Bradley posted a couple of GIFs of Player on another site, and I found a recent swing video of him that really shows our ABS intentions well. Check these out:
It’s Hogan, Hogan, Hogan, but I find Player a better swing to study. His intentions are obvious, and it just seems more approachable.
Thanks for posting…
We really want to keep the focus on the strike through impact… P3 to P4. There is a lot of cosmetic stuff that many people rather foolishly prefer to focus on. The attention to detail needs to be put into place, but we can’t overlook the important requirements such as properly rotating both the shoulders and forearms correctly, applying proper ground pressures, and accelerating through the strike in our quest for holding shaft flex. Learning to align yourself based upon intuition is also a masterful craft. This becomes more accessible as one learns to work the ball both ways on cue.
I didn’t realize this was going to fit so well with NFB’s post, cool! I just love how Norman went through the ball, magic stuff…
Doug Sanders The Open 1970 St. Andrews: 30 inches from his greatest dream or worst nightmare…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KupK48O5Bx0[/youtube]
Chris
Interesting piece of footage, he was clearly very nervous about the prospect of winning. I counted 16 looks at the target playing his 5w into 17; then that looked a pretty horrible wedge into the last & an awful putt to win it. Control & understanding of the mind in golf might be an area that has improved quite a bit from that era to this?
I couldn’t have watched that 18 hole play off with him & Nicklaus - must have taken forever!
STAN LEONARD
Mannessero may be ‘young in the tooth’ to be considered a great…however this is an incredibly well functioning golf swing…an absolute treat to see in this day & age of steep-stalling- slinging motions… PS: Mod 8 guys watch and take note
Byron
Maybe not greatest of all time, but 1999 wasn’t bad.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH9hZfhy8Rg[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxABV4VQO8g[/youtube]
lag, TwoMasters and anyone else.
Would you all know who was the longest “HITTER” in the persimmons era? Since we are on that subject maybe we can get the top three longest “HITTERS” in the persimmons era. Its something that’s been on my mind for a while.
George Bayer was the longest tour player by most all accounts I have heard… 1950’s through 1960’s
In the long drive contest circuit in the persimmon era, Evan “Big Cat” Williams was unbelievably long and Mike Dunaway comes to mind also.
When I was in college, Davis Love was longer than anyone I can remember playing against… as far as good players. He toned it down significantly when he turned pro.
I am sure others here will remember some persimmon bombers.
In the 1930’s-1950’s, Jimmy Thomson as the longest driver with a creditable tournament record. He won the North American Driving Championship, but also won multiple times on tour, including the L.A. Open, Australia Open as well as finishing runner up in the U.S. Open, P.G.A. Championship and Canadian Open. Sam Snead was also considered one of the longest drivers and was often paired with Thomson. Although it was a delite for the fans, Snead felt that the constant pairing of the “two sluggers” hurt his game. Snead told the P.G.A. that if they didn’t stop pairing him with Thomson, he would boycott future events.
My guess is the guys in the past era may have been longer hitters than today’s players relative to the gear being used. The modern swing is just using an arm and hand flick through the ball with a feather club. Snead, Thompson, Bayer, those guys where driving it through with their pivot working a more massive club into impact and compressing the ball better. The pivot stall flick through impact would lose a tremendous amount of velocity using a shorter heavier persimmon that was designed from a very different objective and perspective on the game.
I’ve handed college kids who bomb their frying pans 300+ a heavy persimmon and they can’t move it any farther than I do…often less.
Greg Norman was long with persimmon
David Graham was one of the few I ever played with who had an extra 20 yards in his pocket if need be.
I played with Evan Big Cat Williams in Michigan well after his long drive exploits and amazingly (or not surprisingly really!!!) with a metal driver in his hand he was actually quite short…spun it up high and I got it by him very easily all two days we played…that sort of shocked me but really shows up how equipment helped many and hindered a bunch also.
Brad King was very long when we were growing up in Australia
Dan Pohl was top of the charts in the driving stats for many of the persimmon years in the 80’s…and again when I played with him in early 90’s and he was using a metal driver he was not as long as I had come to believe…
I was longer with a persimmon driver and a mushy golf ball than I ever was with the newer gear
Very fascinating to have seen all this unfold right before my eyes
im just wondering if there is a module where we work on the following move. i’ve been messing around with it and it seems to really help me alot. i love the look of leaning toward the target at the top of backswing. i think i read somewhere that john sets up with his right leg more or less straight maybe presetting this move? do we work on this here? the pic is billy casper and gaye brewer
Dan Pohl…now there’s a name I haven’t seen in years. Great driver! I used to look to watch him in tournaments.
Ian Woosnam’s driver on 18 at 1991 Masters is still one of my favorite big persimmon drives of all time.
Skip to 6:50
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFCojs4YOVE[/youtube]
Remember that the apparent lean toward the target with the rear leg should be the result of opposing forces created by weight transfer and the tempo of the backswing. The faster the backswing, the more resistance needs to be applied here in the right leg.
A lot of reverse weight shifting is due to too slow of a backswing… or failing to transfer weight properly.
What I notice most is Peete’s ability to maintain the angle between his arms and the shaft plane at address. It seems he maintains this relationship for the duration of the swing. I see a small rotation of the arms during transition accompanied by a bowed left wrist. It looks like the club lays off a bunch here, but his impact position is fascinating. Low low low hands, bent right arm, and what seems like a replica of the address angle I mentioned above. Butt end pointing at his core and no wrist flicking. Not exactly a flat swing either.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbnIjybQ8gw[/youtube]
Remember that “flat” is what we want through impact… and I’m hard pressed to think of anyone flatter going through the ball than Calvin Peete. Maybe the straightest hitter ever? Maybe the flattest going through P3 to P4 ever.
A flat backswing at the top simplifies the process as long as the player has learned how to properly apply forearm rotation, or superslotting the golf club.
Most players who try to flatten their backswings fail to apply the critical concepts of flatter gear, and or flatter entry at P3… level shoulder rotation… proper ground pressures etc.
can we talk about calvin peete’s transition move? it looks pretty incredible to me
