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Post date: Nov 18, 2017 1:54:02 PM
Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons by Ben Hogan with Herbert Warren Wind
Chapter 5. Lesson 4: The Second Part of the Swing
One of the greatest pleasures in golf is the sensation a golfer experiences at the instant she contacts the ball flush and correctly. A distinctive ‘sweet feeling’ sweeps straight up the shaft from the clubhead and surges through the arms and the whole frame.
Not even the best golfer can hit the ball this well on every shot. Golf is a game of misses. Build a swing that is so basically sound that ‘misses’ are not bad golf shots at all--fairly well struck, accurate enough, eminently serviceable.
The second part of the swing in which the player actually hits the ball (from the start of the downswing to the finish of the follow-through) is the most crucial part necessarily. This is where everything we’ve done from the moment we take the club from the bag either pays off or doesn’t.
The downswing is initiated by turning the hips to the left. The shoulders, arms and hands-in that order-then release their power. The great speed developed in this chain action carries the golfer all the way around to the finish of his follow through.
Learn to adhere to the plane on the backswing. Staying on plane during the backswing is the golfer’s best insurance of being in a correct and powerful position at that critical juncture where the backswing ends and the downswing begins. If the shoulders are rotated on plane and the arms and club swing back on this plane--neither dropping them below the plane nor lifting them above the plane, then at the top of the backswing the left arm will be extended at an angle to the ball identical with the angle of the plane. The shoulders, arms and hands will then be in a perfect position to carry out their interrelated movements on the downswing. Learn to make the correct backswing movements time after time. Use the concept of the plane to fold the elbow in just as we should, to keep the left arm fully extended but not rigid just as we should, to complete the full shoulder turn, allowing the hands to cock themselves naturally, without any conscious thought, leaving the back of the left hand an unbroken extension of the line of the left wrist and forearm. By staying on plane throughout the backswing time after time our swing will be able to repeat under pressure. The arms and upper body will consistently be correctly aligned and poised with live, stretched muscular tension throughout the backswing, ready to be released on the downswing.
The downswing follows a slightly different plane than the backswing. The downswing plane is less steeply inclined and is oriented with the ball differently than from the backswing plane. The swing naturally changes planes as the hips turn back to the left on the downswing. This moves the body to the left and automatically lowers the right shoulder, which causes the pane of glass to be shifted to a shallower angle and point slightly right of the target. When on this correct downswing plane, the golfer has to hit from the inside out. Hitting from the inside out allows for maximum strength in the swing and the ability to generate maximum clubhead speed with no need to compensate. By starting correctly, turning the hips first, on the downswing, the club is set to move from the inside out.
The hips initiate the downswing. Starting them first and moving them correctly makes the downswing. It creates speed. It transfers the weight from the right foot to the left foot. It takes the hips out of the way, giving the arms plenty of room to pass. It funnels force forward toward the target. It puts the body in a strong hitting position where the muscles in the back, shoulders, arms and hands are properly delayed so that they can produce their maximum performance at the moment of impact.
Begin the downswing by turning the hips to the left. There must be enough lateral motion forward to transfer the weight to the left. The contracted muscles of the left side and the muscles along the inside of the left thigh start to spin the left hip around to the left. At the same time, the muscles of the right hip and the muscles of the right thigh start to move the right hip forward.
Imagine that, at address, one end of an elastic strip is fastened to a wall directly behind the left hip and the other end is fastened to the left hip bone. As the shoulders turn the hips on the backswing, the elastic is stretched with increased tension. When turning the hips to the left, the elastic will snap back to the left with tremendous speed. Same with the hips. The greater the tension, the faster we can move them. The faster the hips move the better. They can’t move too fast.
The movement of the hip inaugurates a whole chain of actions:
The left leg begins to break back to the left and the left knee turns a bit toward the target.
The hips take pressure off the right leg and the weight flows to the left leg.
The right knee breaks in toward the target, boosting the amount of velocity in the swing.
Each element adds its contribution to the multiplying speed generated by the cohesive movement of the body, legs and arms toward the target as it joins in the downswing. The shoulders and upper body conduct this multiplying power into the arms. The arms multiply it again and pass it onto the hands and the hands multiply it in turn. As a result, the clubhead is simply tearing through the air at an incredible speed as it drives through the ball.
The surest way to wreck this remarkable machinery is to start the downswing with the hands instead of with the hips. Hindering the hips in any way kills our chance for a good shot, then and there, as the upper body is thrown out of line. This commits the club on an out to in path causing a slice or a pull. Start the downswing with the hips to improve our swing, our shots and our score.
Keep any conscious hand action out of the swing. The correct swing is founded on this chain action. If the hands are used when they shouldn’t, they prevent this chain action.
