As an amateur, we often hit that special shot which makes our round of golf special. Sometimes, we hit an amazing recovery shot that ends up being perfect by going in the hole.
Professional golfers are no different. They sometimes amaze themselves just like amateurs! Take a look and see what I mean:
European Tour
PGA Tour
What was your favorite shot?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
Thanks to David at One Bearded Golfer who speaks volumes in his article. He has worked on his swing for just over a year with great results. Now he owns it and only has to make small adjustments to improve. Great advice for everyone!
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
No one did it quite like The King.
“Swing your Swing, I know I did.”
That was the punchline of a Dick’s Sporting Goods golf commercial of recent vintage, with Arnold Palmer extolling the virtues of individuality and uniqueness in every golfer’s swing. Certainly, no one has done it quite like Palmer in the 60 years since he burst onto the golf scene.
Through a lot of hard and diligent work, invaluable lessons, wisdom, and advice from a professional teacher, and tremendous support and patience from The Wife, I think I’m finally closing in on my swing.
I don’t necessarily understand all the physics and kinetic principles at work in my golf swing. I can’t look at another player’s grip, stance, or swing, and impart to them what improvements would help their game. I’ll leave that to the professionals.
I won’t ever have my swing analyzed in a feature…
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Do you have the Best Swing In Golf?
Who has the best golf swing ever? If you listen to any golf announcer, it seems that the player on the TV screen has the perfect swing. The announcers highlight the perfect form, the smooth back swing, the flawless swing plane, and strong follow through. Could it be as easy as picking any of the top 10 players in the world and emulating their swing to be successful in golf? OK, maybe not every player because Jim Furyk’s swing is well…..ugly; effective, but ugly.
Through the years many great players emerged as having the best swing ever! Names like Peter Thompson, Sam Snead, and Ben Hogan always seem to make the list because of their classic, lower body movements. Here is a quick video to show you five possibilities for the greatest swings ever:
Are these players really the best! Their record definitely supports this claim. Interestingly, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson were not mentioned. But, was this an oversight or are their swings not worth copying?
What about Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson or Martin Kaymer? They are the players of today who analysts rave about for their smooth consistent motion throughout the entire swing.
Let us not forget Moe Norman. Considered one of the greatest ball strikers of all time. His unorthodox swing gained him world recognition because of his unmatched control of the golf ball. As great a ball striker that he was, he could not handle the rigors of the professional golfing circuit and never really won at the professional ranks.
The list of greatest golf swings could not be complete without Ben Hogan. There is so much written about this icon that it is difficult capture the impact he made on professional golf. With 64 wins on the PGA Tour, his swing cannot be overlooked. Here is how Hogan describes his swing:
It is difficult to decide who has the best swing ever. Here are some interesting comments by well-known professional golfers:
Tiger Woods told golf writer Jaime Diaz in 2004, “Only two players have ever truly owned their swings: Moe Norman and Ben Hogan. ”
His legend preceded him, Nick Price told me. “When I got to watch him, you could see that he had a technique that obviously worked for him, and he had perfected it.”
Reverse every natural instinct and do the opposite of what you are inclined to do, and you will probably come very close to having a perfect golf swing. Ben Hogan.“Everybody can see that my swing is homegrown. That means everybody has a chance to do it.” Bubba Watson.
All of these professionals are saying the same thing. The best golf swing ever is the one inside of every golfer. No matter who you are, there is a golf swing in you. Will it look like Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus, the short answer is NO! If it did you would probably on a professional golf tour right now.
As you approach the 2015 golf season, remember that your golf swing is yours to develop and nurture. It is all yours. Is it possible to change your swing, yes you can. But ultimately, we cannot match Ben Hogan or Jack Nicklaus’ golf swing because we are not Ben Hogan and Jack Nicklaus. So my advice to you is accept what you have right now and perfect it just like Moe Norman.
In case you are wondering, I believe the best golf swing of all time belonged to my dad! He loved golf and worked to perfect his swing. He rarely broke 80, but when I watched him play, it was pure poetry!
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
I choose to be motivated about golf!
This is the worst time of the year for golf. After a 4 week break, the PGA Tour is back to play. This week’s Hawaiian Classic is the Hyundai Tournament of Champions. Unfortunately, I cannot be excited about this event. Do not get me wrong, I am happy to see the pros back to work, but this tournament just does not generate the excitement of other events. I am not sure why, but well, I am just not sure.
I am motivated to play golf. I am excited to prepare for the upcoming season. I am keen to continue to learn more about the mental side of the game, but watching….nope it is just not there.
It could be that I still have 3 months to wait to play! I could be that my the cold weather is finally taking its toll! Or maybe I am just sad I have not swung a club in 2 months.
Ok, I have led you down a negative path on purpose! I am actually very motivated about the upcoming golf season. I am actively searching for new drills and purposely reading the adventures of my fellow golfing fanatics. If you are looking for a couple great blogs to read, check out the traveling adventures of Josh at Golf is Mental or Pete’s golfing news at White Dragon Golf. The musings of SVGolfer are always fun. And of course the golf articles at Pundit Arena (you may recognize the author of some golfing articles). Reading these, and many more blogs, always keep me smiling.
It is important to stay positive and enthused about golf to be successful. I choose to be positive about golf and life. I believe that I am in control of my moods by the way I think, act, and accept what comes my way every day. This is a low point of golf for me because of the time of year, but instead of focusing on the negative, I choose to run towards the positive.
How about you?
I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
2014 was a fantastic year for golf. As the year progressed, I was fortunate to expand my golfing friends through social media. By taking a step into the 21st century, I was introduced to a whole new world of golfing enthusiasts who share the same affliction for this wonderful sport.
2014 marked some milestones for The Grateful Golfer. I was able to lower my handicap to its lowest point ever! I played many great courses that included one of Canada’s most famous – Glen Abby. And I was able to play 80 plus rounds with great friends! It was definitely a great year!
The Grateful Golfer blog expanded exponentially this year. I was able to post 199 articles on my blog and an additional 45 articles at PunditArena.com. This may seem to be robust, but when you are writing about something you really like, it is very easy to put pen to paper.
I was pleasantly surprised by all the positive feedback I received. Many of these great comments helped me shape many of the articles. They also helped focus my golf game when hitting the links. While writing articles about my golf experiences, I never really wondered if they were hitting the mark. But, it seems that some were helpful because the top 10 articles garnered about 30 percent of my blog traffic. Here are the top 10:
As I reminisce about 2014, I become invigorated for what is to come! 2015 is going to be a great year for all things golf.
My goals for golf in 2015 are pretty basic. Continue to share my thoughts, experiences and tips about golf on The Grateful Golfer. To continue the positive interaction between other golfing fanatics. And to complete my goal of being a scratch golfer!
Well, it all starts today! I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!
The Grateful Golfer 