I hate to say it

I hate to say it, but the method I found to hit the ball best of all came to me about 10 years ago. I believe it was and still is the right way to hit a golf ball. I have finally realised that this method is right for me - much, much more so than the millions of other methods I've tried.

I previously mentioned some keys for a decent golf swing. These still apply, but I think the following method incorporates and encourages swing dynamics that will help almost all golfers. Having said that, it's not really a method, it's just one thing that is needed in a golf swing.

You could argue that this key was actually pioneered by none other than the great Ben Hogan. Mr Hogan was arguably the finest ball striker ever, perhaps not counting the eccentric Moe Norman. Hogan had a superb long game and good wedge game, while he struggled a bit on the green. He was quite long off the tee, though not super long, but he was unerringly accurate and consistent with fairway woods and long irons, and here is why.

Hogan had a compact and highly efficient swing. Despite his early grip issues, and I stand by the importance of a neutral grip and minimal hand involvement in the swing, he developed a wonderfully consistent ball flight pattern. He had a quick swing, not particularly long or graceful, and this was because he connected (my favorite term in golf) his upper lead arm to his chest. I should note that he also stayed solidly centred over the ball, with no sway, so that some observers actually thought he reverse pivoted - he did not.

This connection begins in the backswing and is retained through impact. The restriction it creates shortens the swing in all but the most flexible golfers, but the connection allows golfers to make use of their entire upper torso to power the swing. The critical element here is the upper arm to chest connection, something not all body or rotational swing theorists emphasise.

It has to be noted that the feeling of restriction and shortening of the swing for most golfers takes some getting used to. We don't like to feel that we can't swing freely. And we feel that we can't generate enough clubhead speed. But the reality is that this apparent disadvantage is more than compensated for by the use of more of the body in the swing. Obviously, the faster you can turn, the more clubhead speed you can generate, but strength or muscle power is not a major factor.

In fact, there is another major advantage of the connected swing of this kind. The restriction, or apparent restriction, actually means that one's ball striking becomes much more consistent. The swing is simpler, more repeatable, and contact is more centred. The swing becomes by default a very reliable one-plane swing. I notice its advantages particularly with mid to short irons, where my anxiety about accuracy and pure contact often causes me to try to manipulate the club, with inconsistent results.

The simplicity of the swing also works for the longer clubs, which are of course in view of being longer, harder to hit consistently. I still shorten my driver grip for added consistency and lose very little if any distance. Maintaining a consistent width of swing arc is just so important, as is knowing where your club will bottom out. Also, the sense of restriction is in time replaced by the knowledge that once you've taken the club back, and kept the connection, returning the club without conscious thought through the strike zone and to a full finish is a piece of cake.

So, to sum it up, given that centre clubface striking is king, the connected golf swing is - and I hate to say it - the king of kings.