My 20-year Lost Richter Swing

Richter Park 78

On August 29,1998, at Richter Park Golf Course, for the first time in my life I broke eighty and registered a score of 78.  In my foursome are Dan O’Reilly (Rest In Peace my friend), Denise and Bill.

What I remember that day is at hole number one, I just told myself that I will use my four wood because it seems that it is always has the perfect balance for me.  When I bring it back and hits with it, everything seems to be perfect.  So I did and I started the practice swings.  While doing so I just felt like just letting the feeling take over and just let go no matter where the ball goes.  I did this end everything just started coming together.  I remember using only the three wood on all my drives and just letting the feeling take over - everything even on chips.  I shot a 78 and even beat Bill who shot a 79.

WHAT I DID NOT REALIZE THEN WHEN I WROTE THE ABOVE IS WHEN I SWUNG WITH ABANDON, I ACTUALLY PULLED THE CLUB "THROUGH".  HOWEVER, a more important aspect is WHAT TO CONSCIOUSLY DO ON the upswing. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS MAKING SURE WHEN I BRING BACK THE CLUB THAT my "INTENTION OR THOUGHT" IS TO STOP ONLY WHEN I AM IN THE POSITION TO PULL THE CLUB ALONG THE TARGET LINE OR PLANE. THE IMPORTANT THING IN THE BACK SWING IS NOT HOW IT IS DONE BUT WHEN AND WHERE THE LEFT ARM SHOULD BE POSITIONED (ALONG TARGET LINE OR PLANE) AND ONLY THEN STOP. THE MAIN THOUGHT THEN IS NOT HOW FULLY MY BODY IS TWISTED BUT INSTEAD POSITION THE LEFT ARM WHERE I CAN INSTINCTIVELY PULL IT THROUGH THE BALL .

20SEP2016:  One of the nuance of a golf stroke is learning that a stroke in golf is not a stroke at all but actual a "pull through".  I will edit the the writings following to incorporate this fundamental and basic golf move.

WHAT CAN CHIPPING TELL US?

2018-10-11:  Chipping with only backswing of the wrist cocking and only forward swing made possible by the body turning (not right hand)  is the secret to ultimate chipping. THIS MUST BE THE SAME FOR THE FULL SWING... and anything in between. 

THE REALIZATION

2018-09-22:  I know now what I was doing when I shot the 78 at Richter in 1998. It is the "pull" swing with the automatic snap at the end - the snap that creates the divot.  2018-10-11: body turning forward  is the key.

Basic, very basic is the extreme tied up feeling (ala Hogan). USING the WRIST, cock the club early along the plane and follow through with the arms also moving along the plane..

2018-10-11: At the downswing, the whole body TURNING pulls the club down on the hit and, consequently, followed by an automatic follow through (creating the divot) - a SNAPPING action (delayed instinctive and automatic un-cocking action of the club head).

BUT ALWAYS REMEMBER ITS (backswing) END FUNCTION IS TO PUT ITSELF IN A POSITION TO PULL THE CLUB TOWARDS THE BALL... NOT TO MERELY TWIST. 

ADD THE EARLY COCKING THAT GIVES THE SWING THE SNAPPING ACTION AND TRUE DIVOT. This action maybe the important thing, maybe more important than the preceding because it makes everything instinctive.

CONCLUSION

AT THE END OF THE DAY, THE UTILIZATION OF THE PLANE BECOMES AN INGREDIENT THAT IMPROVES AND COMPLETES THE SWING! AND IT IS THE ONLY WAY TO HIT THE BALL WITH THE "DUKOT" MOVE.  BUT THE DUKOT CAN ONLY BE CORRECTLY DONE WITH A FULL COCK AND FULLY TWISTED BODY. SO, FULL COCK EARLY, ROUNDHOUSE CAPE MOVE TO TWIST THE BODY, MOVE ALONG THE PLANE AND AUTO UNTWIST WITH THE DUKOT MOVE.  THAT IS THE NEW RICHTER SWING.

INTEGRAL PARTS OF THE CORRECT GOLF SWING

1. Left Arm Only.
2. Left Grip is more like pointing the club to the ground making sure that the face of club is correctly flat on the ground. 
3. Plane Cognizant.
4. Stretch the back first? Where the chin and shoulder touch even on the downswing? No, the correct start is the left hand lifting the clubhead upwards along the plane. This can result with the chin touching the left shoulder but that is an effect rather than the objective. This action is like throwing your cape around your shoulder and letting the shoulder coil naturally. THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY OF BRINGING THE CLUB UP RESULTING IN A BODY TWIST AND "THIS" IS THE WAY!
5. Extreme cock (most of the time) to make the clubhead drop on and underneath the ball.
6. Pull by body turning (automatic and like a rubber band untwisting action)
7. Dukot (head left behind ball position)
8. Snap made by the body turning into C position and releasing the wrist cock.

WHEN COMING BACK TO RELEARN THE GOLF SWING, DO NOT FORGET THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF THE CORRECT GOLF SWING, I.E., THE EARLY, VERY EARLY EXTREME COCK AND FLING OF THE CLUBHEAD LIKE FLINGING A CAPE ALONG THE PLANE BUT WITH MORE OF A ROUNDHOUSE FORCE TO ACHIEVE A RUBBER BAND BODY TWIST ( Note: Moe Norman stiff left arm and late cock or no cock can also work. I think it needs a dukot to properly hit the ball. And I think this has more promise. Just keep an open mind. ) RESULTING IN THE AUTOMATIC BODY TURN ON THE DOWNSWING. START FROM THERE AND THE REST FOLLOWS INSTINCTIVELY. 

2018-11-01:  THEREFORE, AN EFFECTIVE GOLF SWING MUST ALWAYS  HAVE THESE THREE CHARACTERISTICS:

1.  UTILIZATION OF THE PLANE

2.  A FULL COCK OF THE LEFT WRIST

3.  THE LEFT SHOULDER TOUCHING THE CHIN.

AND THEY CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED WHEN THE CAPE TOSSING AND ROUNDHOUSE "KICK" IS EMPLOYED. 

IT IS ALL IN THE BACKSWING... THE RICHTER'S SECRET.

2018-11-04: LEARN THE CAMERON CHAMP'S DOWNSWING - SLING IT BY TURNING THE HIPS. THIS NEEDS AN EXTREMELY EARLY LEFT WRIST COCK EVEN  BEFORE LIFTING THE LEFT ARM UP. 2018-11-07: Forget the Moe Norman upswing. That will not work for the Cameron Champ sling shot. The SLOW deliberate cock and lift upswing ended by a balanced C finish is the technique to learn and utilize. NO PLANE. 2018-11-17: Realize that this Champ way goes hand in hand with Hogan's cupped left back hand hit.

2018-11-18: CORKSCREW PLANE FOR CHAMP - The upswing must be done this way. 

1) Right shoulder lowered.

2) Deliberate Slow Cocking and Upswing along the 7 to 2 o'clock corkscrew plane. 

3) Cocking first is preferable but not mandatory depending on the shot, e.g., high or low trajectory, running or checking chips, etc.

4) The tightness of the corkscrew (arm upswing) is also variable depending on the shot, i.e., chip, half shots, full, etc.

5) 2018-11-25: THE WHOLE INTENT OF THE BACKSWING IS TO CONNECT THE LEFT WRIST (figuratively)TO THE HIPS! So unless there is this real feeling, the backswing is done incorrectly. THIS IS NECESSARY BECAUSE THE FORWARD SWING IS LIKE THE JAI-ALAI BACKSWING WHERE THE CESTA IS PULLED BY THE BODY TO DELIVER THE BALL.

6) THE BACKSWING IS INITIATED BY THE LEFT WRIST LIFTING THE CLUB HEAD TO A SMOOTH RHYTHMICAL FINISH TO THE TOP (CAPE MOVE. AND YES, THE PLANE CAN BE VISIALIZED/UTILIZED IF IT NATURALLY HAPPENS. 2018-12-06: And if the plane appears,  then "THRUST" the club shaft upwards - figuratively speaking, SHAFT IT!) AND CONNECTING THE ARM, WRIST, CLUB TO THE HIPS. THE DOWNSWING IS JUST THE CLUB BEING PULLED BY THE HIPS ALONG EXACTLY THE SAME ARC/PLANE (ON THE WAY UP, 2018-12-06: BUT WITH THE ACTIVE FEELING OF THE WRIST BEING PULLED BY THE TURNING HIPS.) TOWARDS THE BALL.

