Instruction
Learning from Ben Hogan’s Pivot Compression (Part 2)
Note: Part 1 of this story, Learning from Ben Hogan’s Pivot Compression, can be read here.
As a teacher at Lakewood Country Club in Rockville, Maryland, I see many of my students (and almost everybody else) suffer from losing posture during both the backswing and the forward swing. They tend to lift up in the backswing, and their hips eventually thrust forward and upward toward the ball as they approach impact, causing their head to raise up and back, giving the general feeling of “coming up out of the shot.” How many times have you said to yourself or had a playing partner tell you that you “looked up” or “came out of it?”
I began to devise a set of instructions and drills to rectify this serious swing error by incorporating elements of Pivot Compression into my students’ swings. Over time, I have developed and documented a body of detailed information, much of it available on video on my website, waynedefrancesco.com, designed to help players achieve a more efficient, powerful and athletic golf swing.
In this story, I give you a short list of ideas that is a great place to start for anyone interested in adopting the Pivot Compression move into their swing.
1. Set up with your weight on the balls of your feet.
Your movement in your backswing will be to move pressure back toward your right heel with your head staying out over the ball. If you start with your weight on your heels at address, moving to a deeper position will feel out of balance.
2. Start the backswing with your upper trunk while encouraging the right hip to move backward almost immediately.
The right knee should stay flexed or even add a little flex, and the right foot should stay braced in so that the weight on it does not drift to the outside of the foot. This helps to keep the hips from swaying to the right. If the head stays out over the ball as it should, the shoulder turn will feel steeper as the hands and arms move slightly inward toward the body.
3. At the same time as your upper trunk starts your swing, begin to increase the pressure under your right foot and move that pressure toward your heel by pushing the right side of your pelvis back.
If the pelvis deepens on the right side, the left side of the pelvis will not move forward much at all, meaning that now your entire pelvis has moved to a deeper position, one that is critical to your ability to clear your left side in the forward swing. Your head will lower as you do this, but the lowering will be due to the increased depth of your midsection. Practice this backswing in a mirror. As you get used to it you can load it with a weighted club. Again, it is very important to not allow your head to back up away from the ball at this or any point of the swing.
4. Initiate the forward swing by using the muscles in the right side of the pelvis that rotate the hip to reverse the direction of the hip movement from clockwise to counter-clockwise.
Because the right leg is now loaded and braced, this counter-clockwise rotation will drive the entire pelvis away from the right foot, giving the swing its necessary lateral left movement. This is done just before the backswing finishes, driving your hips in a diagonal direction approximately 45 degrees left of the target line.
The transition movement utilizes the pressure you feel under the inside of the right foot and will begin to rotate the hips immediately, but you must still activate and aggressively use the muscles on the left side of the pelvis as well as the muscles of the entire left leg (for a detailed analysis of the pelvic movement in transition please refer to Dr. Jeffrey Mann and his website perfectgolfswingreview.net).
See the short shaft in the ground? It’s a great training aid.
Many people feel that the left knee initiates the forward swing, but that movement alone will not ensure pressure change from right to left, and I would suggest that you focus on the right side and the ground pressure under the right foot to start your downswing. Once the right side has rotated and driven to the left, your goal will be to clear the leg behind you as fast as you can. I like to have my students put a short shaft in the ground right between their feet and just in front of their knee line so that they will be able to tell if their lateral drive is deep enough. If the right leg knocks into the stick, then it is pushing too much toward the ball, which is the leading cause of “early extension” or loss of posture (standing up) during the downswing.
5. Make room for the right arm to drive in front of the right hip while trying to get the hands to pass by the body as close to the original address position as possible (the shaft-plane approach).
The club will hopefully still be cocked at 90 degrees to the right forearm as the hands reach the ball, which is the best way to guarantee forward shaft lean at impact. Impact drills are the best way to learn this feeling, so punch shots (low shots hit with a swing that reaches only left arm parallel in the backswing and shaft parallel to the ground in the follow through), split hand punch shots, and punch shots that start with the hands pre-cocked are great ways to practice.
6. Drive the hips to the finish.
The feeling should be to “squeeze” the glutes and inner thighs while approaching impact and to continue this feeling all the way past the ball, so that it feels like the belt buckle is being driven upward and to the left. Hogan, as usual, is the best example of this, but if you like more contemporary players look no further than Tiger Woods and Adam Scott.
