Athletic, not Mechanical

Greetings Golfers,

Last week a PGA Tour player played his round in 1:36 and had his best score of the week (69). I’ll take a wild guess and say that he wasn’t taking a bunch of practice swings and playing mechanically.

That’s my new mantra – “Play athletically – not mechanically”.

A good golf swing is a sweep from in-to-out. Everything you do should help make that happen … from set-up to follow-through. But, it should be athletic – not mechanical.

Most players don’t sweep from in-to-out … they lift up the club and beat down on the ball with their shoulders. Don’t believe me? … look at the gouging divots on the tee boxes … and those are from a driver – not a wedge.

Learning that sweeping action doesn’t have to be mechanical and rigid. Modern golf swings are too rigid. Old school players like Hogan and Snead were always in motion.

Take a look at this swing of Hogan from 1948:

https://www.facebook.com/BenHogan/videos/920124898037093/

How cool is that? Look at that waggle! If you want to copy good swings … watch video of Hogan, Snead, etc. They could feel their swing in their waggle. Try it – you’ll like it.

Cheers,

Tom Abts
GM and Head Golf Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com