As the Boomer generation reaches retirement, it comes to my mind that the majority of players and watchers of golf at this time are likely much older than the TikTok and Instagram generation.
Nothing wrong with being from either generation, it is just what it is…
I myself am 55 now, which never fails to stagger me, because I began this journey after turning 35, which was ten years after I’d first swung a golf club, so thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye.
I keep going through swing clips that I’ve amassed in these years of swing research, and I can’t escape the nagging (and nearly maddening) reality that I had indeed figured out the optimal action for the golf swing ten years ago.
Notice that I said “optimal action,” which then leaves room for two things that I neglected to notice or fix, for the next seven years.
I’ve of course hit longer drives than the one in this video, but when I drive balls into the executive course or over the mounds guarding the green on one of the hole, I don’t get any distance feedback other than, “Well, that one was pretty long…”
I can gauge my distances with irons pretty well when there are flags and greens at which to shoot, but the driving, I’m at a disadvantage hitting balls unless I’m in a place with a Foresight or Trackman (and I don’t trust these completely, because many times they give me distances that are well short of what I know I can do on the course or range).
This is an oldie, but just as relevant as the first I spoke about this concept – I even based a swing video on this concept back in 2013, and it’s as simple as… well… swinging a stick.
Some people come to golf without having had much exposure to other sports such as baseball or cricket, where swinging a stick-like object is similar to golf.
I talked the past week about the “Power Line,” which I call that straight line you can create from the joint of the leading shoulder down through the hands to the club head, and I’ll expand a little.
For the irons and other clubs except the Driver, it’s pretty simple – get that Power Line going vertically from shoulder to club head either past impact or just at impact (say, with a 3 or 5 metal when the ball is teed up) and you’re pretty much assured to have generated maximum leverage and power into the ball.
The reason so many people struggle to maximize their power with the golf swing is likely because they’re not set up in the proper manner in which to do so.
It is also a reason you’ll find all sorts of professional players who contort themselves coming into impact – they manage to get the power they want to generate, but at a cost to consistency and/or physical health.
I have just uploaded a swing clip of myself hitting three irons down the line from August 16, 2022.
The setup, I have to say, is absolutely nailed, at least from the down the line view.
Face on, I am not in love with because of the work I’ve done in the intervening 2.5 years, but I have nothing to pick at with this view.
Now, this applies of course to all clubs, not just the driver, but I have found in my archives a swing session in which my setup and grip are nearly perfect with regards to swinging optimally.
Sadly, I am not enamored of the actual pivot action, but I was still hitting my irons and driver beautifully long and straight on this day of tinkering with my setup.
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.
I keep seeing his swings on Instagram and YouTube.
I am not going to tell you that I didn’t admire Fred Couples’ golf swing back in the day. It was smooth, powerful and many consider it the sweetest swing action ever.
I wouldn’t argue with any of the above – except that what was once a romance flick now looks to me like a horror movie, especially in slow motion takes.
WAX Golf 