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This sentence is full of things that don't make a lot of sense.

leverage -- ok, I'll agree with that.

compression -- no, good compression of the ball is a function of the velocity of the club, not the other way around.

shoulder to club equilibrium -- this is the phrase that really confuses me, because I have almost no idea what this could be. There is very little equilibrium in the golf swing, because it is a dynamic changing event, not an equilibrium/static event. Could you please define it?

acceleration -- no, acceleration is the time derivative of velocity. They are related in this way, but high acceleration doesn't necessarily mean high velocity, nor does low acceleration mean low velocity. Acceleration is an important concept/fundamental of a good swing because acceleration is stable and deceleration is unstable, and instability is something definitely to be avoided during a golf swing.

and, of course, I agree that length of swing isn't the only important thing.

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I'm not sure that we're talking about the same thing regarding the range of motion. I'd suggest you read Chapter 16 of Cochran and Stobbs' Search for the Perfect Swing "Wrist Action: Squares and Rollers" It shows that even the people who keep the club as square to the plane as possible, still roll the club 60 or 70 degrees. That's just the way humans are built. And because they do give up some of the mechanical advantage of the screwdriver action, the impact is little weaker. The result is that usually more body action is used into impact which gives the swing an overall "pushing"-like look. Rolling and wrist cock don't have to be connected, either. There have been successful low-rollers with early wrist cock, and early rollers with low wrist cock. Though, in a perfect model, the roll occurs naturally and then the cock occurs as a result of the on-plane inertia of the club's backswing. There is a lot of good information in Cochran and Stobbs about human physiology and the golf swing and what can and can't be done. I highly recommend taking a look at it if you are interested in these kind of questions.

Watching Rocco, I couldn't believe he could hit the ball consistently with that herky-jerky preshot routine.

But IMO, he has the best attitude I've seen from a pro golfer, and I'll root for him any day.

I should have stated why.
Not because of anything particular about his swing one way or the other. It's because he makes the exact same move in his waggle that he makes to initiate the swing. That's what a waggle is for? It helps account for his consistency, which is his primary weapon. herky-jerky rocky?

Referring to swing (spring) compression, not ball compression. If you coil a spring which is anchored at the bottom (leverage), the spring, by it's nature, wants to release energy either laterally or vertical, whichever is the easiesty route. A primary function of the brain while in the act of swinging is to prevent either from occuring. We all know what happens if they do. There are specific things the body can do to contain this energy. They are not difficult to learn, but they are challenging to implement because they seem to go against natural tendency, and they do. The natural tendency of just about every human golfer I have encountered is to resist accepting the compression of the spring by raising the head or straightening the leverage leg. Both are deadly. Very easily, here's how to control it; (assuming proper setup)
The left knee must be well flexed, kicked in toward the target; how much?? As long as it is favoring the target side of the swing, but I believe the more the better. That is crucial because it is the "aim" of the swing. The most important part-kick it in and park it. Do not let it move throughout the backswing.The downward compression of the swing will then automatically cause it to move toward the target at the proper time without having to worry about "kicking off" with it.
The head must do two things. First, maintain distance from the ground. (think of holding the spring down with your hand. That's what the head does). Second, the head must appear directly over the inside of the back thigh at the "top". (maintain leverage).
If these elements are in place, the feel will be that of "sitting down" on the back hip at the top.
Thinking thus, the learner is thinking about specific tasks to accomplish, not the position of the club or the spine (efficient swing thought). Thinking about position of the club causes the brain to attempt to "place" the club into position rather than just swing it. I never think of club position while swwinging. (I'm not suggesting you advocate teaching position, I touched on it because it is relative).

Bignose, I can't answer all your points tonight. In fact, I'll likely be away for a few days. I think we've covered wrist hinge pretty well for Ehien. He has plenty to work on for now of his own choosing. If it's ok with you, I'd like to move our debate to a different topic. I'm hoping to post a new thread tonight, but do not know if I'll make it. If not, will do when I return, and welcome your participation. It has more to do with teaching methodology, which seems to be at the core of our differences. As a premise, I think you will agree with the statement, "It all starts in the brain". Yes?

Again, I don't have time tonight to explain fully. It's part of Ballard"s connection. I take it a little further. If you have not practiced to employ that principle, well, then I enderstand the questioning. When employed, think of the shoulder areas as a drawbridge counter weight, the equilibrium of a hammer thrower, and the "pulling back" of the shoulders of a water skier. The club feels near weightless when achieved.

Note: "all of those things and more". Acceleration is part of the process?

