Finding the Slot...Or Shallowing.

The pictures dont capture the flow in this move, not by a long shot. The latest trend in teaching is to shallow the club BUT WHY. During Trevino's era it was more commonly referred to as "finding the slot". The slot is the delivery position that is the most compatible with your wrist conditions and that produce the desired flight pattern. Keep scrolling to see the clue in the 2nd image.

Ive seen every video online on the subject. And every single video discusses the benefits of the club tilting from the backswing on one angle and finding its slot into the proper plane but not much helped me personally because it was all about the body, the shifts and the clearing. And yet it was a recent clip by Lee himself discussing a focus on the hands that helped.

Here's my take on the subject that actually got me shallowing the heck out of it with a gentle push that hits the center stripe on the quad day in-day out with very little change in my feel for that day/week heck even month.

Things we know/ Have tried.

1)if you suck it inward, you wont shallow it.

2) if your takeaway has your hands moving out from an open stance you cant shallow it.

3) You have a firm left hand like Lee recommends; once you add rotation, you still cant shallow it.

4)Getting wider and staying wide

5) Tilting more

6)Changing setup

7)Turning a handle at the top

8)Pushing trail palm out to stretch lead arm further.

9)Clear hips better

10) Transition earlier

11)Hold lag.

If that sounds like you too....read on.

Heres the complex answer: *maybe easier for some than others. Once you do these things then the rotation won't steepen the club like mine did for a long time.

STEP 1:

Grip: Top hand(for lefties)Last three fingers of the left hand. Index and thumb should relax. Practice it one handed and video it....you can even 15 yard pitches this way. *something written about elsewhere here.

***Right hand: Something not talked about enough, I think it should be. Below in yellow is where you need a 6-7 out of 10. You right hand needs to relax as much as possible and keep the muscle in your trail hand soft to the touch at setup so that the club starts to feel "heavier" within that green outline. Tension will naturally have to increase to keep the club from flying out. Your lifeline in your right hand can apply force instead of fingers. Any instinct to tighten or throw fingers/wrist/forearm will both slow the club down and knock it onto a steeper plane.

Step 2: Takeaway

*Photos of Lee's swing are aligned way to the right of him. They are aligned with his feet instead of his flight path....causes confusion right off the bat. It looks like his hands move out and away from his body. IT DOESNT. Re: Our IG highlights for the SPORTSBOX AI Scan.

Credit: Leonard Kamsler

Justin Rose for reference: Hands go back in a straight line and club head stays outside of hands relatively the same as at address. This dimension should not change. TIP: You should add some wrist break or the club will appear to be sucked inward even if your hands are on an acceptable path. I chose him because he is a right arm feel as opposed to younger Trevino who is a left arm feel player.

Credit: David Cannon

If you do this correctly while maintaining a soft pad between your thumb and index youre on your way to allowing the club to move on the right path instead of fighting its inertia on the way down.

Drill:

Lay a stick down target line (Red) =Hand path straight back

Lay a stick down perpendicular to that(Green)= Starting point

Lay a club at 45* from there either side(Left blue line-leftys ) - Check that the hinge and club are pointing to inside of trail hip on way back.

Trevino, does this but pics arent the easiest to interpret. Best part is this works with all stances.

For More: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Z3pC_l0-8&ab_channel=PorzakGolf

I'm not affiliated with them in any way but its a great video to explain in detail what an article cant do.

-Cheers Amigos