[12 piece bucket]

Originally Posted by birdie_man

I was practicing pitching last night with a vertical hinge... It seems to me that it's very hard to have a flat left wrist at impact at vertical hinge... My wrist wanted to bend. Is this normal?

Since Hinge Action does not involve bending/unbending or cocking/uncocking of the wrist, it has to be improper execution. There are many reasons why you may be doing it -- bent plane line, trying to help the ball into the air, monitoring the clubface. But for a cure, go back to your Basic Motion in front of a mirror and monitor your hands -- first with hands only, then with a paddle, then with a dowel and then with a club without a ball and then with a club and ball.

Something that I noticed in working on this is the tendency to try to "hold" the vertical hinge at Impact. Mr. Kelley noted two things in this regard: first, we should make no allowance for Impact; and, second it is much easier to move the hands into a position that to hold the hands in a position. Yoda gave me this tip for executing any kind of hinging and it is really a good drill for using with Basic Motion: Notice where the palm should be facing at followthrough. Then, from the "top" of the Basic Motion backswing, simply make the motion that will get your palm into that position.

For Vertical Hinging, the left palm will be facing down at the followthrough. Don't pay any attention to Impact -- just move into that followthrough position. It works for all hinges.

Another Yoda tip: for short shots using vertical hinging, have your left hand in just the opposite position at the "top" as you want it at followthrough -- i.e., palm up at the top, palm down at followthrough.

But, always --- monitor the hands and never the clubface.

Hope that helps you, Paul.

RWH,

Hall of Fame post on Hinging! Related question . . .

I understand that there is different "travel" for each Hinge Motion with Horizontal having the most "travel." But . . . At what point does Hinge Action begin and at what point does it end? Start down to Follow-through? Release-Point to Follow-through? And does this differ for Hitters and Swingers?

Thanks!

Bucket