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Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Improve Upper Body Connection with the Hogan Towel Drill

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Feel the connection between your arms and upper body during your swing
  • Identify the optimal towel placement for effective practice
  • Understand how to maintain proper upper body rotation without disconnecting

In this video, you'll learn how to use the Hogan towel drill to enhance your upper body connection during your swing. This drill helps ensure your arms and upper body work together for better rotation and consistency in your shots.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.320
This is the Hogan towel drill so I had a member question about putting a towel

2
00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:12.410
underneath your armpits and I've heard others discuss it. It was a drill used

3
00:00:12.410 --> 00:00:12.600
by

4
00:00:12.600 --> 00:00:19.440
Ben Hogan and Jimmy Ballard has used it so there's got to be some merit to it.

5
00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:24.800
What it can do and I'll go through some of the details of it and when I

6
00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:29.560
like it and when I don't like it so what it does is it kind of forces a

7
00:00:29.560 --> 00:00:35.360
connection between the arms and the upper body so I'm gonna I'm not going to be

8
00:00:35.360 --> 00:00:38.760
able to really disconnect from the shoulders or else the towel is gonna

9
00:00:38.760 --> 00:00:43.940
come loose so as a result it forces me to stay connected and really turn my

10
00:00:43.940 --> 00:00:48.000
thoracic spine or my hips. Now one thing that you want to be careful with is

11
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:53.200
attaching it too low so if you have it underneath your elbows this is going to

12
00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:59.170
cause a lot of problems. My elbows being stuck to my sides like so is really

13
00:00:59.170 --> 00:00:59.440
going

14
00:00:59.440 --> 00:01:04.400
to impact my release so when you're setting this up you want to make sure

15
00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:09.920
that you set it up high as high up in the armpit as you can so that your arms

16
00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:14.880
still has a little bit of wiggle room it's not totally locked to your side and

17
00:01:14.880 --> 00:01:19.720
the wiggle room you'll need is to be able to execute a little bit of that white

18
00:01:19.720 --> 00:01:24.200
movement. On the left side the tendency is to lock it on the side of your body

19
00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:28.640
kind of like so you want to pin it a little bit more kind of in the front of

20
00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:32.520
your body. Now there are some really good golfers who would struggle with this

21
00:01:32.520 --> 00:01:38.120
drill and it would become disconnected and so I don't think that it's one that

22
00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:42.960
everybody should try but if you're working on trying to get your upper body

23
00:01:42.960 --> 00:01:47.600
to continue rotating through the shot I do believe that this has some merit and

24
00:01:47.600 --> 00:01:53.520
it can give you some some you know feelings of that connection. Now one

25
00:01:53.520 --> 00:01:59.320
word of caution I personally don't like doing it any bigger than release drills

26
00:01:59.320 --> 00:02:04.600
or 9 to 3 shots I don't like doing it above waist height and the reason being

27
00:02:04.600 --> 00:02:09.920
there should be some lift in especially that trail shoulder and having this

28
00:02:09.920 --> 00:02:14.200
towel under your armpit is going to prevent that so it tends to kind of suck

29
00:02:14.200 --> 00:02:20.680
the club a little bit more inside and really upset your position at the top of

30
00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:25.880
the swing the way you organize the the ultimately the path or the combination

31
00:02:25.880 --> 00:02:30.510
movements that produce a good path. So have it high enough so that you can

32
00:02:30.510 --> 00:02:30.800
still

33
00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:37.680
execute a little bit of wipe and use it primarily with 9 to 3 style drills and

34
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:44.040
use it primarily so that you can get the feeling of your body rotating on

35
00:02:44.040 --> 00:02:49.200
the way through or being kind of connected through there. What you'll see is in

36
00:02:49.200 --> 00:02:55.160
order to do that I'll have to keep the handle moving similar to kind of a hit

37
00:02:55.160 --> 00:03:01.520
my arms kind of model as opposed to if I were to stall and flip the space of

38
00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:01.920
how

39
00:03:01.920 --> 00:03:06.640
I would square the club with my trail shoulder coming off my body will tend to

40
00:03:06.640 --> 00:03:11.600
cause this to drop and frequently that left arm sliding around my body in more

41
00:03:11.600 --> 00:03:15.530
of a chicken wing model would tend to cause it to drop. So it can be helpful

42
00:03:15.530 --> 00:03:15.560
for

43
00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:19.200
kind of connecting and getting the feeling during the release of the body

44
00:03:19.200 --> 00:03:24.320
continuing to rotate but be careful using it on full swings. I know it worked

45
00:03:24.320 --> 00:03:30.860
well for Ben Hogan and Jimmy Ballard but I have seen it kind of caused the

46
00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:36.720
arms to get stuck caused that trail arm to go into more of a internal rotation

47
00:03:36.720 --> 00:03:42.600
style of release so be careful with this one but if you need a good feeling of

48
00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:46.560
your upper body continuing rotating on the way through this can be very helpful

49
00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:49.760
in release training.
Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.
Tyler Ferrell is the only person in the world named to Golf Digest's list of Best Young Teachers in America AND its list of Best Golf Fitness Professionals in America.