Learn more about Ben Hogan’s Pivot Compression from Wayne DeFrancesco in Part 1 of the series.
The LPGA Tour is kicking off its 2026 season this week at Lake Nona Golf and Country Club in Orlando, and the pros are dealing with something most Florida golfers rarely face: freezing temperatures.
“It’s colder here than in the UK at the minute, which is a first,” said England’s Charley Hull during Wednesday’s media day at the Hilton Grand Vacations Tournament of Champions.
Even Lydia Ko, who lives at Lake Nona, seemed surprised by the cold snap. “We’re pretty much getting to below zero in celsius here, which maybe in other parts of the country they would be thankful, but when you’re in Florida it is a little bit of a surprise,” she said.
If the world’s best players are adjusting their games for cold weather, recreational golfers should, too. Here’s how to play smart when the mercury drops.
Understand What Cold Does to Your Game
Before you change anything, you need to know what you’re fighting against. Cold air is denser than warm air, which means your ball won’t fly as far. Period.
Hull noticed this immediately during practice rounds at Lake Nona. She mentioned hitting a gap wedge into the 18th hole during a previous win but needing a 4-iron during Tuesday’s practice round. That’s a difference of four or five clubs for the same shot.
Action item: Expect to lose 5-10 yards on every club in your bag when temperatures dip below 50 degrees. Plan accordingly and don’t be stubborn about club selection.
Layer Up Without Restricting Your Swing
Hull admitted she wore three pairs of pants during practice. While that might be extreme for most of us, staying warm is critical to playing well in cold conditions.
Your muscles need warmth to function properly. When you’re cold, your body tightens up and your swing gets shorter and faster. Neither of those things help you hit good golf shots.
Action item: Wear multiple thin layers instead of one bulky jacket. Look for golf-specific cold weather gear that stretches with your swing. Keep hand warmers in your pockets between shots. And don’t forget a good hat because you lose significant body heat through your head.
Take More Club Than You Think You Need
This is where ego gets in the way of good scores. When it’s cold, the ball doesn’t compress as well off the clubface. Combined with denser air, you’re looking at serious distance loss.
The pros at Lake Nona are dealing with a course that measures 6,642 yards but plays much longer this week. If they’re adjusting, you should too.
Action item: Take at least one extra club on every approach shot. In temperatures below 40 degrees, consider taking two extra clubs. It’s better to fly the ball to the back of the green than to come up short in a bunker.
Adjust Your Expectations on the Greens
Cold weather affects putting in ways most golfers don’t consider. The ball is harder and doesn’t roll as smoothly. Your hands are cold, making it harder to feel the putter. And if there’s any moisture on the greens, they’ll be slower than normal.
Ko mentioned that she still sometimes reads the greens wrong at Lake Nona despite being a member for years. Cold weather makes that challenge even tougher.
Action item: Hit putts more firmly than usual. The ball needs extra speed to hold its line on cold greens. Take a few extra practice strokes to get a feel for the speed before you putt.
Embrace the Mental Challenge
Hull said something interesting about cold weather golf: “I like the mental toughness of it.”
That’s the right attitude. Everyone on the course is dealing with the same conditions. The player who stays patient and doesn’t get frustrated by the extra difficulty will come out ahead.
Action item: Lower your expectations by a few strokes. If you normally shoot 85, accept that 90 might be a good score in 40-degree weather. Focus on solid contact and smart decisions rather than perfect shots.
Warm Up Longer and Smarter
This might be the most important tip of all. Cold muscles are tight muscles, and tight muscles get injured easily.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul revealed she’s been protecting a wrist injury that bothered her late last season. Cold weather makes those kinds of injuries more likely if you don’t prepare properly.
Action item: Spend at least 20 minutes warming up before your round. Start with stretching, then hit easy wedge shots before working up to your driver. Keep moving between shots on the course to maintain body heat and flexibility.
The pros at Lake Nona this week will adapt and compete at the highest level despite the cold. You can do the same at your local course by following these tips and keeping a positive attitude.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!
Brooks Koepka is back on the PGA Tour, and whether you love him or hate him, the guy knows how to win when it matters. After his LIV Golf stint, the five-time major champion returns this week at the Farmers Insurance Open.
What makes Koepka fascinating? He doesn’t fit the mold. His swing isn’t textbook. He doesn’t obsess over mechanics. Yet he’s won three PGA Championships and two U.S. Opens, regularly making it look easier than guys with prettier swings.
