Of course, the old WAX Nation crew from the days of the Smash Golf blog and the DJ Watts Golf blog (I used to get bored of my sites and create new ones, but WAX Golf has been around since 2013) will remember this.
There are actually two pivot actions that I know of which are mechanically-correct – which one is optimal, I haven’t yet figured out, and each could be equally effective depending on the person using it.
There’s nothing wrong with helping people improve their golf swings.
It is a tad disingenuous however in my opinion to present old and established mechanics principles as new and a result of “the advent of new technologies in the sport,” which is an exact sentence from the article I just read.
Or worse – it means that these basic principles aren’t being taught to beginning golfers.
We are talking a tweak to his setup (I mentioned how it was centered in the last post, so right-biased is the move) and one to his pivot action (Classic rather than Modern), and this swing would be as good as any you’ll see on Tour.
The smooth power he displays with that great leveraging action, just makes everything look so silky when you watch it replay.
Coincidences are funny, aren’t they? During my daily foray through Instagram and YouTube looking at current players’ golf swings, I ran across Jake Knapp, a 30 year old PGA Tour pro who stands around 180 cm (a shade less than 6’0″), who is a pretty long driver.
I was looking at his action and thought to myself, “A lot of power there, but I doubt very consistent, with what I see,” and immediately went to his profile on PGATour.com, which confirmed what I thought.
I have always looked at John Daly’s hugely flying elbow at the top of his back swing and wondered how he was able to get away with it, as it seems to violate all of the rules of swinging.
Not just the flying elbow but the jaw-dropping length of that back swing – yes, he could get a little wild at times but the man also won two majors in addition to being the longest ball-striker alive on Tour.
I ran across this particular YouTube clip today purporting to show the “science of Rory McIlroy’s Perfect Swing,” and I’d ask you all to point out the actual science for me.
I’ve already pointed out to you my suspicion as to what ails Rory in his horrific driving accuracy from the tee, and I’m sorry – if a golf swing was even in the neighborhood of being perfect, he wouldn’t be 102nd in driving accuracy (60.29%) and 134th in G.I.R. (65.70%) in his 2024 season stats.
You’ll all by now be familiar with the concept upon which I’ve been working with regards to swing modeling – that is, swinging in a manner that emulates the Iron Byron or any other swinging machine or robot.
What this would entail is in reaching the optimal in three processes (the setup, back pivot and down swing) with maximum stability in the leading foot and head positions throughout.
I don’t think I’ve ever showcased Al Geiberger, the original “Mr. 59” and someone who had a golf swing model that was near bang-on, as you will observe.
There are only a couple of critiques I would have of the setup and pivot action but, other than that, there’s not really anything at which to pick.
I’ve taken Jack Nicklaus’ driver swing from the Masters in 1963 to illustrate the power of hip & leg action regarding the leveraging of the golf swing, something that has been lost with both the Modern Golf Swing models & the Flying Foot Syndrome.
It would likely surprise modern golf students to learn that what makes it so difficult to get a 90 degree shoulder turn at the top with a planted leading heel is also what makes the Classic Golf Swing so effortless in power production via leverage.
I found a swing from a session back in July of 2021 and am looking forward to comparing how my mechanical action looks down the line in comparison to now.
I’ve made the complete transition to a right-dominant throwing action and, although the swing below is a very passable action, driving the ball past 300 yards, it was still very “pulling” with the left arm.
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