Cocking -- And Re-Cocking -- The Flat Left Wrist
 

No, Eddie. The referenced Bending would take place after the Hinge Action but before the Finish Swivel (back to the Plane) is completed. Admittedly, these are split-second differentiations, but they are necessary for Precision Golf. Why? Because the Ball knows.

However, programming correctly in this area requires that you know exactly what you are trying to achieve and how it looks. There is a gross misconception here -- striving to retain a visually Flat Left Wrist when the Left Wrist Re-Cocks On Plane during the Finish -- that really hurts a lot of players.

Remember, the Left Wristcock is a Vertical Motion, even when executed on an Inclined Plane. This is the same Motion the Left Wrist makes when hammering a nail, and the Cocked Left Wrist should look identical in both cases. And any degree of Left Wrist Turn when the Grip is taken (in Impact Fix) must be retained as Left Wrist Bend when the Wrist is Cocked. This is true wherever the Cocking takes place -- during the Backstroke Cocking or during the Finish Re-Cocking. In other words, the key thing is that the Left Arm and Club remain in the same Vertical Plane, the Plane of the Left Wristcock Motion, i.e., the Plane of the Left Arm Flying Wedge. Only in this manner can the Left Arm and Clubshaft remain In Line and the Stroke have true Rhythm (6-B-3-0).

In this circumstance, then, attempting to maintain a visually Flat Left Wrist during the Re-Cocking will actually result in an Arched Left Wrist. This Horizontal Grip Motion (4-0) puts the Clubshaft out of the Vertical Plane of the Left Arm and thereby disrupts the Left Arm Flying Wedge. In other words, you are trying to make the Club do something is simply does not want to do.

And that's not a good thing.

Getting To Know You
 

The Golf Stroke is an integrated whole, and always before any Action there must be a 'preparing.' It is this preparatory move during Impact that the Ball knows.

Come To Papa!
 

When your object is to drink tea, would you reach for your fork...or your glass?

Reverse Rolling
 

Steering (3-F-7-A).

Hitting All The Stops Along The Way
 

I agree that "if the physics of the stroke are identical to the point past separation at which the bend will or will not take place, the ball flight will be identical." The problem is that they won't be. You just don't hit a perfect Golf Shot and then, all of a sudden, do a bad Swivel. A good Golf Shot demands a good Finish Swivel for the Club to take the proper route through Impact. The Finish is "the Precision Destination of the Downstroke Blast-off from the Top," not just "Impact fall-out" (2-N-0).

If the Finish Swivel has not been properly programmed (consciously or subconsciously), then it will not be properly executed, and the Club will not -- indeed, cannot -- take the required route from the Top. What will be executed is the classic Chicken Wing, and Steering and Quitting through Impact will be the ineveitable enablers.

As far as Freddie Couples goes, per the explanation in my prior post, his Bent Left Wrist is entirely correct due to his Turned Left Wrist in the Grip (Strong Double Action 10-2-D). It would not be correct for a Golfer whose Left Wrist was Vertical (Strong Single Action 10-2-B).

Three Little Words
 

I have seen many Flat Left Wrists in my time, and I've got to tell you, I've never seen it done better than by Brian Manzella. When he graciously called me from his 21st PGA Coaching and Teaching Summit last month and handed the phone to his mentor, Ben Doyle, the First Authorized Instructor of The Golfing Machine, I was flabbergasted. [There are only a few times in life where that word works. This is one of them.]

My first question?

"Mr. Doyle, how did you teach Brian his Flat Left Wrist?"

His immediate answer:

"Chip. Pitch. Punch."

And there you have it, guys. Fifty years on the Tee in Three Words.

I am humbled.

There's more here. Much more.

Fasten your seat belts.

Bagger.

Trig.

Warp Speed!