To date, I don’t think anybody’s ever achieved a perfect golf swing. Although a few have come close, (Snead and Els come to mind); even they have some slight nuances that they fought for a lifetime.
To date, I don’t think anybody’s ever achieved a perfect golf swing. Although a few have come close, (Snead and Els come to mind); even they have some slight nuances that they fought for a lifetime. The truth is however, that the overwhelming vast majority of golfers have some swing faults, certainly some more than others.
The next question that must be asked is; what is a fault? To answer that, let’s take a look at what most consider to be a typical swing fault – The Flying Right Elbow (for right handers of course) For years (and even today), the flying right elbow is considered “taboo” for a lot of teachers and players. The truth of the matter is that there were a LOT of great players who had “flying elbows” (Jack Nicklaus for one), but there are also great players with neutral elbows, some with elbows close to their sides, etc. So therefore, are flying elbows bad? The answer lies in the fact that flying elbows are great for some people (like Jack Nicklaus) and bad for others. In the case of the flying elbow, one simply has to check out the functioning of the shoulder blades and the muscles that control them (rhomboids and traps) to find out if your elbow is out of balance or not. In other words, a person who is stocky and tight in their chest and back is more likely to be a candidate for a flying elbow. Although we’re only talking about one aspect of the swing here, the fact remains that virtually all swing faults are really “symptoms” of each individual persons’ anatomical function.
Unfortunately, many golfers are trying to achieve positions in their golf swing that they physically “can’t do”, simply because the muscle function of “‘their” bodies won’t allow them to do it. Understanding the basic functioning of your muscles will certainly allow you to practice on the things that are right for YOU.
Do you know WHY you do WHAT you do in your swing?
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