LEE TREVINO- Swing My Way

Instructional Books
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I have had this book for a long time. Trevino really has me fascinated about exactly what he knew about the swing, so I am starting to flick through it…Didn’t get far before these eye popping observations:

The book is dedicated to…To Ben Hogan… a great golfer who unknowingly influenced me to consistently fade the ball… Lee Trevino

Page 4:
[i]"One day I had a chance to watch Ben Hogan practice at The Shady Oaks Country Club in Fort Worth. I didn’t have the guts to ask him any questions, so I just sat and watched him maneuver the ball- high shots, low shots, draw shots, fades. he hit shots of every shape you could imagine, and they all finished so close together out there that his caddie could have been a blind man on crutches.

The thing I really watched as Hogan hit these shots was how he used his hips and legs. I remember getting a clear impression that he controlled his shots with his lower body. the more he led with his hips and legs, the more he’d fade the shot from left to right.

Well, I went back to Hardy Greenwood’s driving range in Dallas, where I was selling buckets of balls, answering the phone, and giving lessons and I worked and worked to find a way to control the ball with my body instead of my hands and wrists. It wasn’t easy, but I loved every minute of it. I’d get up every morning about 6am and play 18 holes at Tenison Park. then I would go home, take a shower, have a sandwich and head for the range.

I’d get there about noon so I could hit a couple of hundred balls before I went on duty at 2pm. Then for the rest of the afternoon and evening I’d hit balls off the grass in front of the mats, which were only about 30 feet from the pro shop. I could hop over to answer the phone or sell balls between shots. On a good day I’d hit a thousand balls, and I couldn’t wait to get up the next morning and do it all over again.

This routine eventually led to divorce,[/i]but it sure taught me how to control a golf ball
I developed a swing that isn’t the prettiest thing you’ll ever see, and it certainly isn’t orthodox, but I think it’s the most functional golf swing around

I will continue to add any insights I find interesting as I go through his words

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TM/Others
I read somewhere on these forums as Trevinon saying “Oh! I OVER_RELEASED that one” Does anyone know the link as Aiguille is intrested in seeing/hearing that.

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twomasters, thanks for this post. i love trevino as well. i think this has been the biggest revelation for me beginning ABS. When I played baseball turning my hips was something I had to work at. My big swing flaw was lunging at the ball, and when I have trouble with my golf swing, it’s the same problem, i stop turning, and I’m trying to hit the ball from a stalled pivot with my hands.

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Thats some dirt digging for you!

18 holes in the morning and then 1000 balls during the rest of the day.

Awesome.

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Love Trevino too. Must have been a slow day at the range for a guy to hit a ball every 32.4 seconds given a nine hour window. :wink:

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9 hours?! Where’s your commitment? I’m sure old Lee didn’t let the lack of a little sunlight get in his way…

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A quick view of a little of what Trevino talks about-- Lag will give more explanation of Trevino’s philosophy and the logic behind it all-- great looking move
swingleeway.JPG

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My copy of Swing My Way turned up in the post today - looking forward to reading through and getting Lags review as well.

Cheers, Arnie

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question for the twomasters,

do you think this video applies to trevino’s swing and what we are trying to do in ABS?

http://www.5min.com/Video/How-To-Play-Baseball-Fence-Drill-5150079

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I am only getting to your question 13 months late!!!

Missed it somehow…anyway…I see the logic of that video…but it looks like the fence should be where the strike zone (or ball will be pitched??) so I can’t see him making contact with that swing. i get the logic and it is informative and decent enough ideals for the golf swing on the way through…but it looks like a clear out and throw from the top action to miss the fence and misses the mark for the approach to the ball.

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Once a month I meet up with a member of my club who loves and collects the old stuff…he has a bunch of hickory clubs… a Bill Mehlhorn putter…lots of old books…a first edition Power Golf signed by Hogan… lot of good stuff

Anyhow he was telling me tonite that one of his friends used to make and distribute Trevino’s clothes (the ones with the sombreros on them)…and that Trevino had given this guy a set of his irons…
My friend hit them a few times himself and he said he had no idea what brand they were as they weren’t stamped with anything…but he used a Faultless ball at the time, and presumed they were meant to be that brand but had no stamps…anyhow…he said they were quite heavy in weight and unbelievably stiff in the shaft…he said they felt like at least XXX stiffness… he was amazed that Trevino could do anything with them at all as all he could do was snap cut them, and he is a scratch golfer still at almost 60 years of age…interesting talk from someone who got to handle Trevino’s old set of irons first hand