So, what can average golfers learn from someone who treats the game so differently? Quite a bit.
Stop Overthinking Every Shot
Koepka describes his approach as “reactionary” rather than mechanical. While most tour pros grind over swing thoughts, Brooks sees the target and hits it. No mental checklist.
This might be the most valuable lesson for weekend golfers who’ve watched too many YouTube swing videos.
How to actually do this:
On the range, hit five balls where you stare at the target for three seconds prior to addressing the ball. Don’t think about grip or stance. Just burn that target into your brain. You’ll be shocked at how pure you hit it when your brain focuses on where the ball is going instead of how you’re swinging.
Next time you play, give yourself a rule: Once you pull the club, you’ve got 15 seconds to hit. Koepka is one of the fastest players on tour because he doesn’t give his brain time to sabotage him.
If you feel tension in your hands at address, you’re trying to control too much. Koepka’s grip pressure is famously light. Loosen up until the club almost feels like it might slip, then add just enough pressure to hold on. That’s your swing thought: soft hands, see the target.
This approach works better under pressure. When you’re standing over that shot with water left and OB right, the last thing you need is a mental checklist. See it, feel it, hit it.
Play to Your Strengths (Even If They’re Not Pretty)
Koepka uses a strong grip that wouldn’t pass muster in some teaching circles. But he’s built his game around what works for him, elite driving distance and recovery skills. He doesn’t try to be someone he’s not.
Here’s how to build your game like Brooks:
Look at your last five rounds and figure out where you’re actually gaining strokes. Bombing it off the tee, but can’t hit greens? Lean into it. Play courses where distance matters more than precision. On tight holes, grip down on your 3-wood instead of trying to thread a driver through a keyhole you’ll miss seven times out of ten.
Koepka knows he can scramble, so he’s not afraid to miss greens. If you’re deadly from 50 to 75 yards, start leaving yourself those distances on the par 5’s instead of going for them in two every time.
Know when to take your medicine. Koepka in the trees at the PGA? He’s punching out to 100 yards, not trying to bend a 6-iron around three oaks. You’re in the rough with a flyer lie and water short? Hit your 8-iron to the middle and move on. That’s not playing scared, that’s playing smart.
Save Your Best for When It Counts
Here’s a wild stat: Koepka’s putting average in majors is often more than a full stroke better per round than in regular events. He elevates when pressure is highest.
How does an amateur tap into that gear? It’s not about trying harder, it’s about caring differently.
Here’s what actually works:
Decide which rounds matter to you. Club championship? Member-guest? That annual trip with college buddies? Circle those dates and treat them differently. Koepka doesn’t care much about regular tour events, but majors? That’s when he locks in.
Two weeks before your big round, change your practice. Stop beating balls mindlessly. Play nine holes in which every shot has consequences. Miss the fairway? Hit from the rough on the next hole too. Three-putt? Twenty push-ups. Koepka’s practice intensity ramps up before majors because he’s rehearsing pressure, not just swings.
Develop a between-shot routine that resets your brain. Koepka is famous for his blank expression after bad shots. Try this: After any shot, take three deep breaths while walking, then find something specific to notice, a tree, a cloud, someone’s shirt. That’s your reset button. By the time you reach your ball, the last shot is gone.
The Bottom Line
Brooks Koepka’s return reminds us there’s no single path to success in golf. His “substance over style” approach proves that results matter more than looking good.
You don’t need a perfect swing; you need a reliable one that holds up under pressure. You don’t need to hit every shot in the book; you need the shots you can count on. And you don’t need to play great every time; you need to play great when it matters.
Welcome back, Brooks. Thanks for the reminder that golf is ultimately about getting the ball in the hole, not winning style points.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “Playing Through” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!
Blades Brown made a big impression last week in the California desert, and not just because he’s only 18. He put up numbers that would catch any weekend golfer’s attention. Most of us won’t hit 317-yard drives or find 86% of our greens in regulation, but there’s a lot to learn from how Brown managed his game at The American Express.
Here are three practical lessons from his performance that you can use on your own course this weekend.
Step 1: Give Priority to Accuracy Over Distance Off The Tee
Brown’s driving stats are impressive. He averaged almost 318 yards off the tee, ranking 12th in the field. More importantly, he hit 76.79% of his fairways, tying for fourth place in the tournament.
