Video Archive

It might be surprising to some to see me compare the seemingly ungainly swing of 4 time PGA Tour winner Carl Pettersson with Ben Hogan’s.

If you thought Mickelson was talented and could do amazing things with the ball he’s got nothing on Bubba.

One of the things that stood out to my eye in the recent PGA Championship at the Atlanta Athletic Club was the wide disparity of swing types among the top contenders. Here I take 7 players who populated the leader board on Saturday and use the video to comment and compare their swings.

Granted, Tiger Woods has a lot on his mind. There is a popular thought that his poor play is totally a result of the fact that he has essentially blown up his life and that all he has left is money, but since we are golfers and not psychiatrists we will focus on what I believe to be the major change he has made beginning in 2008 and which I think is hindering his comeback.

When we look at K.J. Choi’s golf swing the first thing that has to come to mind is the obvious look of the dreaded “over the top” move wherein the hands and arms swing out toward the ball as the swing changes direction from backward to forward.

Here we take a look at what could become the swing of the greatest woman golfer ever. You will note the extremely bent over address position (Brandel Chamblee states that you can’t win majors if you bend over a lot…I guess he doesn’t count women), and then, amazingly, compresses into the ground even more in the backswing.

In Nick Watney we see what I would call the “prototype” of the new Tour player, namely one that is tall, strong, talented, and technique oriented. Watney is as conventional as Bubba Watson is not, and it is evident that he is technique oriented as he has managed to improve his swing over the last 3 years by fixing a faulty takeaway and working into a much less crossed position for the shaft at the top of the swing.

Bobby Jones, one of the all-time greatest golfers. He is the only player to win all four major championships in one calendar year and co-founded the Masters. In this swing analysis, we see how Bobby’s golf swing differs from the modern day golf swing, yet still displays some of the same characteristics of all great ball-strikers. Head lowering, hips in the box, right arm action, forward lean and more, a lot of the same factors you see in all great players you see in Jones as well.

What a great win for Darren Clarke at this year’s British Open. Reading his biography and getting an insight on what he has gone through personally with the death of his wife one can only be in awe of the power of the human spirit in the face of tragedy.

Here we have Wayne’s analysis of what Rory changed in his swing after the Masters and before the U.S. Open.

In this video we look at Cabrera’s swing in all its free flowing, old school glory as he rips into the ball with gleeful abandon.

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 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.

Back in 2002 I was fortunate enough to have my choice of 6 Tour events to play in as a result of my victory in the previous year’s National Club Pro Championship. I chose as one of my events The Greater Greensboro Open, which was somewhat of a homecoming as I had attended Wake Forest for two years in the 70’s.

If you were around in the late 70’s and 80’s and you liked golf at all you were probably familiar with Seve Ballesteros. He was wild and powerful, yet possessed a magician’s touch to extract himself from self-inflicted trouble, usually off the tee.

So what happened to Rory McIlroy at this year’s Masters? The question is, did McIlroy’s swing change on Sunday for whatever reason? My sense is that it did not, at least not in an appreciably noticeable fashion, and I think the video proves that that is the case.

When we think of Luke Donald the first thing that comes to mind is the syrupy rhythm and the perfectly balanced finish, which make his swing appear graceful and uncommonly effortless, sort of a refined Fred Couples.

Okay, call me a contrarian. Now that questioning Tiger Woods judgment in changing his golf swing under the guidance of Sean Foley is in vogue, I am firmly putting a stake in the ground: I believe that Tiger is on a good path that will eventually lead to his return as a dominant player and [...]

I never thought I would see the day when a golf announcer (or “analyst” as the networks like to say) who had played the PGA Tour would make Johnny Miller look like a genius.  But now we have been blessed with Brandel Chamblee, a 15 year Tour veteran (who won one tournament) who, as lead [...]

“You know, I just swing smooth and try to hit the center of the clubface”. Gee, thanks Bubba. That oughta do it.

