Preface: Richter Park, 1998
My golf quest started one day: August 29, 1998, at Richter Park Golf Course. For the first time in my life I broke eighty, and I unbelievably scored a 78. I played with my late friend, Dan O'Reilly (rest in peace, my friend), and a walk-in couple, Denise and Bill. How I played that day was a total abandonment of my instincts.
What I remember from that day is the first hole. I told myself I would use my four wood, because it always seemed to have the perfect balance for me. Whenever I brought it back and hit it with it, everything felt perfect. So I did, and I started my practice swings. While doing them, I felt like just letting the feeling take over and letting go, no matter where the ball went. I did, and everything started coming together. After that first hole, with the swing feeling familiar, I switched to my three wood for my drives and employed the same feeling. I let that feeling take over on everything, even on chips. I shot a 78 and even beat Bill, who shot a 79.
The moment I remember most came on the 2nd par 5, my third shot. It was an eight iron. I was looking at the ball, and inside me I was telling myself, as I had been doing from the first hole, "Just let go, just let go. Don't think about how to hit the ball, just hit it and let go." I did, and the ball just disappeared. I lost sight of where it landed; I just saw the direction. When I walked to the green, there it was, around the flag. I can still see it now, even after all these years gone by. But I did not know what happened or how I did it!
I have spent the years since trying to explain that day. On May 22, 2025, I wrote that it was the trebuchet or sling effect, not a golf technique, that made it happen. It was the total, complete, continuous golf swing, swung with abandon, with the hips turning and sending the clubhead like a trebuchet projectile, that made my perfect golf game that very memorable day. This post is about the two setup pieces that make that trebuchet work for me now: the RRE and the split grip.
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 essence of the golf swing. The right arm is stiff, and the right wrist serves as the fulcrum for the left grip and the club. The left grip controls the club and forms the V (the cock) by using the right palm as part of the fulcrum, and it brings the clubhead up along the shoulders' plane (a la McIlroy). These are the body parts that are frozen in one piece and pushed around and upward at the takeaway.
Make sure the right shoulder is lower, the right elbow is resting firmly on the inside of the abdomen, and the crease of the right elbow (most important) is pointing skyward. The RRE is essential in all swings, including chips and pitches.
The Split Grip
The split grip is a setup requirement, just like the RRE. I take a wide, solid, almost split grip: the left hand firm at the top of the club, and the right hand lower on the shaft. With the split grip, you feel your palms wrap around the shaft of the club.
The grip is very important. Both hands should be felt wrapped around the shaft and the hands should just fall down naturally forming an L between the arms and shaft. The more pronounced the L, the better. Along that line, on the setup, never reach out to the ball that may flatten the L. The reason is because the more pronounced the L, the more leverage is created, and, therefore, crisper contact, rising ball flight, and added distance.
I first learned it on September 15, 2016. As I wrote then, the right middle fingers cock the club while the left hand pulls against it. At the top, the right hand lets go, and the left hand expels the static power generated by pulling the grip toward the ball.
The last three fingers of the left hand are firmly in control, especially on the downswing. On September 6, 2024, I wrote that on the downswing the last three fingers of the left hand just hold on to the grip while the body turn directs the clubhead toward the ball with as much force as possible. In October 2026 I wrote it again: the active three left fingers are a necessity on the forward swing.
On October 21, 2026, I finally understood why the split grip gives such a solid hit. In my words: "The split grip leverages the clubhead to impart a solid hit to the ball by the physics of the left hand solid grip and the right hand as the fulcrum, imparting the force created to the shaft and the clubhead as a result."
So the shoulder turn is what sets up the catapult and fires it. The power comes from the catapult and the leverage of the hands. My left hand stays quiet and follows. The right hand leads.
Why the Two Are Needed
Here is my explanation of why the two are needed for the golf swing.
Imagine the shoulders as the trebuchet wheel. The arms are connected to the shoulders, and the hands are connected to the golf shaft. But those connections cannot pass on the trebuchet force, because they are loose. What is needed is to make all the parts work like a fishing rod, from the shoulders to the clubface. With loose connectors, they cannot work.
Loose links leak the force; the RRE and split grip make one rod, and the lower grip forms the open L.
There is one more key point. The hands must be below the eyes, and the shaft and arms look like an open "L". The reason is that the left hand grips the end of the club while the right hand flicks the shaft. The L makes the leverage more powerful. A straight arm and shaft imparts a lesser force.
But a word of caution: the left grip is key. The left hand must hold firm at the end of the club, or else there is no leverage. While the fisherman flicks the rod upward, the golfer flicks it
sideways.
Same flick: the fisherman flicks up, the golfer flicks sideways along Hogan’s plane. The left hand holds firm.
The RRE makes the right arm rigid to the shoulder. The split grip, with the palms wrapped around the shaft, has a leverage effect that connects the right arm and the shaft in a rigid fashion.
So, in effect, when the shoulders are primed (tightened) on the upswing and then released, the turning back swings the arms, and on up to the shaft and the clubface, like a fly-fishing pole. It hits the ball and continues on to hurl it forward.
On the Course
Everything above is for the practice range and for understanding. On the course, it should all be muscle memory, just like Richter. I carry only one swing thought, and it is the same one for the whole round, on every swing:
One-Piece Trebuchet & Split Grip Flik
Here is what each part means to me, in plain words.
One-Piece: Just a one-piece takeaway, like what is explained in most golf books: the arms, hands and club start back together with the shoulder turn. The RRE keeps my right arm connected to my body while I do it.
Trebuchet: The shoulders are the trebuchet wheel. The shoulder turn tightens (primes) everything on the upswing, then releases it, and that turn is what fires the catapult. The power comes from the catapult, not from the arms.
Split Grip: The split grip is set at address, just like the RRE. You feel your palms wrap around the shaft of the club. Its leverage connects the right arm and the shaft rigidly. The last three fingers of my left hand stay firmly in control, especially on the downswing.
Flik: The flick is the right hand flicking the grip, while the left grip stays immobile, just being carried but holding an opposing force, and hurling the clubface toward and past the ball. The flick is what is taught in most golf books: letting the right arm wrap around the shoulders before standing up.
I think this is what Ben Hogan was trying to say with all his explanations of the golf swing. It is really hard to explain in words. It could be Hogan's "secret."
