Joe Dante 4 magic moves.

I would like some information on the man and his theories. as I understand it he was regarded as a heritic, many of his ideas were in opposition to accepted instruction. He advocated a quick cocking of wrists etc.

I can not tell you about the man. I can tell you the book has really helped my ball striking & accuracy. As a matter of fact I just ordered another book by him. Circa 1953

Thanks,Cayrbee,have ordered book from Amazon, awaiting delivery.

Only just picked up this thread unfortunately.

http://www.newgolfswing.com/newgolfswing01.php

Although the book is available online at the web site given above by bdbl, after reading through that site, I decided it would be good to have my own bound copy, so I ordered one and received it last week. I've been working on the first, and most important, of the "magic moves" for a week. That is: The dorsal flexion ("cupping") of the left wrist early, starting just after the forward press, and holding that flexion all the way to the top of the backswing, and for as long as possible in the downswing.

Note that the second part of this, holding the cupped right wrist as long as possible in the downswing, is exactly what Greg Willis's RH Drill is all about. The difference is that Dante suggests cupping it early on the way up. The reason is that this position, awkward as it feels, virtually forces the arms to go back on the inside, and to come back from the inside.

My first attempts at this were screwed up beyond belief. The takeaway of the club feels very weird at first, and I felt like I couldn't possibly hit the ball that way. And so, at first, I couldn't. But I have to say that after about ten tries at the practice range, I started to connect.

I think many of us have used Greg's RH Drill and found that we can hit the ball very well with it--somewhat low and deadly accurate, just as Greg says. I use the RH drill in play, for bump&run shots. The irony of that is that the guys I play with are mostly very afraid of bump&run shots, but even though I'm a high handicapper, that's one shot that I set up with complete confidence. But the question has always been, how to get the RH Drill effect into the full swing?

Some of us have used Greg Norman's "The Secret" as a training aid. I've tried it myself, but found that it forced me into an extreme forward press at setup, and threw me off balance on the follow-through, so I didn't continue practicing with it. Well, Dante's first "magic move" accomplishes exactly what Norman's "The Secret" tries to do.

It's still early days with this approach to the swing, so I'm not going to make any grandiose claims. I'll just say that at the moment it seems to be helping me.

__________________
Todd
Philadelphia, PA
USA

The reason the pro tells you to keep your head down is so you can't see him laughing. ~Phyllis Diller

I think there is a lot of merit in Joe Dante's book. It does fly in the face of many conventional teachings but it works, I have used it myself and have found benefits in more than the full swing it can create fantastic short pitches and chips with the most delicate control.

You have to read it carefully and be prepared to commit to the system. As Ubizmo says it is very close to Greg's right hand drill. The section on the release and how COAM will produce the lag needed for powerful shots is most revealing.

Thoroughly recommended read.

__________________
Best Regards
Brian

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Funny o'l game!

As far as I can tell, the only heretical idea in the book is the first "magic move," the early and sustained cupping of the right wrist. The others, such as the lateral hip movement to start the downswing, are fairly standard. But that first move does seem to be an effective way to get the swing going on the inside.

Hi Tod,

I guess it was written almost 40 years ago so was a little heretical then.

Just an FYI for those interested. Dante collaberated with Leo Diegel, and Lenny Elliott in the late 1940s to write a book titled the "The Nine Bad Shots In Golf, And What To Do About Them". I no longer have this book, but at the time it was made available, it was some what of a golfing bible on those 9 shots, and how handle them. Poor shots like pushes pulls, hooks, shanking and some others are explained as to why they happen, and how to cure them. It is not a "how to golf book", but the information as to why, and how to handle bad situations is well worth your time, and money.

I am a bit partial to those old time instructors who taught the game with equipment, when compared to todays equipment would be quite inferior. Not saying the current crop of instructors are not as good, just that I have a soft spot for those instructors of yesteryear.
GJS

Sorry, must correct you, Jim Dante was the co- author ,not joe.

I am currently looking at the 1965 reprint book and the authors are Joe Dante with Len Elliott.

You are right it was Jim Dante. I could not remember which one, so I just wrote Dante. It is still a good book. Thank you for the correction. GJS

Now that you have reminded me, if I am not mistaken (again LOL), Jim Dante was the father, and Joe was his son. Sound right?

This is a good read. Thanks .

I have read Dante's thoughts in particular the early cocking of the wrists on the takeaway on the free website. I have to say I do not agree with how Dante has the club head postioned using this early wrist cock on the takeway as it looks to me that the club face does not rotate squarely to the arc of the swing, but I do not want to go into that here.

I have Nick Faldo's book "Golf- The Winning Formula", which he wrote after his first Open triumph in 1987 following his swing surgery.

In the swing building section, Faldo also advocates the early wrist set like Dante. He even has a picture in his book just like Dante showing the 90 degree wrist set exactly like Dante's picture (obviously Nick's had though) Nick here was showing the backward hingeing motion of the wrists he advocated, rather than just an up and down cocking movement.

But in Nick's swing sequences there is no way the club is club or set as quickly as Dante, or the club face as closed. With Nick the toe of the clubface is pointing to the sky, but he has used a backward wrist hinge, as opposed to an up and down cocking action.

I have read Dante's thoughts in particular the early cocking of the wrists on the takeaway on the free website. I have to say I do not agree with how Dante has the club head postioned using this early wrist cock on the takeway as it looks to me that the club face does not rotate squarely to the arc of the swing, but I do not want to go into that here.

I have Nick Faldo's book "Golf- The Winning Formula", which he wrote after his first Open triumph in 1987 following his swing surgery.

In the swing building section, Faldo also advocates the early wrist set like Dante. He even has a picture in his book just like Dante showing the 90 degree wrist set exactly like Dante's picture (obviously Nick's had though) Nick here was showing the backward hingeing motion of the wrists he advocated, rather than just an up and down cocking movement.

But in Nick's swing sequences there is no way the club is club or set as quickly as Dante, or the club face as closed. With Nick the toe of the clubface is pointing to the sky, but he has used a backward wrist hinge, as opposed to an up and down cocking action.