So great to be back swinging again, if only just practice swings at home with the Momentus Heavy Iron that I am using right now indoors.
I am not going to say I’ve cracked the Mike Dunaway model until I have actually swung and hit balls with it, but from what I am doing now, I believe I have.
It is a beautiful thing – I actually said to myself on the last swing before sitting down at the computer, “the man was a human Iron Byron with this swing…”
I think the reasons Dunaway hit some iffy shots when he played on a sponsor’s exemption in a Senior PGA Tour event were related to other things than the swing model – if there was one, he told of badly mishitting a wedge shot and I would believe that it had to do with his shifting head on the back pivot.
As I’ve said, for athletic reasons, you want a stable head when performing a swinging motion that requires precision, so hitting a wedge shot with a shifting head motion could potentially go awry.
Other than that, he was 50 years old, had never played in a professional tournament, probably didn’t practice much and of course he would have had nerves playing in front of a crowd and seasoned pros, so I wouldn’t have put any ball-striking struggles he had on the actual swing model (aside from the head shift).
So, I had said to myself that he was literally a human Iron Byron, and when I sat down to look for the clip of his driving at a 375 yard green in the “Peace River” video, I also found this:
Isn’t that funny? I’ve seen this clip many times, as I have all of the Mike Austin and Mike Dunaway videos, but I haven’t watched them all in years, so that segment escaped my memory.
Dunaway actually demonstrates what I was saying just a couple of days ago about shorter back swings potentially providing more speed and leverage. I even mentioned the Iron Byron in that posting.
*** Notice as well, those of you who have downloaded the new “The Basics Of The MCS Golf Swing,” that left hand grip Dunaway has on the club!
I’ve actually mentioned Dunaway’s grip before (it’s a Classic “Nicklaus-weak” grip), but fresh off producing the new video, it jumped out at me when I watched the clip. Just wanted to point that out.
It may seem hyperbolic but, as I work on this model to get it working the same as Dunaway (but with the “Leaning A” setup), it seems to me that you would not be able to miss a shot if you set up properly with the proper grip and ball position in the stance.
I honest-to-goodness feel like a human Iron Byron, so stable is this swing.
I would say this now, that being one of the three pivot models I endorse as mechanically-correct:
- Traditional Classic Golf Swing (Nicklaus et al),
- Late Hogan Shift & Post,
- Dunaway’s Shift & Post
… it seems that you get more stability due to “less moving parts” as you move down the order. The adjusted Dunaway model with the “Leaning A” setup would have the fewest moving parts – while still employing a free and full hip turn, so this isn’t a “Modern Golf Swing Model” – which would make it the most stable and machine-like of the three swing types.
I am probably a week or two away from thinking I can take a trip to the Tracer Golf facility and then, if the shoulder is OK and doesn’t regress from actual swinging, to the outdoor driving range.
After a year off swinging, I can’t wait to get back out there, but finishing the rehab is essential, however much I’ve recovered.
Happy Sunday all!
I’ll leave you with the original video clip “Dunaway Drives 375 Yard Hole” that I was seeking out when I found the Iron Byron clip:
WAX Golf 