I love the rear face-on diagonal view when looking at a pivot action because it shows even more than a straight face-on or down the line views.

I’ve talked extensively about how I would take Jack Nicklaus’ adjusted setup from 1963 and pair it with Ben Hogan’s pivot action to create the optimal golf swing (I wouldn’t try to actually swing like Hogan because his particular swing model was rather unique), but there’s another pivot that I really like.

That would be the Sam Snead pivot from this particular swing of his, and it is gorgeous – with a low leading heel and full shoulder turn – and when I say “low leading heel,” bear in mind that there isn’t a conscious effort to keep it low, such as when Modern Golf Swingers nail that heel down deliberately.

It’s a particular way of pivoting with the hips and legs that keeps the heel from coming up high like Jack Nicklaus:

When you look at Sam Snead’s pivot, he had a huge and shoulder turn, but that heel stayed low Hogan-style, and it was superb, especially as he was a self-taught swinger.

When you see his swing in real time, it is a study of smooth athleticism and the only flaw I can see in this swing is the slight leading foot snap and turn on the heel, which Snead could have eliminated by planting firmly on that leading foot and releasing the trailing foot the way Hogan did.

Even the greatest swingers weren’t perfect, but that is one great pivot action.

It looks even better in slow motion:

• I love the kick-in with the right right knee before the takeaway, and how he swung back in a connected full-body pivot,
• That straightening of the trailing leg to post up on it as the leading leg swung the gate and
• The awesome leverage he created coming down from the top because of that full-body back pivot.

He absolutely exploded through the ball at the bottom, and Snead was one of the longest drivers ever on the PGA Tour.

It’s no wonder when you look at that action.