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Starting down, part 2:What Nicklaus and Flick say
*Editor's note: Last Saturday I posted an item about Ben Hogan and what he said starts the downswing. He wrote in his books and articles that the downswing should start with the left hip. But in the video I attached, Hogan said it was the "lower body." Here's what Jack Nicklaus and Jim Flick have to say on the same subject in the September 2011 issue of Golf Digest, which is currently on newsstands (Dustin Johnson on the cover).
Roger Schiffman
Managing Editor
Golf Digest
Twitter @RogerSchiffman*
Jack Nicklaus: Every other sport is played from the ground up. Watch a baseball pitcher: On the windup, he moves his lower body first, then his arm; on the forward motion, he leads again with the lower body, the arm trailing. Look at my transition, starting down. My left heel gets fully planted, and my left knee moves toward the target, yet my clubhead has barely changed position. That's swinging from the ground up.
Jim Flick: A lot of people have misinterpreted Jack's swing, believing he drove his legs to power the ball. I asked Jack how much his first teacher, Jack Grout, worked with him on leg action. He said zero. They focused on his feet. So think footwork, not leg drive.