110% Pull Golf Swing (CLEAR THE HIPS)

Preface

My golf quest was precipitated by an incident on August 29, 1998, at Richter Park Golf Course where I unbelievably scored a 78 while playing with my late friend, Dan O'Reilly, and another walk-in couple, Denise and Bill. How I played that day was a total abandonment of my instincts. Now I believe it was the trebuchet effect - not a golf technique - that made it happen. It was actually the total complete continuous golf swing, swung with abandon like a trebuchet, that made my perfect golf game that very memorable day.

I remember that day at Richter Park, the 2nd par 5 hole, my third shot, I am looking at the ball and inside me I was telling myself, just let go (like I had been doing from the first hole), just let go, don't think how to hit the ball, just hit it and let go. I did and the ball just disappeared and went, but I don't know what happened and how I did it!

Now I know. I pulled the club grip towards the ball and unleashed my upper body, led by the hips, to turn around to a picture-perfect finish.

Technically Speaking

The golf swing is an ALL "pull" action - the butt of the club pulled BY THE TURNING HIPS towards the ball. There is a no "hit" action. The action is a clawing continuous move, rather than an abrupt stop hammer.

To make this a 110% pull effort, push the body forward so that the swing will become a total "pull" swing (actual action created by the Rory McIlroy drill found in YouTube), in effect making the club act like a claw, clawing the ball and throwing it automatically forward. THE POWER OF THE PULL - THE SLING EFFECT!

 This technical explanation of the golf swing is so important that it entitles it to be the subject and title of this article.

Reminiscing

On Feb. 15, 2015, the caddie at Villamor CC, I only know him as Jun 13, found something missing in my swing.  He noticed that I do not finish my swing. He demonstrated to turn the right hip at the end of my swing and face the target. This was the precursor to my "Picture-Perfect" finish. I will now make a rule for myself which, hopefully, I will not forget.  Always end the golf swing with the hips facing the target.

Hips

The engine (the energy or force) of the swing is the hips. Everything else should be frozen or stiff. This applies to all: putting, chipping, pitching, full shots.  Although this is not exactly what I was consciously doing when I scored the 78, I have discovered that by consciously using the hips to swing the club (and the rest static), it simplifies the understanding and execution of the golf swing as a whole. With it, one can just coil and uncoil, so to speak. THE HIPS STARTS A SERIES OF BODY PART MOVEMENTS THAT AUTO-CULMINATES TO A PICTURE-PERFECT FINISH. 

THE ONLY WAY TO BE ABLE TO EXECUTE A FULL 100% PULL GOLF SWING IS TO COME IN FROM INSIDE TO OUT MOTION. TO SET UP THE INSIDE DOWNSWING,  THE TUCKED IN ELBOW UPSWING MUST BE UTILIZED.

2024-05-21: Set-up with left arm and forward of ball position so that you can pull the club with the left. At the right moment, the right hand hits and that also automatically clears the hips.

Parts of the Golf Swing

Setup

ALWAYS start with the mental picture of the PLANE. Then a frozen one-piece upper body with the arms bound like Hogan. The mental video is the shoulders (like AJ) turning along the plane with the left wrist cocking the club like a spear. Why the mental picture of the plane is necessary? Because that is the only way my body can transition to the left side and to the picture-perfect pose.

Extreme L-Setup

Essential to the Frozen Technique above is the incorporation of the Extreme L-setup. The L formed by the arms and club is so extreme that the clubhead looks up rather than lie flat on the ground. This setup ensures that the club returns to the ball on the same spot at setup. Remember, the club is taken back like a spear while the shoulders travel along the plane.

Battering Ram

The introduction in the later Middle Ages (around 1400s) of siege cannons causes the end of battering rams and other traditional siege weapons. Much smaller, hand-held versions of battering rams are still used today, however, by law enforcement officers and military personnel to bash open locked doors.

Use the modern battering ram a a mental guide to execute the golf swing.  Heave the golf club backwards, cock to the top, wait for gravity, pull with the hips to bring it forward, then assist the momentum by heaving it forward to a picture-perfect finish. 

