[Yoda]

Thanks for this, Air.

I know what Jimmy Ballard is saying here. Leaving aside various references to the connection of the left arm, its role in the golf swing, and those actions causing its radius and arc to change -- -- the action he recommends inhibits getting laid off on the Backstroke or under-rolled through the Ball. These are Clubshaft and Clubface considerations. Just as important, demonstrated but not mentioned, is the Mechanical Advantage gained by the Overtaking Action (of the Flat Left Wrist by the Clubhead) through Impact. (Jimmy's obvious Sway [1:36-1:40] is not requisite to this Overtaking Action and should be avoided.) In a world desperate for Simplified Golf, this tip is a winner.

Unfortunately, for those seeking more precision -- that would be us -- there are no alignments to control that left elbow action. (Indeed, I'm sure Jimmy would say that the "left elbow down" is the alignment.) But what we're really talking about here is both Forearms fanning -- the Right Forearm fanning (about the elbow) in the Start Up and Backstroke and Left Forearm fanning (about the elbow) in the Release and Follow-Through.

The good news is that both Elbows have a control: the Left Wrist. Via its Wrist Action (7-18 ) and Hinge Action, (7-10) the Left Wrist controls the respective Elbow Motions while maintaining its mission-critical alignments related to the Inclined Plane. Which, of course, is boss.

In fact, Jimmy's tip is all about helping the golfer achieve the precision Turn and Roll of the Left Arm and Club (Primary Lever Assembly / 6-A-2) and its #3 Power Accumulator Angle (6-B-3-0) as established at Impact Fix (8-2) and regulated per 2-G. (Non-TGMers reading that last sentence should stop after the words "left arm and club".) Jimmy's tip would be helpful to almost all handicap golfers (which is why he delivered it in the first place).

My only beef is that all this dumbing down -- Position Golf versus Alignment Golf -- is now expected in the golf teaching business, and precision has gone buh-bye. (This was not the case, by the way, when Robert T. Jones, Jr., aka Bobby Jones, was writing his scholarly, nationally-syndicated weekly newspaper columns in the 1930s). Especially with regards to the Hands. (Unless, of course, you want your left elbow to control your golf stroke.) The truth is that the Hands (specifically, in this instance, the Left Wrist and its complementary Right Wrist) control and execute these precision alignments, and the left and right elbows respond accordingly.

In Jimmy's prescription, the Hands . . . the Hands . . . are conspicuously absent.

Regarding his Ben Hogan reference, I've just finished reading former LPGA Tour player Kris Tschetter's wonderful new book, Mr. Hogan, The Man I Knew. (Buy it on Amazon at a significant discount here http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...ndition=used).

Here are three quotes that summarize how important Mr. Hogan viewed the Hands:

"Once again he focused on my hands. That should have come as no surprise. Mr. Hogan had a simple philosophy when it came to golf: The player's only contact with the ball comes through the club, and the only contact with the club comes through the hands. To him the hands are like tires touching a racetrack. The engine, transmission, steering, and aerodynamics don't mean a thing, if the only parts of the car touching the road are faulty. In golf, everything begins with the hands, and Mr. Hogan knew more about the effects of the grip on the swing than anyone who had ever played. According to Mr. Hogan, the slightest variation in any aspect of the hands, whether it was the position of the thumb or an increase in the pressure of one finger, could change the swing entirely."

"It seemed so strange to me. No one had ever focused so much on my hands."

"I still didn't understand everything he was trying to get me to do with my hands. In fact, as I stood there watching him walk away, only one word came to mind: Wow."

In the same chapter she spoke of the article Mr. Hogan said he would one day write:

"The left hand is the steering wheel and the right hand is the gas. Once you get your grip on there correctly, the left hand controls where the ball goes, and the right hand provides the power."

Ben Hogan never wrote his article, but Homer Kelley wrote his book, The Golfing Machine:

" . . . you will save yourself much anguish by using the Right Hand just for sensing and controlling acceleration and the Left Hand just for controlling alignments. Right Hand -- Clubhead. Left Hand -- Clubface." (1-F)

Rarely does a day go by that I do not thank God for Homer Kelley, his Golfing Machine, and his personal tutelage.

Today is another of those days.