Sometimes, you realize that all of the blood, sweat and tears you think you wasted on a wrong path or seeming dead-end was actually producing something of worth.

You’ll recall my saying not too long ago that the reason I didn’t think the standard Classic Golf Swing, while an excellent model that worked for the likes of Sam Snead to Jack Nicklaus, was optimal because of the setup.

I also said that my mistake in Wednesday’s session was that I was still set up for a left-dominant swing when I was trying to swing right-dominant.

Well, it just hit me like a tonne of bricks that I have already created the athletic variant of the standard Classic Golf Swing!

See here from last summer:

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As I said some time back, while I presented the standard version in my last video series, I myself wasn’t nailing that model because of my instinctive desire to have a different setup with regards to weighting and balance over the ball.

Now, once again, for those just joining the conversation and who haven’t had the opportunity to catch up on my previous posts and musings, a left-dominant swing is one where the swinger controls the setup and swing action with their leading arm, and feels as though they’re “pulling” the swing down from the top with that arm.

Mike Dunaway himself was more left-dominant in his early days, as you can see by the foot slide he exhibited in his Sybervision video:

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You can also call it a left-dominant action because of that foot slide, which is caused by shifting aggressively onto that left or leading foot on the down swing and through impact.

I loved this swing of Dunaway’s because of how athletic it was, even though it’s a Classic Golf Swing action and not the one he’d become famous for:

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That above is a right-dominant swing and you’ll notice that there’s no aggressive weight shift into the left leg on the down swing, rather the shift occurs as a momentum shift from being on both feet until the follow-through, which is the reason for the delayed step-around right foot release.

Now, it’s perfectly fine to be a right-dominant swinger and still shift aggressively into the left foot on the down swing, as a swing demonstration by Dunaway’s mentor Mike Austin shows you can be swinging with the right arm and still produce a foot-slide:

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Austin called his swing action through impact the “throw release,” and those of you who had trouble with this concept did so because you are left-dominant swingers, and you probably envision the swing this way:

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Or perhaps you envision it as a double-armed swing and the release being somewhat like this:

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So, you see it’s crucial for developing that optimal swing action to know which you are, and the vast majority of people will fall into the left-dominant category, either because they are focused on the left arm with their swing, or because they swing perhaps right-arm dominant or with both arms and shift aggressively into the left foot.

The true right-dominant swing action is the one where you stay on both feet longer before shifting from the right foot to the left, which is what causes that flat-footed impact and delayed step-around.

I’ll also let you in on a little secret – even if you are a left-arm or double-arm swinger, you can almost assuredly swing in the right-dominant model – provided you set up for that action, and that alien feeling of being set up that way is what likely will hinder left and dual arm swingers from being able to swing that way.

Either way, I’ve got you all covered – you can call the model I’m working on right now as the completely right-dominant version of the Athletic MCS Golf Swing model, and call the way I was swinging last summer the left-dominant version of the Athletic Golf Swing model:

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As you can see, there is the aggressive shift into the left foot, the trailing foot drag-release and the finish completely into the left side.

That swing isn’t even as good as it could be – I was trying to stop the right foot slide-release and wasn’t set up to accommodate my physical differences.

Remember, I was carrying range balls 300 yards with this swing last summer on my best swings, and that was with me trying to set up with my foot line parallel to the target line as most would, and hanging back slightly to try to eliminate the drag-release.

Give me my adjustment that allows me to come naturally into impact with square shoulders and the most aggressive shift into the left foot that I could make, I would have driven the ball even longer than with 300 yard carries, such is the power of this setup and motion.

So, this has suddenly turned into quite the exciting outdoor season for me!

I have a new swing model that is only the right-dominant model of the swing model I already had built in my head based upon athletic tuition.

Buckle up, mates – I feel a wild ride is about to begin.

More to come.