2018-12-09: I HAVE COME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT THE CHAMP TECHNIQUE CAN BEST BE SERVED WITH A PROPER BACKSWING DONE THIS WAY - WITH THE PLANE AND A PROPER SHOULDER TURN:

2019-02-05 DON'T FUCKING FORGET THIS::: IT IS HOW THE COCK IN SABONG GETS POINTED::: 1) AT ADDRESS, TRY FLICKING THE LEFT WRIST TO FIND THE PLANE. 1218-12-14: KEEPING THE RIGHT SHOULDER LOWER AND THE GRIP WAY AHEAD OF THE BALL MAKES IT EASIER TO SEE THE PLANE AND HELPS LAUNCH THE CLUB HEAD BACKWARDS AND UPWARDS ALONG THE PLANE (VS STANDING UPRIGHT ON THE PLANE AND LAUNCH IS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT WHICH MAKES THE BACK SWING QUITE NOT RIGHT. ALSO IT IS LIKE RIDING THE CIRCULAR PLANE LIKE A BIKE AND COCKING IS A DOWN AND UP MOTION VS COCKING SIDE TO SIDE MOTION ). 20-12-15: WHEN ADDRESSING THE BALL, IT MAY BE EASIER TO VISUALIZE THE BACK OF THE LEFT HAND PRONATING (WITH THE WRIST BREAKING EARLY) ALONG THE PLANE AT THE SAME TIME LAUNCHING THE CLUB HEAD UP. 2019-02-06: Bringing the right shoulder down physically puts the right shoulder BELOW the plane and essentially makes the BACK SWING a southwest to northeast vertical move rather than a west to east horizontal move... which is MENTALLY impossible for me. 

2) WHEN FOUND, PRONATINGLY LAUNCH THE CLUB HEAD LIKE A SATELLITE GOING INTO ORBIT (REMEMBER CAPE OR STICK THE LEFT THUMB ALONG THE PLANE?) SLITHERING THE CLUB, WRIST,  ARM, SHOULDERS, BODY, LEGS TO THE GROUND (IN THAT ORDER). 

2018-12-13: WHY THE STRAIGHT STIFF LEFT ARM IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THE GOLF SWING? BECAUSE A LIMP LEFT ARM DISENGAGES THE PULLING POWER OF THE RIGHT HIP. 2018-12-14: BUT REMEMBER NO. 2 ABOVE. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO GET THE MEANING OF THE UPSWING. THE DESCRIPTION MAY NOT BE TO OBVIOUS AT A LATER READING BUT IT IS UNIQUELY NOVEL AND CANNOT BE FOUND IN ANY PART OF THIS BLOG.

2018-12-23: NEVER FORGET ABOUT THE DELIVERY THAT BOWLING AND GOLF SHARE, I.E., THE AUTOMATIC SNAP AT THE END OF THE DELIVERY. 2019-02-07: IN GOLF, THIS IS THE HOGAN CUPPED LEFT WRIST.

2019-01-26: JUST DON'T FORGET THAT THE FULL COCKING IS REQUIRED EVEN WHEN CHIPPING.

2019-02-12: IMAGINE THE WRISTS AS THE ONE HOLDING THE CLUB, NOT THE HANDS.  IT MAKES THE SWING LIKE A BOWLING BALL RELEASE.

2019-02-13: DUSTIN JOHNSON TAKEAWAY: JUST LET THE "L" SHAPE LEFT WRIST CARRYING THE CLUB ON THE UPSWING BRING UP THE CLUB.  BREAK THE LEFT WRIST FIRST (RIGHT AWAY - 2019-02-27: the pronation and thrust upwards of the club head must start and "complete" almost a few inches from the ball. The imagined "roller coaster" of the club head must start right away so that the correct upswing can be executed. Also, the left thumb must be the one that is thrust along the "roller coaster"... so is the club head. Therefore, the thumb and club head has a direct relationship (grip).) ON THE TAKEAWAY!!! THIS WILL MAKE IT EASY TO VISUALIZE THE "CLUB HEAD" TRAVELING UP ALONG THE PLANE....AND TO THE TOP OF THE SWING.  SIMPLE TAKEAWAY AND HIT ...  OF COURSE, THE PLANE IS IN PLAY HERE. WORKS GREAT WITH NO. 1 DON'T FUCKING... AND, PLEASE, PLEASE DO THIS WITH THE 110% PULL CHARACTERIZED BY THE VERY WEAK GRIP. THE GRIP SO WEAK THAT ONE IS ACTUALLY CRADLING THE GRIP BUTT ITSELF. AN EARLY TWIST OF THE WRIST WILL BRING THE CLUB UP ALONG THE PLANE; THEN A CONTINUOUS PULL WILL BE ALL THAT IS NEEDED TO BRING THE CLUB HEAD BACK TO THROUGH THE BALL. 2019-02-22: USE THE HIPS TO PULL THE CLUB, NOT THE SHOULDERS. 2019-02-24: IMPORTANT TO TURN THE HEAD TO THE RIGHT ALA NICKLAUS. THIS MOVE ENSURES THE FULL TWIST AND THE AUTOMATIC DUKOT MOVE.

2019-03-02: Experiment with the grip behind the ball. This seems to visually make the club - especially woods - almost ready to pounce back along the rail on the back swing. This is probably why Hogan has only one same ball position for all clubs.

2019-03-04: On the downswing, shift the hips to the left first as far as it will go and let the centrifugal force commence the turning of the hips and almost at the same time the hitting of the ball by the left hand ... turning around and automatically finishing in the C position. 2019-03-16: THE DOWNSWING IS AUTOMATIC - NO THINKING ALLOWED. 

2019-03-16: THE BACKSWING IS INITIATED FIRST BY COCKING EVERY CLUB,  ESPECIALLY THE DRIVER, WITH THE LEFT WRIST BREAK RIGHT ON THE GET GO. IF IN DOUBT,  READ THE THE RULE AGAIN. SO COMPLETELY BREAK THE LEFT WRIST FIRST BEFORE BRINGING THE CLUBHEAD UP. THIS MOVE WILL DELAY THE HIT ENOUGH SO YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THE CLUB BRUSH THE GROUND EVEN WITH THE DRIVER. ACTUALLY, THIS RULE IS MAINLY FOR THE LONG CLUBS BECAUSE COCKING IS NOTORIOUSLY DELAYED WITH THESE CLUBS. DOING THIS " SOMEHOW RESULTS IN MORE SOLID CONTACT. BRING THE SHAFT PARALLEL TO THE GROUND FIRST BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO LIFTING IT TO THE TOP OR ANOTHER TECHNIQUE MAYBE IS TO IMAGINE THE WHOLE COMPLETE RING WHERE THE CLUBHEAD WILL TRAVEL AND COCK THE CLUBHEAD ALONG IT LIKE A SATELLITE. 

2019-03-27: All references in this article to the "CLUBHEAD" should mean mentally just the tip of the shaft alone "and" the physical feeling of the "WEIGHT" of the clubhead. The weight feeling is very important because it connects the clubhead to the body by centrifugal force and pulling that "weight" back to the ball is the PERFECT forward swing method to learn and remember!

2019-03-30: I REPEAT AGAIN, COCKING OR BREAKING THE WRIST IS "MUST", NOT AN OPTION.  ELSE, SHANKS CAN RESULT.

2019-03-31: Because I am so good now in hitting with the left side, it is better right after cocking to hit the ball with the left hand - not anymore thinking of moving left with the body.  I do that automatically now.  This should prevent those occasional shanks plus longer distances, I think. (After a few hours and another set of practice - I DO NOT RECOMMEND DOING THIS NOW. Also, it is against the Stoke of Genius principle)

2019-04-01:  There is an inherent gem in the following statements I copied from above.  In it is the secret to an easy back swing.  It makes the back swing so easy for all clubs.  Try to read it again and somehow remember and retain the feeling.  It is so fucking good to be able to bring the club up so easy.  The secret uncovered here is the change of alignment of the shoulders to the target line or bottom of the plane. When the right shoulder is lowered, the shoulders - that is initially parallel to the plane - slightly opens up (turns a little clockwise - let us call that "Flat X Factor" due to the flat X formed by the shoulders and the target line) and makes the action of bringing up the club head along the plane mentally easier.  IN ADDITION, TURN THE LEFT SHOULDER AROUND WITH THE RIGHT SHOULDER AS THE FULCRUM.  Here is the copy again:

