Great Video Russell. Alistair Davies was saying similar and I tried this, my only swing thought being to keep my R/Elbow in front of my R/Hip throughout. The difference, even with only a couple of hours practice, was astounding. I was going for par 5's in two, hitting Drives to best part of 300yds and my Confidence was Sky-rocketing, it all felt so easy and effortless. Thanks.

Read hogans 5 lessons, hip rotation is the key , turned my baseball swing into effortless power

The lead arm and club act like the lever arm and sling of a Trebuchet. As shoulders turn back parallel to swing line in the downswing the lead arm mass which has been connected and pinned across chest flies down off the chest just as the club shaft reaches the point it the club head mass can freely whip around the hands like the sling of the Trebuchet. The genius of the Vardon grip is how it folds the trail arm ideally, elbow down, to guide the club head path in the backswing then folds the the lead arm similarly in the finish. But the club needs to be gripped in the air then lowered, which counter-torques the arms to work together as a unit, for the folding action to be automatic and consistent. Part of Hogan’s consistency was the result was how he held the club out horizontal with bent elbows in against the rib cage, elbows down then lowering to create the “towel wringing” feeling in the arms and a very tight “V” at address. He also pushed down with trail hand to push any slack out of the lead arm. When I retooled my swing using Five Lessons I found the difference in control of the club during the takeaway versus my previous practice of grounding the club and then gripping it is amazing. The “towel wringing” counter rotation of the arms makes the hinging back extension of the trail wrist and folding of the trail arm elbow down so consistent and ideal for guiding the club up to the top and back down again automatically. No need to think about releasing the trail arm because it also occurs automatically due to the way the grip and forearm rotation loads torque in it during the backswing.

Very good advice. I find that achieving this with just the right arm is not that difficult. It replicated skimming a stone, using a hammer or hitting a tennis ball, all things we can relate to and do naturally. The fun starts when you try to incorporate the left hand and arm into this action. I find it quite difficult to make the left arm compliment rather than get in the way of the right arm.

Another classic right on the mark! Thank you.

Best I have heard it explained... well done.

The trail arm releases naturally as it follows the straight, locked-in front arm back to the ball. This requires no effort or thought-it simply happens. The only way it does not happen is if you do something intentional that prevents it from happening. If you teach someone to lock the front arm in straight, to hinge into the backswing, to keep the back elbow fairly tight to the body and a bit forward, to rotate around the spine on the downswing and hang onto the hinge to ball contact....there is a very high probability that there will be pretty good contact. My very unathletic wife learned to do this quite well in two weeks of play/practice.

working on this exact thing, and when i connect properly, OMG!!!.. is it ever awesome!

It’s interesting how many different thoughts and views there are on this topic. First off, I’m no golf professional myself work with a leading coach (coach to multiple current tour players) over the last 15 years and I’ve recently been spending a lot of time researching the role of the right arm. Respectfully, I just don’t agree with this thought of the downswing narrowing and the arm bend increasing because in practice good players just don’t seem to do it. The width in the swing is maintained by all of the worlds top golfers and for the vast majority the right elbow straightens gradually immediately from the transition in to the downswing. It’s pretty evident that the reason the hand path on the downswing is closer to the target is because of the moving forward of the centre point with the pressure shift rather than a physical narrowing. The thought of tucking the right elbow is going to create a whole host of additional problems for many and is certainly 100% not a requirement to create tour levels of shaft lean. It does actually feel that I do narrow on the downswing- but once wired up on GEARS it was proven that my feel not what was actually happening. I do think Hogan would be very impressed by the modern ways we can now measure what really happens in the swing and given the huge changes in shaft technology it a view shared by many that he would possibly be re-evaluating his early thoughts.

We see a lot of face on and down the line camera angles but I really like the swing towards the camera shots. More relevant if you are using a mirror to check your swing.

Great video I am starting to really understand the moves

Would you say the downswing is a feel of throwing the hands at the target line,about 3 ft behind the ball,whilst simultaniously stepping down on the left side,whilst also a split second after the hand throw,feel the right elbow drive through to target? I find if i just step to theleft whilst driving my elbow(without energizing the clubhead at the same time) the club is far too lagged and open too late,and needs last minute effort to get to impact... Experimented with this in the garden,and got a lot of easy whip on the club

Should I have my right hand fully extended through the impact area what does Hogan mean when he states I wish I had three right-hand also is very impact plane thanks for your help Jack

Hey Russell! Great video. I get the concept of driving the elbow and I'm just wondering if you have any thoughts on the trail elbow throughout the backswing. I believe Hogan taught the trail elbow should stay down, connected to the body, and function more in an orbit around the body; however, current golf teachings say to keep the trail elbow in front of the trail side shirt seam... Can you provide some clarity on this thought?

Good lesson, Thank-you

This is Gold

Down and out on the plane. Not through the ball. If you attempt to hit the ball to the target your left wrist will break down and path goes left causing pulls and slices

Perfect instruction for getting stuck and swinging right and a 2 way miss ..

Great Advice video tips

Great video but think you have to mentioned what Mr Ben Hogan said that he had almost 100 % of his weight on left foot whet the he hit the ball. You can even see in some of the videos of his swing that he actually drags the right foot, and he could not have done that if he had some weight on his right foot.

Okay. Part of the reason is looks narrower is because they shift toward the target, and a shallower hand path looks narrow but isn’t from face on. So….

When I have this swing thought, I always push my shots rt

Brilliant

Where is the other downswing video you mentioned??

If you have the GEARS data, show the trail elbow degree numbers through the downswing. You will see that the pro players release the angle immediately. They do not hold that trail elbow angle… no pro golfer!

What you are saying is quite valid, however not as you are demonstrating at 2.05 where you are leaning back at impact keeping the weight on the back foot. Dangerous move there. BTW while I do agree on the importance of the right elbow it certainly is not Hogan's secret.

Good stuff But ... Hogan's legendary video on Ed Sullivan is ONE minute Yours is almost 7 Shorter is better

Bear in mind that Hogan fought a hook. If you are fighting a slice, Hogan's swing may not be the best way to go.

Hey Russell biggest problem I see is you are demonstrating a dynamic position.

Too much talking !!!

You do waffle don’t you

Too much talking about a possible problems. Focus on how it should be instead and give drills 😊