I came across a video clip on Youtube – it is a home movie taken in 1956 at a golf club called Lakeview, with Sammy Snead, Porkie Oliver and Moe Norman hitting shots in an exhibition round.
I have already shown WAX Nation Moe’s swing from the 50’s where he had a conventional Classic Golf Swing action complete with the full hip and leg action with a lifting leading heel, and he’s doing the same in this clip.
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.
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.
Back in June 2013, I posted the following on my old blog DJ Watts Golf (I’ve edited it slightly due to its age) about the ever-raging debate about who was greater, Jack Nicklaus or Tiger Woods:
Someone finally had the wherewithal to do some number-crunching to put to rest the old canard that even if he never wins 18 majors, Tiger Woods is still better than Jack Nicklaus because Tiger won his majors against “better players” and “deeper fields.”
There’s been a lot of discussion lately about the announced golf ball rollback that will decrease the distance one is able to attain.
What hasn’t been discussed, and this is my personal prediction, is that golf swing injuries will likely increase with swingers going after the ball even harder than they have been, to try to retain their current distances.
I am tempted to say that if Jack Nicklaus had swung his entire career with just one adjustment to his 1963 swing model (narrowing the stance), he would likely have won everything under the sun much as Byron Nelson did before retiring in his prime.
Nelson, if you don’t know, had set the PGA Tour record for consecutive Tour wins (11) and wins in a single season (18), both in the 1945 season, at the end of which he retired to pursue his true love – farming.
Greg Norman is considered to have been the greatest driver ever using a persimmon club and his slide from dominance actually came as a consequence of the introduction of larger, metal-headed clubs which allowed lesser drivers to equal him in accuracy and distance because they were more forgiving.
Just as Lord Byron Nelson replied more or less when asked how much modern equipment would have helped him, “Not at all – I struck the ball with the sweet spot, so more forgiving clubs wouldn’t have improved my game,” this would apply in part to Norman as well.
Grumpy Post Warning: I had no idea when I clicked on the following YouTube video that it would so depress me.
I mean, 10 “Amazing” golf swings, there’s got to be at least a few swings that would be mechanically-sound, right?
WRONG.
I made mention of Jack’s grip a little while back and that I was still looking into it, and I believe I have just figured out what made him so powerful and yet so accurate simultaneously.
Take a look at his 1963 grip at a time where he was becoming dominant – he won six events that year and the only year in which he won more events was in 1973, video of which I’m trying to hunt down to look at his stance and grip for a comparison.
The video from Golf Digest is called The Science Behind Gordon Sargent’s Insane Swing Speed, but I’ll just call it what it is – A Recipe For Disaster.
I’ve already (long ago) pointed out that any real science that looks at the X Factor notion of Jim McLean infamy concludes that it is physically unsound and puts golfers at a higher risk of back injury, but why quibble?
WAX Golf 