Originally Posted by rwh

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.

Originally Posted by Matt

I try to stay away from vertical hinging for the most part - I do like to practice it on pitch shots as I go through the three hinge actions. There's really not much you can do with a vertical hinge that you can't do with an angled hinge. What full shots would benefit from the introduction of a vertical hinge instead of an angled hinge?

For the short shots, the shaft/ground angle gets steeper as the lie angle of the club increases. This alone will play around with the closing and layback properties of the angled hinge. It will become more "layback" and less "closing." When putting, an angled hinge is very close to a vertical hinge, and completely without the deliberate muscular manipulation that always accompanies vertical hinging.

Originally Posted by birdie_man

So what's the consensus then?

Open clubface + Angled Hinge for a Lob, rather than Vertical Hinging w/ a square clubface?

Originally Posted by bts

During impact:

the "horizontal hinge" reduces loft (vertical angle) to the clubface with tremendous change to its horizontal angle, which I use for lower trojectory and compressing/stronger shots (regular full shot, draw, hook).