One Swing in Golf?

Is there only one swing in golf?

By: Bruce Munch

Head Professional, White River Golf Club, Rochester, VT.

One of the most poorly used terms in the game of golf is, "There is only one swing in golf". Those of us who teach the game, and all players, who study the game, know that there are many swings that can work effectively. If you watch the tour events, you see swings that vary greatly. Some players favor a fade, some a draw, some hit it high and some hit it low. This is especially true for Senior Tour players because they learned their swings before the advent of the video camera. The video camera is the best tool ever invented to aid the golf swing. The senior players had no choice but to go to the range and work it out. While it is true that there is no substitute for practice, the ability to see a frame-by-frame video of a golf swing will show many things that the human eye simply cannot detect at full speed. Most instructors who use video analysis will agree that the review of the student’s video is more beneficial to the instructor, than the student because it enables the instructor to pick up on faults in the student’s swing that he or she might have missed on the range.

Once we have learned as much as we can about a students natural swing, it is now our job as instructors to take what a student brings to the lesson and move it forward. If you go for a lesson and the first thing out of the instructors mouth is, "Forget everything you’ve ever learned, we’re starting over", give him five bucks and leave. This person will probably not be a help to your game. I have never had a student who needed a complete swingectomy!

We must remember that to be successful, a golf swing needs only three things. It needs 1) Repeatability, 2) Targetability, and 3) Sufficient force.

Let’s explore these things.

Repeatability: The ability to repeat an athletic move on a reasonably consistent basis. One of the abilities we posses as human beings is the ability to repeat motor skills. In a video lesson it is rarely necessary to record more than three swings from the "head on" view and three from the "down the line" view. When reviewing the video it is amazing to see students with very complicated or unconventional parts, repeat them every time with great consistency. However, the simpler the motor skill, the more repeatable it will be. The trend we see among many of the young touring pros is a shorter, more controlled backswing, which allows for a more aggressive forward swing. Another trend to increase repeatability is to decrease the amount of hip turn on the backswing. If you can leave your lesson with a simpler swing, it will be more repeatable and you will have more fun. Remember that practice doesn’t make perfect, practice makes permanent. This is why, when I get a student who has practiced a mechanically poor golf swing for 20 years, they have probably gotten pretty good at that move. In cases like this I try to work on the one or two flaws in the swing, without destroying the swing entirely.

Targetability: The ability to hit the ball toward the target on a consistent basis. For most players, difficulty with targetability results from the inability to line up correctly to the target. Much of this comes from the fact that many players don’t spend enough time hitting at a target. At my range, I will see a member hitting balls and I will casually walk up, watch them hit for a few shots and then ask, "What was your target"? If their response is like many students, "I didn’t have one" I will usually respond, "In that case it was a great shot, unfortunately we don’t extend you that latitude on the golf course". That is usually good for a laugh but they get the point. Next time you go to practice, try this. Take two irons and lie them on the ground parallel to one another about 2 feet apart, with the outer club, which will represent the target line, aimed at the target, and the inner club, which represents the toe line, aimed parallel to, but left of (if you are right handed) the target. When you set up to a shot from between these clubs, look at the target and see if this looks normal to you. If so, good, if not then you probably have a consistent habit of lining up left or right of your target. You must retrain your prospective of what is correct alignment. This drill will help.

Sufficient force: This is a tough one. It is difficult to teach power but there are a few things we can do. If a player lacks natural power due to bad mechanics, the solution is obvious. Fix the mechanics. But what do I do if I encounter a player who due to age, being overweight or infirmity, lack the ability to produce a mechanically pure, powerful swing? In this case I must go to somewhat unconventional instruction to add the power that will make their game more fun. I allow and even encourage some elbow flexibility at address and on the back swing. A bent left arm will straighten on the forward swing if swung with sufficient force. This swing was very popular around the turn of the century because this gentlemen’s game was played in suits and ties. Bobby Jones did very well with it.

My main point here is that you play golf to have fun. If your swing is not Tour pretty but it works to your satisfaction, stay with it. So there is only one swing in Golf, that is, one swing for each player. They will vary based upon height, weight, age, arm length, leg length, athletic ability etc. Find one that works for you and have a great time playing this game for a lifetime.