Improve Upper Body Connection with the Hogan Towel Drill

After this video, you'll be able to:

  • Feel the connection between your arms and upper body during your swing
  • Identify the optimal towel placement for effective practice
  • Understand how to maintain proper upper body rotation without disconnecting

In this video, you'll learn how to use the Hogan towel drill to enhance your upper body connection during your swing. This drill helps ensure your arms and upper body work together for better rotation and consistency in your shots.

Video Transcript
WEBVTT

1
00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.320
This is the Hogan towel drill so I had a member question about putting a towel

2
00:00:07.320 --> 00:00:12.410
underneath your armpits and I've heard others discuss it. It was a drill used

3
00:00:12.410 --> 00:00:12.600
by

4
00:00:12.600 --> 00:00:19.440
Ben Hogan and Jimmy Ballard has used it so there's got to be some merit to it.

5
00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:24.800
What it can do and I'll go through some of the details of it and when I

6
00:00:24.800 --> 00:00:29.560
like it and when I don't like it so what it does is it kind of forces a

7
00:00:29.560 --> 00:00:35.360
connection between the arms and the upper body so I'm gonna I'm not going to be

8
00:00:35.360 --> 00:00:38.760
able to really disconnect from the shoulders or else the towel is gonna

9
00:00:38.760 --> 00:00:43.940
come loose so as a result it forces me to stay connected and really turn my

10
00:00:43.940 --> 00:00:48.000
thoracic spine or my hips. Now one thing that you want to be careful with is

11
00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:53.200
attaching it too low so if you have it underneath your elbows this is going to

12
00:00:53.200 --> 00:00:59.170
cause a lot of problems. My elbows being stuck to my sides like so is really

13
00:00:59.170 --> 00:00:59.440
going

14
00:00:59.440 --> 00:01:04.400
to impact my release so when you're setting this up you want to make sure

15
00:01:04.400 --> 00:01:09.920
that you set it up high as high up in the armpit as you can so that your arms

16
00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:14.880
still has a little bit of wiggle room it's not totally locked to your side and

17
00:01:14.880 --> 00:01:19.720
the wiggle room you'll need is to be able to execute a little bit of that white

18
00:01:19.720 --> 00:01:24.200
movement. On the left side the tendency is to lock it on the side of your body

19
00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:28.640
kind of like so you want to pin it a little bit more kind of in the front of

20
00:01:28.640 --> 00:01:32.520
your body. Now there are some really good golfers who would struggle with this

21
00:01:32.520 --> 00:01:38.120
drill and it would become disconnected and so I don't think that it's one that

22
00:01:38.120 --> 00:01:42.960
everybody should try but if you're working on trying to get your upper body

23
00:01:42.960 --> 00:01:47.600
to continue rotating through the shot I do believe that this has some merit and

24
00:01:47.600 --> 00:01:53.520
it can give you some some you know feelings of that connection. Now one

25
00:01:53.520 --> 00:01:59.320
word of caution I personally don't like doing it any bigger than release drills

26
00:01:59.320 --> 00:02:04.600
or 9 to 3 shots I don't like doing it above waist height and the reason being

27
00:02:04.600 --> 00:02:09.920
there should be some lift in especially that trail shoulder and having this

28
00:02:09.920 --> 00:02:14.200
towel under your armpit is going to prevent that so it tends to kind of suck

29
00:02:14.200 --> 00:02:20.680
the club a little bit more inside and really upset your position at the top of

30
00:02:20.680 --> 00:02:25.880
the swing the way you organize the the ultimately the path or the combination

31
00:02:25.880 --> 00:02:30.510
movements that produce a good path. So have it high enough so that you can

32
00:02:30.510 --> 00:02:30.800
still

33
00:02:30.800 --> 00:02:37.680
execute a little bit of wipe and use it primarily with 9 to 3 style drills and

34
00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:44.040
use it primarily so that you can get the feeling of your body rotating on

35
00:02:44.040 --> 00:02:49.200
the way through or being kind of connected through there. What you'll see is in

36
00:02:49.200 --> 00:02:55.160
order to do that I'll have to keep the handle moving similar to kind of a hit

37
00:02:55.160 --> 00:03:01.520
my arms kind of model as opposed to if I were to stall and flip the space of

38
00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:01.920
how

39
00:03:01.920 --> 00:03:06.640
I would square the club with my trail shoulder coming off my body will tend to

40
00:03:06.640 --> 00:03:11.600
cause this to drop and frequently that left arm sliding around my body in more

41
00:03:11.600 --> 00:03:15.530
of a chicken wing model would tend to cause it to drop. So it can be helpful

42
00:03:15.530 --> 00:03:15.560
for

43
00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:19.200
kind of connecting and getting the feeling during the release of the body

44
00:03:19.200 --> 00:03:24.320
continuing to rotate but be careful using it on full swings. I know it worked

45
00:03:24.320 --> 00:03:30.860
well for Ben Hogan and Jimmy Ballard but I have seen it kind of caused the

46
00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:36.720
arms to get stuck caused that trail arm to go into more of a internal rotation

47
00:03:36.720 --> 00:03:42.600
style of release so be careful with this one but if you need a good feeling of

48
00:03:42.600 --> 00:03:46.560
your upper body continuing rotating on the way through this can be very helpful

49
00:03:46.560 --> 00:03:49.760
in release training.
Related topics
This video hasn't been assigned to any topics yet. Browse all topics in the sidebar.
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