Wouldn’t you know it, Bubba (“I don’t know why people make it so complicated. I just swing smooth and try to hit the center of the face”) Watson takes a thrilling Masters. If you thought Mickelson was talented and could do amazing things with the ball he’s got nothing on Bubba. I really think Bubba has a better swing than Mickelson, and if he improves his short game (not that it is not already good) he will be a force for years to come. I’m sure Brandel will spout off about Bubba not taking lessons but trust me when I say that his approach to the game cannot help 99.99% percent of people who try to play. It is a hell of a lot of fun to watch, however.
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Posts Tagged ‘golf swing analysis’
Swing Analysis: The Masters Final Round: It’s Bubba!
Tuesday, April 10th, 2012Johnny Just Doesn’t Get It
Thursday, March 29th, 2012As long as Johnny Miller insists on saying stupid things about Tiger Woods I will insist on making these videos that point out his ridiculous statements. It is my contention that what Miller says is important, and that when he (unintentionally) misleads the viewing public on matters of swing technique I am doing those viewers a service by pointing out his errors and hoping that someday he will view one of these and see that he should stop carrying on about lowering during the swing. I mean, can I make it any clearer? I mean, Miller himself lowered a tremendous amount in his downswing, at least as much as Tiger if not more. That in itself is more than revealing: it means that Miller has no real idea of what made him so great, only what he “felt” that he did. I am dealing with what is in front of me. It is my contention that video does not lie, and that if you do the homework and study your subject matter these items that I continually point out are fairly obvious. The great players have not “maintained their level” during their swings. Not in the past, and not now. The best players of any generation you want to view lowered during their swings, some only in the downswing (Nelson, Miller), and some only in the backswing, and most both back and down. Why this is so hard to accept I can’t begin to tell you. I happen to believe that it is a tremendous benefit to all golfers to learn to use the ground to help create powerful pivot movement. Having Miller, Gary Koch, Bill Kratzert, Peter Kostis, Brandel Chamblee and whoever else you want to name continue to mislead the public on this important point is something I intend to continue to address. So if you watch the telecast and hear one of these guys spouting off on someone’s “dipping” problem you can expect another video from me.
Swing Analysis: In the Hunt at the Transitions Classic: Bae, Donald, Els, Garrigus
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012 If you have been a member of waynedefrancesco.com you have probably noticed (unless you are incoherent when perusing the site) that there are certain things in the swing that I believe are important (you might say that they comprise part of my “method”) and that when I see players demonstrate those characteristics I like to make note of it and point it out in video form. The Transitions tour event at Innisbrook this past week was no exception. Here we take a look at 3 players who made it to the playoff and one who didn’t (Els, although he should have won without a playoff), and focus on their backswing triggers (how they start their swings) and also on their lowering during the swing.
As I continue to research and analyze the swings of the best players past and present I have come to a few different conclusions about what I teach as my preferred method in specific parts of the movement. A major change in my thinking has to do with the start of the swing. For almost my entire career as a player and teacher I was of the mind that the upper body started the swing almost like a putting stroke, and a quiet lower body was then pulled into the swing by that upper trunk movement. The more I watched Hogan, however, the more I began to see (it was always there, I just didn’t focus on it) that he triggered his swing with his entire pivot, and started the movement by pushing into the ground, which caused the legs and hips to move and which in turn moved the upper trunk and the arms. When the hands move the clubhead stays still, bending the shaft and causing an appearance of dragging the grip and delaying the clubhead movement. As I took this new (for me) insight to other swings I kept seeing the same type of thing (not always, of course, but often enough and in most of my favorite players). In this video we see Luke Donald demonstrate the pivot oriented takeaway in the most exaggerated sense, while Bae and Els are more subtle, and Garrigus utilizes a completely different method.
As for the lowering part, I figure that maybe, just maybe, if I keep showing this that the knuckleheads on TV might catch on and stop with the “keep the level” nonsense that pops up every single week. One can only hope.
Patrick Cantlay Golf Swing Analyzed
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012You probably know Patrick Cantlay is an amateur, and is only a sophomore at UCLA. That he has accomplished so much in such a short period, mostly with an incredible 2011 in which he compiled a long list of highly impressive performances, including runner-up in the US Amateur, a 21st place finish in the US Open and a course record 60 in a Tour event, places him in rarefied air with other studly college players such as Curtis Strange, Gary Hallberg, David Duval, Matt Kuchar, and Ryan Moore. Shooting such low scores in big events is evidence that there is a high probability that Cantlay will succeed as a professional.
