THE BELT BUCKLE IS A ONE PIECE TAKEAWAY

The idea that your belt should turn away from the ball 90 degrees may be a result. It's an idea that was popular since the 80s, mainly due to many following to the letter the well intentioned players giving interviews on their feels(ie Greg Norman, Nick Price, etc.) But I think its more of a feel for lack of a better word.

Here's why the buckle on Mr. Trevino stays relatively still. It starts on the one-piece takeway Mr. Hogan began. Now as Mr. Trevino has gone on record as saying he read a book in the marine corps by Hogan called, "5 Easy Ways by Ben Hogan"(hilariously it was a copy of 5 Lessons) and in it the idea of the one-piece takeway was the bracing of the trail knee as the start of all of this(Interview with a Champion at 23:37).

Now after years of study coaching legend Claude "Butch" Harmon has gone onto say on the Off Course Podcast that on video Ben Hogan directly contradicts this advice. In fact when slowed down the trail knee straightens slightly as the lead knee bends gently toward the ball line.

As discussed previously the 2nd most important element behind your shoulder turn should be how your hips are not "not loaded" like a spring but moving through a dimension in space. You feel may be your backside moving away from the static position or it may be the feel of your hip joint on the front reaching its fullest range of motion without swaying.

Trevino's takeway is not just hands and shoulders, its his belt, hips and knees, HUGE DIFFERENCE.

Right or wrong, next time you watch Trevino you may pick up on an exaggeration that may help you unlock what you are after. Watching a master of subtlety in THE HAWK may be more difficult for those of us with worse eyes than Butch.

-"Flea" Trevino

Credit: Bob Thomas

Credit: Bob Thomas