The Power Of Classic Hip Action – Ian Woosnam & Patty Sheehan

If you need any proof that the Classic Golf Swing hip action provides enough power for even the modern game and equipment, look no further than Ian Woosnam and Patty Sheehan for the evidence.

I just wrote a post on Patty Sheehan’s great MCS-like swing action, but don’t forget the “Wee Welshman” Ian Woosnam, who was one of the longest drivers in the game in his day and who, standing just 5’4.5″ or 164 cm tall, was pound for pound the most powerful driver, period.

One thing you’ll notice is that neither of them is jumping out of their shoes, even though they are putting great power on the ball.

You have Sheehan at 5’3″ or 160 cm, just smoothing that action:

And then take a look at the diminutive ’91 Masters Champion Woosie, who could drive the ball over 300 yards even the era of persimmon clubs:

Yeah, the Wee Mon could pound the pellet.

There’s even an overhead view of Woosie’s that I have here, showing how quiet he was swinging when it comes to lateral motion:

So, don’t let anyone convince you that for some reason, you need to swing a different way with the modern equipment to produce speed and power – Woosnam at just over 5’4″ was driving it over 300 yards on his best drives with persimmon and balata – if you could generate that kind of leverage and speed with the old equipment… do the math.

Jack Nicklaus wasn’t the tallest man in the world either (listed at 5’10” but I don’t think he was anywhere near that), and dominated the driving distances in his day with a beautiful (when he was at his best) Classic hip and leg action:

Tiger Woods once famously and erroneously said that Ben Hogan could never have played today’s game with his swing – that is also bunk, because using Hogan’s “Perfect Pivot” action, I could drive it well over 300 yards back when I was working on emulating that pivot action:

DJ – 2015

The name of the game is leverage and the quiet leverage produced by the Classic hip rotation gives one enormous power when performed properly.

I should know – I’m 53 years young and can still get it out there well past 300 yards with the driver (over 200 with 5 iron, 175+ with 7, etc.) using my MCS Classic Golf Swing action.