Assuming you have taken the stance, which on mine is the waist is nearly 45 degrees of the target line, cock the right wrist to the desired length (extreme is better). NOW HERE IS THE MASTER OF THE PULL TECHNIQUE, the club stays motionless after the cock while THE BODY (left shoulder) PULLS THE CLUB BACK TO THE BALL and (left arm/hand) throws it to the target.
This pulling force is the essence of all the shots from putting, chipping, pitching, iron and wood shots. There may be variations but the common denominator is the pulling action.
NOW IF YOU INCORPORATE THIS WITH THE PROPER FORM and the hinged upper body/lower body, then you will be really playing golf! How do we do this then? Let us start with the driver...
(no longer entirely true - see 16OCT2014 below): Take the stance, imagine that the upper torso is detached from the lower one (personal memory key: my BALL BEARING key chain), push the upper torso with the left hip . At the top, fully cock the club with the left hand. Immediately after cocking, pull the upper torso towards the ball (automatically shifting the weight to the left) AND TURN AROUND (left shoulder pull) TO A PICTURE PERFECT FINISH! That is it for the driver AND ALL THE OTHER CLUBS!
The only difference from chipping (and putting also) is that the right hand cocks first while the driver, the left hip (no longer true - see 16OCT2014 below) starts the swing and left hand cocks.
In putting, the right hand brings the putter back (while the shoulders "feel" for tautness). The shoulders (can be the right hand) then pull the putter towards the ball while reversing the "feeling" for the right velocity.
I THINK THIS POSTING SUMMARIZES ESSENTIALLY THE PERFECT END TO THE SEARCH FOR THE PERFECT SWING!
HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO CORRECTLY EXECUTE THE ABOVE, AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE GEOMETRY OF GOLF IS NECESSARY.
The golf swing geometry is a two axis movement. The neck is the first axis and the grip is the second axis. The body pulls the second axis by turning the shoulders, along the first axis. When the fully cocked grip reaches the bottom, the club is allowed to uncock around the second axis (the grip). The late unwinding at the right time creates the divot and is usually referred to as the desired "late" hit.
THE HARD PART NOW IS TRYING TO PUT ALL THESE IN ONE COHESIVE REPEATING GOLF SWING. ONE WAY IS PERHAPS THINK ONLY OF COCKING THE RIGHT HAND AND BOLDLY UN-COCKING/HITTING THE BALL AFTER THE GRIP (AXIS) REACHES THE LOWEST POINT. IT IS ASSUMED THAT THE GRIP IS BROUGHT DOWN TO THE LOWEST POINT BY THE LEFT HIP (the left shoulders now).
11Oct2014:
The solution to putting all the above together is the Hogan's cupping his left hand. The purpose of this cupping is really to delay the hit! Although, I think Hogan's main objective is to prevent himself hooking his shots which he tended to do at the beginning.
I found out about this cupping as a result of experimenting with the wedge shot. I was trying to make the way I hold the club feel like an extreme offset and in so doing, when I was cocking the club with my left hand, the cupping of the back left hand is actually the one happening! In reality, what I was doing is the chipping technique described above, except now I realized that it is the Hogan technique that I was implementing.
Now let us put this all together. Because of the geometry of golf as I mentioned above, the second axis is not allowed to hit the ball early or not at all. Hogan invented the cupping technique to cure his hooks but actually what he did was to ensure the late hit is assured. Also, we found out about the extreme right hand cocking because of the chipping technique mentioned above. With this new method I will explain, the hips will no longer be the main driver in the back swing. It will be the right hand cocking the club first. This move will pull the body around and the left hip too so it will be the same effect as the left hip pushing the club. The downswing will have as its main purpose to paint the ball with the cupped left backhand. In order to accomplish this, the body (actually the left shoulder) will really be turning around and pushing the entire weight sliding towards the target until the point where the picture perfect finish is achieved. This move makes the swing more natural for me to implement. Oh what a joy to finally find my own swing! Another good outcome of this owning my own swing and knowing the technical details of it will make be able to make necessary corrections easy, even when I am in the course playing.
16OCT2014: V for Victory in Golf
Why does my new chipping technique (extreme cock of the wrist and pull) works? It is because of the V created by the right arm and club with the clasped hands as the apex. Imagine the clasped hands as the apex or tip of a spear. When the hands are brought down towards the ball like a spear, it consolidates all the energy into one point - towards the ball - and, in addition, energy is multiplied when the club unwinds by itself, smacking the ball.
Now extend this principle to a full shot ala Rory McIlroy and one will figure out the how to correctly execute a golf shot. Imagine the shoulders as one side of the V and the left arm and club as the other. Think of the left shoulder as the apex. Now with the right hand (pronation is mandatory) as chipping, abruptly but smoothly bring the club upward by breaking the right wrist and try to create the V closing the angle as much as physically possible while pulling the left side around. WITH THE LEFT SHOULDER, PULL THE APEX DOWN TOWARDS THE BALL, creatirng the same move as Rory, to a SMOOTH and full picture perfect finish.
Remember that the hands apex is also involved here. In reality, this is a two apex swing. The chipping apex (early cock) starts the swing and pulls the next apex (left shoulder) to the top. There is a conscious feeling that the left arm joins the two apexes. The joint feeling must be made very apparent on the downswing so that the oneness of the swing transition from the left shoulder to the club head is felt. Everything from the upswing to the downswing must feel smooth like honey. The left arm actually prevents a shank since it makes sure that the club head is squared before impact - which happens when the lateral move is early and leaves the club face still open at impact.
26OCT2014: The down swing move by Rory is really the whole body just firing at the ball. At the course today, I just:
Remember that the hands apex is also involved here. In reality, this is a two apex swing. The chipping apex (early cock) starts the swing and pulls the next apex (left shoulder) to the top. There is a conscious feeling that the left arm joins the two apexes. The joint feeling must be made very apparent on the downswing so that the oneness of the swing transition from the left shoulder to the club head is felt. Everything from the upswing to the downswing must feel smooth like honey. The left arm actually prevents a shank since it makes sure that the club head is squared before impact - which happens when the lateral move is early and leaves the club face still open at impact.
26OCT2014: The down swing move by Rory is really the whole body just firing at the ball. At the course today, I just:
- Let the club align with my left arm.
- My right hand grip is ready for the extreme cock (right shoulder down).
- The left hip starts the club movement with a full cock done by the left hand. This is a key development. The hip pushing the club head along the target line, not only steepens the plane (for divots) but also create a perfect takeaway! 03Nov2014.
- The hit is the body going to the perfect finish position - no thinking needed. Reminder: This is what I do when I imagine the roped arms feeling and just hit with all the muscles firm. Watch this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvEzEYl0Re0
- Try to create an upright plane for non-driver shots.