If you were a decent player and you ran into Tommy “Two Gloves” Gainey at the local muni and he offered to play you and give you a couple a side (this is after you saw his swing from a distance) I have no doubt you would jump on the opportunity.  You would, of course, [...]

I used to spend a lot of time traveling and playing in the winter, but as I get older and my body suffers more from the constant abuse of playing and teaching…

Presented with the opportunity to watch Robert Garrigus’ golf swing in slow motion it occurred to me that it would be interesting to compare his powerful action to that of a baseball player, especially a power hitter.

There is a certain aesthetic pleasure in watching a tightly connected, “flat” looking swing. The movement appears centered and simple. The energy seems to come 100 % from rotation, and there is little or no rangy or loose movement.

I saw Moe Norman hit balls twice, both times speaking to groups of golfers about what he was doing and how he was doing it, and I thought it would be interesting, given the myth concocted around him and his alleged ball striking prowess, if I told the story of my encounter.

Now, with the advent of high speed photography used by the networks on their PGA Tour telecasts, I have compiled some really cool shots of the club striking the ball.

Wayne looks at Graeme McDowell’s swing

Tiger’s swing at the Chevron World Championship. The changes are evidence of his work with Sean Foley and show him to be on the right track in his efforts to improve his technique.

Tiger at the Chevron: New Swing, Same Pivot Compression

Steve Elkington Swing Analysis

Lots of Dustin Johnson in Arnie’s swing. Check out the incredible angles created in the upper torso and shoulders and the depth of the midsection. This was one strong dude. He was so much fun to watch play: always teetering between brilliance and disaster. Nobody lashed it like Arnie.

Sean O’Hair Swing Analysis

Here is a look at Dustin Johnson’s golf swing which shares some interesting characteristics with the swing of Lee Trevino.

I love this swing…THIS is the way you hit a golf ball.

A look at Martin Kaymer’s swing at the 2010 PGA Championship

Wayne checks to report on the progress he is making on his own swing.

Vijay is a prime example of a shaft plane approach and release. His desire to extend his right arm toward the target in the follow through causes his right palm to completely lose contact with the left thumb, giving him one of the more bizarre looking releases among great ball strikers.

Mahan stays centered over the ball (little or no movement to the right in the backswing) and works his arms deep across his body. Sound familiar? His best attribute is his brilliant use of his lower body, which more than makes up for his overly bent right arm.

Tiger Woods Unveils Swing Change at 2010 PGA Championship

A great talent from a young age, Ernie’s rhythm and release action have remained pretty much the same as he has made a few changes to his setup and backswing.

2010 British Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen: A swing as conventional as Ricky Fowler’s is not (no knock on Ricky Fowler). An instructor could simply use this as a model to demonstrate proper mechanics and efficient generation of power. As good as it gets in this day and age.

Talking and theorizing about the golf swing is easy: playing golf is hard. Here I’m at the 2010 CPC (Club Professional Championship) hitting it poorly in a practice round, then utilizing the video camera to try to fix it up.

Jeff Overton had a good tournament at the AT&T recently. Despite what Peter Kostis says there are thing I really like about Jeff’s swing.

Lee Westwood Swing Analysis

Nick is in a position to pick up many wins on the Champions Tour. He is one of the better ball strikers in the game and I particularly like the tempo and athleticism of his his golf swing.

Annika Sorenstam Maybe the best woman ever? Strong and fast, great sequence. Hit a draw from an open clubface at the top. Complicated movement, but obviously good enough to dominate from 6400 yards.

It seems like every time Tiger hits a bad shot someone is there to critique his action. At the Memorial it was Nick Faldo enlightening viewers to his ideas on the causes of Tiger’s bad shots.

Mac is one of the all-time great ball strikers and characters in the game.

This video is of a lesson given to Ramon Padilla, a US Army veteran who lost his left arm while serving in Afghanistan. I can only describe the experience as inspirational, although Ramon preferred to look at it as just trying to get better.

Video of David Duval’s swing taken from that round is compared to his swing in 2007 and Wayne breaks down the mechanical swing differences he sees.