Think about that ratio for a second. Brown could have swung harder, chased more distance and tried to overpower the course. Instead, he played smart golf and kept his ball in play.
Your Action Item: Next time you’re on the tee box, ask yourself a simple question before pulling the driver. Do you need maximum distance here, or do you need to be in the fairway? If there’s trouble lurking or the hole doesn’t demand every yard you can muster, take something off your swing. Grip down an inch. Make a three-quarter swing. Do whatever it takes to find the short grass. Brown’s approach illustrates that fairways lead to greens, and greens lead to birdies. He made 22 of them last week, along with an eagle.
The math is simple. When you’re hitting three out of every four fairways like Brown did, you’re giving yourself legitimate looks at the green with your approach shots. That’s when scoring happens.
Step 2: Commit To Hitting More Greens
This is where Brown really separated himself. He hit 62 of 72 greens in regulation, an 86.11% clip that tied for first in the entire field. Read that again. An 18-year-old kid tied for the lead in one of the most important ball-striking statistics in professional golf.
How did he do it? By keeping his ball in the fairway (see Step 1) and giving himself clean looks with mid-irons and wedges.
Your Action Item: Start tracking your greens in regulation. You don’t need a fancy app or a statistics degree. Just mark down whether you hit the green in the regulation number of strokes. Par 3s in one shot. Par 4s in two shots. Par 5s in three shots.
Once you know your baseline, set a goal to improve it by 10%. If you’re currently hitting five greens per round, aim for six. The beauty of this approach is that it forces you to think strategically about club selection and shot shape. Brown’s strokes gained approach number was positive (0.179), meaning he was better than the field average. You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to be on the dance floor more often.
When you hit more greens, you eliminate the need for heroic short game shots. Brown only had to scramble 10 times all week, and he got up and down 70% of the time. That’s solid, but the real story is that he rarely put himself in scrambling situations to begin with.
Step 3: Minimize Mistakes And Stay Patient
Here’s the stat that jumps off the page: Brown made only three bogeys all week. Three. In four rounds of professional golf against the best players in the world.
He also made just one double bogey. That kind of clean card doesn’t happen by accident. It happens when you play within yourself, avoid the big miss and trust that pars are never bad scores.
Your Action Item: Before your next round, decide that you’re going to play boring golf. No hero shots over water. No driver on tight holes just because you can. No aggressive pins when there’s a safe side of the green.
Brown’s performance shows us that consistency beats flash every single time. He didn’t lead the field in any single strokes gained category, but he was solid across the board. That’s how you post numbers and cash checks.
Give these three steps a try. Your scorecard will thank you.
PGA Professional Brendon Elliott is an award-winning coach and golf writer. You can check out his writing work and learn more about him by visiting BEAGOLFER.golf and OneMoreRollGolf.com. Also, check out “The Starter” now on R.org, RG.org’s partner site, each Monday.
Editor’s note: Brendon shares his nearly 30 years of experience in the game with GolfWRX readers through his ongoing tip series. He looks forward to providing valuable insights and advice to help golfers improve their game. Stay tuned for more tips!
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DeadFish
Aug 29, 2016 at 12:55 pm
The first step is wrong and totally bias. At what point is shifting weight from the balls of your feel to the heel of your feet more controlled and balanced than keeping your weight on the heels the entire time? That makes no sense what so ever.
How about not shifting weight at all from the balls of your feet to the heels. You shouldn’t be doing that at all. It should only be a lateral shift to the lead foot during the downswing. No other time should weight shift like that.
emerson boozer
Aug 25, 2016 at 1:57 am
hi, mostly agree with all of this but with martial arts training they would argue not the balls of your feet as the center but somewhere in between the balls and heel. makes sense, from there you are more stable and can move tension free.
DeadFish
Aug 29, 2016 at 12:39 pm
I agree. I never understand why they say the balls of your feet. Doing so requires a lot more balance and coordination, and you’re much more likely to sway forward and back trying to find that balance planted feel.
JP
Aug 23, 2016 at 8:46 pm
You think its complicated. It isn’t guys!!
Just look at Hogan, Nicklaus and Woods.
Lower their heads during the early part of the swing. Two do, one doesn’t!
Get into their right side but keep their weight from going to the outside of the right foot. All do!
