Legends of Golf

Arguably 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.

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.

The only reason that Greg Norman is not considered as one of the top 5 players of all time is that he could not find a way to close out majors that he had a very good chance to win.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Nick’s swing in his prime favored control over power, which allowed him to win six major championships in the days before “bomb and gouge”. He is one player, however, who was left behind by the advances in equipment.

Proof that in some cases talent overrides suspect or idiosyncratic form.

Man, how far do you think Nicklaus would have been hitting it with this swing (circa 1963) and today’s technology? I’m guessing he would be Bubba Watson long, but infinitely more controlled.

Sam Snead Swing Analysis

Tom Watson Swing Analysis

Ben Hogan Swing Analysis

Byron Nelson won 11 consecutive tournaments and 18 total tournaments in 1945 and is another good example of the compression movement that is present in the swings of great players of the past and present.