Takeaway for horizontal hinging vs. angled hinging.

[Jimmy]

I just watched the video on your site from Tom Tomasello where he explains the three hinge actions. In it, when he talks about angled hinging, he talks about the clubface facing the ball on the way back during the takeaway. I believe this is how I take the club back. I stopped rolling the club in the takeaway when I realized that I was getting the club too far inside when I reached the club-shaft-parallel-to-the-ground position and, consequently, the rest of the way up until I crossed over at the top if I got to parallel. So now, I seem to stay on plane fairly well on the way back, but I do sense a bit of roll when my right arm starts to collapse and, at the top, my club face lies on the angled plane. My question is, with the takeaway and backswing I just described, what sort of hinging action should I be trying to hit the ball with? I've been trying to use horizontal hinging, but after watching Tom's video, I'm wondering if I am in a position at the top that would be more compatible with angled hinging. I don't know if this will help answer the question or not, but my bad shots, especially with my irons, are almost always pulls.

Thanks in advance, Jim

I just wanted to add to this post with another question that arised when I watched Tomasello's video on Hitting and Swinging. Can a swinger use angled hinging effectively? He makes it sound as if angled hinging is synonymous with hitting, and in order to swing you must use horizontal hinging.

[Bigwill]

I just watched the video on your site from Tom Tomasello where he explains the three hinge actions. In it, when he talks about angled hinging, he talks about the clubface facing the ball on the way back during the takeaway. I believe this is how I take the club back. I stopped rolling the club in the takeaway when I realized that I was getting the club too far inside when I reached the club-shaft-parallel-to-the-ground position and, consequently, the rest of the way up until I crossed over at the top if I got to parallel. So now, I seem to stay on plane fairly well on the way back, but I do sense a bit of roll when my right arm starts to collapse and, at the top, my club face lies on the angled plane. My question is, with the takeaway and backswing I just described, what sort of hinging action should I be trying to hit the ball with? I've been trying to use horizontal hinging, but after watching Tom's video, I'm wondering if I am in a position at the top that would be more compatible with angled hinging. I don't know if this will help answer the question or not, but my bad shots, especially with my irons, are almost always pulls.

Thanks in advance, Jim

I just wanted to add to this post with another question that arised when I watched Tomasello's video on Hitting and Swinging. Can a swinger use angled hinging effectively? He makes it sound as if angled hinging is synonymous with hitting, and in order to swing you must use horizontal hinging.

Per 10-19-0, "Hinge Action does NOT differentiate Hitting and Swinging". Swinging tends toward Horizontal Hinging, and Hitting toward Angled Hinging, when there's no manipulation involved. So while it is fine for a Swinger to use Angled Hinging, you have to "conscioously resist the tendency... toward Horizontal Hinging". If you take the club back with the clubface facing the ball, and keep the face perpendicular to the plane, you may be fighting the left side of the course if you use Horizontal Hinging.