[Yoda]

Mr.Kelly indicates the steady head is an essential. It is also the most overlooked element in my swing. Here in Minnesota we are expecting snow tomorrow and many of us are trying to find some semblance of a golf swing. I have worked all winter on the magic of the right forearm and was disapointed to find no magic when I finally hit some shots outdoors on Sunday, the first nice day in two weeks. Tonite I figured out why I was off plane in my backswing, with the club moving out first, laying off, rather than in and up using the right forearm. Answer, my head was moving back with the club, completely ruining my alignments. This is a cautionary tale. All of us basement Hogans need to be careful when we are making swings that our heads do not move back with the club, making it impossible for the club to go on plane. You may think you are doing it right with the club, but the results are not there. I know put my head at impact fix and keep it there, club moves back, not head. Result, consistent swing bottom. Lesson, when the swing goes bad, check the imperatives, review the essentials, the answer is there.

At a PGA TOUR event late last summer, a long-time (but really struggling) exempt player asked me to give my assessment. His Fairways Hit percentage was way low, only about one in three. He thought the answer lay in a new driver.

I shot straight: "You're swaying. Big time. No way you improve your percentages until you stop doing that."

I buttressed my Rx with the indisputable evidence from my high-speed Casio. He saw it and agreed. Then, he sent the TaylorMade guy scrambling for a new club.

That was the last time I saw him.

Bad news messengers have a hard time making new friends.

Fine by me. It's his career, not mine.