Non-Traditional Golf Swing Discussion

scotts33 · 2018-09-08T18:16:05+00:00

Since, there seems some interest in non-traditional methods of the golf swing. Here are 3 that I have tried or used. There are more but these three I feel...

garyt1957

scotts33 Yea I just threw score out there but it's relatively meaningless. I didn't go back to see which 6 holes I had the least putts, so the difference could be all putting. I rated them more on ball striking and for me Ballard was the best followed by Sq to Sq. Kinda unfair as I've gone to ballard on and off for years and even had a lesson on the Ballard swing. Sqto Sq was first time I've ever tried it on the course. It's an easily repeatable swing and could be something I work on over the winter.

As to face on chipping, I didn't do that but when off the green just on the fringe I did try putting straddling the line ala Snead and that's something I'm likely to use going forward.

Martee

sdandrea1 moved to the Easiest Swing about 10 months ago. Been using Julian Mellor youtube vids.

Given my hips and back, this method has done wonders. Still a work in progrest but when I am on, my distance is greatly improved, at least 1 club more.

Sneakylong

Have had some excellent ball striking lately. The only thing I've done differently is to externally rotate my right arm at address. To externally rotate your right arm all you need to do is rotate your right arm clockwise so your elbow pit is facing away from you (giving blood position).

The goal is to get the elbow pointed down to the ground more than pointed behind you (waiter tray position) at the top of the swing. I've been doing this for awhile now and recently saw Bill Phillips ironically talking about how to shallow the club. He doesn't mention externally rotating the right arm, but his demonstration shows him getting in the waiters tray position at the top of the swing.

I'm not doing CL, but if anyone is looking to shallow out their swing you could look at externally rotating your right arm. The Pro's do this dynamically in their downswing, but if you can't do that you could set up externally rotated at address in a static position.

There is no guarantee you still won't let the elbow get more behind you, but it may help. It's working for me right now anyway.

garyt1957

Sneakylong Jimmy Ballard...the elbows point to the ground all the way through the swing

Jtv

New here, but I have been using a non-traditional swing since I first read about Moe Norman in the '96 golf digest article they did on him. I've done various single axis methods over the years, and got really good with the driver, but struggled with a lot of inconsistency with my irons and wedges. For a little over a year now I have been learning channel lock, and I finally have some good consistency with my irons, and my overall game actually. Long story short, my average score went from 88 to 82.7 on my phone app. I had quite a few PB's this past season.

pellmell

Jtv Welcome. How many GIR's per round?

Sneakylong

Jtv For a little over a year now I have been learning channel lock, and I finally have some good consistency with my irons, and my overall game actually. Long story short, my average score went from 88 to 82.7 on my phone app. I had quite a few PB's this past season

I follow JH and Bill Phillips on YouTube. I like JH because he is very knowledgeable and thinks out of the box. He does get bored though and wouldn't be surprised if he moves on from Channel Lock eventually. The only reason he might not is his age and may just stick with CL and all his different iterations of CL.

Anyway, glad CL is working for you. I find such an extreme inside takeaway doesn't work for me. I still watch their videos and you can still pick up nuggets from them and use them in a conventual swing.

Jtv

pellmell Depends on the day, but usually 8-12. A lot more than I used to hit.

Jtv

Sneakylong JH definitely likes to try different things. I do also, so I'm always interested to see what he is doing. I found his channel looking for more Moe instructional stuff. I liked his enthusiasm, and lot of what he was saying clicked for me. When he started with channel lock I was skeptical. I tried it a few times and all I could do was hit the ball way right. Not being one to give up easily, I kept trying it from time until something clicked. It was instantly better for me with wedges and short irons, but longer ones I struggled with. I quit a few times, but I couldn't stay away because when I did hit a good shot with the longer clubs the ball flight was better than I have ever seen. I'm still learning, and I still hit a few bad shots, but they are much fewer, and way less destructive. I also haven't quite got the driver down yet. It's a work in progress, but worthwhile I think . I also find it much easier to self diagnose when things are not going so well. All in all, I can say that channel lock has delivered on the consistency I had hoped to get with a Moe-like swing. I think a lot of that comes from the back ball position, and no need to shift my weight.

pellmell

Jtv That's great, 12 greens is low 70's territory.

sdandrea1

The scratches on my soles point the wrong direction, yet..........😉

Sneakylong

Jtv

What I find amazing is all four of them can hit the ball so high with such a back ball position. Also, I wonder how many ruined their clubs by cutting them down so drastically.

