Shane Lowry, one of my favourite swings of all time, never mind the modern game. This one is from 2009 when he was still an amateur, and I think it shows everything good about him. He’s shortened things a bit these days, but probably more from gaining a few lbs than from anything overly technical.
He’s got some Jones and Snead in there to my eye, lovely action, very natural. He comes from Hurling country here in Ireland, and you can really see that in his swing, a very natural athletic action, and very clean through impact. It’s no wonder he’s pretty much always played well all through his career, with quiet patches coming more from putting and mental stuff than anything else.
Graham DeLaet - I didn’t realize until a few days ago that he’d actually retired this year, back injuries apparently. Can’t believe it’s anything to do with his action.
Really clean through the ball - he’s got that backing into the slot with the arms thing down nicely.
Good and solid for sure, and I like the phrase backing into the slot a little more than dropping down into the slot because I think it’s a little hard to overdue, to a point of disconnecting the arms, ‘backing in’ when clearing down, back, and in, in transition. It just feels more knit together overall because just a primary arm drop will have to be reconnected again before zone travel. Good sound on that too.
I noticed this guy’s name in the Q-School chat this week so had a look at him - Chris Gotterup, good first round too.
This is from a few years ago, prior to college by the looks of it, but a serious action. Hogan-esque in lots of ways, though through impact is obviously more slingy for speed as per the modern game. Sill, a pretty amazing action for a young kid. He’s a lot more spinny in transition, with less of that lean/shift, but it’s obviously stiff effective.
Been floating around Bob Torrance’s neighborhood of late and lost my coffee while reading this.
On the eve of an Irish Open at Mount Juliet 20 years ago, Bob Torrance was to be seen on the practice ground, standing beside Seve Ballesteros. With his gravelly Scottish burr, he was barking instructions at the Spaniard, apparently without much success. “I never, never, lift my left heel on the backswing,” said Ballesteros angrily.
The fact that they could actually communicate at all, seemed quite an achievement.
What an achievement indeed, that clash between accents must have been quite the moment…
Relatively new to playing the game; recently started the modules. Love this forum. Love looking at golf swings.
To me, the 2008 to 2012 version of FRANCESCO MOLINARI, which was a top 40 OWGR golfer during this stretch, seems to me to best tick off all the ABS boxes of modern players. He was, incidentally, during this stretch, the most accurate ball striker in the world.
His DA/GIR ranks on the European Tour were: '08 (5/4); '09 (4/6); '10 (5/7); '11 (4/36); '12 (2/8).
Would love any thoughts or comments. (If I am wrong about this swing and its relation to ABS dynamics and principals, well, then that would certainly help correct my understanding in any event.)
Welcome to ABS. I wish I was ‘relatively new to the game’, it’d make it easier to make swing changes rather than having to fight with 40+ years of bad habits
Molinari certainly does a lot of things well. He has a really nice transition from the top. Like most modern players, he chases down the line with his right arm and hits with the right hand more than ABS would like, but more than likely a result of light modern equipment.
Action looks very similar to Joaquín Niemann’s. An instructor I follow on Instagram stated, “there are many ways to hit a golf, but I think this is the best way.” Not so sure, maybe if you’re 23 yrs of age.
