Hinges

Let's talk about hinges and leverage in the swing.

It is a major mistake to think that you need to swing hard to generate power. Power is a result of timing and leverage. The word leverage means to use a little effort to gain a large result. By applying leverage at the right time you achieve fantastic results.

I tell you this to encourage you to understand the learning process we humans go through. We first understand the concept and then try to apply it. Usually we have to train our bodies with repetitive action to get it to remember. Some of us are more gifted and pick things up quickly. Others, like me, need lots of repetition to make a concept sink in.

The concept of the straight left arm is the one we will discuss here. Straight does not mean locked. The elbow in the left arm should should stay straight to help you minimize the number of hinges in your swing. The wrists and hands are the fulcrum of your leverage. The grip maintains control of the pivot point in the hinge action. The extra hinge that the elbow puts into swing only complicates your ability to control where and when you make impact with the ball.

Generally speaking, the weight of the club will pull the arm straight if you let it. We all have trouble trusting that the club will strike where we want it and do so with any power at all. Think about it though, the longer arc presented by a longer arm should generate a little more club head speed. The longer arm also won't get any longer when you swing. We can always make it shorter and we do don't we? That is a major reason for missed shots. We tend to pull up a little bit because we hate that feeling when we hit the ground early. Subconsciously, we don't want to hurt our elbow when it bends from hitting a fat shot.

After a while, though, you begin to see the benefit of taking a divot and trusting the club to cut into the ground squarely after you hit the ball. Leverage allows this cut to be made without you noticing it much.

So, keep a straight and flexible left arm as you swing. Allow your wrists to hinge and unhinge as a result of your arms swinging. I believe you will find consistency if you keep the moving parts to a minimum.