Today, I want to talk about why the Peak Performance Golf Swing is superior to a rotational swing for the vast majority of the people who have ever played the game. I was recently sent an email from Lou Battiato who lives west of Chicago. Lou's question is the perfect foil for me to expound on why a vertical swing is easier to learn and easier to post better scores.
"In Ben Hogan's book, Power Golff, he talks about "straight back and straight through" which is really a 180 degree arc which I equate to making a full turn with your shoulders. This seems to contradict your "up the tree and down" approach with little shoulder turn. A pro in FL says in a lesson this enables me to hit the ball just a little inside center (10 o'clock) and my follow through keeps the ball going straight and longer. I am a senior citizen over 75 years of age and this is not easy to do on a consistent basis. Is the Hogan approach the same as the tree approach ? Thank you. I love your daily email lessons."
Well, Lou, Ben Hogan's approach to golf and mine couldn't be more dissimilar. I look at him as the real father of the rotational swing. When he was younger, he had a very long swing where the club head actually angled down his back just before he started his forward swing. He later shortened his rotation so that his club reached parallel at the top of the backswing. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many others, Ben Hogan could swing this way because he had a unique level of suppleness and flexibility. My orthopedic expert, Dr. Ned Armstrong, estimates that the odds of someone being endowed with Hogan's physiological attributes is 1 in 5 million. If Doc is right, that means there are only about 1,400 people walking the planet today that have his level of flexibility. So I think it is unfortunate that this swing has become the model for the modern rotational swing. Is it any wonder that, despite the fact that amateurs spend billions of dollars EVERY year on lessons and equipment, the average handicap has not improved one iota over the last 30 or 40 years?
A vertical swing is so much easier to learn and even easier to maintain. This Florida golf pro's explanation of where to hit the ball (at 10 o'clock) makes no sense to me. Why would you ever strike the ball off of dead center (6 o'clock to 12 o'clock) if you are trying to hit it straight? His explanation only works if he is able to bring the club square AND rotate his hands at exactly the same time as the club face makes impact. And since that is just one half of a thousandth of a second, what are the odds that most of us can do that consistently, with distance and accuracy, all the while not doing damage to our backs, hips and knees? That's a bet I wouldn't care to take!
So, Lou, stay vertical and do not be swayed by supporters of a rotational swing. You'll be a much better golfer if you do.
Keep it vertical!
The Surge
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