I'm not sure that we're talking about the same thing regarding the range of motion. I'd suggest you read Chapter 16 of Cochran and Stobbs' Search for the Perfect Swing "Wrist Action: Squares and Rollers" It shows that even the people who keep the club as square to the plane as possible, still roll the club 60 or 70 degrees. That's just the way humans are built. And because they do give up some of the mechanical advantage of the screwdriver action, the impact is little weaker. The result is that usually more body action is used into impact which gives the swing an overall "pushing"-like look. Rolling and wrist cock don't have to be connected, either. There have been successful low-rollers with early wrist cock, and early rollers with low wrist cock. Though, in a perfect model, the roll occurs naturally and then the cock occurs as a result of the on-plane inertia of the club's backswing. There is a lot of good information in Cochran and Stobbs about human physiology and the golf swing and what can and can't be done. I highly recommend taking a look at it if you are interested in these kind of questions.

It's the hands that are being kept square by maintaining position. They start in a square position and they stay there by not twisting them, or the arms. I can, but do not, go back with a 90 degree shoulder turn. It is past my (IVROM), and maintain all relationships of hands/arms shoulders, without twisting the arms. This is getting back to the shortest distance between address and top.

I've answered as much as I can tonight. A few days hence.....

(I'll check your reference. Do they explore skeletal relationships?) Thanks.

I am not a well referenced scholar of the swing, I do know that Jim Thorpe hits a great ball, as does Furyk, Woods and even Rocco...all with wildly different styles...obviously there is no "right" way...there are several common demoniators in all good swings, but in the end you go with what works consistently, and as far as wrist hinge goes, early or late, as long as they hinge somewhere in the process then you'll create lag and the energy potential for whipping the head thru impact...

Ha, I just found a book on Amazon actually called "The Square-to-Square Golf Swing" by Dick Aultman. I tried to find an explanation of the swing method but have not so far.

You emphasize keeping the arms in front of the body. That has been almost impossible for me in my golfing life. My arms always want to outrace my body going back. Let me share my thoughts on that, thoughts that may be off base a bit but that seem to work for me now. Of course I may chuck the whole idea the next bad round I have.

First of all, if you don't keep the arms in front of the body the result is coming too far inside. When I find myself doing this I take a look at my swing plane and make it more vertical. I don't mean a huge adjustment just a small one. You can't make your swing plane more vertical if you don't keep the arms more in front of your body. I feel like I am holding the club off with my right arm, like pushing back against the club while my shoulder turns and my arms lift.

Shoulder leverage takes care of this.

One point I didn't cover well enough in my hurry last night bignose, IVROM has everything to do with how far back an individual can swing and maintain the hand/arm principles I've discussed. It may be only waist high to begin with or for an older person, ala Dana Quigley, but it can be increased with practice. If the hand/arrm relationship changes, that's too far, which also helps define "full swing" for a particular individual.

Perhaps my hands are not in front of body at the top of backswing. But again I can't be sure until I tape it as how I feel can be very different from the reality. But I do try everything I could (including muscle toning with push ups and stretching rubber tubes exercises) to ensure that my left arm is strong enough to keep the hands in front of body at least at the later part of the forward swing (before impact).

What I had before was that at impact my left arm was still sort of folded against my chest (shoulder turned faster than hands). This created a slew of problems with bad slices as the nature result. Now I swing as much as I can in the backswing until I feel the left arm is going to fold against the chest. By doing so and focusing on maintaining the hands in front of body (and no forced hinge or break of wrist), I can now consistently keep the club face square at impact and accelerate through the impact zone (it was decelerating before).

I do turn as much as my flexibility allows until the chest-arm-hand relation starts to change (i.e., the triangle starts to fold, or left arm starts to fold toward chest). It's definitely not a full swing. Perhaps 3/4 or maybe even 1/2 but I experienced only boosts of distance and club speed through impact zone, mostly due to efficient transfer of power from waist to club head at impact I believe.

BTW last night I hit about half bucket with driver. After some "getting used to" and adjustment of swing plane angle (to be more horizontal), the same principles did work for driver too. Unlike other clubs, I experienced no increase of distance- still about 210 carry with ~20yds of roll. When I was "in the groove" with "traditional" swing I got 250 or more total but it hasn't happened for a long long time. The consistency improved dramatically than my past "L-to-L" swing, especially when I choked down a bit (~1/2"). The "new" swing feels like "I-to-L" or if there's "L" at the top of backswing, it's definitely not a 90 degree "L".

I definitely will keep trying it. I'll also report back what I see after I tape my swing, or what my golf buddies say the next time we play.

Ehien, you are probably using a little wrist bending, but I would have to see it. I know someone who uses none, which is very difficult to achieve. His greatest problem from using none is that the club tends to release early, and the bottom of is arc is usually on the wrong side of the ball. With your driver, where does the ball go and what is the typical face contact? Reduced wrist hinging would tend to cause hooking, pulling, and impact after the bottom of the swing (thin sometimes and fat sometimes).