[Bigwill]

He sure wasn't.

He starts it with "Lag". His body starts it with hips.

This quote is a good explanation of the hand controlled pivot concept, one which is still greatly misunderstood by a lot of well meaning players and teachers. IMO, hand controlled pivot dosen't mean that the hands/arms/club unit actually physically starts first. With this subject, you have to be careful, and differentiate between the actual and the intent.

Theoretically, with a properly trained pivot (or in some individuals who are athletically inclined), the hips will start before the hands, even when the the focus is solely on the hands. Using myself as an example, my best swings come when my goal is simply to swing my arms and hands. But in those swings, my lower body is actually physically leading the way. It ultimately comes back to the hands; but if the pivot isn't working, it has to be addressed first, or the hands won't be able to do their thing. This is why a misunderstanding of the meaning of "hands controlled pivot" can wreak havoc on the game of the average player; they may end up just standing there, swinging their arms ineffectively.