Here we have another example of golfing genius, a pure talent with a mean competitive streak that I believe would have put him in the same category as Lee Trevino as a multiple major winner and dominant player had it not been for his unfortunate brush with cancer at the peak of his career. His grip, set up, and backswing technique are idiosyncratic, but as you will see his use of his pivot and the hand path and shaft control are exemplary and made him one of the best ball strikers on the tour. As we have seen over and over with great players odd grips and backswings can be overcome by talent, which shines through in the forward swing and at impact. Of course, this is fairly obvious, as we would not be bothering to look at the swing at all if it were not highly successful, but it is worth reiterating for those who insist that certain players have less than adequate golf swing technique that the idea is to watch and see how and why it works.
Posts Tagged ‘lee trevino’
Paul Azinger Golf Swing Analyzed
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011Lee Trevino: Golf Swing Analysis
Monday, May 23rd, 2011
If you’ve watched more than one or two of the videos I’ve done on the golf swings of the great players of the past and present you may have noticed the huge variations in technique they use to hit the golf ball. That said, you may also have noticed that there are a few themes that run through most of them, themes that I make sure to highlight. Two of the most important are the use of the ground to power the pivot motion, a movement I have called “compression”, and also the ability to “sustain” the alignment of the shaft with the left arm past impact, a position produced in part as a result of the huge amount of lateral and rotational movement of the lower body in the forward swing, a move Lee Trevino himself described as a “slide-turn”. Watching Trevino hit the golf ball we see one of the most obvious and extreme examples of both of these highly desirable traits.
Lee Trevino controlled the ball as well as anyone ever, preferring a low fade with the longer clubs, and was a master with the wedge. What jumps out about his golf swing, other than his idiosyncratic alignment, is the massive bend he produces in his posture as he swings, which should have long ago put to rest the conventional notion that it is a good idea to “maintain posture” during the swing. The truth is, it is a far better idea to “add” posture, or to bend more from the waist by compressing into the ground, as Trevino does. Trevino’s swing was entirely homemade, sculpted by hitting thousands upon thousands of balls off the hardpan of a Texas driving range. He grew up poor and had to fight and scratch for anything and everything, then ended up beating Nicklaus in a playoff for the U.S. Open for one of his six major championships. He is truly one of the all-time greats, and a great story as well.
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