2019-02-05 DON'T FUCKING FORGET THIS. IT IS HOW THE COCK IN SABONG GETS POINTED.1) AT ADDRESS, TRY FLICKING THE LEFT WRIST TO FIND THE PLANE. 1218-12-14: KEEPING THE RIGHT SHOULDER LOWER AND THE GRIP WAY AHEAD OF THE BALL MAKES IT EASIER TO SEE THE PLANE AND HELPS LAUNCH THE CLUB HEAD BACKWARDS AND UPWARDS ALONG THE PLANE (VS STANDING UPRIGHT ON THE PLANE AND LAUNCH IS FROM LEFT TO RIGHT WHICH MAKES THE BACK SWING QUITE NOT RIGHT. ALSO IT IS LIKE RIDING THE CIRCULAR PLANE LIKE A BIKE AND COCKING IS A DOWN AND UP MOTION VS COCKING SIDE TO SIDE MOTION ). 20-12-15: WHEN ADDRESSING THE BALL, IT MAY BE EASIER TO VISUALIZE THE BACK OF THE LEFT HAND PRONATING (WITH THE WRIST BREAKING EARLY) ALONG THE PLANE AT THE SAME TIME LAUNCHING THE CLUB HEAD UP. 2019-02-06: Bringing the right shoulder down physically puts the right shoulder BELOW the plane and essentially makes the BACK SWING a southwest to northeast vertical move rather than a west to east horizontal move... which is MENTALLY impossible for me. 2) WHEN FOUND, PRONATINGLY LAUNCH THE CLUB HEAD LIKE A SATELLITE GOING INTO ORBIT (REMEMBER CAPE OR STICK THE LEFT THUMB ALONG THE PLANE?) SLITHERING THE CLUB, WRIST,  ARM, SHOULDERS, BODY, LEGS TO THE GROUND (IN THAT ORDER).  

2019-04-02: REVELATION 101.  The right shoulder as a fulcrum reveals why the left side only can be used to hit. It is because the right shoulder becomes the center of the swing and the left shoulder and left side is the one that can only pull the club around the fulcrum (right shoulder). The right shoulder must be the pivot point only. It is easier now to teach golf if the right shoulder is mentally imagined as the fulcrum. It becomes natural to use the left side as the moving force. And since the left shoulder moves laterally, the DIVOT becomes MENTALLY imaginable easily. In addition, it is also easier now to imagine the shoulders which is parallel to the plane as just pivoting along the plane using right shoulder center point of turn. Remember before when you just turn the shoulders like a helicopter? Now we know more specifically where the pivot point is, the right shoulder - not the neck.

2019-04-04:  During actual play, the upswing method immediately above needs some tweaking since the way it is now promotes a hammer swing rather than a pull swing. AT ADDRESS, COCK THE CLUB (NOT CLUB HEAD ALONE BUT THE WHOLE CLUB WITH THE SHAFT) AND ALMOST IMMEDIATELY PUSH THE CLUB WITH THE LEFT SHOULDER UP MAKING SURE THE PIVOT POINT IS THE RIGHT SHOULDER.  WITH THIS AS THE MENTAL (LEFT SHOULDER DOMINANT) PICTURE, IT SHOULD BE NATURAL TO PULL THE CLUB TOWARDS THE BALL.  IT WILL ALSO BE EASIER TO CONTROL THE DEPTH OF THE DIVOT. 2019-04-06: ALSO, THE START OF THE DOWNSWING MUST RIGHT AFTER THE LEFT SHOULDER BOUNCES OFF THE CHIN. Apparently, the bouncing off the chin ensures the correct depth of the return of the club head to the ball, makes it dig in and creates the divot.

2019-04-11: AFTER TWO WEEKS OF TWO 18-HOLE PLAYS AND AFTER INTALLING MY DRIVIVG NET AND HITTING PRACTICE,  I MUST SAY THAT MY SWING NEEDS A FULL COCK AND A CLOSE, "NATURAL" CLUBFACE (NO PANNING). IMPORTANT AND ESSENTIAL: THE LEFT HAND MUST UNCOCK TO THE DIVOT JUST AFTER THE BALL (EXCEPT THE DRIVER). IN OTHER WORDS,  PROJECT THE UNCOCKING ENERGY TO MAKE A DIVOT.

2019-04-12: THE SECRET IS THE SHOULDERS TAKING CONTROL OF THE SWING  ALONG THE PLANE AND COCKING (MOST OF THE TIME BUT NOT A NECESSITY). USING THE SHOULDERS AND PLANE MAKE ALL KINDS OF TERRAIN SHOTS  EASY - FOR ALL SHOTS FROM PUTTER TO DRIVER. 2019-04-14: Imagine the left shoulder doing the back swing and down swing - to hit the ball.

Golf Instructions for Tom in 1999

Tom, study Tiger Woods.  Look closely when he swings.  He uses his shoulders, not his arms.  And those 300+ drives are accurate time and time again.  I believe he can only be accurate a lot because he employs a simplified swing.  By the way, Tom, the dates are the time I wrote the notes.  I left them for you to emphasize the fact that good golf cannot happen overnight.  Also, there are a lot of repetitions of the concept of the swing here, with minute variations.  This tells you that it is a lifetime quest - always fidgeting around for the perfect swing.

August 14, 1997 - Golf Simplification Technique - the Basics.


To simplify we must group the body parts into three movable sections.  

Each section must be "theoretically" firm and all parts moving in concert as a whole and the brain not consciously making it so.  The whole intention is to make the moving muscles or parts as few as possible so that it will be easier to achieve consistency.  Less parts, less chance of screwing up.  The three sections are:

1. The club and the hands - with the wrists as the only flexing or moving part.  The action of the move is only up and down (cocking) motion.  On the grip, the left hand is a palm grip while the right hand is a finger grip.  Refer to Hogan's book for details.
* 9/15/98 - The secret of the grip is the cradling effect - the right middle two fingers acts as a fulcrum supporting the club while the left palm pad exerts the balancing force to make the club "alive".  Use this cradle grip for all shots - putts, chips, etc.  (Tom, I think when the grip on the club is "alive" like this, it essentially makes this body section united with the next section - combining into one big section - remember the one-piece-takeaway?.)

2. The upper body with the arms.  In order to make the arms and body act as one unit, the arms must fully extended and have the tied up feeling.  The purpose of this is to immobilize the shoulder joints from moving by itself and not bringing the body with it when turning.  The arms should conceptually form like solid stilts (as in nipa huts) to the body forming a stiff triangle - when the arms move the shoulders are automatically turned also and vice-versa.  Like Hogan said, when he is swinging, nobody can tear those arms away from each other - as if they are bound together with a rope.  This is like a triangle where the angles are always kept constant 

3. The lower body from the waist down - with the spine as the only moving part and the left side muscle acting as the rubber band that connects the upper body to the lower body.

*  4May98 - Extreme care must be taken to prevent the natural tendency of the lower body to turn the waist rather than being pulled around by the upper body - Tom, this is very important - see detailed explanation below on 9/15/98 notes.

More on the Tiger Woods Swing :

1. With regard to the Tiger Woods swing, it should be a shoulders-only swing.  It should be envisioned as a large circular saw on the shoulders, twisting along the golf plane.  The swing is imagined as a circular saw cutting the ball on the backward and forward motion (twisting effect of the body) but it is important that the circular saw twist along the golf plane.

* 13Apr98 - Although, for me, the shoulder is the engine or prime and only mover of the swing, in actuality the whole trunk (left shoulder to left hip) really moves around the axis of the neck and spine.  This keeps the shoulders along the plane, otherwise, there is a tendency to move the shoulders towards the inside of the plane on the back swing.

* 4May98 - as discovered, the actual culprit that puts the shoulders out of the golf plane is the lower body turning the hips around and pushing the shoulders rather than the shoulders pulling the waist around. 

* 9/15/98 - Amen (ditto).

2. 4May98 - The circular saw can be imagined also as Lionel train tracks circling the shoulders and forming as the golf plane envisioned by Hogan.  The train-track plane is there so that the golf club head can be imagined as moving along backwards and forward without pronating ala Tiger Woods.  During a practice session, I found hooding the club face this way and not pronating (although the centrifugal force pronates it) makes the direction straighter than any other variation.  This also is in line with the simplification method since there is less conscious extra movement of cocking the club.

3. 4May98 - Remember that the club is swung out the Lionel tracks with the main intent of making the centrifugal force tighten the left side and pull the waist.  When the club is heaviest at the top, then the downswing is started. 

With Regard to the 78 at Richter Park 

Here are the topics (in sequence) that I was working on at the time that led to this wonderful event.  The purpose of this is to document the steps that may be needed to recollect  the swing in case the new found swing is lost again (Ain't this the truth! Tom). 


