Right index finger during downswing......

I've had alittle bit of a trial and error breakthrough the last couple of days.....I'll keep testing it before I'm sure about it.

But one question for you guys is - what do you do with your right index finger (RH'ed golfers) during the downswing???

The right index finger plays no part in the swing and would not be missed if it were not there at all. In fact I would go so far as to say that one could do without the right thumb as well.

Grip pressure points. Last three fingers of the left hand. Middle two fingers of the right hand. No great pressure between the thumb and index finger of either hand.

Of course this was the thinking 50 years ago and things may well have changed since that time.

Tom Watson used to grip firmer with the last three fingers of the left hand when trouble was on the left and also used the slight strengthening of the middle two fingers on the right hand when needing to draw the ball.

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If it is good enough for Tom Watson, then it is surely good enough for me and you, Lewis.

Wayne, there are literally thoudands of golf teachers and coaches who all teach differently and in my opinion there is no definitive method that is superior to the next one.

I never disagreed with your posts, just added my thoughts on this little index finger, which was being bandied about.

I was self taught and attained scratch, does that mean I was lucky or that I managed somehow to achieve a sound method that would later be put into words in a book.

You are now a golf professional instructor, but everything you are going to teach is someone elses thoughts on how the club should be swung. Relying on only one method, like The golfing machine, is not going to broaden your horizons in the coaching methods available to everyone today.

What I said about grip pressure was correct and in no way was it meant or inferred to go against anything you had written. If you felt what I said was incorrect then you were at liberty to explain to me why you thought so.

Lewis, there are millions of pages on the Internet on how to swing a golf club. One does not need to get too mechanical thinking about the swing as this will only produce a mechanical action and as we all know mechanical actions are just repetitive actions, which can make no allowances for the vartiations that will be required in your golfing career to cope with the many different positions and situations you will find yourself on the golf course. Simple is best and all one needs to know is the basics and then practise.

Don't know where lifeboating came from Matt, but very well put.

I also don't know what happens with my finger

Everyone swings the club, Lewis, just that some seem to do it showing little effort.

Using one hand as the dominant one is not advisable as the chances of hitting it straight are greatly reduced. I have always felt and believed that impact is made with both hands at the same time and with the same strength, achieved by keeping the left wrist firm throughout impact to prevent the stronger right hand taking over.

Hogan may have been mechanical, but not for the reasons you are thinking. It was because he simplified the swing into a few basic movements, practiced like hell and reproduced a flawless golf swing that was the envy of everyone at the time. In other words he could hit the ball to wherever he wanted to and that usually meant down the fairway and on to the green in regulation. Something we see very rarely these days.

I might add that his very bad swing, as you put it, was never altered by him, just slight changes to the positions at certain places within the swing coupled with some very minor grip changes. Basing your swing on his would be a good choice in my oinion. Try and find some footage of Peter Thomson the great Australian player who won our Open I believe five times. One of the great swingers of a golf club.