As for his swing, it doesn’t do a lot of the things that I would say were important to do, but as I would also say, when high levels of talent are involved it really doesn’t matter. His swing pattern is to move his arms out away from his body then drop his hands fairly vertically with a bowed left wrist in the downswing. Most players of lesser ability have trouble with the shaft falling under their hands, but Cantlay has perfect control of the shaft and has it nicely between his arms on the approach in an “unstuck position”, although the hands are a good deal (almost 10 degrees) up from the original shaft plane at address. Cantlay’s left arm is bent a fair amount just before impact, but again it doesn’t seem to be much of an issue. Certainly, there are plenty of great players whose left arms were bent in the forward swing but the amount of bend in Cantlay’s is fairly unique. Again, this is just reporting what is present in the swing, not a judgment on whether it’s good or bad. There are things I prefer for any level player and if Patrick suddenly and utterly lost his game and came to me for help I would certainly change a few things. But no one with a brain would mess with it now. It will be fun to watch him mature as a player and try to play golf for a living, which is not easy for anybody.
Mickey Wright Golf Swing Analyzed
Tuesday, March 20th, 2012Arguably the greatest woman golfer of all time, Ben Hogan stated that he thought Mickey Wright had the best swing of anyone, male or female, that he had ever seen. As you watch this video you will see why Hogan was so enamored of her action, as it was smooth and powerful, athletic and aggressive, with clean, conventional plane lines reminiscent of Steve Elkington or Nick Faldo. What stands out most to my eye is the dynamic transition from backswing to forward swing, which, much like Hogan, produced oodles of clubhead lag and a superior approach to impact.
As is the case with most great players and their swings, Wright’s had a few idiosyncrasies. The one that stands out the most is that her backswing reached the left arm parallel position with almost no wrist cock to speak of, certainly not all that common among the best players in history, especially recently as an “early set” has become more in vogue, although many fine strikers used less than 90 degrees of wrist cock at left arm parallel. In a sense this promoted the “hard catch” she employed in transition, which gave her swing the power and grace that sets it apart.
Swing Analysis: Secret in the Dirt’s “Sevam1″ (aka Michael Maves)
Monday, March 19th, 2012You may wonder why in the world I would bother analyzing a swing of a non-tour player and compare it to Hogan, but here I think the analysis is relevant when you consider the popularity of Secret in the Dirt and Maves’ association with Steve Elkington. I certainly respect Elk and his high standard of play, and I know that he is a devoted searcher of golf swing information, and since Maves puts his swing up for view (which he is to be commended for) I feel that it is fair game for the same type of analysis I give Tour pros. Why compare him to Hogan? Well, Maves is a Hogan aficionado, as am I, and has opinions about just about every part of Hogan’s swing, as I do as well. So, call it competitiveness or whatever you want, but when I watch someone talk about what Hogan is doing and how what his swing (Maves) is doing to mimic and demonstrate his take on Hogan I certainly take note and focus more closely on just what is going on.
What we see here is that while Maves has the Hogan rhythm down to a “T”, the rest of it does not really compare. The bottom line is that Maves’ release is completely different than Hogan’s, and if you are going to talk about what Hogan is doing and then hit shots and ramble on about how your swing has it down and everyone else is too complicated (he calls the work of other instructors “baloney”) then I feel obligated to present the real facts, and here the facts (his swing) doesn’t back him up. It is nothing like what Hogan is doing right from the inside takeaway to the lift and back-up of the head, the under plane approach and the right arm roundhouse release with the over rotated clubface. It’s nothing personal, it’s just that I take my Hogan work seriously and if someone is going to claim to know what Hogan is doing I am going to take a close look at it. I am just reporting objectively what is present on the video.
