I haven’t been able to check out much of Monte Scheinblum’s blog, though I know a few of my Members are very complimentary.
First off, Monte is a teaching guy who has actually walked the walk (Long Drive Champion), so looking at his swing, I can see he’s not just a guy who hits a long ball and can’t tell you how to do it.
He’s also a good enough golfer, besides being a swing powerhouse, to have qualified to play in a PGA Tour event.
Don’t scoff – you show me a long driver who can qualify for a Tour event, and I’ll show you a guy who’s a much better golfer than the Tour players are swingers… they’d get eaten alive in a long drive contest, never mind qualifying for a championship.
And now he teaches between competing in Long Drive. He has a blog. I heard about him from a couple of my readers who follow him as well.
From his wiki bio:
A 6′ 2″, 190-pound athlete, Scheinblum is an accomplished golfer. Between 1993 and 1996 he competed on the second tier Nike Tour (now Web.com Tour), where his best finish was a tie for fifth in the 1994 Monterrey Open.[3] He also played in one PGA Tour event, the 1996 Michelob Championship at Kingsmill, missing the cut.
Scheinblum has had his greatest success in long drive competitions. In 1991, he was the runner-up in the U.S. National Long Driving Championship with a drive of 319 yards.[6][7] The following year, in Boca Raton, Florida, he won the event with a drive of 329 yards, 13 inches, into a 20 mile-per-hour wind.[5][6][8][9] Mike Gorton, the 1987 champion, took second with a drive of 307 yards, 22 inches.[8] That year he was also the world long driving champion.[4] In October 1993, he narrowly failed to defend his national title, finishing second to Brian Pavlett with a drive of 324 yards, 30 inches. Pavlett had hit his first three balls out of bounds before going past Scheinblum with a drive of 336 yards, 6 inches.[10]
In September 1994, Scheinblum won a long drive tournament in Provo, Utah with a drive of 333 yards (304 m)
I thought we could all take a look at his swing, which is very mechanically-correct, and you’ll love his release action.
Monte Scheinblum – Facing Camera
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Everyone who has been following my blog over the years, watching Monte face-on, how MCS is this swing?
I mean, except for the planted leading heel, which accounts for the one “complaint,” if you can criticize a swing like this, but I’ll get to that in a minute.
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Address: Virtually perfect from my point of view, looking at this angle.
The one thing I do notice is a slight disruption in the flow from upper body to lower.
This I would put down to the address posture that I’ll get to on the DTL swing – a slight adjustment required to get a good leverage position at the top with the weight balance he has (better to see DTL).
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When you look more closely (or at least when I do), there is a second “Leaning A” (brown) besides the red one that I use for my position analysis.
Monte has another “A” lean to the left, and what this means is that I don’t see the weight going one way or another, which means likely centered.
I haven’t spoken with Monte, just going on my experience, but I’d put the centered stance down to the weight balance.
Monte actually used to swing like this:
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Look at the picture when Monte was 20 years younger and swinging with a more aggressive floating heel. More weight to the right side at the top, and a much freer hip action.
With a top position like this, MS was way, way ahead of most of his long drive competitors – this isn’t a long drive swing, this is a most excellent golf swing, with plenty of power and speed due to the technique.
Monte Hits Down The Line
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Now we get to the balance posture I mentioned earlier.
You’ll notice Monte’s standing with a more MCS leg position, very straight and not bend/squatting like the modern swingers, before he settles in.
But then he bends out over the ball…
So, bending from the waist over the ball like this, you see the fight to maintain balance – with legs this straight, Monte would perfect his balance with a little more erect posture at address.
So, you see him spend a good deal of time setting his position, distance from the ball and finding a swing balance. Exactly what you’d expect to happen with that balance.
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Additionally, a more erect posture is more logical than putting some flex in the knees.
Stand a little taller, create the bend with the buttock extension rather than over the ball, and if his spine angle was closer at address to that of his finish – there’s the extra “oomph” he would get for the Senior Remax.
Rating this swing, out of ten, I’d give an 8 to 9, for sure, with another .5 because the guy teaches the swing and has some good knowledge of the swing.
One of the few guys you can listen to about the swing, even if I don’t agree 100% with him, but I don’t don’t agree 100% with anyone on teaching and swings.
WAX Golf 
I have read Monte’s blog and viewed several of his videos….but after simplifying my move swing angle, stable c7 after head drift…i don’t ever want to go back to all the mumbo jumbo(complexities)
Are his explanations complex, JW? You know me, I maintain this blog and have little time to visit, much less spend any time at other sites. Monte’s blog, you guys brought to my attention, but I do like his swing. He also thinks Tiger Woods’ swing is atrocious, so from that, I gather he knows more than the average instructor.
The problem he may be having is conveying his natural instincts and hand-eye coordination (as well as athletic ability, the son of a major league pitcher, that’s not a shallow gene pool) into actual instruction that the less-or-more talented can understand.
You know what they say – “I can explain it to you, but I can’t understand it for you…”
When you can explain it so that understanding occurs, then you’re on your way as an instructor.
But first, you have to have something worth explaining. 😉
WAX Nation, I hope you’ve set your reminders for posts and comments on the Member side. I’ve just put up a “P.S.” to this posting, about Address Position.
Monte is good, no doubt. I have had this conversation with others. Why he ditched the floating heel (like in the old days) means that he doesn’t “completely” have IT. Pretty damn good though! His takeaway seems a bit to straight back (not enough in-curve). Great full release though!
The floating heel, or lack of it, or making it less than a natural one (Sean Fister) will truncate the natural length of the back swing.
As great as the swing is, you can see how the posture and the leading heel action make it a little awkward getting cleanly to the top, as I mentioned to you earlier in the email – I don’t know who came up with messing around with the floating heel, but he was certainly not a swing expert. From from it.
Steve Pratt may reply. According to one of their websites Steve is one of the few people Monte trusts to look at his swing.
Well, Steve certainly knows where I am (he used to comment from time to time on my other blog ‘Smash Golf’ years ago ’til he got busier), and that he’s more than welcome to comment anytime he wishes on this blog. 🙂
DJ, thanks for the article. Great read. I thought you’d be entertained to hear I was told to dump the floating heel when all the swing gurus were tearing my swing apart.
I had missed at second stage of Q school several times in a row and was ignorant enough to listen to the experts. I haven’t done it for so long, it feels unnatural when I do it again.
Hey Monte, thanks for dropping by! I love how the swing gurus were telling you to change your swing when you could have out-hit all of them. Unbelievable.
Your motion is athletic and flowing. Really good stuff. But then, you know that 😉
Get back to the OLD Monte!! That was beautiful……
Indeed… what a top position. Monte gets back to that – Senior Remax Champion…
the earlier championship swing is actually how guys back then regularly did it when Nicklaus was the definite influence. Look at all the old tapes and you’ll see lots of lifting heels I think and a bunch of very good swings. This earlier swing is also much more aggressive and when you slow it down it looks very lag conscious. His treatise nowadays is to suggest he has changed and is not into the ‘artificial’creation of lag but you sure can see its evidence in his championship swings.
Sometimes you just have to choose your parents carefully – Monte’s old man was a Major League pitcher, and I’m sure he just has a natural gift for athletic motion. A tweak here or there, you’re still looking at talent.