Just finished the 5 lessons...

[AMLemus]

I just finished my first read through of Hogan's 5 lessons and they all are pretty much invaluable as far as learning how to "fix" my swing is concerned.

 

Old swing: Aggressive hip turn to the back during backswing, leading the downswing with the arms and flipping my wrists through the ball to counteract the lack of/slow hip turn forward during the downswing. Results were decent shots buts a lot of unnecessary movement to get the ball going straight and no lag to speak of.

 

New swing (in progress): Addressing the ball with confidence and that lead toe turned 22 deg towards the target. Leading the backswing with straight arms that stop at parallel before a subtle hip turn back. Leading the downswing with the hips and driving through the ball with a square clubface, a lot of lag, and getting a solid 10-15 yds further with each club. I can now hit a solid 8-iron 170 yards (v. 155).

 

Some observations below, did anyone else experience this when they used these tips?

 

The Hogan swing feels a lot like I'm simply using my hips to get the ball in the air with a lot less thought to what my arms/hands are doing.

 

When my arms do get a little fast, the ball still goes straight and far but with a 20 degree pull.

 

The interlocking grip, after a while, makes my trailing hand pinky sore as hell from pressure between the other fingers.

 

I pay a lot more attention to the arc of my swing and take a flatter plane to the ball than I used to.

 

For shorter irons, I find myself pointing my back toe slightly toward the target (instead of perpendicular), mimicking what I would do for wedge shots.

 

Did anyone else experience these? I know its a lot, but I'm just enthusiastic about improving the consistency in my swing just from reading this magnificent book.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike