Well, the only reason I made this blog in the first place was to record my swing thoughts so I can go back in the future to see the swing thoughts I had when my ball striking and short game was good.

Today was a really good ball striking day, perhaps the best in a long, long time.

Here’s are my thoughts through the swing:

Address

Make sure to setup up with the left foot about 15 degrees open, I have a bad habit of opening up almost 45 degrees, which hinders my balance.

Takeaway

I really want to feel like I am taking my stomach and all of upper body together away from the ball on-plane.

After that, I simply feel the momemtum of my body (stomach and all of upper body) swinging a little further to the top of the swing while cocking the clubs with my hands.

From the Top of the swing

I don’t really feel the top of my backswing anymore as I feel the body constantly moving in action.  But from the top, I really feel like my whole body simply swings inside-out pivoting on my upper body or the spine.

Well, that’s about it.

This also worked really well with the short pitch and chip shots.

For most of 90s, my two favorite golfers were Nick Faldo and Greg Norman.  They always seemed to win tournaments more than others during that time and also shared number one and two of the world back and forth.

Although Nick Faldo may be a sportscaster right now, he may be the best pro golfer to be a sportscaster.

You look at some of the other guys but no one else has an extensive resume like the Masters winner Nick Faldo.

I’ve even bought every book he wrote and although they were all too technical and confusing for most hackers, Nick is really good at details of the golf swing.

Let’s take a look at his downhill iron swing here.

For the downhill iron shot, Nick Faldo sets up with his weight favoring his right and his ball about center of his stance to make up for the hill.

At takeaway, Nick sets his wrists slightly early but looks very good.

At top of Nick’s swing, he has a perfect 90 degree angle between the arm and the club while not swinging more than 3/4 of his full backswing.

On half-way down, notice the 90 degree of lag Nick has.  A lot of tour pros go beyond the 90 degrees which is not necessary and Nick proves the point here.  Too much lag can actually produce a smaller swing arc.

At impact, Nick looks really good.

After impact, Nick chases down the slope with his arms, fully releasing his club.

At finish, Nick looks very good, standing super tall.

Nick Faldo has one of the best swings in golf with one of the best rhythms to go with it.

If he kept playing competitively, he would have won couple more majors but I am surprised he decided to retire from competitive golf.

Here’s Nick Faldo’s downhill iron swing in slow-motion explained by the man himself:

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Having Nick on golf channels is a really good thing.  I rather hear him saying stuff than an Peter Kostis.

Woody Austin is one of those players I like because of his personality, not his swing.  He cracks me up with some of the things he has achieved.

Let’s look at his swing.  His setup looks pretty good.

Takeaway looks good too.  Woody doesn’t transfer much weight to the right but that’s okay.   (I don’t either because I end up swaying)

At top of Woody’s swing, Woody looks very good.  Pay attention to his lower body action.

At half-way down, take a look at how well Woody has transferred his weight to the left.  This reminds me of Ben Hogan.

At impact, notice how far his hips have transferred and how straight his left arm and the club is.

After impact, Woody is still in really great shape.

Woody Austin might not win a lot of tournaments but heck, he’s always on the leaderboard.

His swing might be one of the best hidden swings on the PGA Tour.

Here’s Woody Austin’s swing in slow motion:

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Jim Furyk has always been one of my golfing heroes due to the fact that he’s swing is probably the weirdest on the PGA Tour yet he is so successful.

Although Jim Furyk might breaks all rules of physics and textbook teaching, I will prove today that he does have one of the best after impact positions in golf.

At setup, Jim’s hands are pretty much “glued” to his thighs and he stands very very close to the ball.

On takeaway, Jim’s clubface is shut and a little inside the plane.

At half-way, Jim is actually on-plane with the hands but his club is very upright.

At the top of the swing, Jim is pretty much trying to get his hands as vertical as he can.  This is not a bad thing as even Jack Nicklaus tells you to do this at one point in his career.

Vertical swings have been great for hitting the ball very high.

Now the greatest part about Jim is that he re-routes his club back into perfect hitting position as seen here.

He’s actually slightly inside the plane, allowing a perfect setup for inside-out swing.

At impact, Jim must turn his hips, shoulders, head, and everything except the club in order to square the clubface.   Not the easiest way to swing but watch for the next action.

Check out how perfectly Jim’s club is on-plane.  This is something that almost every top golfer does regardless of how they swing the club back.

This is why Jim is on the PGA Tour.

Great finish, and another legendary swing that no one will ever be able to copy.

Here’s Jim Furyk’s driver in action:

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Here’s a swing analysis of Tom Pernice Jr., who is currently leading the AT&T National tournament at 10 under par.

At takeaway, Tom is in good position. (he’s slightly inside the plane but that’s okay as many tour pros use this position)

At half-way, Tom is slightly inside the plane, which is perfectly fine.

At the top of his swing, Tom is perfectly on-plane.

On the downswing, Tom is slightly inside the plane, meaning he will he from the inside out.

At impact, Tom looks pretty good although his arms could be streched a little more.

After impact, Tom is slightly inside the plane. Usually, most tour players are outside the plane at this point but Tom’s club is slightly inside because he sorta swings more “around” himself. This is not a super bad thing but it can cause some really bad duck hooks at tiimes.

Finish is textbook for Tom as his body stands very tall and high.

Here’s Tom Pernice Jr.’s driver swing in slow-motion:

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Here’s Tom Pernice Jr.’s driver swing in action:

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