There is something to be said about having a background in diverse athletic pursuits – I played everything from footy (soccer) to baseball to hockey to basketball to competing in track & field, all between the ages of 7 to 23 before swinging a golf club for the first time at age 25.
During that time, I obviously acquired something of an instinct for self-preservation, shall we say, or avoiding injury through proper technique and the drilling of such.
I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post that John Daly used this left arm swing drill before playing every round when he was on Tour.
He wasn’t the type to warm up hitting dozens of balls with different clubs – he would get the feel of his swing for the day hitting a few wedges swinging left-arm only, and then head for the 1st tee.
I’ve written quite a bit recently about the ills of the new “Turn & Swipe” memes that have been appearing in golf swing videos, and here is the problem when you compare that nonsense to the proper mechanical action of the Classic Golf Swing.
Below, I’ve created some gifs to show the difference and, in essence, how easy it is to generate leverage and also use gravity when swinging with the pivot action of the Classic Golf Swing, using only my left arm.
Yes, the entire Modern Golf Swing world would follow him, it unfortunately seems.
I didn’t even go looking for this – I was watching all of this ridiculous modern swing instruction that tells everyone that it’s not proper mechanics to shift one’s hips on the down swing, and it eventually fell from the sky as these things do.
Golfer are now being taught that you can’t turn in a golf swing, that you have to harpoon because turning will somehow mess up what you’re doing.
Of course, if you’re swinging or being taught to swing in the Modern Golf Swing style of swinging over the leading foot, then turning is the least of your problems.
I was doing my usual tour through YouTube yesterday and posted about how the art or knowledge of the natural swing has been lost – it’s even more than that – the Modern Golf Swing has evolved.
It seems to me that lesson of the X-Factor wrecking lower backs has been taken partially to heart by the Modern Golf Swing world, and the swing theory has evolved, or devolved, if you will – back to the days of Stack & Tilt.
It occurred to me, watching things come across my YouTube feed earlier in the morning, that the knowledge or art of natural swinging has been lost, and the culprit is clear.
You simply can’t make a mechanically-sound golf swing with the leading heel nailed down and the hip turn being restricted, so instead of solving a simple problem by removing it, people are getting further and further adrift from proper mechanics in trying to solve it.
I’ve already highlighted the insanity that is golf “instruction” on YouTube, and I ran across this fellow we’ve already discussed with his “to swing like Ben Hogan, don’t do anything Hogan was doing or saying” video, however…
I really don’t know what to say about this video, and I’ll admit that I only watched the first minute, because I couldn’t listen to it any longer – this fellow violates every sports principle, and when he started talking about swinging like a pitcher throws, I was out.
I have been going through my MCS swing videos, most particularly the EMCS series from 2017 and 2018, and I have to say, I can’t find much that has changed in my swing theory other than my own interpretation and execution of the mechanics.
I had actually taken the videos down from sale because I was unhappy with my own swings in the videos, but the content itself .
One of the problems you find in the modern golf swing methodology is that whole “straightening the left leg” concept, of course, ostensibly for generating leverage and thus speed and power in the impact phase.
This is leading to a generation of golfers who will suffer from knee ailments as they inflict incremental damage on that leading knee with the hyper-extension you see in many power swingers. Continue reading
WAX Golf 