Hogan gets “hip deep” in the backs wing, so deep in fact that he rotates his hips more than 45 degrees and so appears from front on, to be moving his right hip towards the target before his back swing is completed, when all that is really happening is his right hip is still rotating away from the target line.
The real clue though to what many of the best Pros are ACTUALLY doing to achieve balance, proper turn and powerful release can be found by discarding all this theoretical BS [ Sorry Wayne ] and use your own eyes to see what they do.
Both Hogan and Nicklaus set up with a slight “K”shape to their body at address with the straighter edge to the left side and concave side to the right side. During the first part of the backs wing this “K” shape is reversed, almost but not quite into a reverse tilt. If anything the left hip lowers and right hip rises. This allows the hips to rotate, right knee to remain bent and head to avoid rising up. It also keeps their sternum over the ball and maintains lateral spine angle to the ball.
All that they need to do from the end of the back swing into the finish, is to move back into their address “K” position. So what moves most? The LOWER BODY. What did Hogan emphasize about the downswing? MOVE THE LOWER BODY!!! He didn’t say Hips, he said LOWER BODY!!
So to describe what they do simply, their real movement is just a slight general body tilt to the right swinging the arms back, followed by a tilt back to the left and give the ball a wallop with the arms! All their other fine body motions are REACTIONS not ACTIONS.
If you try to build a swing by practicing a series of sequenced separate body part actions, you will never fulfill your potential! Muscle memory is a myth!
End of story!
Steve Wozeniak
Aug 23, 2016 at 5:29 pm
If you can’t explain it simply……..you don’t know it well enough……..
http://www.stevewozeniak.com
Jim
Aug 24, 2016 at 1:44 am
Lot easier to do in person! Video, kinesthetic aids and actually helping people see AND feel this by touching them. After I first broke my back (and things I hadn’t thought about in years just weren’t working like they used to) I was giving a lecture at a Teachers Conference on Sports Medicine – understanding golf Injuries, back problems and joint replacements. Bob Toski was on the card after me, and during lunch we were all out on the range demo-ing
new products & goofy teaching aids. Toski knew I was
working through recovering from 2 fx vertebrae & 3
herniated discs and watched me hit a few shots.
His diagnosis and HANDS ON tip to help was “Dammit Jimmie, you’re not turning your hip (enough) – I’m literally twice his weight and a foot taller – so this hyper, crazy little dude got behind me and grabbed a handful of my left hip
pocket. He said “Ok make a back swing” as I turned he pushed and turned my left hip in maybe another 10 or so degrees of rotation (I used to get it before the injury but couldn’t feel I wasn’t ‘there’ now)…. then he says “Ok, give a little push back and unwind”. I pushed off and as I got my tailbone (I’d write coccyx – but don’t want Smiz to get all fired up) back to where it started, he yanked that handful of hip pocket back, cranking my hips at least 45 open – maybe
twice what I was getting….
In doing so, he shredded my pants…A tear from the left side of the zipper almost down to my knee – leaving me ‘hanging out all over the place’ about 15 min before my presentation – I wore my rain pants from golf bag…
This crazy little man spun big ol’ me around – RESTORING a feeling (of a full unwinding I WAS capable of) I had lost after my injury – but most people have never felt to begin with…CREATING Centrifugal force by leading the unwinding with the left hip, so the left arm is ‘slung’ into and thru the downswing. Every very single student I’ve taught since that ONE day in 1996 that wasn’t doing right has gotten “The
TOSKI” from me on their first lesson. Right after we
analyze a few of their swings, show what they’re doing and then we start to implement changes….
I’m just careful to grab onto their belt and pants waisrband (yup, ladies too) so I don’t shred their clothes!
Most ‘slides’ stem from ‘throwing’ or ‘firing’ hips out from under the head – you wrote how the left side is unwinding ‘as hard as the right’ but this is predicated on the spine returning the tilt it had at address BACK to where it started, when just shoving hips usually more than doubles the tilt and leaves too much upper body too far back…
We’re explaining this differently, but honestly, I have found that more people have more problems leading with the right
side than the left….a weight shift from the right foot driving the entire body – just back off the right foot SO the left side can take over the ‘winch’ as sokn as the left foot feels the weight coming back – isn’t sliding….All these moves we’ve all described are subject to people doing them SOMEWHAT correctly – but too much OR too little of one or two of these “moves” will of course – screw it up, so, yes. It is hard to write about it in great detail to give the reader the best possible chance to execute it properly…
emerson boozer
Aug 25, 2016 at 1:54 am
if you’ve read this far, please tl:dr.
thanks
Dave
Aug 23, 2016 at 1:20 pm
Yup the smiz got it rjght.
