The Secret

Someone asked me why I teach this swing.  I found this the simplest way to hit a ball after my stroke.  I knew what Schlee had showed me regarding the wrist position at impact.  When John first went to see Hogan the first thing Hogan asked him was "Show me your impact position."  Hogan knew precisely how he needed to feel at impact.  He would always try to hit that exact feel through his body at impact.  He would pose impact to burn it into his memory which is where he came up with the concept of muscle memory.  John used to wrap his hands in duct tape having them in the impact position.  He'd sleep that way trying to ingrain it.  He even made a device to put on the back of his right hand to hold it in the impact position.  When he was hurting for money he sold his device to Greg Norman who later sold it as Greg Norman's Secret.  I'm sure you've seen it.

Now that you can hit the ball straight you can try working the ball.  If you've ever played ping pong you should know how to put side spin on a ping pong ball.  A golf club works the exact same way.  Get that feel for moving the clubface just as you would a ping pong paddle and you're on your way.  I step up to a shot and always ask myself, "How do you want to spin this one?"  I make a decision and let my body and subconscious do the rest.  So try that long handled ping pong paddle you call a golf club and start having some fun.  Take care.

Ben Hogan and "I wish I had three right hands!"

Ben Hogan stated in Five Lessons he wished he had three right hands.  Unless you know HOW to apply your right hand properly you most likely have experienced much frustration hitting fat shots, thin shots, slices and pulls.  All the while you keep hearing that haunting "I wish I had three right hands!"  Not to worry.  If you've had these problems and more there is a solution! 

You have to learn the proper use of your hands.  The right hand stays extended through impact.  I am willing to wager that you have been "flapping" your right hand through impact hoping to create three right hands.  What I mean by flapping is the extension and flexing of your right hand.  Hold your right hand out in front of you with your thumb pointed up and bend your wrist left (flex) and right (extension).  That's flapping.  Hogan had the right wrist extension through impact. He also had the left hand flex or what you would call the bowed left wrist at impact.  So how do you apply "three right hands" without flapping and maintaining the bowed left wrist at impact?  Here's the trick or secret.  Get a hand towel and take it and set in on your table.  With your right palm on top of the towel start wiping the table by twisting your forearm back and forth.  Notice that you still have the wrinkles in the back of your hand and wrist as you wipe.  That right to left motion is how your hand must work through impact.  Now curl your fingers under as if you were gripping a club.  Your index finger and the first pad nearest your palm is where Hogan said he felt pressure pressing forward.  Now try the same motion now with the back of your left hand on top of the towel and wipe left and right.  That is the motion you want to have with your hands through impact.  Couple this with 4 to 10 hitting UP on the ball.  You'll soon realize that you can pour on the three right hands as hard as you like.  The next issue is simply timing.  We'll talk about the race between your thumbs and pinkies in an upcoming post.

Hit 'em straight!

Mike
http://www.mikecortson.com/
http://www.benhogan.ws/
mike@mikecortson.com

Hit down on the ball?

One of the basic teaching points which has been considered an absolute must is, hitting down on the ball, at least with irons.  The belief is that by hitting down on the ball this motion causes the ball to spin backwards and get airborne.  One of the hazards in taking this advice, and one I believe is the cause of more bad shots than anything, is that instinctively hitting down on the ball 99.9% of the time can only be done if you come over the top.  Take a club now and try it.  You'll see your instinct is to chop down on the ball and your right side will dominate coming over the top.  The second bad thing is that your right hand dominates.  If you set your arc with the left arm and then try to hit with the right hand that extension of the right wrist will change the arc causing the clubhead to hit the ground before getting to the ball.  Fat shots come from this and/or not shifting your weight to the front foot.  So what can we do to get rid of these problems and still get the ball airborne with back spin?  Easy, hit up on the ball.  Take your club and swing from 4 o'clock to 10 o'clock hitting the inside quarter of the ball.  You will immediately see that the only way you can hit up on the ball is by coming from the inside, which is as it should be.  The loft and grooves on the clubface take care of the spin.  It is the speed of the clubhead that creates the spin.  Count Yogi in his book Five Simple Steps To Perfect Golf states that he hits up on every shot.  Try it.  You will get better and more consistent results.

I recall seeing a tournament telecast where Peter Kostis was describing Ernie Els' iron shot in super slow motion and a close up of the clubhead at impact saying, "Look at how Els' clubhead is coming down, compressing the ball against the ground causing the ball to go up."  Kostis must not have been looking at the screen as Els' clubhead barely nipped the grass catching the ball cleanly.  Stop digging up the fairways and start hitting the golf ball instead of the one you're standing on.