Sean Cassidy

I think it's worth experimenting and finding out what works best for you. I'm an impatient person, typically aggressive and easily annoyed... so I like to swing fast and get it over and done with, lol. Having said that, when I get too fast, I get all over the place and my ball striking sucks. Being the slow learner that I am, I'll got through a few weeks or months of this, and then just ease up and let it come. Guess what! When I ease up, my ball striking improves out of site - having gone through a few cycles of this, you think I'd learn. I was playing with a trainee professional on the weekend and a middle age guy who was playing off 7. The middle age guys swing was super slow on the backswing (position at top was way under play), but because he had a fairly long pause at the top, the young pro said he had plenty of time to correct on the way down. This guy was a very consistent ball striker... watching him setup and swing back you'd think he had no chance. As for myself, when I eased my swing up (closer to his "slowness") my ball striking immediately improved. The more you practice or the better your hand eye coordination, balance etc - the more you can save a poor swing and keep the ball in play... otherwise, try easing up a bit on the takeaway and see how you go. Sean

If you're suffering pain now and you want some more longevity with your golf game... I'd suggest going graphite woods, irons and wedges. I had golfers elbow on and off for a couple of years, tried everything that I knew to clear it up, but it kept returning when I played or practiced a lot. I resisted the temptation to go to graphite irons... I'm only 34 and I was saying, "No Way, they're for seniors". I tried a few different steel shafts with "shock absorbing" inserts... pretty much a waste of time. Since changing to graphite... No Pain! I initially went with lighter graphite shafts, but have a new set of Mizuno MP 57's coming any day now, with the 105 gram Tour Spec shaft. Ultimately, find what works best for you that also takes the shock out of it. Let me know how you get on. Sean ps - they make some pretty good graphite iron shafts nowadays, usually more expensive but worth it to be able to play without pain. I find them just as accurate as steel... you get rewarded for good swings and penalised with both... the ball doesn't know what shaft you've got in there.

Ultimately, go with what ever works best for you. It may not be considered what's normal or typical, but if it works for you, go with it. I only wish I had your coordination to "swing" both ways, lol.

I don't play them, so you can't call me biased... but I just love the look of the Titleist 660 blades.

Doug Sanders (the peacock of the fairway) did alright with a short swing, as did/does Allen Doyle on the seniors tour. I picked up a copy of Doug Sanders book "Compact Golf" on ebay a while back, he goes over why he loves the compact, short, 3/4 swing so much. I think Allen Doyle, developed his swing from an ice hockey background, combined with practicing in a basement where he grew up (Boston I think) that had a low ceiling. Hey, whatever works to help get a solid strike on the ball.

Baddeley could follow "Stack & Tilt", "Hits & Giggles", "Whirr & Purr", "Bang & Slap" or any other variation of a golf swing and he would still be one of the best golfers in the world. The guy won the Australian open at age 18 as an amateur (I think Norman and Montgomery were in the field) and the very next year won it as a professional. He's obviously very talented, has brilliant hand eye coordination and was probably just in need of something to believe in (other than "God", "His Lord" etc) to help improve his confidence. I'm glad it's working for him. His old coach, who I think was working with him when he won his Aussie Opens (Dale Lynch), helped Geoff Ogilvy win a US Open... For these guys I think it's a matter of doing/following what gives them confidence and sticking with it.