SWING WITH EXTREME FORCE AND HIT A HOME RUN EVERY TIME

Right Ribs and Elbow (RRE)

At all times whenever physically practical, the right ribs and right elbow must be fused together. This position and feel are the essences of the golf swing. These are the body parts that are frozen one-piece and pushed by the waist during the dukot takeaway. Make sure the right shoulder is lower, the right elbow is firmly resting the inside most on the abdomen, and the crease (right elbow most important) pointing skyward. They are essential in all swings, e.g., chips, and pitches. BUT YOU MUST STILL PULL 110% to get past your mental block. USE THE JOHNNY MILLER LEFT SHOULDER PULL TO CLEAR THE MENTAL BLOCK AND CONTINUE PULLING WITH THE HIPS.

Breaking Bad Cock

The normal cock is a right angle with the back of the left hand parallel to the plane. This position, however, is not the best for me. It may be my inability to coil properly or maybe my tendency to early hit the ball that makes this right angle position not work efficiently for me.  What I know is if I break my wrist backward with the back of my left hand almost entirely facing backward of the plane, my shots tend to be pure.

Roundhouse Swing 

Don't make the golf swing complicated. It is a simple roundhouse swing. Backswing using the breaking bad cock, on the bounce, pull with the hips the butt of the club towards the ball, continue to a picture-perfect finish. DONE. Beware. The pull is not a straight pull towards the ball but a roundhouse pull. Goes to say that the upswing must be a roundhouse motion also. NO HURLING NEEDED. JUST A SMOOTH TURN IS ENOUGH. NO INTENT ON HITTING AT ALL. And like Hogan, his arms, grip, and club is one firm solid unit. 

PAUSE THEN SWING WITH EXTREME FORCE AND HIT A HOME RUN EVERY TIME.

Upswing

Objective - full coil with a slight Dukot. In order to end up automatically on the picture-perfect pose, the COIL must be employed so that the uncoiling is automatic. THE MAIN OBJECTIVE IS TO CREATE A COUNTER WEIGHT FOR THE HIPS TO PULL AND THROW FORWARD.

1. Grip: left hand as taught by Hogan with shaft and arm aligned straight to the left shoulder. RIGHT hand almost facing skyward to facilitate a Dukot backswing. The whole weight of the club is carried by the solid firm grip.
2. Visualize the Teaneck plane.
3. Lay the club on the ground behind the ball. With the hips, go low and slow, brush the grass while turning back.
4. Execute the Dukot with the turn like Hogan described, the grip, arms, body, vigorously thrust backward (hurl) like a spear along the plane.
5. Coil the shoulders along the plane (mental picture like Teaneck days). No active pronating is a must.
6. When the left arm touches the plane, cock the left wrist (pronated automatically at this point, the back hand touching the plane) to coil the club spear at its max.

Downswing

Objective: Facilitated by a dukot backswing and employing the RRE, COCK the LEFT WRIST unti the LEFT SHOULDER TO HIT THE CHIN and, and only then can you PUSH the club with the CHIN, hard enough to let the clubhead fling the coiled shoulders and UNWIND itself CONCIOUSLY to compress the ball and create the divot. (It is like pitching or chipping, you have to wait for the counter weight to develop before you pull the club's butt towards the ball.) YOU MUST SWING THE CLUB BY USING THE RIGHT HIP LIKE A SLAMMING DOOR, WHILE PULLING THE CLUB ALONG THE PLANE.  INCORPORATE RORIE'S EXTREME BUTT HIT?

1. First move. Using the bounce, uncoil the butt of the club and the left arm along the TEANECK plane backwards. Uncoiling should be automatic and you should see the clubhead coming back through the desired path and depth. 
2. Second move. Using the shoulders hips, lower body, make the divot, by additionally utilizing the centrifugal force created by the pull and subsequent follow-through facilitated by the weight shift to the left. In order to get the slinging effect, more coiling of the upper body is needed and the hit is done by the arms and upper body. REPEAT, UPPER BODY FINISHES THE SWING! PAUSE THEN SWING WITH EXTREME FORCE AND HIT A HOME RUN EVERY TIME.
3. Continue the downswing to a picture-perfect finish with the HIPS FACING THE TARGET! 
4. Imagining the TEANECK PLANE is necessary
1. to be able to maintain balance,
2. for the clubhead to come to the same depth and place at address,
3. to be able to transition to a picture-perfect finish. 