Brandel Chamblee Keeps Hammering on Tiger
Tuesday, March 13th, 2012This little clip should come as no surprise to anyone who watches The Golf Channel with any regularity. Brandel Chamblee has a major problem with “modern instruction”, meaning any type of instruction that involves video analysis and technique work, and his feelings come out loud and clear (and obnoxiously) in his criticism of Tiger Woods and his coach, Sean Foley. What is mildly surprising is Chamblee’s admission that yes, great players lower during their swings (he mentions Miller and Hogan), but he then adds that neither Hogan nor Miller “popped up” like Tiger as they hit the ball.
It occurred to me that it would be interesting to look at Brandel’s own swing, as he was a good enough player to stay out on Tour for over a decade. You can imagine my delight when I saw that Chamblee “pops up” as he hits the ball almost exactly the same way Tiger does. Once again, it becomes apparent that these TV guys say things that they believe are true, but have not done the work necessary to make sure that what they are saying has any merit. The videos are out there and the opportunity to do enough homework to back up statements about technique is also readily available. I fully intend to keep these announcers on their toes and accountable for their statements. People are watching, and there is a responsibility to get this stuff right.
Tiger at the 2011 Chevron: Finally, a Win!
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012Here we have Tiger’s swing at this year’s Chevron where he birdied the last two holes to finally pull off a win. The most amazing thing to watch is the huge difference from last year to this year. Watching the radical change in rehearsal swing mechanics you would think that Tiger had a new coach and a whole new swing theory, but the truth is that Sean Foley is smart enough to see the reality of the Trackman numbers and change his tune on Tiger’s downswing hand path, and Tiger likes and trusts Foley enough to go along with the change of direction. This swing is looking awfully good now, I would say as good as it has ever been, and I see Tiger having a good year next year and contending in the majors. I can’t tell you how much I am rooting for him (although my wife has serious issues with that) if only because I can’t wait for the naysayers like Brandel Chamblee and Dan Jenkins to eat their words.
Jason Day’s Golf Swing Analyzed
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
At first glance it might seem that Jason Day creates tremendous speed by just using his arms, as his body seems to move far less than most Tour pros, at least in the backswing. That, however, is only partially true. What is true is that unlike most of his counterparts Day does not lower at all in the backswing or in transition. His swing progression is most decidedly upward and in front of him, and his 16 degree rise from shaft plane to the top of the swing is one of the largest on Tour. In transition he manages to make a huge lateral move without noticeable pushing off the ground, although I would argue that he is still using the ground to effect the “45 degree slide” that I often talk about in describing the optimum lower body movement to initiate the forward swing. His arms stay in front of him coming down, and he approaches and delivers the club from a position far above his original starting hand position. In another interesting dichotomy, he moves his hands nicely outward toward the ball while letting the upper right arm momentarily fall backwards. If that seems like it would cause problems it doesn’t in his case for the simple reason that he is incredibly strong and talented. He maintains perfect control of his body and his right arm still ends up unstuck and in front of his rib cage on the approach. While this is not a technique I would want a lesser talent to copy, it certainly works for him, although I believe it could be a bit better. But, as we have seen with any number of great players, talent is more important than technique, and certainly helps overcome any difficulties that are encountered. The great question, as always, is whether or not changing would lead to improvement or detract from what is a natural “feel”.
Justin Rose Golf Swing Analyzed
Friday, February 24th, 2012
When good players change their swings there is always an element of interested observers who question the sensibility of trying to fix something that “ain’t broke”. That is certainly true of less talented players, who even ask me why I would bother practicing (the insinuation being that anyone who can hit a decent shot should just be happy with whatever produced it). You would have to say that Justin Rose has always had a “good” swing, good, in this case, summing up a whole bunch of things that have come together to make him a solid Tour player year in and year out. It is quite interesting to see the changes that Rose has made under Sean Foley, especially since the swing he changed from was viewed as one of the best on Tour. Many players speak of how they have “changed” their view of the swing and are working on this and that, but when you watch them swing there is no apparent change. Teachers who don’t work with video are famous for reinforcing the “feelings” their students vocalize after each shot. “Yeah, that was better”, is a common refrain from such instructors, when the truth is that while the shot may have been better there is no proof that the swing that produced the shot was any different from any other previous swing. In this case, however, we see the results of working with a teacher (Sean Foley) who works constantly with video, and that is a measurably different swing. Whether it is better is a matter of preference and opinion, and as you will see in the video there are things I think are improved and others that I would say aren’t. One thing is for sure, Rose is playing at a higher level the last two years.
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