[golfbulldog]

One of the areas I find hard to understand and find "PGA pro golfer evidence" for is the right elbow position at address. TGM sets out a “Basic pattern” for drive loading and drag loading( 12-1-0 and 12-2-0)which involves zero plane angle variation and plane angle basic on “turned shoulder”. This appears to a sound mechanical position for the simplest, most secure , yet powerful, swing. Homer says plane variations can be hazardous etc….( not sure of the reference but I have seen it quoted somewhere)

This position is illustrated in photos in TGM 9-2-1 #2. preliminary address. Right forearm is on same plane as clubshaft ( elbow in line with shaft extension). This is a position rarely seen by top pros today who appear to have elbows on a more inclined plane than the clubshaft at address. Very few pros have any fix other than a forward press , which does not realign the forearm and shaft at all but only leans shaft forward. This immediately puts them into a basic swing pattern requiring single or double plane variation. In 7-7 Homer states that due to “personal preference…it is not always possible to adhere to a single inclined plane classification throughout the whole swing” but goes on to stress the importance of the forearm at impact. This makes sense but why is it that almost all top pros have some “personal preference, natural inclination or pressure of conditions” ( 7-7) that means that they shift planes!!

Is there something about the human anatomy (eg. upper arm : foream ratio) that makes this variation of swing pattern difficult for top pros to adhere too ?

Please understand that I ask this question as a beginner( to TGM) who has experimented with the pattern described in TGM 12-1-0 and 12-2-0 but find my hands are unusually high and the ball-striking variable. Should I persist or do I have some “personal preference, natural inclination or pressure of conditions” ( 7-7) which means I should alter my pattern to shift planes? If so what is this “preference” which is leading me toward a mechanically more complicated swing - something I am not consciously looking for!! Unless there is some power, accuracy advantage – unlikely!

Thanks