Swing

Greetings Golfers, 

Yeah, I know it’s cold in MN … and that I’m obnoxious talking about playing golf down here in South Carolina.

Well, it’s not hot here … 50s and sometimes 60s … but good enough to tee-it-up.

So the other day, I got a good feeling standing over a tee shot … and went with the feeling … and actually hit a decently long drive. Like most old people, my tee shots have gotten significantly shorter over the years.

What happened on this “good” one? Well, I felt like John Daly. Felt like I was making a ridiculously long back swing.

Was it really long like Daly? Hardly … wasn’t even back to parallel. But it felt really long. And … it felt really good.

Ok … let’s talk about this. Right now the best player in the world is Jon Rahm. He’s crazy good. And hits it crazy far with a really short back swing. He’s also really young and really strong. I’m neither of those … I need a long backswing.

Of course if it’s too long … it’s hard to control. That’s not my problem. My problem is distance.

So … how to solve this problem? Yeah … getting stronger would help (a new body would really help!). But that’s not happening. I need to lengthen my swing (and so do a lot of you - even some young people).

But what we all really need … is a better golf swing. Swing. Not hit. Not some big body move. I’m talking golf SWING.

I pulled my Orange Whip trainer out of the garage and started swinging it back & forth. And tried to make the swing as long as I could. Full backswing and full follow-through. Back & forth without stopping. Nice and long and smooth and rhythmical. 

It’s not hard on the body … if you don’t go crazy. 

Now I’m inspired. In fact, I dug out my old copy of Ernest Jones classic book “Swing the Clubhead”. If you don’t know about it … check it out … buy a copy … read about Jones on the internet, etc.

Ernest Jones was a young Golf Pro before he went to serve in WWI. Unfortunately, during the war, a grenade blew off his right leg. He thought his days as a Pro were done. Hardly. Shortly thereafter, he shot 72 on a long, difficult course. On one leg.

Thus, his new understanding of the golf swing.

As he said “The trouble with the teaching of golf, is that one is taught what a swing produces (body movement), instead of how to produce a swing (club movement).”

Jones gave most of his lessons indoors. Said it was better because people could then focus on the swing and not their shots. 

So, even if you’re in cold Minnesota … this is a great time to work on your golf SWING.

Cheers!

Tom Abts
GM/Head PGA Professional
tabts@deerrungolf.com