* Left shoulder dips and go around the plane.
* Set up and fire technique - without too much thinking.
* Swing is timed to explode on the ball position.
* The 7 o'clock set-up.  This is a grip where the hands are set-up in relation to the shaft.
* Left shoulder must go up to the fullest.
* Full left shoulder swing, no arms at all.
* The right shoulder, when lowered at set-up, helps the visualization of the plane.
* ALIVE putter - the left hand palm pad pushes the club down while the right middle two fingers acts as a fulcrum cradling the club shaft.
* Ernie Els has the one-piece swing.
* Actively cock the club by pushing the left hand pad down while the left middle two fingers support the club.
* Roped feeling supports the club.
* Left hand leverage helps a lot.
* Putt with "Alive" putter.  Left shoulder push toward ball (the back swing) while putter is cradled by the right hand two middle fingers acting as the fulcrum and the left palm pad pushing down with enough effort to balance the putter slightly above the ground.  Hitting should be automatic and done by the shoulders.
* Extend the alive putter technique to chips (the plane employed).
* Bingo! Hit with the shoulders like Tiger but look like David Duval.
* Full shoulder turn with full cocking is needed.
* Yes, there is an automatic back swing!
* Cocking is not consciously done.  Set-up with the alive putter, neutral left palm drill left shoulder towards ball (resulting with the shoulders finishing parallel with the plane) .  At the top, pause slightly and fire ala Tiger Woods with the shoulder (along the plane!).


Swing Thoughts While Addressing the Ball
9/15/98 - The key to the accurate results is the neutral left palm (club face) staying looking at the target all the time during the entire swing (of course, up and down swing).  In addition, both shoulders hit (ala Tiger) along the plane which is the secret to the professional shot (ala Duval).  Here are the mechanics of the 78-swing:  First set up with all the simplified body parts (explained in the previous section).  Next, feel the alive putter - the right middle two fingers must be cradling the club.  Visualize the neutral (like a left handshake with the back facing the target) left palm (and feel the weight of the club against the left pad) in relation to the ball.  Now forget the left palm and look instead at the ball and see the golf plane cutting through and across it.  Now push down the left shoulder imagining that it is drilling straight (yes, straight not around) to the ball and pass through it.  There is no conscious cocking (else the neutral palm is not neutral anymore) - it happens only by the centrifugal force generated by the up swing.  At the top, the shoulder must be along the plane (otherwise the lower hips moved by itself - not pulled by the upper body).  A slight pause and the hit  is performed by the shoulders going around the spine but along the plane.  It must be emphasized that the shoulder must hit along the plane and assumed to have finished at the top along this plane during the back swing.  If not, then the drilling motion of the left shoulder straight to the ball must have been flawed.  The usual error is letting the should turn around.  Accurate straight shots should result.


Full Swing (especially the driver):


Drive like Tiger Woods, minimum motion swing with shoulders doing the hitting while moving along the plane. 

Position the ball a little left of where the left heel  vertically aligns. Make the driver "alive" - the right middle two fingers must be cradling the club and the left pad balancing the weight of the club. (1/9/99 Note:  the alive club is very important.  It promotes consistency by not allowing the club to be left (lazy) by the shoulders on the hit - ball goes uncontrolled to the right!)  It is very IMPORTANT to feel the neutral left hand (the back facing the target - this ensures straight shots) while carrying the weight of the club against the left hand pad.  Now focus instead at the right side of the ball and see the plane cutting through it.  Now push down the left shoulder imagining that it is drilling straight (yes, straight not around) through the right side of the ball, effectively launching the driver perpendicularly away from the ball.  Cocking, if accomplished at all, is created by the centrifugal force - no conscious cocking is done (except for the irons).  The downswing hit is consciously performed by shoulders.  Head is kept still and lateral body movement is kept "behind" the ball (hitting the wall).  1/8/99 - "cocking" is accomplished unconsciously by the active pressure of the club by the right two middle fingers against the left hand pad.

1/9/99 - Something to be proven - simplicity of driving by keeping everything firm and disallowing any random movement of the club.  Promote more controlled cocking by the actively doing the two-finger-left-pad technique.

1/9/99 - When hitting the drive, although the ball is teed, must be imagined hitting a ball on the ground but the ground is perpendicular to the shoulders.  The "divot" is still taken but only on the imaginary slanted ground. 

How to Drive Like a Short Iron - 1/13/99 Golf Quest, Southington.


The right hand grip must not exactly what Hogan say about the two fingers but like Tiger's where the club handle diagonally crosses the palm from the edge of the pad to the base of the index finger.  The purpose is to prevent too much cocking of the club that will inhibit the shoulder hit.  Both hands  should grip firm enough to prevent any uncontrolled movement of the club.

The usual aiming routine should be employed.  At address, the back of the left hand must be parallel with the face of the club.  The face then is aimed towards the target.  The left hand remains dominant initially at address to ensure that the club stays square and properly aimed.  By the time the swing starts, the mental focus goes to the plane.

Before the start of the swing, the plane is visualized as a line going from the shoulders to the ball sitting on the ground whose surface is perpendicular to the plane (like an uphill lie). Once ready, the left shoulder is pointed to the point where the ball, the plane and the imagined surface meet.  This action bring the shoulders and club up along the plane.  No conscious cocking or pronation of hands are done.  On the contrary, the hands are consciously imagined as traveling along the plane at its original position - perpendicularly.

The down swing hit is performed by violently twisting the shoulders along the plane back to the ball and taking, repeat, taking an imaginary divot on the imagined slanted surface.  This shoulder hit is only possible if the club do not go too far back as what happens if the hands consciously cocks the club.


Putting:

9/30/98 - Putting and full swing (e.g., driver) must be the same.  This way, any swing is a practice of putting and vice versa!

9/30/98 - Position the ball a little left of where the eyes vertically aligns. Feel the alive putter - the right middle two fingers must be cradling the club and the left pad balancing the putter.  At the same time, feel the neutral left hand (the back facing the target) and feel the weight of the club against the left hand pad.  Now focus instead at the right side of the ball and see the plane cutting through it.  Now push down the left shoulder imagining that it is drilling straight (yes, straight not around) through the right side of the ball, effectively pushing the putter perpendicularly away from the ball (1/8/99 pushing in another way is brushing back the putter along the grass).  The length of the movement should relate to the distance of the ball to the hole.  The hit should be automatic - not left or right hand dominant (1/8/99 - can be the left hand alone but never the right hand alone) - whatever comes (on a full swing, the hit is performed by the shoulders).  Head is kept still and body movement is held to a minimum until the ball is gone from the putter.


Sand and Pitch Shots:

9/30/98 -This is performed like the regular but the hands consciously cocks the club first.  The shoulders still make the hit!  On pitch shots, cocking first makes it easier to be consistent on the distance.  Remember, the reason for cocking on sand traps is for the club to go under the ball and create a cushion of sand. A cushion of sand must be created before, under and after the ball, so watch out on downhill lies.
Chip Shots

12/28/98 - Chips are the same as the pitch shots as above.  The right hand brings the clubs face along the imagined rails - the shoulders do the hitting.  1/8/99 - the left shoulder must be leading and active especially on chips where there is a bigger tendency to just work with the hands.  The action of the left shoulder is like a big swing - push towards the ball with a brushing backward motion along the grass. However, the difference is the right hand takes over to finish the back swing, creating the necessary upward motion (along the rail) to gauge the distance needed.  The shoulders do the hit.  In a way, you can say the left shoulder loads and both shoulders hit, and follow through with a ball-throwing motion (like rolling the ball in bowling but sideways).

Richter Park 78 with 2018 comment

2018-09-22:  I know now what I was doing. It is the pull swing with the automatic snap at the end - the snap that creates the divot.

Richter Park 78

On August 29,1998, at Richter Park Golf Course, for the first time in my life I broke eighty and registered a score of 78.  In my foursome are Dan O’Reilly, Denise and Bill.

 Here are the topics (in sequence) that I was working on that led to this new event.  The purpose of this is to document the steps that may be needed to recollect in case the found swing is lost again.