Jtv

pellmell If I could putt better I'm sure I could now. I managed to put up a 75 last summer. 35/41 with a blow up hole on the back.

Jtv

Sneakylong I hit the ball high with the back ball position. I have been dabbling with cutting my clubs down also. lol So far it has been really good. I have already been playing OL irons for the past two seasons, before CL, so shorter clubs work well for me. I cut my 3 and 5w down to 40" and my 2h to 38". I lost a little distance, when looking at just my longest shots, but my average is actually up though hitting the middle more often, I guess.

Sneakylong

Jtv

Did you add weight (tape / hot melt) to the head to get the swing weight back up? It just seems like whatever JH does Bill and Matt follow suit regardless of whether it makes sense or not.

Jtv

Sneakylong Not yet, but I plan to. Mass is a part of the formula for single length clubs. My Fws are cobra F7, so I can add more weight easily by getting, or making, heavier weights. I don't like lead tape because it tends to come loose. Btw, I was planning on shortening my longer clubs for quite some time now, based on my experience with single length irons. I haven't shortened my driver yet, but I have been experimenting with gripping down with good results. I did that for a while with my Fws before cutting them down as well.

DonM

Lead tape comes loose if you apply it in the wrong place versus the direction of impact force. Using a driver as an easy example, if you put lead tape on top of the crown, it will eventually fly off forward at impact. If you put it in the rear edge, impact force will push it down in place, so it will never come off. Same thing on irons, put it on a rearward facing vertical surface. Or at least partly; you can wrap it over the edge of a rear skirt, and that will work. Etc.

azgreg

My back has really been bothering me after rounds of late. I think I'm going to give Sparks method a shot.
Anyways, I found this guys video review today and really like what he had to say.

scotts33

azgreg Anyways, I found this guys video review today and really like what he had to say.

I wonder if amigopheasantkiller still uses Easiest Swing as his videos of Easiest Swing go back to 2013 and last ones were posted in 2016?

Also check Triangulaid who preceded Easiest Swing by Bill Owens in early 90's. If I was going to work on Easiest Swing or that type of swing technique that's where I would start. http://www.triangulaid.com/up/gi-may2012.pdf Owens precedes Sparks/Meilor. Triangulaid if you look at the pdf sets up a structure that the majority of students need to get good at a particular swing. To progress forward IMO one would need this kind of structure much like Venetos does. Venetos is the exact opposite of Easiest Swing in many ways but I don't believe it's a body harm swing in fact those with maladies can use Venetos as there are fewer moving body parts. JV is also better IMO for those with quicker fast twitch muscle bio rhythms.

Stephane's Triangulaid YT Channel. There are some English video's on his channel lately as he realized there is quite a large English market. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHSBS67JRiYWFBqpB6DwYbw

IMO slower tempo more languid body rhythms do better with Easiest Swing kind of swing. If you don't feel you can lift lorward heel and make a more fuller turn and then weight shift to make sure you get on front foot for a full finish then Easiest Swing might not be for you.

I think Triangulaid, Easiest Swing and Venetos all have components in them that are good. You as the individual player have to identify what will work for you. Problem being I have run into many players that try one of these methods having a eureka moment play it for awhile and then go back to their day in day out swing which allows them to play but probably not play better or go forward. Modern society has made the majority of us need immediate gratification. If we don't see it we give up quickly. 😉

sdandrea1

Sparks swing is so body-friendly. I'm still working on it.

fatshot

sdandrea1
Hmmmm.....sounds like I need to look into this. My back has been bothering me lately, esp. after golf.....

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