All you have to do is watch the “down move” or what most people call the transition at the top from back swing to down swing, to see how the Modern Golf Swing has lost the natural leverage that the Classic Golf Swing models contain(ed).
Originally posted January 18, 2017 – still relevant, especially as JT just won the FedEx Cup & will be gathering young imitators
I just read a posting by Golf Digest’s Matthew Rudy on how to “Hit Justin Thomas’ Jump Drive For More Power,” and I’m still trying to figure out how he can tell people to do that, but then say not to try to do what Justin Thomas is actually doing… or you’ll hurt yourself.
Kudos to Mr. Rudy as well for using that tried-and-true non sequitur that for power, he tells us, “Thomas uses the ground to produce maximum clubhead speed…”
I posted something about Justin Thomas last March, a posting which I’ve since removed because of the grumpy tone (I was annoyed by the constant references to his being “pound for pound the longest driver on Tour”), but what I said about his long distance driving was mentioned by Brandel Chamblee in the post Round 3 “Live From” on Golf Channel.
Chamblee showed a graphic that illustrated how Thomas gets it done, and that has to do with impact conditions over raw club impact speed.
If you’ve seen the jumping and twisting leading feet and legs of the modern golf swing players, you’ll know what I’m talking about here.
There is a tendency for swing analysts on TV, from what I’ve seen, to explain away mechanical flaws in the swing by declaring that the compensations or manipulations in the swing are responsible for power or speed.
**Update – Video has been added to the body of the posting below /update
Well, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that so many in Wax Nation watch televised golf – but thanks to Frank Nobilo for pointing out something I see all the time, and for his shout-out on The Golf Channel last night during the 3rd Round coverage of the Sony Open in Honolulu.
Thanks as well to Peter A. with the heads-up, and to those of you who emailed me – I was watching the telecast but I had stepped away from the TV near the end of the broadcast, and I missed it!