Jack Gallagher
Aug 23, 2016 at 4:33 pm
I have to say I don’t agree. We all know in our hearts, as we yearn to lower our handicaps, that the tour pros are doing something that we’re not, and the conventional lessons from the local-course pro clearly don’t provide all the information about what the pros do differently. And so our handicaps tend to plateau, don’t they. How many times have you been instructed to keep your head perfectly still throughout the swing – don’t “dip”? Aren’t you the least bit curious why it is that most pros on the tour actually do “dip” on all of their shots through the bag? It’s not just Hogan. It’s Nelson (even more so than Hogan), Nicklaus, Miller, Watson, Trevino, Player, Els, Garcia, Faldo, Price, McIlroy, Westwood (who himself was seen on Golf Channel recommending keeping your head at the same level as address, but doesn’t swing that way), Woods. The list goes on.
Jim
Aug 23, 2016 at 6:14 pm
…I tell everyone “keep your head still is about the worst tip of all time”….rarely do we see it remain still and achieve a good backswing positions with our clients…I’ve cut hcps in half, gotten a bunch of students to 0-2, but, they’re the exception. Most are happy breaking 90. The serious ones, with some time to stay with lessons and actual practice – rather than playing twice without any range time other than ‘warm up balls – can break 80.
I don’t teach anyone the ‘same swing’… just the same principles. It’s about what they want to achieve. Win the club championship – or the 3rd flite, or just be pain free and hit a little better..
Jim
Aug 24, 2016 at 2:09 am
There’s a great old adage about a member coming into the pro and complaining his lessons weren’t working well enough. He said he wanted him to teach him to swing like Snead….The pro asked “can you bend over from your waist and touch your palms on the floor?” The member said “well, no”, then the pro asked “can you jump up on top of this desk from where you’re standing?” The guy says “of course not!”
So the pro says “Well then you can’t swing like Sam.”
Hogan had an unusual physique. All the “people” we want to ‘copy’ are special. They’re the top 1% of golfers. Even big guys – a bulky muscular Hal Sutton – a bulkier John Daly – or Ernie Els, just a flat out big guy all do stuff the majority of folks can’t (or shouldn’t even try) to do.
My ‘personal Swing Philosophy’ probably was the most significant project I wrote for my entire PGA GPTP program. It made me consolidate what was important. I closed with a Hogan reference “most golf professionals are lousy teachers. You can stand there and tell your dog to something – it doesn’t need to know why you want him to do it, but in order for students to truly improve they need to understand why you need them to do something (differently).
Jack Gallagher
Aug 25, 2016 at 1:55 pm
Yet Jim, and I mean this respectfully, Hogan said that he saw no reason why the average man in reasonably good physical condition couldn’t learn to swing the way experts like him swung it. I’m fairly certain that I read that in “Five Lessons.” He didn’t consider himself an exceptional athlete (though I think he was) – he claimed his brother Royal was a better athlete. Royal apparently was an excellent golfer as well, but was content as a successful amateur. [If there is any footage of Royal striking a golf ball, I’d love to see it.]
Mimicking a particular pro’s golf swing, admittedly, is not the same thing as swinging precisely the same way he swings.
However, without the video analysis provided by Wayne DeFrancesco, one really cannot fully appreciate the “how” of his method of a rotary swing. I agree with you wholeheartedly, Jim, about the difficulty of writing about technique as opposed to the hands-on approach on a lesson tee – actually showing a student what to try to accomplish (and I’m not a pro; I’m a student). I’ve had an in-person lesson from Wayne, and he pulled my left pocket around too (I’m referencing your Bob Toski story in a different thread, above).
