Hitting, swinging and weight shift question
 

Since long, I've been mixing swinging and hitting. Probably since I started at golf in 1990. I am now at a stage where I basically think I know and feel the difference between the strokes. But I am still not capable of deliberately choosing one over the other (with success) for the next full stroke. Today I tried - without a ball - to do som minor variations regarding weightshift in the down stroke. Here's what I felt:

* An early weight shift back to the front foot seemed good for hitting (against a firm front foot). When I did the same with a swing - all lag pressure disappeared because the hip turn came to late.

*A "late" weight shift that follows the down swing seemed good for maintaining lag pressure in the swing and seemed to prevent
clubhead throwing & outside-in. Doing the same in a hit seemed to promote an outside- in power lacking slicing kind of stroke.

* The two types of weight shift seemed to correspond with en early/later timing of the hip turn - the former felt good for swinging while the other felt good for hitting.

* In summary, it was like "swing around the back foot/hip and hit around the front foot/hip"

Am I touching something basic here, or is this just a "WOOD" (works only one day)?

Best regards,

Bernt

The Hit pivot and the Swing pivot are different.

Just some thoughts about my discernable feels:

I would substitute the words 'early and late' with 'short and long'.

My Hit pivot is as short as my backswing, quickly to the left leg -short and sweet. Short quick pivot- slow accelerating arms and hands.

My Swing pivot is as long as my back swing, taking time to unwind to let the right shoulder crank – a long and lazy pivot. Long pivot- rapid from the start hands and arms.

Golf is a paradox.

I either shift my weight to the target (lateral pivoting) plus rotate the pivot, in which more timing issue is involved,or just rotate the pivot, in which much less timing is involved, for either hitting or swinging.

I would do the former if enough practicing is available. Otherwise, I prefer the latter.

The Hit pivot 'keeps' the hands and chest moving together. The Swing pivot 'allows' the hands and chest to move together. As if there were an imaginary string from your 'center' to your hands and without 'trying' to keep them moving together, they do - through impact. The two sides of push-me and pull-you that is PP#1 8)

The Slide Hip Turn
 

In the as-yet-unpublished revisions to the 6th edition of The Golfing Machine, Homer Kelley made a significant change in the Hip Turn Variation (Component #14) in both the Hitting and Swinging Stroke Patterns (12-1-0 and 12-2-0). The change was from Standard Hip Turn (10-14-A) to Slide Hip Turn (10-14-B). I recently was asked if I agreed with those changes. Here is my response:

Yes, I agree witth the revision. However, do not confine your concept of the Slide Hip Turn to the photos in 10-14-B. These photos depict the Slide but -- for emphasis -- omit the Delayed Turn (which is also required by the Slide Hip Turn). Basically, what Homer is saying is that to the extent possible, keep your Motion parallel to the selected Delivery Line (either the Plane Line (Hitting or Swinging) or the Angle of Approach (Hitting only).

Sliding (which shifts the Weight) before Turning -- remember, the Head remains Stationary! -- assures that the Club will not drawn to sharply to the inside on the Backstroke or thrown 'over the top' on the Downstroke.

I find using 10-14-B and the turning shoulder plane on the backstroke (slight variation on Mr Manzella's Never Hook Again swing)prevents my downstroke path from being under plane and too shallow.