HSS swing

Question
Hi Paul, I just came across this site tonight for the first time. I was trying to find out anything I could about the HSS swing. I tried NG on and off, but never really got the hang of it. I always ended up going back to the traditional swing. Sometimes I would shoot 80's, then the next time high nineties and even hundreds when I was really off. This past weekend I was so off during this round I went straight to the driving range just to somehow get a swing going that would work. When I was at the range I spent a half hour in misery. I decided to try NG golf again. I knew I tried NG so many times and gone back to traditional. So I thought about something I read years back in a golf forum online. Although I didn't remember the name of the swing, I remembered something about keeping the left wrist and palm down and right wrist under the club. Well, because I was always a hooker of the golf ball I never even considered giving it a try when I was trying NG. I thought I would hook it more than ever. But  for some reason after all this time the memory of that reading came back to my brain after all this time. I figured I would try it since nothing else was working that day. So I put my body in the single axis position I tried many times, but this time I used the grip I remembered reading about years back. And BAM, my 7 iron flew about 20 yards farther than I ever hit one in my life. And I was actually not hooking the ball with this grip. It felt easy for me to make excellent contact and keep my hands in front. I was able to hit down hard and really compress the ball which I never was really able to do. Before, my shots made that weak click sound of non compression. I went through every club in the bag and just pounded ball after ball straighter and farther than every. I actually had a hard time getting to sleep that night, because all I could think about was my new golf swing. The next day I went online to try and find out the name of the swing I was using, and it was the HSS I read about years ago. Even though I feel like I know it and it seems to come so easy for me, I found the videos online and ordered them anyway, just to make sure I'm doing everything 100 percent correct, and to gain more knowledge about the swing. I look forward to a long life of great golf with this swing. Thanks to whomever write that one sentence in a golf forum that changed my golf life forever. And thanks Paul, who I will see in the videos I ordered very soon. Sincere Thanks, Garret

Answer
Dear Garret,

Golf is funny like that isn't it?  One thought or picture for the mind can make a HUGE difference.  One change in one part of the sequence has an almost magical effect on everything else.

No one can argue that this is not true:  The golf swing is always changing.  That can be good or bad, of course.  If you are off and are hitting poor shots, you want it to change.  But when you have it, you want to keep it and don't want it to change.  Nevertheless, it will change from day to day or week to week.  The key is to continue your understanding so that you truly know what makes what happen.  The more knowledgeable you become about your own swing, your own habits or tendencies, the better player you will be over time.

Tiger still has Hank to bounce ideas off, but he's his own teacher now because he has such a clear understanding about his own swing.  It never hurts to have another pair of eyes or to take video of your swing when you are playing well (and when you are swinging poorly).

With a good understanding of your swing you'll be able to self-diagnose your swing and make the appropriate changes.  And one last thought.  Be kind to yourself when you're "off".  Treat yourself the way a professional instructor would approach a student.  Don't beat yourself up over your bad swing.  Encourage yourself to get a clearer understanding of what's happening and then be patient with your recovery.  Be happy with small amounts of progress each time to go out to play or practice.

Good luck to you Garret.  Enjoy this wonderful game!

Best regards,

Paul Dolman