I have always looked at John Daly’s hugely flying elbow at the top of his back swing and wondered how he was able to get away with it, as it seems to violate all of the rules of swinging.

Not just the flying elbow but the jaw-dropping length of that back swing – yes, he could get a little wild at times but the man also won two majors in addition to being the longest ball-striker alive on Tour.

He was the first Tour golfer to average over 300 yards per drive in a season (’97) and also was the longest average driver on Tour for 11 seasons, which is incredible.

Don’t fooled by the seeming bend in Daly’s right knee at the top, which would be a very restricted action in the pivot – he reaches full hip turn before the arms and club are at the top, and the hips are already turning back by the time they get there:

I have begun to get back into swing shape and the first thing is the speed work, which I haven’t done for months even while working on the swing model I’ll be releasing in the spring.

While doing that speed work, I realized that I have fallen off (of course, because one must consistently do speed work to avoid a drop off), and while working on getting the speed back and checking my position at the top, I began to experiment with that top position to see where the speed had leaked out.

By the end of the session, I knew what I need to do to keep that club popping, but I also said, “Hmm, I wonder if it would work even if I lift that right elbow John Daly-style.”

It did.

At least, it did with the speed factor.

I’ll be testing out my finding in the lab early in the week to see if I have in fact solved the mystery of John Daly’s over-swing and flying elbow.

‘Til then!