Putting

Always remember, the LEFT SHOULDER do the moving and RRE is employed. Also, do not forget to set the billiard arms in putting. Always assume that the ball will always go to where the putter is pointed at setup.  The only variable will be the speed. To get a smooth stroke, remember the putt is the same a the full golf swing - it boils down to a mini pull BY THE LEFT SHOULDER of the putter head. So the backswing must also be also be a mini throw OF THE LEFT SHOULDER of the putter head. ALL THE REST ARE FROZEN RRE.

There is something beautiful in a stance like this:

1. Feet close to one another to facilitate automatic turning.
2. Open the body approximately 45° to the target line and the right forearm is kept parallel to the target line like a billiard stroke.
3. Amazingly, the putter shaft droops perpendicular to the T-line and so is my left arm (almost)! Since this line is perpendicular to the target line, use it to align the putter to the target.
4. It feels so good but looks kind of weird seeing both arms triangulate at the grip.
5. Remember, the visualization now is entirely different. The putt (chip) now is done by the billiard right forearm and the stroke is like a Cut.
6. Remember to always apply the smooth stroke with the smooth transition. Execute the billiard stroke - aiming to the left and not where the putter is pointed. The mental stroke is like a cut but it comes out straight. I don't know why.
7. ROLL the ball with the right hand. Of course, sometimes, the hit is almost un-discernable, but it is always there.
8. The target is the front of and passed the ball.

Chipping

Always remember, the technique is to always use a pulling action. Use the same technique as putting, i.e., RRE. Guide with the left SHOULDER only. REFER TO PUTTING SECTION - ESPECIALLY THE USE OF THE BILLIARD ARMS WHICH IS ACTIVE IN CHIPPING (NOT PASSIVE AS IN PUTTING).

History

2024-05-14 East Mountain GC Forgot the pull sling effect, mentally was not able to release the club.

24-05-21: 92 at Grassy Hill. Found a new automatic swing at the driving range. I was feeling helpless because my swing has deteriorated back to where I cannot clear the hips. I read my notes again and noticed Rorie's thing about a practice routine that he always does and still do. That is the split grip practice swing. This basically reminded me of the delayed hit. I tried this and, lo and behold, it actually forces me to hit a delayed right hand hit - which also clears the hips automatically. Use the RRE setup but accentuate the hands to be very forward to the ball position.  As required in the RRE, the right elbow must on the stomach and the right arm extended to the grip of the club. This arm extension forces the grip to be quite ahead of the ball position and fosters the one-piece takeaway. (It also forces you to reach down more and puts your right shoulder down creating a nice golfer setup position.) This is to prepare for the late hit (Rorie's practice swing). Just turn around (one-piece takeaway) like Rorie and immediately hit - a quick 1, 2 swing. The right hand fires automatically. Also, the right hand grip is dominantly felt all the time, ready to work at a moment's notice. Employ what I learned here on all aspect of the golf swing, putting, chipping, pitching, and full swing. Finally, just like Hogan, the arms and grip is one solid unit.

2024-05-24: At Crestbrook with Rudy.  I can't clear my hips again. I think the solution is to let the grip go pass the ball before engaging any attempt to turn around. I think when the grip is stuck downwards pass the ball, clearing the hips becomes automatic. LET THE HIPS THROW THE UPPER BODY (CLUBHEAD), THEN CLEARING THE HIPS IS NO ISSUE! And how about a no-think swing? Possible. Just use extreme right elbow sit on stomach to start a one-piece takeaway. Well, try to go further, make the right elbow really sticky that it forces the left shoulder to twist more (there might something to this, this is a novel idea).

2024-05-31: At Crestbrook with Rudy again. On YouTube, watch Hogan's swing again and confirmed that he hits the ball when his body is already facing forward. Meaning, he hit his ball like a Side-Swing. I tried this and incorporated all the things in this History section so far and it worked! SO I WILL REWRITE ALL THIS AND REVISE THIS POSTING AND TITLE IT SIDE-SWING GOLF.