In my opinion, the video analysis has two points of value. The first is that it shows some things that one can attempt to aspire to (your referenced rotary tail bone action in your Bob Toski story is right there on the film of Hogan). The second is that it dispels myths. Take the myth of “Hogan had a flat swing.” Well, not really. Wayne’s down-the-line view video shows him erect at address, but that doesn’t last long into the back swing, as his posture becomes a lot more “bent over” and his shoulders a lot steeper. Yes, his harms swing across his chest more than most, with his hands not going up and above/over his right shoulder. Yet, his shaft is perfectly on plane at let-arm-parallel-to-ground in the back swing; it is virtually if not entirely on plane at the top, and gets slightly laid off in transition (slightly flatter), but only for an instant. His shoulders, having steepened in the back-swing, remain just as steep if not steeper through the rotation of the down swing until after impact. The “effect” on the shaft just after the flattening phenomenon in transition is that it gets progressively steeper, such that at impact it has returned to the address plane. He slings the club aggressively leftward after impact, never attempting to swing the club-head “down the target line” at all (and for the initial few video frames, post-impact, the shaft is actually slightly under the address plane!), which is likely an effect caused in part by his hip rotation to the left (just like Bob Toski’s pulling on your hip pocket). It is also likely an effect in part resulting from the fact that his shoulders are still steep – through impact and after – and he has quite a bit of “side bend”; in fact he has more, way more, side bend than you might predict when seeing how erect he stood originally at address.
Without Wayne’s analysis of the footage (with a stationary camera in a down-the-line view) in slow motion, and with Wayne drawing lines on the screen on his website for proof, I wouldn’t have believed that Hogan did any of that which I just described. It is all a blur when viewed at full speed, given Hogan’s relatively quick 21/7 tempo (21 frames of video to the top of the back swing and 7 frames to impact). His swing at full speed does indeed to “appear to be flat” the first few times you see it on video – until you actually scrutinize it. But it’s not a “flat swing” at all. That’s a myth dispelled by Wayne’s analysis. It’s a swing in which the shaft spends a great deal of time precisely on plane. It’s a swing where his spine starts out fairly erect at address, but which changes early in the back swing to become perpendicular to the address plane and remains perpendicular to that address plane until well after the ball is away.
Is it difficult to get a student to attempt to make changes so as to do some of these things? I’m living proof that it is very difficult indeed. Some things you can look at over, and over, and still ask, how is he doing that? But there is value for a student like me watching the video and the lines being drawn, in that it shows me “that” Hogan is doing “X” and that I need to consider that I ought to try making changes via drills, etc. in order to approach doing “X” as well, which can be seen/audited with still-camera video of my own swing. When the video of my own swing shows that I’m still failing to do “X”, then a conversation can begin about the possible reasons, and drills can be recommended to attempt make changes. I’m not claiming this is a substitute for in-person lessons. Not at all.
But, respectfully, I’m getting more mileage in between in-person lessons by creating video of my own swing, auditing it against what I’m aspiring to, and then, post-new-drill practicing, going back and creating additional video and auditing once again. Video is also excellent (and seemingly a requirement for me) for filming drill sessions on the range, because it helps a lot to audit that footage as well, to see if I’m doing the dang drill correctly! It sucks to do a drill wrong after a lesson and then proceed to ingrain some new “wrong move” until my next lesson. The video stops that nonsense in its tracks.
Jim
Aug 25, 2016 at 10:52 pm
Mr. G – I wish I had a few more folks with your practice ethic & making sure “your practice has purpose” by double checking swings every so often in a single session. Every Instructor has watched ‘the wheels come off – after 3-6 really good swings! After the first one or two I don’t say anything, but after the 3rd I
might say “this time try and do that xyz thing a little better”. If that (always a SMALL suggestion) doesn”t revert it back to one of the better swings from just 2 minutes ago I’l say. “Ok..stop…come watch this, and tell me what YOU see”..
We’ll look at the different swings side by side – I use 3 High Speed HD cameras and a seperate 3D program with all the biometric measurements.
