Trevino with Sammy Davis Jr and Jack Benny

Owning one’s Swing

 

I always thought that when people talked about “owning one’s swing”, they meant something like this:
To know the what, the how and the why of your swing inside out, and being able to perform accordingly. When it comes to your swing, there can be no unanswered questions. Nothing can stand in the way of you and the most efficient motion possible given your physical and mental capabilities.

I found this interesting quote in an old article about George Knudson:

“What is it that allows a golfer to own his golf swing? When you consider there might have been only three or four in the history of the game, the answer isn’t as complicated as you might think. 
It means repetition of the highest level.
It means a swing plane that is not rerouted and does not change regardless of the club.
It means impeccable posture and perfect balance.
But most importantly, in the cases of Hogan, Moe and George, it means a perfectly square clubface approaching impact that remains square through the shallow, long and low action after impact. One need just look at pictures of the three of them in action.”
~ Irv Lightstone, 2006 (source)

So Irv looked at what (he thought) were the similarities between the golfers who supposedly owned their swings.

So in the end it comes down to this:
Perfect execution of perfect technique with perfect consistency.

In my opinion, achieving this can only be helped by really knowing the what, the how and the why of your swing.

Or else just beat a lot of balls.

Lee Trevino @ 1990 Senior US Open

Here are some swings by Lee Trevino. Both down the Line (DTL) and caddy view.
First he hits a wedge (DTL view) so you can clearly see his typical out-to-in looping action. After that a perfect, pin high 4 iron shot.


Both these swings were taken from the video below:

Strange Backswings

Much has been written about the backswing; it’s a topic that instructors love to talk about. You don’t hit the ball on the backswing, and there are many touring pro’s who hit the ball very good with a non-standard backswing. An instructor that teaches static positions will explain this by saying something along the lines of: “This player is so talented that he can make split second adjustments so he will still come through the ball in a proper manner despite his awkward backswing..”.

I disagree with this. Teaching someone the proper positions is no guarantee for proper movements. In my opinion the backswing is merely a move that allows you and your club to find the right ‘slot’, from which you can swing the club through the ball in a dynamic and efficient motion.

Here is an example: Lee Trevino; one of the greatest ball strikers of all time. He uses a figure of 8 model:

Of course there are things you should and shouldn’t do but a basic truth is this: Eliminate any unnecessary movement; remove as many variables as you can and you’ll be left with a simpler, more efficient motion. A simpler move is also easier to repeat and you have less stuff to think about. If looping the club outside on the backswing makes it easier for you to come from the inside on the downswing then it’s a perfectly valid move. You just need to make sure that you can repeat it.

Jim Furyk is a good example of a very successful player with a very strange swing. Notice the 'helicopter move' at the top of the swing.

And here's a compilation of strangely effective swings:

Enjoy!