a "unique" swing. Golf should be about feeling and motion... as Sam Snead and Ben Hogan would say: good positions don't make good motions, good motions make good positions.

Short game is nothing to me. My long game has taught me the touch I need for the short game because a full swing is nothing but an extension of a short swing!! Honestly, I can count the amount of times I have practiced putting and chipping on my hands. Some days I have the touch of a rapist when it comes to putting, but I can hit it long and straight. I'd take this type of play any day. You can learn to break 80 in a matter of months, not years as some people think it... if you put down the putters and start practicing one simple, repeating swing that you can use on all shots. If you don't believe this you'll never do it. As you think you shall become.

No. The downswing is less steep, and also goes from inside out. You execute the back swing by moving your hands, arms, shoulders, and hips in that order... and you execute the downswing by moving your hips, shoulders, arms, and hands in that order.

I hope by stretching your back you mean your upper back and not your lower back... As for my tip: Some days you "have it," and some days you feel like you have nothing. Well, if you check your grip , stance and posture , and waggle you will feel you have it every day, and you'll be able to use it!! Here's why: -A correct grip will activate the proper muscles of your arms, the muscles that run along the inside up to the armpits. A correct grip also eliminates the possibility of one hand overpowering the other hand during the swing. -A correct stance and posture will activate the correct muscles of your body... the muscles that run along the inside of your legs, your chest, abdominals, back, etc. -The waggle is essentially a mini-back swing. In other words, your back swing is nothing more than an extension of your waggle... so if your waggle is correct, your back swing should me more or less correct. In my honest opinion, if you master these three you can forget about what your arms and hands do in the swing. You will be able to hit the ball long and straight without any thought to back swing or downswing because your body and mind will be already set up to do nothing but execute a golf swing .

You don't need to believe it. I believe it because I did it. It is my believe that you don't need to be extremely talented or extremely athletic. Here are some quotes to help you (all taken from Hogan's 5 Lessons): Most people don't know what to do. They go to the range and hit ball after ball... and as they do this they more deeply ingrain their bad habits. Just 30 minutes of practice a day to the fundamentals (I recommend Hogan's 5 Lessons) will do wonders. You will extend your practice sessions to longer than 30 minutes, as you will be having too much fun developing a respectable swing and respectable game that will repeat .

I've been playing for a little over a year, and I don't think I've played 20 rounds yet (maybe one round a month). I do practice a lot though. [/end brag] As for the original poster, good job! As for the doubters, it's very doable! Golf doesn't require a lot of hand eye coordination.. in fact, a man or woman with average coordination can learn to consistently break 80 in 6 months of play if he or she applies himself or herself intelligently and patiently.

If you can drive it 250 dead straight every time, then strength and power is the issue. Because you cannot, swing fundamentals are the issue. Therefore, tricks to make the ball go farther aren't going to help.

Why do you need 120 degrees of shoulder turn?

Don't listen to me, listen to Ben Hogan. He said this many times himself. Also, one swing doesn't limit you. I can hit half shots, bunker shots, draws, fades, low shots, high shots... all without changing my swing. If Ben Hogan, who is known to have practiced 8+ hours every day, says that "life is too short to master one swing, let alone two," then why do 80% of amateurs think they should "hit the ball with a descending blow," or "sweep the ball," or whatever else they do for different clubs and different shots.

I don't think high handicappers need practice swings, they just need practice. Don't take offense to this. When I see the frustrated amateur taking 3-4 practice swings, it seems that he is trying to "teach his hands" to do the same thing on a normal swing. If only he's spend time practicing a swing that doesn't require precise hand manipulation... he'd feel completely in control on shot after shot without the practice swing.

My advice that will work: forget about the putter and chipping, you need a fundamentally correct swing. Get Ben Hogan's 5 Lessons (book), practice every day for 30 minutes, and you will break 80 in 6 months or less.

Life's too short to learn one swing, let alone two for woods and irons (and other swings for other clubs). You should use the same swing for all clubs and all shots.

Hogan's swing is easy to learn. It doesn't require a great deal of hand eye coordination... the swing requires essentially zero manipulation of the hands. Actually... the swing practically times itself. Also I think you are completely incorrect about Hogan's hook problem. Hogan had a hook because he used a strong/neutral grip. These grips require hand manipulation. When he changed to a weak grip (which requires no manipulation of the hands whatsoever, by the way), it helped him correct his hook. Note: I wrote "helped" him... there were other factors that helped him learn his almost perfect swing.

Does it not make sense? The arms actively move (meaning you consciously move them) and have live tension between them, while the hands and wrists are soft and passive (meaning you don't give a single thought as to what they are doing or where they are in the swing). You control the arms, and if you use them properly the hands will automatically function correctly... providing they are passive.

Left elbow points directly at left hip. Right elbow points directly at right hip. Right arm slightly bent at the elbow. Arms as close together as possible (while still letting them point to the hips). Those are good fundamentals.

A year? Don't think so... I think if you practice in slow motion you can get it down in a week or two. Use a shorter club and give it 20 minutes a day while limiting the amount of balls you hit as much as possible. The emphasis should be on slow motion. I honestly believe that a complete beginner.... someone who has never touched a golf club before.. can learn to break 80 consistently in three months of hard work that involves a lot of slow motion practice.

Isn't this also called the "two plane swing?"

I don't recall Hogan directly writing that, but he said it in many other ways. As for the passive arms and hands, I disagree. The arms need to be active, the hands and wrists need to be passive. The hands follow the arms, and the arms follow the body, but the body can only do so much with the arms. I guess what I'm trying to say is that the body cannot square the club face, the arms need to be trained to do this. You should activate your arms at address. You do this by pointing the elbows in.. by pressing them together. Close enough so a two or three inch gap is between them. This will allow your arms to act together as one unit, almost like having one big arm. Also, keeping them pointed in lets the shoulders rotate properly. As for impact... just before your make contact with the ball, your club should be at least parallel with the ground. The wrists should be hinged, yet still passive. This is what they call the "wrist lag." Then, the left arm takes over. The left elbow should start pointing in to the body, while the right arm maintains position. This squares the club face, and allows you to use the powerful muscles of the right arm to their fullest potential (without letting them take over and ruining your swing). You should essentially feel that you are sweeping through the ball.. not down at it, but through. And the best way to train the left elbow to point in just before impact (it happens really fast), is to practice swinging in slow motion. 20 minutes of slow motion a day has helped me tremendously in the past week.

It's not supposed to happen. Your weight should transfer to the outside of your left foot, towards the heel. You should be balanced at the end of the swing. To check, your right shoulder should be above your left toe, and most of your weight should be on the outside of your left foot, towards the heel. As for the swing, jambalaya has got it right. Your right knee sways to the right. Start it pointed in, and keep it in that position throughout the back swing. Even if your forfeit a big back swing, your knee needs to stay pointed in and flexed. Practice in slow motion.

At address, point your right knee in. You should feel pressure on the inside of your right foot. Your knees are level to the ground, and your hips are slightly open (because of the right knee). Now take your swing, and do not move your knee. Keep it pointed in. As for a drill... I recommend practicing your swing in slow motion using a short club (I use one that's 24 inches long). You should feel a lot of tension in your core muscles, hips, and right leg. You'll likely have a shortened back swing, probably much shorter than you have now, but your body will be loaded with power ready to explode into the ball on the downswing (which most people call the "coil"). 20 minutes of slow motion practice a day on the new address position and swing and you should have it down in a week.

The function of the arms is just as important as the movements of the body in the golf swing, especially during impact.