Tomasello Horizontal Hinge
 

In the Tomasello videos,which are absolutely wonderful,he says 90% of golf shots are played with a horizontal hinge action.Is this true? Should we be striving for this or is it personal preference?

Pers. preference.

I play an Angled Hinge more or less all the time.....don't really like Hor. Hinging......and I'm a Swinger too.

Don't feel like I'm losing compression.....not at all.....

Yeah, I too use mostly angled hinge.Especially since I only learned it in the last few years.I just wondered what the school of thought was on this.

Tommy taught a swinging procedure with the right arm and therefore this was his preferred preference. If one took a lesson off say Yoda or Ted and they taught you a hitting procedure then you would be angle hinging most of the time.

if you are truly swinging you should be using a full roll most of the time just like tommy says.

Now you can resist that full roll and angle hinge but if you are going to do that my preference is to use a 10-2-D grip.

I use a horizontal hinge. I have finally learned how to swing:p and play a draw for every shot. It started with the Tomasello vids, but now I have my own technique

Is the angled hinge action more accurate than horizontal hinge action? Is this a fair question or too general?[-o<

Can you tell us more about your own technique....I have been studying the Tomasello procedure and am curious where you modified from it.

It "can be" but not necessarily. Because of the higher flight and more backspin angled hinge produces it tends to be easier to control and hit more on target than draw spin.

But not always.

Right to Left (Horizontal) Left to Right (Angled)
 

Here is a tip (a priceless tip at that)from the man himself, Tom Tomasello (I believe Tommy and I talked about it over lunch and on the driving range, it was one of the highlights of my 3-day school with Tommy). Use Horizontal Hinging for pins tucked on the left side of the green...Why? Horizontal Hinging with the right arm accelerated swing that Tommy promoted produces a right to left spin on the ball...when the ball hits the green it tends to continue spining right to left....towards the hole. The opposite effect can be produced with angled hinging...left to right spin...aim your shot at the middle of the green and watch the ball move left to right upon hitting the green. Yes, course strategy with HINGING...

DG

I've wondered about this, more from the "is hitting more accurate than swinging?" angle. In hitting, one only needs to monitor their right hand (PP#3 and PP#1), but in swinging, one has to think through both hands (PP#2 for downward motion, PP#3 to guide the pivot). I wonder if hitting (which in uncompensated strokes gives angled hinging) will be more accurate, because you can concentrate on one hand.

Personally, I wouldn't be able to say Hitting is more accurate than Swinging....

Personally, that is.

...

And I don't know that it really is in general either.

...

I only Hit my short clubs because I find it much easier to control trajectory....to hit it lower I mean. But that's different than just being more accurate....i.e. less dispersion, more consistency.

I wonder if the most accurate is the procedure that suits THAT particular individual.

It is my observation that hitters seem to hit the short irons and wedges with a greater degree of accuracy than swingers with more control of ball flight and spin.

It isn't because they are hitting, it's because they are using an angled hinge.

Multiple reasons why hitters "may" be a "little" more accurate than swingers...

Here are some of the reasons:

Shorter swing...Top assembly point versus an End assembly Point.

Wrist action...hitters don't use standard wrist action...they don't have the rolling action of the left wrist like a swinger does...

Hitters use a simultaneous release versus a sequenced release...

However, I can hit as well as I swing...and I feel there is very little difference in accuracy between the two procedures...I change between hitting and swinging for more strategic reasons than an accuracy issue.

DG

Ok, let's assume - and trust me, I am not trying to make an a$$ outta u or me (ok, mostly me, that we are strictly talking about angled hinging or hinging in general (versus swinging/hitting and the inherent or manipulated hinging associated).

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SAY!?!?!?!?:D

Would angled hinging not be more accurate due to more margin for error versus less margin for horizontal?

Again, I am not tackling Hitting/Swinging and body motion, etc.

Whatcha all think???

I think angled hinging is more accurate fo' shizzle.

Swinging with horizontal hinging can be very accurate...geeezzzz, I won a tournament with horizontal hinging...it came down to the last shot...110 yards from the pin, pitching wedge to 3 feet (the ball was all over the pin)...missed the putt with angled hinging, still won the tourney by one shot.

DG

Depends on which margin you are talking about....

Angled hinge is by its nature more accurate from a geometric standpoint

But for that to happen, the player must 'do' something during their motion (keep the physics of the design of the club from opening going back)

So under no pressure, I'd say yes, angled is by definition more accurate

Horizontal requires better, smoother, Rhythm, but less 'doing' (active awareness of where the hand are)

All things considered, I'd say there is no real 'practical' difference for a player who has mastered both hinge actions, but that said, the longer the shot, the more towards horizontal, the shorter the shot, the more towards angled