I remember But I Cannot Re-produce?

Yeah, I remember the feeling. I brought the club up and at the top you get the feeling that the body was pulled and twisted and the only thing you can do was to untwist to the ball and around. The feeling at the top is a self realization that a complete coiling has been achieved and the only move to take was to uncoil.

But how was this done? It is somewhere between the "reverse scooping", to the transition to the "baseball" effect of AJ and into the "shaft" plane. I think it has something to do with the wrist position at the top. This has to be tested. I believe that the reverse scoop locked the wrist at the top in a suppose to be wrong "reverse" way but it actually helped because it game me the feeling that I cannot fire the hands but forced to use the body to make the hit.

Let us see what happens at the driving range.

What I found out in the range is the baseball effect or starting the clubhead to the right is part of it. This indeed will force the body to turn and come back by turning also - not hitting with the hands. Also important is disengaging completely the pincer fingers of the right hand - the same way Michelle Wie's right hand grip should be used.

So in summary, the backswing must be started by the club head opening like a door to the right (baseball) and making a full turn afterwards. The right thumb snugly around the club - not sitting on top. The hit should feel automatic and the body just turning the club around towards the ball and pass the ball.

One key thing that is done is the right hand brings the club head around the body along shaft plane until it reaches the top. (The movement is unusual in such a way that it is like reverse scooping the club around your body). By the end of the swing, the right elbow must be fully tucked on the side with the centrifugal weight of the club fully felt. Somewhere either before the club completely reaches the top, the shoulder also makes the turn. This movement is what has to be remembered (see previous posting) because it is the one that sets up the full body turn around hit - where the hands are not used at all.

09Sep2007: This is another way than the previous paragraph and may be the real answer the one I was looking for. What am I looking for? When I last played I had this feeling that the swing, especially the driver, it seems to be easy to bring to the top and I can feel the tightness at the top. In addition when I bring it down, their is this feeling that I cannot fire my right hands (or both for that matter) and that the only way to hit the ball is bringing by body around. The result was there was no way for me to hook or slice - my body can just guide the club head square to the ball. No matter how hard I hit, I can only hit the ball straight.

I remember that before I played then, my main technique was reverse scooping (see posting on the body swing) and I said there that maybe I can may this mechanical by just doing the baseball technique. What I found while playing was it was better to visualize of the baseball technique if the the club head is swung on the same plane as the club shaft. I did not realize that the way my right hand is gripping and bringing back the club was important. Actually, it was because it actually was the reason I cannot fire the hands. (Note: I might have stumbled into Hogan's secret.) The V of my right hand was pointing to the right shoulder (Hogan's) and I was flipping the right hand (naturally 2'oclock) back along the shaft plane. At the top, the club cocks in such a way that the only way to bring it square is bring the body around. Any way the hands are used will change the squareness of the club to the ball (in my head) so I was forced to use the body!!!!

The right hand grip needs to be explained further so that it can be understood easily much later on when one will be reading this posting again.

• First, imagine the right and left hands gripping the club. Rest the V pointing to your chin or we can call this the 12 o'clock position (in relation to the shaft). The right hand palm is perpendicular to the ground.
  
• With the right hand, fan the club head (lying on the address position) to the right and back to the left - back and forth- keeping the hands pretty much on the same position, acting like the axis. If you imaging the ground as a clock, you will notice that you can bring the club head pretty much from the 2 o'clock to the 10 o'clock very easily.
• Now grip the club with the right hand at the extreme 3 o'clock position (in relation to the shaft and right palm parallel to the ground) and try to fan the club head on the ground. You will find that you can pretty much pass the 2 o'clock position but it is hard to go past the 12 o'clock position.
• The desired position of the right hand is somewhere closer to the 3 o'clock (the V pointing to the right shoulder) where it will be in a position to force you to use the body in hitting the ball but loose enough to not feel restricted.

This right hand positioning should be studied more since it's effect from handiness to no hands bring a lot of other uses in golf. This really opens up a lot of possibilities - including the short game.

Also, do not forget, the body hit must be felt like a hit by the heavy firm upper body - in particular, the main point is the sternum. It is not a plain lazy turn around, it is a deliberate hit by the firm upper body. If it like the hit of the forearms (tied up feeling of Hogan) but more felt by the chest.

11Sep2007: Is it possible that all this is really just the early cocking of the hands?

13Sept2007: No, it is not the early cocking of the hands. It is the baseball bat effect of AJ. All the other techniques mentioned above, I have already tried before (and failed). Only the baseball bat technique is new enough to create that automatic body winded feeling which unwinds to a straight shot. On the driving range today, I tried just forgetting everything and seize on muscle memory - that did not work. Second, I tried the early cocking - that did not work. I went to the baseball bat technique - the hands opening the club head like an open door along the shaft plane lift an early cock - and then the shoulders taking over (as close as possible to two movements). The opening door can be visualize like an apron where the club head starts from 12 o'clock and tries to finish at 3 o'clock before the shoulders takes over. This is the move that re-created that feeling (and ball flight effect) that I had when I last played.

14Sep2007: This AJ move and Hogan's cupped hand is the same technique however it is just so difficult to find a common way to implement it. It might have been easier for Hogan to cup his left hand while I find it easier to do the "apron" way. The purpose of all these techniques, I believe, is delaying the hit that makes the hook impossible. Hogan said that when he can hit the ball as much as possible but cannot over do it. This also happened to me while I was playing - the one that started this topic.

17Sep2007: At the driving range I found that the apron technique is lacking. What really worked well is the extreme and early cocking (not up but backward cocking) of the right hand at the start of the back swing going to the 2 o'clock position - just like the wedge chipping technique of Tiger Woods! This was mentioned above - 11Sep2007 - but I said no. That is odd why I said that...