Trying to emulate a great golf swing is challenging to say the least. It is almost impossible for an amateur to look at a great players swing and say, I can do that no problem! This approach to golf is rife with pitfalls and rabbit holes. Similar to other golfers, I try to improve my swing through observation, knowledge, and experiment. This process is not for those looking for a quick fix to their woes, but a player who is patient and willing to make mistakes (and I have made my fair share). Therefore, as an amateur I do not recommend having your friends analysis your swing and offer suggestions. This would be considered a fools errand at best! However, understanding that you want to improve your golf game, analysis is required.

I realize it sounds like I am contradicting myself, but really I am not…..stay with me for a few more moments. The reason that full swing analysis by our buddies is not valuable is because they likely do not have the knowledge, skill or ability to adequately correct your swing flaws. For that, I recommend you seeing your local professional and let them guide you through the changes required to fix your swing.

Also, I do not recommend that you analyze a players swing and think that you can ape their success. Take a look at Bobby Jones’ swing.

Arguable the greatest amateur golfer of all time, Jones’ swing is perfect for his body type and ability. We do not know his flexibility limitations, if any, nor do we understand the tempo and timing he creates to hit the ball as perfectly as he does in the video. Just watching this video and analyzing his swing cannot possibly garner enough information for amateurs like ourselves to emulate his swing. I think it is not possible.

So, where am I going you might ask. Great question! Our golf swing is uniquely ours. It was developed to match our physical strengths and weaknesses, our physical abilities, and our mental capacity to understand the nuances of how to fix our golf swing. This might sound a bit pessimistic, however my experience tells me that full swing analysis is very difficult to conduct and more of a challenge to emulate what we glean. Where do we go from here?

Analysis is a good thing on a limited level. We all have areas that need fixing, but trying to change too many things too fast only causes more problems or at least that is what happened to me. Looking to fix one thing may involved many smaller steps, but manageable steps. Those smaller steps open the door for focused analysis, but not for the entire swing process. Moving forward, small bits of information can lead to a change in our swing that improves our overall results. And then the process starts anew. Fun, right?

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!