With swings only a mother could love, the following players have made our list of the five goofiest swings in golf. While none of these swings looks quite right, they share one thing in common: they are repeatable. The golfers who employ(ed) them can repeat the train-wreck time and again.
Some important things are illustrated by the following players:
- The game is about scoring, not aesthetics.
- A repeatable motion is vital to success.
- Golf is unique to each individual.
- An outside-in takeaway followed by an inside-out swing path is shared by most good players.
So have a look at professional golf’s wackiest swings and see if you agree with my take.
Number Five: Lee Trevino
Generally, if you see a guy that stands as open to the ball as Trevino does, plan on a good 40-yard slice. Trevino’s setup and outside-in move wins him the low-spot on the Trap Five.
Trevino is the best known of the open-stance swingers. There aren’t many (or any?) who swing like Trevino these days. Paul Azinger, David Duval, David Toms, and Freddie Couples have grips that generally resemble Trevino but none of them strike the ball quite like him.
Trevino described himself as a blocker, taking the club way outside and slipping into his own special and extremely inside slot. His swing couldn’t be further from the average slicer’s swing. A typical weekend hack takes the club inside and swipes at it from the outside. So if you need to fix a slice you might keep Trevino in mind at the practice tee next time.
Number Four: Arnold Palmer
The man who popularized golf for the masses made the cut. While most of his swing looks fairly orthodox Arnold Palmer has what looks like the most painful looking followthrough in the golf world.
I’m assuming he developed that little loop at the end of his follow through to hold off his release somewhat. Had he released the club on his swing-plane he probably would have hooked the ball something fierce. But what do I know? He snagged a total of 60 PGA Tour wins including seven majors in a six-year burst. Not bad.
Palmer had a much more pronounced hip turn than what you would tend to see these days. The fact that he was able to synchronize his swing is a testament to his athleticism and precise release.
Number Three: Nancy Lopez
I don’t think Nancy Lopez read Tour Tempo before embarking on her illustrious career. What she lacked in good tempo she made up for in success.
She once said, “My swing is no uglier than Arnold Palmer’s, and it’s the same ugly swing every time.” Well, I have to disagree. Face on her swing looks a bit better than Palmer’s but watching down the target line shows her clubface is shut at the top and her shaft goes across the target line. Not good. Plus I think she picks the club up a little from address, but what do I know?
Nobody has been as successful as Nancy Lopez with such “poor” tempo. But aside from her tempo and back-swing issues her followthrough is full and free. This is the place she beats Palmer.
Lopez gets impact right with her left arm and club forming a strait line and her head behind the ball. If only I could get my impact position to look as nice.
Number Two: Jim Thorpe
Thorpe once said, “The reason we can play, is that it’s not about the golf siwng. It makes no difference how you swing the club as long as you can win the money.” Thankfully for Thorpe golf doesn’t award style points. And he has won the money. Thorpe is famous for his betting ways. The most he ever won was $55,000 off of someone in Detroit. “I figured if this guy wasn’t on tour, he couldn’t beat me,” said Thorpe. “I was right. He played like a dog, and I beat him pretty bad.”
Pete McDaniel said in a 2002 Golf Digest article that, “Thorpe’s golf swing is so full of moving parts it appears he’s fighting off a swarm of hornets in a phone booth.” Thorpe has heard it all before and once responded to the smart remarks by saying, “The one thing I know is that all the guys who make fun of my golf swing I can beat.”
Thorpe’s swing hasn’t gotten any better with age but he’s still making more money than me. Never-the-less, it hurts to watch him swing a club.
Number One: Jim Furyk
I can’t remember anyone (apart from a couple of weekend slashers) who swings
like Jim Furyk. Furyk wins the goofy swing award for taking the club almost strait over his head and re-routing it so far inside that his hands are nearly touching his right pocket through impact.
David Feherty said Furyk’s swing looks like “an octopus falling out of a tree.” Again, whatever you might say about his swing, it is repeatable and accurate. It has won him a lot of money.
Photo Credits: © Essen-Heidhausen Golf Club, © Golf Legends, © SI.com, © Georgia Encyclopedia.
Neat article Jeff!
Miller Barber aka “Mr. X” was a precursor of Furyk-he had a huge flying elbow that put him way out of position at the top. He then dropped that bad boy down and into a perfect slotted position and he did that successfully for a long time.
One note on Trevino and Couples: they share a common trait at impact. Both of them have completely cleared their hips prior to impact creating the ultimate “unstuck” position. They can freely release “down the line” without any interference. Leads to a lot of really good shots for a long time because no manipulation is needed at impact to create the desired shot. So Trevino’s blocking action actually is him just maintaining a square face position through impact. I’m not sure if David Toms swing is quite in that mold. He’s more of a Jim Hardy “2 Plane” timing action.
Duval and Azinger both played with strong grips and squared the club by turning their hips aggressively through the ball. In fact, Azinger’s instructor John Redman taught him to hit the ball by just working his hips. As a PGA Teaching Pro, I can tell you that a basic rule is that if you have a hand dominated swing you will tend to draw the ball and if you have lower body dominated swing you will tend to fade the ball. When this lower body dominated action is out of sync with a closed face position at the top (Azinger, Duval) uh-oh you’ll hit some nasty shots. It cost Duval a Masters (I forget what year), he got out of position on the way down and nuked an iron over #16 green in the final round leading to a bogey. I remember reading that Azinger said even though his grip was so strong and his clubface was shut at the top, his bread and butter shot was a fade!
As for the rest of the players on your list, I wouldn’t even begin to pretend that I could accurately analyze what they do other than say that they win with their action. 😆
Great article, Jeff! Here’s two more:
Anybody remember Doug Sanders? Super wide stance, then only took it back about chest high. But he almost won a British Open! And, boy, could he dress.
Then one of my current favorites, Alan Doyle on the Champions Tour. That guy must have forearms and hands as strong as a blacksmith. Every swing he makes… and putts too… he looks like he’s playing hockey. But he keeps winning!
A bad back. 😀
How about Dan Pohl for short backswing? He hit it a mile with his compact action. Dana Quigley the “Sr. Ironman” has a pretty short backswing action too.
A bad back. 😀
Couples bad back has been traced all the way back to an accident he had in HS. He was apparently an awesome athlete until the injury. Trevino still claims some of his back woes stem from the lightning strike.
Hey, what about Eamonn Darcy? He surely has to be top 5? He has Jim Furyk’s swing on Acid!! 😀
Great feedback guys. Yeah, there are a ton of goofy swings to go around. I didn’t remember Doyle, his is the shortest swing in golf, probably shorter than Quigley’s. Both of them have done very well for themselves with 1/2 wedge swings. They know how to power their hips through.
Thanks for the comment Marty. The swing is fascinating and it’s crazy to see how many different ways there are to get the ball in the hole.
😆
Great article. Well written and funny.
Master’s champ. Gay Brewer. Need I say more.
What about Moe Norman?He had the most unorthodox(but effective) swing I have ever seen. I find it quite odd that he is not menioned here. His ball striking ability is legendary, especially among the pro ranks. Just google Moe Norman or natural golf to get the facts.