[tongzilla]

Tong,

Excellent distinction here between the mechanical and the procedural!

Mechanically: The pivot lag/ pivot definitely adds power to the stroke

Procedural Ideal: You don't crudely focus more on the pivot to get more power- that's pivot controlled hands- when you're trying to move the pivot.

Interim Process: This is a common phase- process that one works through to get to a refined golf movement- and it IS A PROCESS- no doubt. So, I'm not saying that at certain times one wouldn't work only on their pivot, pivot lag, etc- they would and you do, but ideally you need to tie that stuff back in with your "intention" of moving the club. And the more you can change the pivot, pivot lag via the intention and hands, i.e. proper loading, pressure point locations, etc, etc. the better.

So on the Procedural stage- focusing on creating power with your pivot- regardless of how good or bad your alignments are- is say the 5 year into the game stage. Moving to more of the perspective that pivot provides delivery, is the 10, to 15, to 20+ year stage of development of your golf swing. All your alignments have to be much better, much more integrated, in order for less effort to provide the proper power. At the 5 year stage you need that pivot effort to overcome - "THE MESS". And then some never understand and never move forward- they never understand how that's not the way to swing it- after all "it doesn't work" or "I don't get any power if I don't focus on the body/pivot!"

Of course, the years used above are just crude examples- showing the principle. Some move through those stages faster than others.

Thanks Mike. I'm always feeding off you. And you've just made me more hungry!

Your "crude example" may scare some people off -- if I knew it would take me 20+ years before I achieve substantial integration of the Pivot -- I wouldn't have started playing this game!

Lets explore this "if you want to hit the ball further, then you must work harder with your pivot" mentality. As mentioned previously, focusing on the Pivot and its speed/movement/positions leads to a Pivot Controlled Hands procedure. Now the player learns about Hand Controlled Pivot (maybe through reading the book, or learning from an AI or information on forums). So he tries to hit everything with his Hands, without giving any thought to what his Body (Pivot) is doing. After a while, his Stroke may even look quite unorthodox, a very handsy swing with very little movement of the shoulders and hips. A pro or AI notices this and instructs the student to use more Pivot. So the student goes back to a Pivot Controlled Hands procedure, primarily focusing on making a bigger turn, getting the Right Shoulder on Plane, the Hips has turned the correct amount, everything is moving Parallel to the selected Delivery Line etc. After a while (20+ years) the student realises that Hand Controlled Pivot doesn't really mean hitting with the Hands only.
The breakthrough comes when the student learns that it really means hitting with the Hands together with its Lag Pressure Point(s), which is felt in the Hands. So now when the student 'hits with the Hands' his brain just will not allow him do that unless he also feels Lag Pressure in his Hands. But how the heck is he going to get max Lag Pressure? Only by initiating the Downstroke with the lower body (the feet, then the ankles, then the knees, etc.). But the student isn't thinking about all these different components. He's only thinking about his Hands, and even though he is initiating the Downstroke with his Hands, his Hands just won't start down unless it feels the necessary Lag Pressure. And it can only feel this if the Pivot has done its job properly.


Moving on...
I find it surprising (and irritating) that there are some extremely good players using Pivot Controlled Hands. Now, I haven't mastered the art of seeing whether someone is using Pivot Controlled Hands or not, but can you please share your thoughts on who you think some of these players are on Tour?