As we discuss Homer Kelley's Tripod concept, it is interesting to note that Ben Hogan had one, too. He wrote about it in his book, Power Golf:
"When I have taken up what I consider the ideal position for hitting a golf ball, I feel as though I were a tripod with my two feet and the clubhead as the three points of contact with the ground."
"While that is the best comparison I can think of to describe my position at the ball, it isn't entirely correct. The weight of a tripod is evenly distributed between its three points of contact with the ground, but in the ideal position at the ball the weight is evenly distributed between both feet."
"None of your weight should rest on the clubhead point of contact. That will be true if the weight is back though the heel as it should be. You should never feel that the weight is forward on your feet if you have taken up the correct position."
While this concept is not the same as Homer's, it does support another very important TGM concept, namely, Foot Loading at Address. The loading should be "an even distribution [of the weight] between both Feet but with enough on the heels to allow the toes to be lifted momentarily without altering the distribution between the toe and heel" (7-17). This was controversial at the time, because Golf Digest and the very high profile instructors at their schools were promoting a loading toward the balls of the feet. Their example was always the baseball player positioned to move either way. Of course, these players are not counterbalancing the pull of centrifugal force, either!
Anyway, I find all this fascinating. As with books on investing in the stock market, some of the best on golf are also the oldest. It's a Back to the Future kind of thing.
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