Some Thoughts on the Search for the Perfect Swing

Jean Luc left a comment on Sunday's post (about the baseball drill) wherein he referred to a trouble that many of you have got -- particularly, that you have spent a whole lot of time attempting distinctive swing strategies and now find yourself confused. I wrote him an extended reply, maximum of which I'm going to copy in this publish (with some greater thoughts) because I recognize many of you're inside the same boat.

Perhaps it's going to help some of you discover peace together with your swing.

I discovered the fundamentals of the game over 25 years ago from Master Teaching Pro Carl Rabito. (There's a hyperlink to his site in the sidebar, if you're involved.) And round a decade later I additionally spent time trying numerous special swings, simply to test what he had taught me and ensure it became the first-class way for me. It did not damage me in any respect -- in truth, I now have a higher grasp of what will and may not work for me, so I don't waste time now training recommendations that won't help me.

Your time attempting one of a kind swings should have taught you that, for the most element, each swing has a handful of factors in not unusual. My absolute simple listing of basics has 3:

• a one-piece takeaway, because an inside takeaway generally leads to an over-the-top swing;
• you reach the highest point of your swing before you start your downswing (over-the-top swings are generally still moving upward when the downswing starts); and
• your trailing elbow stays bent from the top of your backswing until your hands are around waist high, because you lose power if it doesn't.

Occasionally you find an exception to my first basic; Bobby Jones is an excellent but rare example. (It causes him to violate my second basic as well. It works for him, but I've never even been able to duplicate the move!) However, these basics will pretty much guarantee you'll come into the impact zone in good position to hit the ball solidly and with control.

The manner you figure your fingers to goal the shot can vary -- a few will work for you, and some won't -- but you will nevertheless be close if you may do the ones three things.

And there are different matters you may do that will improve your ability to hit the ball farther or straighter -- some will be just right for you, and some may not -- but you may nevertheless be close if you could do those 3 matters.

You will occasionally read matters in this weblog that appear to fly inside the face of my very own basics. That's because every person's frame is unique and sometimes I get questions from players who truely have a need for a one-of-a-kind technique. For example, when you have an unusual arm movement that you've had because you had been a child, often it is better to comprise that 'quirk' in preference to trying to trade it.

Sometimes your physical make-up dictates a distinct pass in one-of-a-kind swing methods. Take me, for instance. If I try and make a Hogan-fashion swing, my trailing elbow factors down closer to the floor at the pinnacle of my backswing. But if I attempt a more conventional swing, like Harry Vardon, that elbow has to fly. I have learned, in basic terms from experimentation, that if I switch the ones elbow movements, I'll push the ball badly. That's because every swing makes my body move in another way and that affects what my elbow has to do if I'm going to live 'on aircraft'.

My advice is to pick out the swing you attempted that feels great to you, that is easiest that allows you to repeat with out pain. There's nearly always a way to 'tweak' a comfortable swing so it works higher. And that is clearly all you want to do -- find a swing that works and make minor changes that match your bodily capabilities. Use the things you found out out of your experimentation that will help you understand how your frame ought to flow to present you the maximum manage over your ball flight. None of that 'play time' changed into wasted.

In the quit, there is no ideal swing. Each one has its very own strengths and weaknesses; each method turned into at first developed to remedy a exclusive swing problem; and the important thing to achievement is knowing that no swing can do the whole thing. The legends are the guys who normal the limitations in their swings and absolutely found out how to get the maximum out of them... And sometimes that has extra to do with approach than with method.

Remember: As long as you can predict -- with some degree of accuracy -- where your ball is going to land when you hit it, you can learn to plot your way around the course and post a score. It doesn't matter whether that swing is pretty or not, or whether you can hit any shot shape you want. As long as you can say, "I want my ball to land somewhere around THERE" and then get it close to that spot, you can play this game... and play it well.

And studying to control your shots isn't all that difficult once you recognise that you do not need an ideal swing to play this game. That's what I try to do with this weblog -- help players find a swing they can rating with. And that is no longer beyond any of you, as long as you aren't enthusiastic about becoming the following Jack or Tiger. That sort of stress even receives to our new Big4 once in a while!