1.  Set up and fire technique.
2. Swing is timed to explode on the ball position.
3. The 7 o’clock set-up.  This is a grip where the hands are set-up in relation to the shaft.
4. Left shoulder must go up to the fullest. 11/13/2017 Comment: What must be missing but happening at the time is cocking at the fullest with the wrist bent practically.  This allows the club to automatically hit late and promote automatic divots and back-spin.  The ball flight also changes because of the back spin.
5. Left shoulder dips and go around the plane.
6. Full left shoulder swing, no arms at all.
7. The right shoulder, when lowered at set-up, helps the visualization of the plane.
8. ALIVE putter -the left hand palm pad pushes the club down while the right middle two fingers acts as a fulcrum cradling the club shaft.
9. Ernie Els has the one-piece swing.
10. Actively cock the club by pushing the left hand pad down while the left middle two fingers support the club.
11. Roped feeling supports the club.
12. Left hand leverage helps a lot.
13. Putt with “Alive” putter.  Left shoulder push toward ball (the back swing) while putter is cradled by the right hand two middle fingers acting as the fulcrum and the left palm pad pushing down with enough effort to balance the putter slightly above the ground.  Hitting should be automatic and done by the shoulders.
14. Extend the alive putter technique to chips (the plane employed).
15. Bingo! Hit with the shoulder like Tiger but look…
16. Full shoulder turn with full cocking is needed.
17. Yes, there is an automatic back swing!
18. Cocking is not consciously done.  Set-up with the alive putter, neutral left palm,drill left shoulder towards ball (resulting with the shoulders finishing parallel with the plane) .  At the top, pause slightly and fire ala Tiger Woods with the shoulder (along the plane!).

9/15/98 - The key to the accurate results is the neutral left palm (club face) staying looking at the target all the time during the entire swing (of course, up and down swing).  In addition, both shoulders hit (ala Tiger) along the plane which is the secret to the professional shot (ala Duval).  

Here are the mechanics of the 98-swing:  

1. First set up with all the simplified body parts (explained in the previous section).  
2. Next, feel the alive putter - the right middle two fingers must be cradling the club.
3. Visualize the neutral (like a left handshake with the back facing the target) left palm (and feel the weight of the club against the left pad) in relation to the ball.  
4. Now forget the left palm and look instead at the ball and see the plane cutting through it.  
5. Now push down the left shoulder imagining that it is drilling straight (yes, straight not around) to the ball and pass through it.  
6. There is no conscious cocking (else the neutral palm is not neutral anymore) – it happens only by the centrifugal force generated by the up swing.  
7. At the top, the shoulder must be along the plane (else the lower hips moved by itself – not pulled by the upper body).  
8. A slight pause and 
9. the hit  is performed by the shoulders going around the spine but along the plane.  
10. It must be emphasized that the shoulder must hit along the plane and assumed to have finished at the top along this plane during the back swing.  
11. If not, then the drilling motion of the left shoulder straight to the ball must have been flawed.  
12. The usual error is letting the shoulder turn around.  
13. Accurate straight shots should result.

Now back to the present.  What I remember that day is at hole number one, I just told myself that I will use my four wood because it seems that it is always has the perfect balance for me.  When I bring it back and hits with it, everything seems to be perfect.  So I did and I started the practice swings.  While doing so I just felt like just letting the feeling take over and just let go no matter where the ball goes.  I did this end everything just started coming together.  I remember using only the three wood on all my drives and just letting the feeling take over - everything even on chips.  I shot a 78 and even beat Bill who shot a 79.

WHAT I DID NOT REALIZE THEN WHEN I WROTE THE ABOVE IS WHEN I SWUNG WITH ABANDON, I ACTUALLY PULLED THE CLUB "THROUGH".  HOWEVER, a more important aspect is WHAT TO CONSCIOUSLY DO ON the upswing. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS MAKING SURE WHEN I BRING BACK THE CLUB THAT my "INTENTION OR THOUGHT" IS TO STOP ONLY WHEN I AM IN THE POSITION TO PULL THE CLUB ALONG THE TARGET LINE OR PLANE. THE IMPORTANT THING IN THE BACK SWING IS NOT HOW IT IS DONE BUT WHEN AND WHERE THE LEFT ARM SHOULD BE POSITIONED (ALONG TARGET LINE OR PLANE) AND ONLY THEN STOP. THE MAIN THOUGHT THEN IS NOT HOW FULLY MY BODY IS TWISTED BUT INSTEAD POSITION THE LEFT ARM WHERE I CAN INSTINCTIVELY PULL IT THROUGH THE BALL .

20SEP2016:  One of the nuance of a golf stroke is learning that a stroke in golf is not a stroke at all but actual a "pull through".  I will edit the the writings following to incorporate this fundamental and basic golf move.

15SEP2016: Today I learned the split grip. It is where the right middle fingers cocks the club while the left hand pulls against it. At the top, the right hand let go and the left hand expels the static power generated by pulling the grip towards the ball. 20SEP2016: Pull the grip as long as possible pass the ball and just let the club turn around with the turning of the body also.  There is no hammering at all but the force is all a pull through force.  10OCT2016: But how do I execute the upswing? Just remember that the upswing is a reverse of the downswing. If you are pulling the butt of the club (with the body) towards the ball on the downswing, the upswing is thrusting (with the right middle finger) the club head up and around the body into the slot.

06NOV2016: JASON DAY TIPS (with my ONGOING additions. MAKE THIS MY SWING FROM NOW ON). 

1) Triangulate your setup. Establish a triangle with the arms and another one with the legs. Arms are frozen and straight in line with the shaft. This is TO HAVE A SOLID BASE.

2) ArmS stiff and RIGHT middle fingerS cradle the club WHILE THE LEFT PAD PUSHES. Left arm IS dominant and balances the club using the fulcrum finger/s. The act of cradling or fulcrum here makes the cocking EASY TO BRING THE CLUB TO THE DESIRED "PULL" POSITION. 

3)  USING the left hip, PUSH THE CRADLED CLUB up until the shaft IS ALIGNED WITH THE TARGET LINE AND UNTIL THE FEELING SAYS "GO".  No conscious attention is given to other parts of the swing, e.g., THOUGHTS, arms or hands.

4) This essentially makes the DOWN swing an automatic right hip move - UP TO A PHOTO FINISH AT THE TOP. The tightness of the upswing is the key to make the downswing hip move automatic.

5) There is no hammering at all but the force is all a pull "through" force - the turning hips doing all the work.  Finish picture perfect. You can use the right hand to hit but make sure the left hand leads.

The Greatest Secret in Golf is the Back Swing

The back swing is most important aspect in learning the golf swing. If executed correctly, the body is set into automatic golf.  The purpose of the back swing is to coil the body enough to make the recoil automatic.  There really is no forward swing at all.  It is just the recoil of the coiled body that pulls the club head towards the ball and nothing else.  So once the body is coiled correctly, the golf swing goes on full auto mode. Nothing else to consciously learn and do.  But if this is so simple how come everybody seems to be having a problem hitting the ball?  Maybe the answer is because everybody is different and even if taught a way - my way, the mind, body parts, and muscles just do not coordinate in a general common way.  However, it seems that I have found mine.  You can try to see if it also works for you.

First you must know what a golf plane means in golf.  If you do not know what this is, try to grab one of Hogan's book and learn the plane.  Also I am going assume that you know the basics - grip, stance, etc.  Actually, I am going to assume that you have been playing golf for a while and you only need to be taught "my back swing way".

OK, let us start.  Set up and stand over the ball - the golf stance.  With the "alive" grip explained in my other posts, let the left wrist actively waggle (cock) the club.  The club must come back and forth along the plane (yes the plane must now be visualized).  When mentally ready, TURN THE SHOULDERS ALONG THE PLANE, and with the left wrist, COCK and PRONATE the club head along the plane and let the left shoulder continue bringing the club head ( and back of left hand) along the plane.  When coiled, all the rest should be automatic.  That is it - simple! BUT THE SHOULDERS MUST TURN ELSE SHANKS WILL RESULT.

It should be noted that at the moment I have gone back reading Hogan's Fundamentals of Golf.  Everything I am doing now, together with the automatic back swing I have related here is just an implementation of the Fundamentals as taught by Hogan.  Why am I bringing this up?  It is just a reminder for me that everything is interrelated as Hogan says and we have to make his golf fundamentals our template for the correct golf.  We have to read it and make sure that we are in sync with it - else we may revert to bad habits later on.

Is a Golf Stroke a Stroke at all?

20SEP2016:  One of the nuance of a golf stroke is learning that a stroke in golf is not a stroke at all but actual a "pull through".  I will edit the the writings following to incorporate this fundamental and basic golf move. 

15SEP2016: Today I learned the split grip. It is where the right middle fingers cocks the club while the left hand pulls against it. At the top, the right hand let go and the left hand expels the static power generated by pulling the grip towards the ball. 20SEP2016: Pull the grip as long as possible pass the ball and just let the club turn around with the turning of the body also.  There is no hammering at all but the force is all a pull through force.  10OCT2016: But how do I execute the upswing? Just remember that the upswing is a reverse of the downswing. If you are pulling the butt of the club (with the body) towards the ball on the downswing, the upswing is thrusting (with the right middle finger) the club head up and around the body into the slot.

