I wrote a post a few weeks ago about how I’d been looking at Jack Nicklaus’ very vigorous and aggressive leg action and that I think it’s the way one must perform one’s leg and hip action for maximum efficiency.
In the intervening two months, I’ve been looking at the setup and the pivot itself (not the leg action, but the back swing pivot angle with regards to arms and hands going back), and while doing that, I re-affirmed the overwhelming importance of that leg and hip action.
Back in 2016, I had a swing that largely resembled John Daly’s with regards to the back swing length and top position, and I’m curious about one thing.
That thing would, could I match the club and ball speed I was generating back then with the new, rebuilt swing upon which I’ve been working the last year?
Harvey Penick was indeed a great golf instructor, but the “Magic Move” in his book and the one discussed in the below video clip is nothing more than proper basic swing mechanics.
I say this because there is actually nothing magic about the move being discussed, as you can be a horrific over-the-top swinger and still be performing the move, and you’d struggle to understand why it’s called a “magic move” at all.
I found this pretty good short clip from Brandel Chamblee on the Classic Golf Swing pivot – although he can be rather controversial on television and a little contradictory at times (he’s always loved and praised Tiger Woods’ various swing models, all of which are Modern and completely unsound as TW’s injury list can attest to), he is pretty sound on swing mechanics, generally speaking.
I’ll say right now about the title – I don’t believe in “magic moves,” as that implies there is something special about swinging a golf club when it’s simple stance and mechanics – any “magic move” is nothing more than mechanically-sound motion.
Having had a depressing look at the current state of affairs in today’s pro game with driving accuracy, I was actually a little but not very surprised that Rory McIlroy came in 157th on the Tour, because I didn’t know this until I had looked at his driver swing.
When I saw what he was doing, I thought to myself, “he can’t be hitting that many fairways with this move,” and proved myself right when I went looking for the just-completed season’s driving stats.
I have three separate iron/wedge shots below, the first being a PW, the second a 7 Iron and the third a 5 Iron.
See if you can spot the difference in how I set up for the shots, and how it changes the result in the ball striking aspect!
Part of the problem that plagues golfers who feel they aren’t getting any power in their swinging comes from the failure to release freely on the down swing.
I’m sure a good portion of swingers who don’t release fully are simply inhibited because they fear the actual impact moment and so they try to “push” the club through the ball without releasing the club head.
I will swallow my distaste for any face-on views of my swing back in 2017 (the right hand grip is all wrong) to illustrate just how easy it is to hit one’s irons and wedges with a vertical swing mindset.
I have a Pitching Wedge in this particular swing in real speed and slo-mo, and all I’m doing is making a back pivot to the top and then swinging down and through to the finish with no mind of the ball whatsoever – it just gets in the way.
It amazes me how far away from the proper MCS setup I strayed in the years since producing and releasing the “E = MCS” swing video (which is no longer available because there were certain things about my swing at the time that I detest, so I’ll have to re-shoot it).
I talk about how the swing is vertical and not rotary, which if you wish to swing in this manner requires the proper setup shown down the line, and I actually nearly nailed it when I was making the video.
I might add as well that in addition to setup being crucial to a stable golf swing, you also require proper mechanics – which are impossible without the correct setup.
So it all flows from one thing, the setup.
When you get that right, then all you have to worry about is the actual swing motion, which is nothing more than a back pivot to prime your swing machine to swing down and through from the top.
WAX Golf 