If you fix the lead / left hip at the start of the backstroke, anchoring it for a reference of how to return square, and the grip makes the putter face aim depend solely upon whether the shoulders' return to parallel / square alignment at impact, then returning the shoulders to square for impact is easy since the lead hip anchor brings them back to the original position at address. This means you can BUST putts straight and square and solid without thought or care at all. Just a firmed up grip and nothing else moving -- no hands, just a shoulders / arms backstroke of any sort that does not go crazy to the inside and don't worry a stitch -- just return / rubberband back to the anchored lead hip and let the "putter face aims wherever shoulders align parallel" do its thing. Turn with the lead hip anchored, re-turn, and that's straight and square and solid without further ado.

It helps if the follow-thru is determined by the shoulders returning to address alignment but not continuing past that, so the thru-stroke feels like a braking of the shoulders returning to square once done that casts the arms and hands and putter head vertically rising down the line without the shadow of any push. So as long as the putter face is firmly gripped so the aim of the face matches / parallels the shoulder alignment, you can actually "go for a push feeling thru impact" but there won't be any at all -- the anchored hip prevents it. So full speed ahead thru impact is okay if you want -- nothing but down the line strokes and rolls. Then settle down to touch but keep the anchored-hip dynamic.

I attended Martin's clinic in the UK which helped a great deal and it's been a steep learning curve but I'm now reaping the rewards.  I'm a high handicapper so I'm taking things a step at a time.  The basis of my swing at the moment is the shovel shot and things have been going fairly well.

I've now got a video camera so I will upload some swings shortly.

"This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning"....of being a DOCF novice.

The good news is I learned how to use the video camera, bad news is I found some major flaws in my swing. I have decided to take on Martin as my first teacher, although he doesn't know it. He is the first guy that I really trust what he is saying about the golf swing. I know he is busy so I have recruited one of his students to show me the ropes. Bob, if your out there, two thumbs up and many thanks for explaining every detail to any question I throw at you. It is really a reflection of how good a teacher is when his students can go into such detail about resistance, feels, weight distribution, etc.... After the first question about the take away and about 8 paragraphs of awesome information later, I have decided to take it slow.

My first major problem was that I was taking the club outside on my initial move of the ball. I have studied the "wall" video and understand it except for one part. The initial move of the ball is a reverse roll of the arms, which brings the hands in beautifully, but it wants to close the club face. The next move is what Martin refers to as impact position. This is a "belly roll" where you tip the club back. My problem is when trying the wall drill, my club face is not hitting the pole flat, it hits the heel first (closed). When I take the "reverse roll" out of the take away, the club doesn't get inside the way it is supposed to, but I hit the wall perfectly. My conclusion is to reverse roll the arms and belly roll the hands. Looks good on paper, but for me this move is like trying to pat my head and rub my bell, it just blows a fuse. Any way, I am trying to get my giant brain around this thing, and hope that this is the correct way to do this move. I maybe over cooking it a bit, Martin posted a new video with Elk and him at Champions, and he does "the math" on this move. I will study it tonight.  Also, Martin wants me to pivot around my right axis and hit into a strong left side? I will cross that bridge when I get the takeaway conquered. One step at I time. Really feeling good about this action.

Glenn Beck, a man you might know from Fox News, and Rick Martin an ex golf commentator and golf professional whiped out financially by the IRS and his two ex wives. Two men set on taking on the political machine that is set on taking away our freedoms.

I'm on a quest. For the first time in my golfing life, I have the opportunity to practice and play every day. I'm a bogey golfer. I am "average golfer" personified. I was away from the game for 5 years because I tore up my left knee and just didn't get back into the game for a while. I was a bogey golfer before the injury and after those 5 years, I'm still a bogey golfer. Although I've been back at it for a year, the improvement isn't coming along as I'd hoped. I saw the video where Mr. Burke spoke about patience, and that really hit home for me. Even if my scores aren't any better, I feel like I have a much deeper understanding of the game and my swing. I know I need a lot of work. I'm working with a great teacher, and I have a pretty lofty list of goals. I'm 40 years old, and I hit the ball much farther than I ever did, even at 20. Technology has a big part in that, but the 20 pounds of muscle that appeared when I finally got serious about working out is also a big help. It also leads to the five or six holes I seem to have every round that lead to double or worse. That's the frustrating part, and that's what I'm trying to get away from by digging it out of the dirt. I have several serious errors of execution a round that make the difference between 94 and 82. I want to break 80 and know I can IF I can get away from so many of the big numbers, but all the practice and all the work doesn't seem to do much to get me away from the dreaded dub. Could it be a mental lapse that puts me on that path? I feel like I'm a highly focused individual, but I do some seriously dumb stuff a couple of times each round that keeps me out of the 80s and well into the 90s.

I'm going to keep digging, and I know I'll get there. I have to intensify my commitment and work even harder. Do the work, and the prizes will come.

