This may help others to make sure our baseline hip movement in the backswing is setting us up for great shots. I looked at several videos of my swing from about 6-7 months ago when I was playing my all time best, hitting baby draws, power, etc. Then I compared that video to my most recent swing video whereby I've been prone to over the top and yes, shanking at times. I've been hitting blocks, thin shots, fat shots, and weak fades, and the baby draw was gone(?). So the two swings had to be fundamentally different, the question is what was different?
So my goal was to determine why I was coming over the top, focusing on the arms and wrists during the backswing, then of course the transition down to impact. I could see the club handle moving forward, or towards target line during the transition. So I'm like "why is that happening, everything looks good on the backswing?". Then I thought I must be pushing off my right leg from the top to throw the club forward, but that wasn't overtly obvious either. Club plane good...check...wrist position at the top...check...but then a slight throw out. Hmmm. Nothing overly weird...but something was very wrong.
After plenty of analysis I was about to give up on what was causing the problems. Then I thought, "let's double check my hip movement from a face on view in my current swing". I could see my hips rotating back, and then rotating back to the ball, nothing special. Then I looked at my older video and suddenly saw the massive difference.
In my older swing (when I was playing at my best) my tailbone moved at least 5-6 inches towards the target on the backswing (Hogan Hip Turn). Alternately, my tailbone in my current swing didn't move left at all, it was simply rotating. Then I pondered why that could cause over the top moves. The answer was simple. Rotating the hips caused my right side to "get in the way" on the downswing such that I had to throw the club out to create "room" to swing. When my tailbone moves towards the target it creates plenty of room because my hips have turned about 45*. Plus, the tailbone forward position preloads my weight on my left side. From that position it's nearly impossible to throw the club outside or over the top.
Then I went to the range and purposely did my current hip rotation swing (no tailbone forward). Hit a some OK shots, but they felt a little weak in terms of power, then a couple of shanks....AH HAH...GOTCHA YOU PESKY SHANK!!! Then I did Tom's Hogan hip movement and the baby draw was back and the shots sounded and looked totally different, or back to where I was months ago. I couldn't come over the top or shank from Hogan's hip position in a million years because my right side is completely out of the way on the downswing.
I don't know why or how I got away from the Hogan hip movement, but I did, and I'm here to say I spent far too much time chasing other BS stuff that would never have fixed the baseline problem. Tailbone forward will feel weird if someone is used to spinning their hips. Weird is good. This is probably the #1 short-cut to great ball striking. I suggest getting in front of a mirror and doing your current hip movement, then do the tailbone forward to get both a feel and visual of the position. If you're like me, you may find all the other so-called "problems" were actually caused by spinning hip movement. I suggest watching and practicing Tom's Hogan exact teachings about Hogan's hip movement a million times because IMO this presets everything else to work far more fluidly and efficiently during the swing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYRCd7WMoSI
Just wanted to bump this thread because your journey sounds incredibly similar to what I've been working through over the last 2 golf seasons as well! I was getting so frustrated with "everything looks fine" on video but super inconsistent on the course - either shooting 70's or 90's with seemingly the same swing thoughts. Thanks for sharing your experience and findings - it reconfirms my theories on the same problems!
The one thing to keep in mind is the shoulder turn needs to result in being stacked over the ball with the Hogan Hips. If my upper body drifts right on the backswing, and my hips move left, that seems to cause an excessive inside out swing, or I'm stacked to the right of the ball vs. over the ball, thus hit pulls, thin or fat shots.
Precisely why I referred to that move as "the grail" of the golf swing, @GolfLivesMatter. While there are certainly a variety of "feels" through which an effective swing can be built, for those who execute this move correctly it takes care of everything in the backswing - tilting, turning, extending, weight forward, hands in, arms straight - and puts the transition and downswing on autopilot.
Your self-analysis skills, understanding of the swing, and ability to clearly convey a message are outstanding. I hope you're saving all of these detailed posts for your book!!
Thanks for sharing your reverse- and re-engineering experiences!