The hands do nothing active until after the arms have moved on the downswing to a position just above level with the hips. The hands, arms and shoulders are carried down by the movement of the hips. A ‘free ride’. In this position, tied in as they are with the body’s ever building speed and power, the arms and hands should feel absolutely loaded with power. Everything from the grip on is calculated to get into this position and it cannot be arrived at by leaving out any one of the integrated steps. Carrying out the correct fundamental movements allows the body to be correctly inter-poised at the critical time in the swing to pick up this terrific load of energy and deliver it. After the initiation of the downswing, only think of hitting the ball. Only hit the ball as hard as the shot warrants. Never think about how the face will contact the ball. That’s all been taken care of with the grip, address and waggle. Consciously trying to control the face at contact is an impossibly delicate and devilish thing to time, as it happens much too fast. Think of just two things: starting the hips back and then hitting just as hard as is necessary with the upper body: shoulders, arms and hands in that order. Once the phase of the downswing where the hands are about level with the hips (impact segment of the swing) has been reached, if the setup and sequencing is correct up to that point, we instinctively hit through the ball and follow through correctly.
The correct motion of the right arm at impact is quite similar to the one an infielder makes when she throws sidearm. The elbow leads the arm and the right hip leads the elbow. The forearm and hand catch up with the elbow and the arm is extended relatively straight at release. As she follows through, the wrist and hand gradually turn over, the palm facing the ground at the finish of the follow-through.
On a full shot we want to hit the ball as hard as we can with the right hand. Hit the ball as hard as we can with both hands. The left is a power hand, too. The left hand must hit as hard as the right. The correct integrated motion of the hands and arms as they approach and hit through the ball resemble the old two handed basketball pass. As we approach the impact area, the hands start to pass the right hip as they move toward the target area, the left hand leading the right. It takes muscle to throw the clubhead hard. Think in terms of a joint two handed action. The forcefulness of the effort carries the player all the way around into the follow through.
The joint-two hand action keeps the left hand driving all the time. During this part of the swing, the left wrist and back of the left hand begin to supinate very slightly and continue to throughout the rest of the swing.
At impact the back of the hand faces toward the target. The wrist bone is raised and points to the target. At the moment of impact it is out in front, nearer to the target than any part of the hand. To prevent a change in arc and plane and in turn prevent blades and skulls or a big scoop slice it must supinate. A slight supination at contact allows the club head to come in at an uninterrupted speed and allows us to freely release the power in the right hand while preventing it from overpowering the swing, making that ‘sweet feeling’ at contact possible.
This creates a properly wide forward arc. The arms are well extended at impact (the right arm is still slightly bent) and fully extended just after impact (2 feet or so) as they swing out toward the target, the one time in the swing when both arms are fully extended. The wider the arc, the more room there is to build up clubhead speed, the prime factor behind distance. Supination builds distance and accuracy by helping the ball to be struck absolutely clean before the club takes turf. The result is a real sweet crack at contact and a ball that takes off like a bullet. When the ball is contacted, then turf will be taken automatically right past the ball. Since supination places the hands a shade ahead of the clubhead at impact, some loft is subtracted from the face of the club, giving greater distance. (Jimmy Demaret) Get the feeling of lashing the ball with the left hand. The supination action allows for maximum grip and maximum backspin on the ball.
When playing chips, pitches, trap shots and other strokes near and around the green, the hands should function the same as they do on the full swing. With the exception of the explosion trap shot, the goal is to contact the ball first. Hit the ball on the downswing, then right on through the ball. The clubface supplies the loft. Supination helps supply a correct stroke, not a downward chop or an upward scoop, but a golf shot with as much coordination as a full swing.
By starting the downswing with the hips then simply hitting through the finish of the swing in one unified motion, we create correct positions. Don’t force these positions. They are part and parcel of the chain of actions. After impact, the left arm, led by the supinating left wrist, begins to fold at the elbow. The finish of the swing is like the backswing reversed. The left elbow points directly to the ground and the top of the player’s right shoulder hits up against the chin, about an inch from the end of the shoulder. The right arm remains straight right on through to the finish of the swing.
At the point just beyond impact when both arms are straight and extended is when the club-head reaches its maximum speed. This speed carries the body around into that big high finish. At the finish of the swing the belt buckle should point to the left of target, the hip bones squared to the front. The hips lead the shoulders all the way on the downswing. The shoulders finally catch up to the hips at the end of the swing.
On a good swing, when the hands are approaching hip level on the downswing, the hips have already reached the point in their turn where they have begun to open to the fairway. The two legs respond to the hip turn in the downswing. The left leg breaks resiliently to the left, and as the bulk of the weight rides forward to the left side of the left foot, the leg bows out toward the target. The right leg breaks at the knee as the hip turn starts.
Devote a ½ hour daily on the hip turn and the hit through movements. Don’t be afraid of swinging too hard. Working with muscles that are fully extended on swing after swing breeds more uniformity. To hit a ball straighter, hit it hard and full. With a sound swing, the more power we have at our command and the more we know how to use it. Be long.
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