There are of course a million different ways in which someone can swing a golf club, but the focus on this blog has been on building a mechanically-correct and proper golf swing.

Even here however, as you can see with my exploration on different pivot actions over the years, there are variations you will find in swinging in a mechanically-correct manner.

What is crucial, when building a golf swing, is to maintain the fundamentals of swinging in a mechanically-correct manner.

For me, the ones that come to mind are:

• The pivot having full and free hip motion, as the hips and legs are the engines of a mechanically-correct golf swing,
• A setup that provides for as stable a head position during the back pivot, transition and down swing to the bottom, with proper grip and ball placement in the stance and
• Starting from a balanced position and finishing in a balanced position on the leading foot without compensations such as twisting or flying of that leading foot.

If you can do these things, whatever your swing looks like, you’re swinging in a proper and mechanically-correct manner, in my humble assessment.

Proper golf swings will look similar, but may vary wildly based upon certain things like stance width, balance in the setup and the manner in which the pivot is performed.

If, for example, you are set up in a “Leaning A” position, then you are in position to deliver the above three bullet points.

However, a difference in balance will lead to different-looking swing actions:

• some may feel that they have their weight pressing into the leading foot, others may feel perfectly balanced, and others may feel as though more weight is on the trailing foot,
• some may feel balanced more into the toes over the ball, others balanced on the entire foot, still others more into the heels.

So, I have looked at three different pivot actions that I feel are correct:

1. The traditional Classic Golf Swing pivot (young Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Weiskopf, etc.) with a high leading heel lift,
2. The “Late Hogan” pivot with the low leading heel lift, which is actually a class of the “Shift & Post” pivot action and
3. The pure “Shift & Post” pivot action of the Mike Dunaway swing model.

The Traditional Classic Swing

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All are correct, with mechanical consideration, and one may be better or optimal for one person, with another being optimal for another, as we are all different people with different physiques, athletic skill levels and personalities.

I couldn’t tell you which would be best for an individual unless I saw them swing and use one or more models, but one will be best or optimal for them, I’m sure.

“Late Hogan” Shift & Post

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I personally have swung with both of the first two actions listed above but have been trying to years to nail the third one, the Dunaway swing but one which adheres to the three bullet points – that means being set up in the “Leaning A” position instead of a centered stance with the shifting to the right as Dunaway did.

The Dunaway Shift & Post

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You may ask, “how on earth can you say the Late Hogan and Dunaway had the same pivot action when they look so different swinging?”

I would answer, “they didn’t have the same swings, they had the same pivot action that you can see in the hip and leg action – the differences in their looks comes from the differences in their setups and actual swing mechanics.”

I’ve been continuing my shoulder rehab and can now make full back swings with very little discomfort when I’ve got the shoulder warmed up with range of motion exercises and resistance band sets – the pain isn’t from injury, but from weakened muscles after a year of little shoulder mobility and scar tissue that has to be worked out, which is painful.

There may still be some residual inflammation, as Frozen Shoulder takes 12-18 months on average to recover fully, and I’m about 13 months out from the first day I experienced shoulder pain trying to practice swing at home.

The fact that I can move my left arm freely when it’s warmed up and a little tired from the rehabbing however tells me it’s likely the two afore-mentioned factors at work.

That said, now that I can make a few full back pivots per day, I have been “shifting,” pardon the pun, from the “Late Hogan” Shift & Post to the “Leaning A – Dunaway” Shift & Post swing.

I am predicting that, of course, the setup will look different from Dunaway’s (“Leaning A” all the way), and the back pivot slightly because there’s no drift to the right on the pivot, but that the down swing and finish will look very Dunaway.

That’s my prediction, at least – we’ll see as soon as I am back in shape shape and can get some actual swings on video.

More to come.