February 7th, 2011 | 
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Posts Tagged ‘sam snead’
The Weight Shift
The photo of Sam Snead above perfectly illustrates where the weight should be positioned at these three key points in the golf swing:
- Just prior to the top of the backswing the weight is almost always in the vicinity of 80/20 favoring the back side.
- At the half way down point top players always seem to position their weight equally here (50/50).
- At impact the weight is always in the vicinity of 20/80 favoring the front side.
The amazing technology from Swing Catalyst has been instrumental in educating me further on this important information. If you’d like to learn more about your weight shift please give me a call to book your session at some point within the next two weeks.
I will be posting at great detail on this topic later in the week so stand by. The evidence is clear!
Posted in Commentary, Long Game, Swing Philosophy | 
Tags: key swing positions, sam snead, swing catalyst, weight positioning, weight shift | 
2 Comments »
Shaft Angle at Impact
Nick Price - Address to Impact
All I can say after doing the research for this post is WOW! This is something that is really interesting and I’ve never really delved into it before. In looking at the illustrations above and the photos below you will see what I am referring to – it is very rare for any golfer to return the shaft/club at impact to the same position it occupied at address (when viewed from down the line).
In fact so rare, that I have only found four golfers who do it more often than not. The amazing thing is that this group of golfers is a collection of some of the finest ball strikers that ever played the game. They are Lee Trevino, who Jack Nicklaus claims is the best hitter he ever saw, Ben Hogan, Nick Price and Sergio Garcia.
Lee Trevino
I have included the picture of Tiger Woods from 2000 below to illustrate where most PGA Tour caliber players return the shaft to at impact. Notice how his handle is above where it started (on the red line) at address.
Tiger Woods (2000/Harmon)
Out of the four golfers I have found to get the shaft completely back to the line it appears that Sergio might be the least consistent at always returning the shaft back to the line, but as noted above, he does so more often than not.
Sergio Garcia
Another interesting point to note is the golfers who are very close to returning the club to the line: Vijay Singh and Joe Durant (who has led the Tour in GIR stats 4 times and finished in the top 12 for the last dozen years!). In fact looking at the stats Joe Durant is a much better hitter than Tiger Woods – and consistently so!
Ben Hogan
Two additional golfers who may get the club onto the line but I was not able to find enough quality footage on were Sam Snead and Moe Norman (I found these images on Moe HERE and it looks pretty close). Certainly no slouches in the ball striking department either!
So, the next time you are reviewing your swing, pay particular attention to your impact position, but more specifically where your shaft is at impact relative to where you had it at address. There’s a good chance you’ll be above the line (and zero chance you’ll be below it!) but do what you can to lower the shaft angle at impact in order to dramatically improve your ball striking and accuracy. Plase check back soon as I will be filming a few drills soon to help you get closer to a truly great impact.
Any thoughts? Any other golfers who you think might get the club to the line? Evidence? Please chime in.
To learn more about better ball striking check out THIS
Posted in Long Game, Practice, Swing Philosophy |
Tags: address position, ball striking, ben hogan, best ball striker, body angles, garcia, hogan, joe durant, lee trevino, moe norman, nick price, price, sam snead, sergio garcia, shaft at impact, spine angle, trevino |
13 Comments »
The Golf Swing
After listening to a golf commentator indicate that Ian Poulter’s back leg was way too straight this week I just about fell out my chair. Did he not notice that Poulter was in the process of picking up his inaugural US win and $1.5 million! Two weeks ago I heard similar comments about Dustin Johnson and his arm and wrist position at the top of the backswing. Perhaps they did not notice that he happened to win his 3rd event as an under 25 golfer.
Sam Snead at the Top
What would most golf instructors do with the swing of Sam Snead?
As a golf community we get so caught up in the “correct way” to swing that we lose sight of what is the correct way to hit. All that seems to matter to us is the look of the swing and golf’s greatest champions are proof that looks have nothing to do with results. (Just like in life actually!) Function will always trump form and substance always wins out over style! Let’s start to focus on what makes the golf ball go and get to work on that. There are many elements in the golf swing that are negotiable, like straightening the back leg, or lifting the left heel – just look at Sam Snead above. The key is being able to know which elements are non-negotiable, which are the key parts to the swing where the laws of physics must be obeyed. They all happen to occur in and around impact. Here are the most important ones:
- Get the weight onto the front foot (80+%) at impact.
- Keep the head over or just behind the ball at impact. This means that the weight shift onto the front foot must occur by driving/shifting the hips and mid-section towards the target. This move leads to what I call body curve.
- If the body is positioned correctly, the hands will lead the clubhead into the hit creating a downward blow.
For more information like this please visit www.itsallaboutimpact.com
Posted in Commentary, Long Game, Swing Philosophy |
Tags: dustin johnson, function over form, hit the ball, ian poulter, impact, impact position, it's all about impact, sam snead, swing style |
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