09JUL2016: JASON DAY TIPS (with my additions). 

1) Triangulate your setup. Establish a triangle with the arms and another one with the legs. Arms are frozen and straight in line with the shaft. This is an all shoulders swing.

2) Right arm stiff and middle finger cradles the club. Left arm not only dominant but actually is the only hand holding the club - and balances the club using the fulcrum finger/s. The act of cradling or fulcrum is important here since it makes the cocking automatic and the left shoulder twists more.

3) Push down with the left shoulder, around and up until the shoulder is bounced at the top. No conscious attention is given to other parts of the swing, e.g., arms or hands. But see no. 6 below.

4) This essentially makes the swing an all shoulders swing since the left arm just guides the coiling along the plane and the automatic cocking is achieved by the fulcrum fingers. But see no. 6 below.

5) 20SEP2016: Pull the grip as long as possible and just let the club turn around with the turning of the body.  There is no hammering at all but the force is all a pull "through" force.  Automatically unwind the shoulders for a repeating compact simplified Golf swing. Finish picture perfect.

6) 18NOV2016: Arthritic Right Hand Grip. Use interlock fingers. Last three fingers open like arthritic fingers. The club resting high on the palm, along where the fingers start - definitely not on the fingers' knuckles.  Right hand active on the take away. Palm assists strongly on hitting of the ball but the left arm must actively keep the club ahead of the right. This is the objective - to keep the right fingers in taking over and causing inconsistent problems. Hopefully, this grip can make it instinctive to correctly execute the golf swing.

Creating Torque - Proper Takeaway is Essential

15SEP2016: Today I learned the split grip. It is where the right middle fingers cocks the club while the left hand pulls against it. At the top, the right hand let go and the left hand expels the static power generated by pulling the grip towards the ball. 

09JUL2016: JASON DAY TIPS (with my additions). 

1) Triangulate your setup. Establish a triangle with the arms and another one with the legs. Arms are frozen and straight in line with the shaft. This is an all shoulders swing.

2) Right arm stiff and middle finger cradles the club. Left arm not only dominant but actually is the only hand holding the club - and balances the club using the fulcrum finger/s. The act of cradling or fulcrum is important here since it makes the cocking automatic and the left shoulder twists more.

3) Push down with the left shoulder, around and up until the shoulder is bounced at the top. No conscious attention is given to other parts of the swing, e.g., arms or hands.

4) This essentially makes the swing an all shoulders swing since the left arm just guides the coiling along the plane and the automatic cocking is achieved by the fulcrum fingers.

5) Automatically unwind the shoulders for a repeating compact simplified Golf swing. Finish picture perfect.

14JUN2016: THE POWER OF THE PLANE. It is my belief now that the plane is the glue that binds all the parts of the swing. The visualization of it when executing the golf swing promotes the orderly execution of the parts of the swing which results in a good golf shot with proper divot, weight shift and photo finish result.

11MAY2016: THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO EXECUTE THE BACKSWING: USING THE ALIVE GRIP, THE RIGHT ARM STAYS MOTIONLESS but straight and stiff AT ADDRESS WHILE THE LEFT SHOULDER pushes towards the ball and BRINGS THE CLUB UP while tHE LEFT HAND (A LITTLE STRONG GRIP POSITION IS IMPORTANT) COCKS THE CLUB UNTIL A BOUNCE IS FELT. THIS IS THE FULL SWING. CHIPS AND PITCHES STILL REQUIRE THE LEFT SHOULDER TO BRING BACK THE CLUB but a strong BOUNCE is not expected. You can say that the force of the BOUNCE is directly related to the distance of ball travel. 28AUG2016: When the left shoulder is not needed, e.g., shorts turns like putts and chips, the biceps (upper arm) takes over or is the muscles to use.

27MAY2016:. THERE IS A DIRECT CORRELATION BETWEEN A QUALITY SWING AND A QUALITY LEFT SHOULDER BOUNCE.  A LEFT SHOULDER BOUNCE CREATES A QUALITY SWING. THEREFORE, ONE ONLY NEEDS TO MENTALLY CONCENTRATE ON EXECUTING A QUALITY BOUNCE - THE QUALITY SWING IS EXECUTED INSTINCTIVELY. In other words forget.

08JUN2016: The BOUNCE here has to mean a very strong shoulder coil - enough force to automatically hit the ball by itself on the BOUNCE.

1MAY2016: DUE TO ARTHRITIS ON MY FINGERS, IT IS A MUST TO PULL THE CLUB WITH THE UPPER BODY ON THE FORWARD SWING. TO MAKE THIS AUTOMATIC, while the arm is held motionless, straight firm and rigid, THE left shoulder pushes the club towards the ball, passes it and around the spine, then the LEFT HAND COCKs THE CLUB HARD ENOUGH TO MAKE IT REBOUND AT THE TOP. THE DOWN SWING is automatic if this is executed correctly. SINCE THIS IS AN ALL PULL SWING, IT GOES TO SAY THAT THE BODY and the left hand WHIP AROUND TO A PICTURE PERFECT FINISH.

20MAY2016:  IT IS IMPERATIVE TO NOTE THAT THE RIGHT ARM, HAND AND MIDDLE FINGERS ARE RIGID - ONLY THE LEFT HAND WAGGLES, COCKS AND HITS THE BALL. THIS IS AN ALL LEFT SIDE GAME! The left hand waggle signals the right arm and hand to remain passive all throughout the swing.

All the following has been edited to conform to this newly discovered rules.

THE golf swing IS ACTUALLY THE ALIVE GRIP WITH THE LEFT PALM PUSHING DOWN and THE FULCRUM FINGERS AND the rigid straight arm is left motionless and inactive. The left shoulder FANs CLOCKWISE ALONG THE plane WHILE THE LEFT HAND FLICKS THE CLUB BACKWARDS TO A FULL COCK (CHIN HITS LEFT SHOULDER). THE LEFT HAND MUST CONTROL THE CLUB ON THE BACKWARD AND FORWARD SWING UP TO THE PICTURE PERFECT FINISH..

Making the Takeaway the Main Enabler of My Golf Game

Putting

Address the ball with the body facing 45° from the target line then bring the putter head backwards with the left hand inside the target line but keeping the putter face square to the target. Withe the left dominant hand,  feel the putter head going in and then feel the pulling action on the way back.  Usually, the length of the back swing is the gauge to how far the ball will roll.  28APR2016: IS THE SECRET IN THE INSIDE OUT STROKE IN PUTTING? I STARTED SPOT AIMING AND INSIDE OUT BACK STROKE IN PUTTING AND THE BALL IS JUST ROLLING STRAIGHT. 28AUG2016: When the left shoulder is not needed, e.g., shorts turns like putts and chips, the biceps (upper arm) takes over or is the muscles to use.

13MAY2016: KEEP THE RIGHT ARM STRAIGHT AND FIRM AND IT MUST SUPPORT THE CLUB AS EXPLAINED IN THE ALIVE GRIP. THIS IS A RULE FOR ALL SHOTS BELOW. THE LEFT HAND ONLY IS THE ENABLER, FROM WAGGLE TO THE HIT. 28AUG2016: When the left shoulder is not needed, e.g., shorts turns like putts and chips, the biceps (upper arm) takes over or is the muscles to use.

Chips

Use the alive grip, push with the left palm down with right two fingers as fulcrum to fan and bring back the club AROUND AND GROUND LEVEL. Forward motion is done with the upper body. REMEMBER, EVERYTHING IS THE SAME AS THE FULL SWING.  THE LEFT SHOULDER SHOULD BRING UP THE CLUB AND ALSO PULL IT FORWARD. 28AUG2016: When the left shoulder is not needed, e.g., shorts turns like putts and chips, the biceps (upper arm) takes over or is the muscles to use.

Pitches

Use the alive grip, push with the left palm down with right two fingers as fulcrum to fan and bring back the club AROUND AND GROUND LEVEL. The left hand cocks the club. Forward motion is done with the upper body AND TURN AROUND TO A PICTURE PERFECT FINISH - JUST LIKE A FULL SWING,. 28AUG2016: When the left shoulder is not needed, e.g., shorts turns like putts and chips, the biceps (upper arm) takes over or is the muscles to use.

Full Swing

Use the alive grip, push with the left palm down with right two fingers as fulcrum to fan and bring back the club AROUND AND GROUND LEVEL. The left hand, WAGGLES, COCKS the club all the way to the top until full torque is achieved by the upper body AND THE CHIN HITS THE LEFT SHOULDER. Forward motion is done automatically with the upper body releasing the torque and finishing with a C finish. The arms just hold the club - it is the unwinding of the shoulders and the left hand that hits the ball.