I was slightly disgruntled about my attempts to fix a flaw in my swing. I was taking the club a little outside on the back swing, so I decided to practice the wall drills to get my club in the proper position on the back swing.  When I went to the range, trying my new fix to the flaw, it didn't work. The good news is I found it today. I was able to bring the club in properly ie. hit the wall and get back to the ball maintaining my lag and not throwing my hands. In fact I got so comfortable with my back swing that when I made this "wall" move properly on the back swing I just new I was going to hit it flush. I was taking my 4 iron and hitting it at a flag that was 236 yd.s away. When I hit it flush it was right there, when I didn't it was about 10 yds. short.

FEELS -

stayed up late to follow texas qualifiers
disappointed but will live !
something big at st jude i reckon
stick it right up 'em

When I first met Mike I was getting insurance for 2 cars and the new house I bought on the lake where all this began. I asked Mike about golf because I was new to the region and I saw some golf related items in his office. I am fanatical about golf so I asked Mike about his golf. He told me a little bit of history on himself but as usual he was being very humble but I could tell he had more information than anyone I personally knew. I invited him out for a round of golf but it turned out that shortly after that we found ourselves partnered up in a Texas Scramble fun business golf tournament. We were just having fun and the pops were going around and I was in complete silence as I watched Mike hit the golf ball. Near the end of the round and the pops had there desired effect, I was completely in aw watching Mike swing. At this point he.. well he was feeling no pain, but the swing that I saw from the very first one to the last was like watching all those videos we did. I knew right then and there that this was not like anything I have ever seen before. I asked him to come over so I could film this swing. A couple days later he showed up and I set the video up as you all have seen. I am not even in the same stratosphere of Mike's knowledge in golf and Mike knew full well of this as well. But he knew that I saw something very special and my overwhelming enthusiasm sparked something in Mike that he lost When Mr. Hogan died. Mike lost that passion for golf. He had an insurance business growing and a young family growing and he did what he felt was the right thing and that was to focus on his family and business. Like any good family man would do. (yes, I sincerely have a great deal of respect for Mike and in many ways). Then eight years later in my back yard, that one video that I took which was like all of them, were completely unrehearsed and unedited, it somehow renewed his spark and the desire to release "the secret" that he kept hidden all those years. We kept making all those videos and that spark changed into a fire and the passion for golf came back into Mikes life.We continued to video probably over a hundred of videos on my lawn at the the lake with casey and the anonymous cameraman. During this we were developing a plan to move forward with this but in a way that has not been done before.
At this point you all should know the rest of the story or start your own search for "the secret in the dirt".
cameraman and casey 

I tried to change my swing today to be a little more inside on the back swing. Couldn't hit it a lick. Was having a hard time getting back to the ball.  Then I started to get frustrated as to why am I changing my swing to look more conventional. The objective here is to hit straight, solid golf shots. I have figured out a way for my body to get in the right position at impact. Why would I change this? Because I decided to video my swing and think it doesn't look right, because so and so hit it this way. I was sitting there frustrated on the range and started thinking about the greatest ball strikers Hogan, Moe, Trevino, Nicholas and in my book Litzke. Guess what all these guys have extremely different golf swings. And guess what else, these guys didn't use video. These guys dug it out of the dirt. So goodbye video. I am a feel player, the ball doesn't lie. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and I am going to find my own way. That being said knowledge from other players and instructors alike on this site have helped me tremendously. I'm going to stop trying to build a perfect looking golf swing and figure a way how I can hit this ball. I really love this blog. It helps me realize that when you try to write down your thoughts, it really makes you re think what your doing and recall the feels that made me hit it well. Note to self : we are all different, quite trying to pigeon hole yourself into some one else's mold, Be yourself

BTW - I went back to the shovel today and started puring it again. Life is beautiful

I made a video of my swing a couple of days ago and here is my diagnosis.

Uniqueness: Taking the club outside and maybe a bit down the line too long. I think the look of the swing is a little distorted because my wrist don't start cocking until later in the backswing. At the top of my swing, I have a closed clubface, bowed left wrist. I can change this with out too much problem. The real disturbing part of the swing is my weight shift. Everything is very stable going back, no dramatic shifting. Really just expansion away from the ball. At the top of the swing as I start to turn back to the target, I drop the club inside on the way down, coming into the ball holding my angles properly until almost impact. Right at impact the weight is on getting up on my right toe and my back heel which is square to the target line moves toward the target. If I stop the video at impact my feet look splayed out?? Obviously there is some clockwise rotation into the right foot that is causing this to happen. The fact that the heel is physically moving toward the  target makes me think that I am transferring my weight a hair early. My hips are turned left of the target at impact and my body right on top of the ball. I notice watching slow-mo vid.s of Hogan that at impact his hips are turned more to the target and his upper body is in more of a reverse k motion as mine is in more of a straight line. This reverse K is very evident in Elk's swing. It is almost like my weight is getting right on top of my left foot a little early, as apposed to Hogans swing where it looks as if his left leg is resisting the weight for  longer, but turning more toward the target.