[KnighT]

Trane,

First of all, welcome aboard. LBG feels like home to me since I found it recently.

Regarding shanking....from my favorite book(since you do not have a copy yet I will type):

5-0 - "If you feel your game isn't reflecting your understanding of Alignments - STOP MONITORING THE CLUBHFACE INSTEAD OF YOUR HANDS. Unless otherwise specified, at all times - but especially during Start Down - maintain the Clubhead Lag relationship to the Plane Line - not the body. That - failure to clear the Right Hip (Roundhousing) can initiate almost every alignment disruption, including SHANKING."

2-F - "Clubhead "Feel" is Sweet Spot feel for #3 Pressure Point sensing functions. If Lag Pressure is lost, the Hands tend to start the hosel (instead of the sweet spot) toward Impact - that mysterious "Shank." When in doubt, "Turn" the Clubface so both the Clubshaft and the Sweet Spot will be on the same Plane at the Start Down. Both Planes always pass through the Lag Pressure Point.

You also say "I'm not sure if I'm using angled hinging." My first question to you is are you hitting or swinging? I think it is very important to program with practice swings beforehand weather you will hit or swing. As per the STAR SYSTEM TRIAD. A general guidline is: if hitting, use angled hinging....if swinging use horizontal hinging. They are more compatibale with eachother.

I think basic motion is the best place to work on hinge action (among every other part of your stroke). Just hold that finish. I like holding my basic motion finish with the programmed hinge action and, and I say to myself "vertical", "angled", "horizontal". Sometimes I will do all 3 in a row. Sometimes I will focus on hitting and only use angled. Yoda explains and demonstrates this many times in his videos very clearly. Actually, before I understood the 3 hinge actions (before I found LBG when the pictures in 10-10 were mysterious to me) I did not know what type of hinge action I used in any swing I made. Now I know it is 1/3 of the basic golf stroke, therefore I program it before every swing.

2-G - Learning only one (hinge) Action isn't helpful because you won't know their differences.