I have said that no one out there who mythologizes Ben Hogan actually follows what he did, nor have they any clue what he was actually doing in his swing.
Here is yet another example of such, where the fellow here (again, seems a decent fellow) uses Ben Hogan’s image in his video’s thumbnail, then proceeds to get it completely opposite of what Hogan’s swing mechanics entailed.
There is no one out there, no matter what they tell you, who swings like Ben Hogan.
There is an entire cottage industry built around “swing like Ben Hogan,” and every one of the claims is either an outright fraud or a complete misunderstanding of how the man swung.
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.
We had the discussion earlier in the week about the finishing position and balance, and I only had to take a quick glance at the older Classic Golf Swing greats to see how the modern game and instruction have skewed the finish, to the detriment of those being taught so.
I’m not a doctor, while I do have a bit of knowledge regarding kinesiology attained through swing research and a lifetime of athletic pursuits, but this article really set my Spider Senses tingling when I read about Jordan Spieth’s wayward ECU tendon.
Basically, the sheath that holds his left ECU tendon in place is torn and it pops out from time to time, leading to his having to WD from events or miss them altogether when this occurs.
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.
It looks crazy at first with all of the bouncing and shifting around before the back swing pivot, but if you look closely at the reigning World Long Drive Champion Martin Borgmeier’s swing action, it’s pretty solid.
You can see the swing I’m featuring below on YouTube and I’ll break down what I like about it, as well as the “flying foot” compensation that has taken over the entire golf world from junior tours to long drive: Continue reading
When it comes to the Classic Golf Swing, I’ve always used Jack Nicklaus as an example of a near-optimal motion, but there’s someone else who has been overlooked, even though I mention him quite a bit.
That person is Greg Norman, who is considered to be the best ever driver using a persimmon club when you take into account driving distance and accuracy.
Thanks to BM for reminding me of the existence of overhead video showing Jack Nicklaus’ driver swing.
If you’re interested in Jack’s “Golf My Way” video, you can find it here on Youtube. The overhead part from which I took the below shots to make a couple of Gif.s is at 45:00 of the video.
WAX Golf 