Remember this is the Jason Day hit. The left shoulder should push (fan) the club head along the target line and at the end most, rotate the shoulders around the plane - as far as you could torque it.  The right arm and hand is PASSIVE AND RIGID AND JUST ACKS AS A FULCRUM FOR THE CLUB. THE LEFT SPOULDER PUSHES and THE LEFT HAND cocks the club to the top. The swing should the be like Jason Day - COMPACT AND MINIMUM MOVEMENT. 28AUG2016: When the left shoulder is not needed, e.g., shorts turns like putts and chips, the biceps (upper arm) takes over or is the muscles to use.

Double Cock Golf: Emphasis on the Swing Speed

18JAN2016: BOUGHT THE SWING SPEED RADAR DETECTOR

08DEC2015: cerebral explanation of the takeaway. It measures the distance of the ball to the shoulders and moves the club clockwise along the target line. IT DOES NOT LIFT THE CLUB. THE TURN OF THE SHOULDERS DO THAT. 15DEC2015: YES, THE RIGHT HAND NEVER LIFTS THE CLUB, THE SHOULDERS DO THAT. BUT THE RIGHT HAND BACK FLIP IS REALLY THERE TO PREPARE FOR THE SLAP OR HIT OF THE BALL.  By the way, the proof is in the pudding. Chips will be pure and the chili dips are eliminated.

19DEC2015: By the way, instead of the right hand slap, make it a full cock of the left hand. This way, the body will take over to slap the ball with the left hand. This is way over better than putting the right hand in play.

08JAN2016: Cock the right hand, cock the left hand, then turn around.

1) Cock the right hands flipping the club backwards using the right wrist. Experiment in order to get the best repeating backward flip. Remember that the intent is to get the club going on the ground level to parallel of the target line (plane) so that the shoulders can turn and lift the club along the plane and cock the left hand. 19JAN20116: Instead of cocking the right hand, maybe it is easier to imagine it as the right hand bending back to prepare to "slap" the ball.

2) THE HIT IS DONE BY THE SHOULDERS ALA JASON DAY. Actually, the hit is better done with the right hip which makes you feel you are executing a Rick Fowler swing instead. Using the right hip to hit the ball does two things.

   a)  It automatically shifts the weight to the left foot which wedges it to the ground and uses the energy of the ground for more power.

   b). It automatically turns the body around and squares the club face to the target in the process.
   c)  19JAN2016:  At the top, there is no intention of the hands or arms actively moving to make the hit.  Instead the lower body turns around to hit the ball bringing the upper body with the left arm extended on the right side, left wrist firm - around to hit the ball.  Definitely, the ball is hit when the body is already facing the target - unusual but that is the way it is.

3) TO GET A REPEATING STRONG SWING, REPEAT NO. 1 AND 2.

Latest Golf Swing That Works

Bruce Lee said, "I don't fear the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks. I fear the man who practiced one kick 10,000 times."

This is essentially a left arm dominated golf swing on the upswing. On the downswing, it is more of left first, then right also - a combination.

Grip (10SEP2015) and Pressure (16SEP2015)

The purpose of the grip is to ensure full automatic cocking without injuring the thumb. In other words, the thumb must not be the support of the club weight at the top otherwise it will get injured. The weight must be borne in between the left thumb and forefinger. To accomplish this, therefore, the V of the left grip must point to the right shoulder. Of course, it follows that the right V must also point the same. This position also makes it easier to execute the "clock" swing.

The grip pressure must be very light as if holding a bird. The reason is an unlikely one - to ensure that the club is pulled the longest and latest time as possible (promotes no injury and pain to the left fingers) which delays the hit and consequently get a longer distance.

Left Shoulder (11SEP2015)

The engine of the swing is the left shoulder. It consciously takes the club up and also pulls it down towards the ball. Using the clock face lying on the ground as a mental picture, keeping the head steady, the left shoulder moves slowly the shaft from 12:00 to 2:00 and starts bring it up at 3:00 all the way to the top. Then it pulls the club towards 12:00 - where the right waist takes over. By keeping the head motionless, it really forces the left shoulder to twist the body and not just make a fake upswing. 

13SEP2015: Remember that this is not a plane swing. The club is only brought up when the 3:00 position is reached. There is a subtle reason for this. It is easier for me to make the turnaround move with right hip. When I bring the club up from the 12:00 position, the turnaround at times is forced and the slice happen or a hook if I over compensate.

Takeaway

Another way of doing this is using the left palm and pushing it downward while the right middle finger (alive grip) is used as a fulcrum.

With the alive grip, push the left arm towards the ball with the right middle finger supporting the club. Fluidly allow the club to cock smoothly - or in other words, let the left wrist break fully.

At the top

The left arm after the takeaway must finished fully cocked. This delays the hit and gives the body enough time to open up towards a picture perfect finish. Cocking is really not the best explanation but full resignation might be the better phrase or just letting the left wrist "break" backwards fully. The left wrist is cocked fully in full resignation that the hand is no longer in control - the hit can only be done by the pulling action created when the body turns for the picture perfect finish.

There is something in this upswing move that is hard to describe. The words upright, steady head hopefully can make me remember this move if I have to in the future.

One Fluid Move

At this point the motion is all feel and automatic. You will get the feeling that your mind is concentrating on where the ball should go and the mechanics of the swing is not an issue.  You just feel that everything is right.

At the back swing, before you even start, you are already feeling how to bring the club up to execute the way the club face will go through the ball; how upright you want to hit it.

16SEP2015: The swing is like a ball hurler (hammer throw). The club head is the ball. The ball is fanned upward and pulled downward with the pull held as long a&s possible (see grip pressure above).

Downswing / Right Waist

The downswing has just one - only one - purpose or intent, that is, for the body to turn around to that picture perfect finish. Hitting the ball is just collateral damage. 

11SEP2015:  And the consequent turning of the right waist towards the target is just to facilitate the smooth movement and not to power the swing.

16SEP2015: The swing is like a ball hurler (hammer throw). The club head is the ball. The ball is fanned upward and pulled downward with the pull held as long a&s possible (see grip pressure above).

Observations

I am shanking caused by my fear of the "carpet". Fix is the roped arms of Hogan to keep the left arm straight.

22Aug2015: Right now the swing is all left with fully cocked left wrist and the hit is done by the left hand.  Bring the club inside and fully cock.  Remember the swing is like the face of the clock - to help me remember.  This clock should remind of of the weight shift and how the clubface pronates clockwise on the backswing and counterclockwise on the hit.

11SEP2015: Eureka Moment.

Solved the riddle of the takeaway... It is the clock as described above. 16SEP2015: further Eureka Moment - it is the cupping of the left hand. This works for all, putting, chipping, pitching and full shots. 18SEP2015: Stiffen the right arm at address. This promotes the cupping and early lift of the club head. The early lift promotes the lifting of the club along the plane and in turn promotes the correct body coil. 19SEP2015: THE FINAL MENTAL IMAGE MUST BE THE FANNING OF THE CLUB FACE UPSWING AND CLOSING IT BACK BY THE RIGHT HIP DOWNSWING. HOWEVER, IF THE STIFF RIGHT ARM - QUICK COCK - STICK IT TO THE PLANE (ASS STICKER) is working, then use that instead. The execution is correct if you can pull the weight of the club while you pull the butt of the club towards the ball... This is now more like the Hogan swing so the left hand grip might have to be open (square to club face) than suggested above.

22SEP2015: INNOVATIVE DOLLAR BILL

Yesterday while freely swinging at the cemetery while waiting for relatives to come, I started getting a dollar bill divot.  It was the result of the STIFF RIGHT ARM address and the quick upswing by the right wrist with the right arm in full control - the flick motion of the club head to the top by the RIGHT HAND. The left side takes over on the downswing. All this happening in a smooth motion - nothing bumpy along the way at all. MAKE THIS THE NEW SWING!

27SEP2015: Power Swing With The Hips

The takeaway is a back flip at the wrist with the right hand. The right hand grip sits on top slightly so that the club "flips" towards the right shoulder on the way up. The flip pulls in the left hip. When this is felt, the left hip then moves to the left which in turn pulls the right hip around. Encourage the right hip to forcefully go around and pull the club to the ball.

09OCT2015: Jason Day Swing

This is how to execute the Jason's wind-up, pull and hit swing.

The important thing in this swing is the fluid wind-up since the torque created promotes a weight shift to the left and the resulting hit with the right hand (right hit - only if possible).

