I advised people earlier in the week to be careful from where and from whom they get their swing tips.
Almost as if to prove my point, Bryson DeChambeau posted a video yesterday of himself playing a public course and trying to set a new course record.
Before anyone accuses me of focusing over-much on BDC – you would be absolutely correct if you did. Continue reading
I don’t know how many of you played golf before the advent of the Modern Golf Swing nonsense probably around the ’80s or so.
I myself remember beginning to take an interest in golf in the summer of ’95 (I didn’t have my first lesson until April of ’97 when TW won the Masters and the very next day, I bought a range membership that came with five half-hour lessons).
Note: Thanks to long time WAX Nation citizen Chief Cowpie for forwarding me the attached video clip.
This is really getting out of hand – we’ve gone from a time where golf analysts were clueless about mechanics and so tried to explain and excuse swing flaws in a positive manner – i.e. the flying foot became “using the ground” and “vertical lift,” but we’ve reached bottom.
Now, we’ve got Bryson DeChambeau taking a swing flaw – the jumping leading foot to avoid snapping oneself in half due to not releasing the trailing foot – has turned it into swing instruction.
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.
This is just an essay on my pet peeve as I am working on my golf swing setup and kicking myself for not figuring out some things before now.
Simply put, when you are talking about “compensation” in a golf swing, it means something very basic.
I have just one question to ask anyone defending the horrific footwork of the so-called “great” and “perfect” swingers at the professional level.
It’s a pretty simple question as well, but I’ll add some context with examples of other swings.
That question is, “In what other motion would these actions be considered mechanically-sound and not awfully unsound?”
Before anyone is even tempted to say in response to this posting, “He’s a world-class player,” or “U.S. Open Champion” or “he’d knock it past YOU, DJ,” let me just respond.
I. Don’t. Care.
This blog is not nor has it ever been a how-to-play-golf site – it is a swing mechanics site and that’s all care about.
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’ve been quiet in recent weeks due to not having much to say about golf swing mechanics, due to the fact that I’m deeply into the issue of the grip and how it changes everything in the swing process.
I can say at the moment that the likely reason my efforts to replicate Mike Dunaway’s swing action comes down to the grip issue.
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.
WAX Golf 