How well do you understand the mechanics of a good golf swing?

[Canary_Yellow]

I thought this might be an interesting question.

On a scale of 1-10, how well do you understand the mechanics of the golf swing?

I think it's something I understand well, but struggle to put that knowledge into practice in my own swing. Translating understanding and knowledge into bio mechanical movements is difficult and it's where good PGA pros earn their corn (and why the not so good ones don't really help their pupils particularly).

I'm particularly interested to hear from cat 1 golfers. I've always thought that the better you get the better you need to understand your swing, but I don't think that necessarily means a strong understanding of the technical intricacies of the swing.

I'm a detail focused, technically minded person. I'm sure there are lots that just pick up a club and have a swing without thinking about it.

 

[shortgame]

Good question!

Me: 3 I try to avoid the mechanics and keep as clear a head as possible!

One of my best mates: probably about a 7.
He is ALWAYS reading instruction books, watching you tube videos, having odd lessons with different pros etc

So much so that he has completely tied himself in knots and just can not play.
And he used to be half decent

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing

Paralysis by analysis

 

[spongebob59]

Thought about this a few years back when I had a back injury and wanted to know if I could go through a process of understanding of my swing at the time was causing problems.

This guy was recommended by my pro at the time but I never did follow it up.

http://www.bull3d.co.uk

 

[Hobbit]

Apart from the odd drop out of Cat 1 in the last 40 years, I've played to a decent level. I've read countless books and articles and watched tons of YouTube vids. I can recognise a decent swing, and I can tell when I've put a bad swing on a ball and where it'll go as it leaves the club face.

Can I put a swing fault right? No. The little intricacies that sometimes creep in and frustrate are difficult for me to identify. On the odd occasion I've gone to a good teaching pro they've identified the problem within minutes and, usually, put it right by the end of the lesson.

Do I understand the mechanics of a good swing? Yes, its not rocket science. Can I put them into practice? Mmm, sometimes.

 

[bobmac]

The ball flight tells you most things

 

[Capella]

Understanding the mechanics is not a problem for me. I'm a software developer with a physics background. I could probably build a swing robot if I put my mind to it. Doesn't mean I can get my own body to consistently swing anywhere near that way. I am even pretty good at telling what went wrong with a particular swing and where it ventured off the desired path or plane. What can I say? I know what a perfect double Rittberger is supposed to look like as well. Doesn't mean I can do it.

 

[Canary_Yellow]

The ball flight tells you most things

It gives you factual information relating to path and the club face angle at impact.

It doesn't tell you how you got to that position or how to do fix it. You'd still need to know a decent amount about golf swing mechanics to fix your swing simply based on what you see the ball doing.

 

[Orikoru]

Wave bat, hit ball, find it, repeat.

 

[SugarPenguin]

I think about my swing A LOT but don't really have a clue about the mechanics.

Keep it on plane and try to get everything turning in sync.

That's about it.

A 3 at the most.

 

[drewster]

2, never had lessons and try to "self fix" myself when i need to. I have a feeling that a "proper" swing or a go on one of those explanar machines would feel absolutely hideous to me and therefore am not prepared to go two steps backward to possibly go three forward. I try to concentrate more on alignment and completing my backswing before starting down....that's about all.

 

[Yant]

8/10 for me.

I'm a category 1 golfer and i've been through the PGA training, so my understanding of the mechanics of the golf swing are there and i can usually fix things myself. However, occasionally i do need some help as a second pair of eyes can see things that i can't. This has been the case lately, where i haven't had the time available to fix some problems, so I've worked with someone as opposed to trying to fix it myself.

As long as you have a fundamental understanding of why a ball goes a certain way, then you can (try to) adjust your swing accordingly. But i do think people over-complicate things sometimes and try to do things outside of their ability. Having said that, consistently putting the club in same position swing after swing, is not an easy thing to master. At all. Trying to explain this to people that don't play the game just don't understand!

 

[Deleted member 23270]

Angle of attack, swing path angle, late release, smooth transition, hip clearance, body rotation, weight transfer, lateral movement, cupped wrist, compressing the ball, impact position, follow through, spin rate, smash factor, launch angle, shaft frequency etc etc etc

I would say the average 24hcp chomper on here is better off at Specsavers getting a decent pair of specs so they can see which bush they just sliced their ball into

 

[Dasit]

3/10


No where good enough to give advice or diagnose my own problems

 

[clubchamp98]

I can in others
I used to teach the juniors at my last club.
I can get as technical as you like.
But when it comes to my own swing I can't self fix on the course.
If I record it on my iPad I can see where I am going wrong but when your swinging poorly on the course there's not many who can adjust.
Even the best in the world can't self a just on the course , and they play with what they have got that day.
The best players in the world still have lessons from their coach.
But most amateurs think they can do it themselves.

 

[DCB]

How do you define "a good golf swing" Look at Jim Furyk, you wouldn't class that as a good swing, but it does the business for him.

 

[Spear-Chucker]

9/10 for knowing the technical in's and out's of my swing but probably only 4/10 for seeing stuff in others. I'd be an awful teacher for sure.

Every day is a learning day and I'm always figuring out new stuff - and I enjoy that too. Guess it's just part of my character. Watching Chronicles of a Champion Golfer recently featuring Padraig Harrington was brilliant, apart from the training aids that's me all over.

 

[Jensen]

This guy was recommended by my pro at the time but I never did follow it up.

http://www.bull3d.co.uk

The 3D biomechanics is extremely interesting, and confirms my eureka moment at the range that I posted.

Look at the swing picture where it shows the swing arc/plane, and in particular the footprint it leaves as the club swings back. The most important point is as the club travels between 6 o clock and 9 o clock, the club travels up and away from the body, with the club head staying outside the hands. This is done by pulling the handle down, causing the clubhead to go up and out in front.
This was explained to me years ago by a Pro, but has only recently come back to mind 😳

How the swing looks with the footprints is how I now see the swing mentally. Shame the penny didn't drop a few years ago

 

[Canary_Yellow]

How do you define "a good golf swing" Look at Jim Furyk, you wouldn't class that as a good swing, but it does the business for him.

His backswing is unconventional, but I would wager downswing and impact is much more like you'd expect.

So I would certainly classify it as a good swing, albeit not one that you would teach!

I'm not a natural when it comes to golf, I don't pick up a club and naturally swing it in a way that is conducive to good, consistent golf. So I've had to learn how to do it and that's required an understanding of how the swing works.

I expected there to be two categories among the good players on here : 1. Those that it has come to quite naturally, and therefore probably don't worry much about mechanics, and 2. Those that it has not come so naturally to, but have worked at it and got results from changing the way they do it, and in the process of doing so have learned about the golf swing.

I could be way off though!

 

[dewsweeper]

The ball flight tells you most things

John Jacobs .

 

[garyinderry]

I love it all and find it fascinating. Bores the head off most people.