The Myth of The One Piece Takeaway

The one piece takeaway in which the shoulders, arms, and club go back as a one piece unit is a myth! A good golfer may feel as if everything is going back in one piece, and it is true that all parts are in motion at the same time, but in reality the arms rotate, the left arm moves across the chest, and somewhere near hip high, the wrists begin to cock. So while everything is moving at the same time, the parts are actually moving at different speeds relative to one another, which negates the one piece theory.

In the following line drawings, I've traced black lines on pictures of Hogan (I can't use the actual pictures because I don't have any that are copyright free). The lines go across his shoulders and form a triangle by connecting to the hands, and then trace the club. In red I have drawn where the shoulders, arms, and club would be if one were to truly swing with a one piece takeaway.

In the first illustration it is already evident that the arms and club have begun to shift away from the supposed one piece takeaway almost immediately and in the other illustrations we see that the difference continues to increase as the swing progresses.

The drawings down the left column are from behind (down the target line) and the drawings in the right column are from straight out, perpendicular to the chest if it were at address.

Next Page—David Leadbetter's "The Fundamentals of Hogan"

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In Texas Hill Country just north of San Antonio
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