We will just have to agree to disagree on the hand action in the current top 50 players..most have very little.
There are still some "handsy" players in there but not many..no harm no foul though..after all this site is all about opinions....
It's physics. The hands have to release (become handsy?). If they don't the ball don't fly. No opinion necessary.
It seems to me that opinions are the things that make up myths like great players being handsy.
One simple thought does Iron Byron have hands that release?
Enough siad...sorry the hands DO NOT have to be active in the release, if you want to talk Physics, because the face/head of the club is heavier than the butt attached to the hands, centripetal acceleration causes the clubface to realease WITHOUT any active use of the hands.
Gents this is Physics
It has been a while since I have had lessons, but I used to see Lynn Blake, aka "Yoda".
He helped me more than anyone else, and one thing he told me was to think that my hands were" frozen in ice" once I gripped the club. He was trying to get me to think of my hands as frozen, or fixed, and to use the pivot to hit the ball. Thinking of the hands as fixed, gave me a whole lot less throwaway, and a whole lot more lag.
Everytime I find myself getting too "handsy" , I think of this imagery and it helps get my game back on track.
So, I really tend to agree with you. Although I have seen articles and instructors that really emphasize active hands and wrists. Only thing with relying heavily with the hands and wrists is that it brings a lot of timing into the equation, and it would take a lot of practice to really groove that timing.