First, the right hand flips the club backwards with a backhanded motion (THERE IS NO OTHER WAY). When the shaft is parallel to the target line, the right hand cocks it up to tighten the body torque. The downswing it just an automatic release of the inhibited energy created. 31OCT2015: The left hand back SLAP after the left side muscle is pulled should be as hard as possible and two hands must be used. 02NOV2015: The hit is done with the body but it needs a very special takeaway to implement. Hold the club with a combined grip and the arms straight down but the right backhand is brought back with a backhanded motion as stated above (THERE IS NO OTHER WAY).  The thing though is the takeaway is like a ROUNDHOUSE motion going to the back and the it can be pulled around with the body for a perfect finish without any extra manipulation needed. IF IMPLEMENTED CORRECTLY THE FINISH IS AUTOMATIC AND PERFECT. THE FEELING WILL VALIDATE THE TECHNIQUE. 09NOV2015:  COMMON BABY LET'S DO THE TWIST! (13NOV2015) IT IS AN ALL PULL SWING WHICH INCLUDES THE TWIST HIT. 29NOV2015: Complementary with the twist is the handshake grip. It makes it a natural transition from a back flip ground level takeaway to a 90 degree upswing. 02DEC2015: The right hand flip around makes the helicopter shoulder motion possible. The shoulder rotates for the upswing.  The downswing is initiated by the stamping the left foot down, which is automatically followed by the hips, then the shoulders, then the hands (all instinctively happening). 08DEC2015: cerebral explanation of the takeaway. It measures the distance of the ball to the shoulders and moves the club clockwise along the target line. IT DOES NOT LIFT THE CLUB. THE TURN OF THE SHOULDERS DO THAT. 15DEC2015: YES, THE RIGHT HAND NEVER LIFTS THE CLUB, THE SHOULDERS DO THAT. BUT THE RIGHT HAND BACK FLIP IS REALLY THERE TO PREPARE FOR THE SLAP OR HIT OF THE BALL.  By the way, the proof is in the pudding. Chips will be pure and the chili dips are eliminated.

Imagine Jason's swing to complete the mental picture. Also, if the body is not twisted enough to execute the pull and hit downswing, then something is wrong.

24OCT2015: IT IS NOT A PULL, STUPID. IT IS A BACK BODY SLAP OR LIKE A ROUNDHOUSE KICK. On the upswing and using the backhand flip with the wrist, be aware that the waist will be turned clockwise. The hit is done by turn the shoulders counter-clockwise. 

Technically speaking, this is still the open (upswing) and close (waist turn) implementation of the swing.

Full Swing Template the Harmon Way (wrong)

Butch Harmon was quoted that anybody can play golf. One just have to bring the club up with the left hip going around the right leg and hit the ball by pulling the club with the right hip going around the left leg.

Now that I have learned the takeaway, I can now concentrate on the swing. I intend to fully use Harmon's advice above.

Just remember that I should just consciously only think of the left hip and right hip - not necessarily the takeaway which should be on auto mode.

As far as the takeaway, it is the alive grip. However, the left arm pushes down on the grip to bring up the club before the left hip takes over on the upswing. Note that during play, the proper fulcrum balancing of the right middle finger has to be experimented first before attempting the shot. The angle of the club being brought up must synch with the left hip as it takes over on the upswing motion. Find that compatible slot to bring the club up and the swing becomes a breeze.

26Jun2015:  The above does not work.  It makes my swing like a retiree - short.  Let us go back to what I posted when I was in the Philippines:

"If there is anything that I can call the secret to my swing, it should be the full cocking on every shot.  It actually twist my shoulders automatically and at the same time makes an automatic pull.  When the downswing is automatically initiated, it is just a matter of twisting my right hips towards the target. I should remember that the right hips is really the game changer tip but I cannot execute it without fully cocking left hand (and the ensuing shoulder twist)."

Add to this the Dustin Johnson takeaway note to keep the right arm higher than the left arm when the shoulders turn upwards.

3JUL2015: Found some good stuff in iGolfTV in YouTube.  Exactly the same as I am exposing here - use of the big muscles to get a repeating swing.

How to become a PGA Tour Player (Complete) Total Swing Understanding

Basically, what I liked from the above is his teaching about the left shoulder bringing up the club - without the need for a wrist break at the top (cocking). That really is custom made for my type of swing.  I went to the driving range and it worked for me.

14Jul2015: DO NOT FORGET THAT LIKE IN PUTTING, THE RIGHT HAND IS DOMINANT ON THE TAKEAWAY. IMAGINE THE WAITER TRAY.

The Chip - Unlocking the Secret of the Takeaway

The takeaway is the recent unsolved part of my swing. It is always and still that part of my swing that I do not own.  Every outing there is always something new to tinker and something new to learn and something learned to swear by. But every outing seems to be a "new" outing.  Well here I am again at it ready to swear by a new discovery!

Recently my game is very unstable. I am having a problem bringing my driver up again. It seems to be connected with topping the ball which leads to corrections to steepen up my takeaway which leads to changes on the grip which in turn leads to a meltdown of the swing. It is an interconnecting circle of bandaid solutions that exacerbate the problem.

But the solution may be right before my eyes and I have ignored it. How can I have solved the way to chip when I cannot do the same for a full swing - I asked myself? What am I doing in the takeaway in chipping that I am not doing in the full swing?

Well I learned in putting is just to bring my putter back and let the big muscles do the forward motion. I applied this to the chip and it worked so I retained the same technique to my entire swing. But while it works totally on my chips it is a work in progress with the full swing. When I started dissecting my chipping, I realized that I was just breaking my wrist backward on the takeaway while I was not consciously aware of this fact in the full swing. I was so engrossed with correcting the grip to steepen the plane when I should really just concentrate on breaking my right wrist backwards.

Topping the ball which started the merry-go-round corrections should really be secondary to the proper right-wrist-breaking takeaway. The topping can really be corrected by the alive grip.

I actually already found the solution but ignored the importance of it. "Another way of doing this using the left palm and pushing it downward while the right middle finger (alive grip) is used as a fulcrum." 16JUL2015: DO NOT FORGET THE PRECEDING!

Copied from a previous posting:
THE "FLICK".  THE FLICK IS ACTUALLY JUST THE ALIVE GRIP WITH THE LEFT PALM PUSHING DOWN WHILE THE FULCRUM FINGER PULLS AND PANS THE CLUB UP ALONG THE PLANE. THE RIGHT HAND GRIP IS EXTREMELY WEAK AND THE LEFT HAND MUST CONTROL THE CLUB ON THE FORWARD SWING UP TO THE PICTURE PERFECT FINISH.

The Golfen Rule

Thou shalt keep the head motionless.  Remember the upswing is moved solely by the upper body while the downswing is pulled by the lower body.

While the above rule may be the culmination of a long search and seems simple enough, it does need some amplification.

When we say the head should be motionless, it is particular important on the upswing since even a slight movement of the head will divert the ball to the right of target.  This actually results in all the body and parts of the swing to be unsynchronized resulting into different contortions of the body with unpredictable differing results.

When we say the upper body is responsible for the upswing, we are really being generally generous to the different body types of the golfing population.  In my case, it is mostly the hands and the shoulders that takes the club up.  At the top of the swing, all conscious thoughts should be diverted to the lower body to initiate the downswing.

As far as I execute it now... At address, while the club is set on the ground, I lift up the club using my right middle finger.  Somewhere along the route to the top, while the shoulders are turning, my left hand will take over and cocks the club firmly at the top - the force felt at the top. Then my attention goes to the lower body.

Even the club is still moving up, I usually turn my attention to my hips.  I feel the entire weight of the club with my waist but I consciously think the right hips into making the turn and bringing down the club towards the ball.  My intent is to finish solidly and firmly on the ground with my picture perfect finish although it is still a work in progress.

The main point to remember here is the upswing is the upper body and the downswing is the lower body.  This is very important because this rule applies to all shots, even the putter.  If you can do this with the putter then the rest should be easy, e.g., chips and full shots.

Why is this better?  I guess it simplifies the swing to the barest of essentials where once the club is pulled up, there needs to be no more other things to do but just bounce the club back to the same starting position.  The works best when putting!

6May2015:  Important clarification.  One essential clarification for this topic is the centrifugal force.  The main objective of the upswing is to create a tautness at the top and the objective of the downswing is to pull that force or tautness towards the ball and around.  Without that feeling of the weight of the club at the top, the swing cannot be properly executed.  By the way, the pull is not exactly just done by the right hip or the lower body.  It seems that the whole body is involved in pulling that club down towards the ball and around to the picture perfect finish.  The right hip just seems to just tag along for the ride.