[12 piece bucket]

Homer Kelley told the five of us in his January 1982 GSEM Class that Centrifugal Force automatically aligns the Clubface and Clubshaft for Horizontal Hinging through Impact. To prove his point, he took us out on his driveway one morning and brought out the string device you see here. By the way, that garage in the background was Homer's 'laboratory.' All the indoor photos in the book were taken just inside that door underneath the little G.O.L.F. sign.

The Clubhead was actually balsa wood painted silver with a little screw in the middle of the Clubface to give it a Sweetspot. Homer tried several times to get the string whirling about his body, but he kept getting tangled up in the string. That's why the fellows in the background are still smiling. I remember saying, "Having a little trouble with that Start Up, aren't you, Homer?"

He finally was able to get the little Clubhead whirling around, and on one of the passes through Impact, I was able to get a perfect 'shot' of the Impact alignment. As you can see, the Clubface is "Closing Only" (Horizontal Hinge Action) and the Sweetspot in perfectly in-line with the #3 Pressure Point (Right Forefinger). Years later, the phenomena of "Clubhead Droop" became the newest revelation in Clubfitting, but you can see it clearly here.

I sent a copy of the photo to Homer, and some 22 years later it re-surfaced in a Sports Illustrated article that included a brief sketch about him. Someone asked me then where the magazine got the photo, and I answered: "I don't know who gave them the photo, but I do know who has the negative."

Here is the photo of that blessed event and one more that no one has seen.

Those present in the photo are (from left to right) Steve Snyder, Greg McHatton, and Mike Holder. Behind Homer is John Fey. And behind the lens...

Awesome!!!!!

Thanks for posting those pics . . . gotta love this place!

Question: You can't push a rope but you can pull it. With Axe Handle techinque you are actively thrusting against the Pressure Points and overriding CF. But with Rope Handle techique you DON'T actively thrust to accelerate . . . So what do the function do the pressure points serve? Aligning CF and allowing the intrinsic Horizontal Hinging?