Visual learners do well with both seeing and ‘hands on’ manipulation while true kinesthetic learners want
the hands on much more than the video and will often say “I don’t want to see it” – even when I want to show them ‘how good’ those other swings were…
I teach a lot of foks with disabilities injuries and/or missing limbs. With my medical background and personal history of injuries / rehab & relearning to swing a couple of times I’ve always seek out every students strengths / weaknesses or vulnerable areas I need to protect. When starting a one armed player we’ll do backhand & forehand for several sessions & I’ll give them both clubs to borrow for a while til we establish which way they feel more comfortable….A few that stuck with golf ended up with mixed sets. Driver & distance clubs are almost always longer when hit backhand while the accuracy clubs 8? down tend to hit better forehanded…why bring that up? When swinging backhanded it’s more consistent for MORE people and produces more distance shifting off the back foot and unwinding from the front hip…
I’m saying in my 20th year of teaching professionally I’m pretty convinced by the variety of students I’ve had – from WWE/NHL/NFL/NBA, HS & College players to the profoundly disabled (and frankly some simply unathletic/uncoordinated folks) that it is easier & and just as powerful to unwind from the front and create centrifugal force than the right. No disrespect intended to anyone. Thanks for reading and I wish you continued success 🙂 if you’re ever near NYC – look me up if you can. My treat
Chuck Zellner
Aug 23, 2016 at 12:39 pm
I have had the pleasure of being a member of Wayne Defrancesco’s website for the last year. I have learned more about the golf swing in the last year from him than in my previous 20 years playing golf combined. Wayne is an excellent instructor and player. I would recommend any golfer to go to his website if they want to learn about the swing and improve. I’ve also taken in person lessons twice with Wayne. I’ve travelled to Florida and Maryland just to see him because he’s worth it. I highly recommend Wayne. He will help you without any quick fixes or gimmicks. He’s great.
Nathan
Aug 23, 2016 at 11:32 pm
How much did your average score drop in the last year while working with Wayne. From what to what?
Chuck Zellner
Aug 24, 2016 at 11:36 am
Hey Nathan, I went from like a struggling 10 to like an 8.5 now. I know that doesn’t sound like much but I truly feel that I’m on the verge of really knocking some shots off. I was as low as a 7 a couple months ago but as I continue to work on things, my handicap seems to go up and then go down past where it started. The reason I sent my initial post is because I believe Wayne has a lot of unique material you won’t see anywhere else. I just wanted to give him support because I think he could help a lot of folks. I think people try to oversimplify things in the golf swing. It’s very hard to make changes because the swing is very complicated.
Nathan
Aug 24, 2016 at 3:39 pm
While I don’t agree that the swing is very complicated. I do appreciate your response and am glad you’re knocking strokes off.
Chuck Zellner
Aug 24, 2016 at 4:07 pm
Thanks, man!
Sam
Aug 23, 2016 at 8:53 am
Now I know why most people dont improve in golf.
nathan
Aug 23, 2016 at 7:50 am
100% agree with Smiz on this one.
Not sure why golf is taught this way…baffles me.
Scott
Aug 23, 2016 at 9:20 am
I am glad that I was not the only one confused.
Scott
Aug 23, 2016 at 9:25 am
This article should come with a warning sign “This may be hazardous to your golf swing”. BTW, I know someone who has worked with Wayne. He can not get out of his own way. His pre-shot routine can be timed with a calendar. He has to review all of the positions in his head before he swings. The results are very mixed at best, and he has been doing this system for years.
Ooffa
Aug 22, 2016 at 9:52 pm
Had some good experiences with lessons? Don’t be so upset sitting at that hard 15 handicap.
tiger
Aug 23, 2016 at 6:25 am
Sorry but I’ve seen MSmizzle play and he is at a hard 21 not a 15….
mr b
Aug 22, 2016 at 3:51 pm
could use videos and drills to engrain 2-4. really been working on these to eliminate early extension but much easier said than done!
moco
Aug 22, 2016 at 9:23 am
Spot on, watch video of nick price in his prime, some of the best strikers float the right heel forward a bit.
Mark
Aug 21, 2016 at 5:03 pm
I’ll pass. I know a lot of people who have Hogan’s book and gave up trying to swing like him because they simply didn’t have Hogan’s ability.
T-Bone
Aug 21, 2016 at 4:34 pm
May I suggest that the lowering of the body’s Center of Mass, or “pivot compression” as you call it, is a natural reaction to the requirement for the CoM to be closer to the ball at impact, since the distance from the body’s CoM to the club-head’s CoM is reduced when the right arm is bent at impact from its extended position at address. The movement of the pelvis toward the golfer’s posterior, or “deepening as you call it, is also a natural reaction-a counter-balancing movement to maintain balance-the body’s CoM centered over the feet, heel-to-toe.
M oofa
Aug 20, 2016 at 3:07 pm
Cool article and such a simple swing drill
With the shaft. Thanks!!
ooffa
Aug 20, 2016 at 1:59 pm
Enough already with this Hogan guy already. Is this the same Hogan that took down Gawker? He looks much slimmer in black and white.