Why Aren’t More People Copying Moe Norman's Swing?

[Msokol13]

I've been doing some research on this man's swing. It makes perfect sense, yet I see no professional golfers doing it....never heard of a pro teaching it locally...what gives?

If it really is all that it is cracked up to be it would make sense to overhaul my swing instead of spening $1k every other year buying the newest technology. All I want to do is hit the ball perfectly straight, down the middle every time.

[enduro]

All I want to do is hit the ball perfectly straight, down the middle every time.

Then you'll never be a good golfer.

If you love it that much then learn it and use it. But it isn't like it's any easier to execute consistently than the Hogan technique. And really, the Hogan technique offers a lot of control and more power to the golfer than Norman's.

[Saint]

You should really try to get the fade and draw down. There are times when that is the shot you need to hit.

[Where's the Cart Girl?]

Then you'll never be a good golfer.

That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. If you could hit the ball straight every single time, even if you couldn't get more than 220 off the tee (I have no idea how far Moe hit it), you can be a pretty damn good golfer. Perhaps you'll never be great, and you still need a good short game, but that's true no matter how much you can shape the ball. Shaping the ball is an advantage, but it is absolutely not a necessity to play good golf.

I think more people don't copy him because he doesn't have nearly the level of visibility that other prolific golfers yesterday and today have. Especially to people just picking up the game. They've heard of Hogan, Nicklaus, Palmer, Woods, Els.. etc. But if you said Moe Norman they wouldn't have a clue. He was an anomaly and still is. I think alot of people could benefit from following his school of swing thought, but I don't think it'll ever happen. But it's like anything else in this game, if you commit to it, you can make it work.

[Big_M]

That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. If you could hit the ball straight every single time, even if you couldn't get more than 220 off the tee (I have no idea how far Moe hit it), you can be a pretty damn good golfer. Perhaps you'll never be great, and you still need a good short game, but that's true no matter how much you can shape the ball. Shaping the ball is an advantage, but it is absolutely not a necessity to play good golf.

I agree... the person who said you can never be a good golfer without hitting draws and fades is full of

. Just my opinion. As for whether or not finding consistency in a Moe like swing vs. a Hogan swing is easier... I don't know... but I agree with exposure being one of the major reasons people don't use it... that and the fact that it was not first...

[deronsizemore]

...it would make sense to overhaul my swing instead of spening $1k every other year buying the newest technology.

It would definitely make sense to see a PGA professional to help with your swing, but overhauling it to be like Moe's may not be the answer either. Either way, I know for sure that spending $1k (assuming you were serious?) is not going to fix anything. Iron technology doesn't advance much at all from year to year and driver technology is just about maxed out as well. Every five years or so you might find a new innovation in driver technology but all the technology in the world won't help a bad swing.

Get a few lessons.

[sonicblue]

Ummm...IIRC, "Natural Golf" was born out of analysis of Moe Norman's swing, which gave birth to the entire "one plane" (and thus "two vs. one plane") swing theory.

[steve8820]

Probably no one is copying it because I have never heard of the guy...........

[enduro]

That's one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. If you could hit the ball straight every single time, even if you couldn't get more than 220 off the tee (I have no idea how far Moe hit it), you can be a pretty damn good golfer. Perhaps you'll never be great, and you still need a good short game, but that's true no matter how much you can shape the ball. Shaping the ball is an advantage, but it is absolutely not a necessity to play good golf.

That's actually from Jack Nicklaus' mouth. His idea being that if you can reliably hit a fade or a draw then you take half the course out of play. As well, good luck hitting it straight every single time. Sure, if I had laser eyes and was an android I could program myself to hit perfectly straight shots every time. But I'm a human and I can't. So I don't try. Because it's impossible.

I agree there's many ways to approach this game. His method could work for some people. But I don't believe his method is any easier or harder to learn and master than any other swing. This guy hit thousands of balls a day.

[enduro]

I agree... the person who said you can never be a good golfer without hitting draws and fades is full of

Jack Nicklaus was full of it then.

I agree with your ideas on exposure, etc. that and hsi swing is quite ugly.

[ninetwothree]

moe hit it straight everytime. he could draw it, fade it, and could even hit a straight shot and have it bounce in either direction.

my instructor and HIS instructor spent countless hours with moe.

if you can find his track record, he has some 50+ hole in ones, 60+ course records, and put on the best clinics people have ever been witness to.

here's one:




theres 6 more parts to this series.

[deronsizemore]

...he has some 50+ hole in ones, 60+ course records.

Or.... 17 holes in one and 33 course records officially.

[safetrip]

I was intrigued by him when I saw a Golfchannel special on Moe on Youtube some time ago. You can see Tiger saying about Moe, 'There are two people who own golf swing. One is Ben Hogan and the other is Moe Norman.'

[Cussin hacker]

Moe was in a class by himself with his swing. Same as Hogan with his. That doesn't mean you can teach people play at the same level as the masters. Why is Moes swing not taught more?? I think, as some have said, he's not as well known. You could definetly win with Moe or Hogans swing.

[sean_miller]

Moe was in a class by himself with his swing. Same as Hogan with his. That doesn't mean you can teach people play at the same level as the masters. Why is Moes swing not taught more?? I think, as some have said, he's not as well known. You could definetly win with Moe or Hogans swing.

We could win what?

Golf, as a sport, probably has some of the least athletic people playing it on a regular basis (bowling notwithstanding). If the "average" high handicapper plays other sport as poorly as they play golf, I can see why they've quit all other sports and now focus on golf. People are joining clubs, entering tournaments, and playing for money by using a handicapping system that rewards terrible play - as long as it's consistent. I've played with some very unathletic "golfers" (people with no coordination of any kind) in the past 20+ years who honestly believe that with the right equipment and enough range balls they'll excel. Golf isn't any harder than tennis, hockey, or any number of other sports, but a lot of us sure do suck. Why don't more rec hockey players copy the style of Mario Lemieux? Because . . . we . . . suck!!

[wedge player]

Or.... 17 holes in one and 33 course records officially.

and shot 59 3 times.which jack,hogan,or tiger have not done

[enduro]

Well, I think a lot of things about a golf swing are not intuitive. It isn't a natural motion for most people I believe. Flipping, swaying back and forth and many of the other common poor techniques (or lack of technique) are pretty natural to most players. So yes, naturally most people will suck. But it's like anything else where education and practice will make you better.

If the typical player would take some lessons, read some books and practice these techniques, they would see improvement. But for some reason a lot of people won't do this and would rather dump the money into new gear. Perhaps it's a reflection on our culture in that easy money and money as a patch will fix things rather than serious study and hard work. I don't think Joe Golfer is any worse at this sport than an untrained bowler, basketball player or whatever. Maybe somewhat since the game of golf is harder to play I believe than most other games, both mentally and skillfully. But I will say I play in circles of pretty good players, some with positive handicaps. And it was actually sort of a shock to me to eventually figure out there are in fact a lot of golfers who are pretty respectable shooting consistently in the 70's.

[Cussin hacker]

We could win what?

Your out in left field here but, let me clarify. People with a tour level golf talent could win with either Hogan or Moes swing. I didn't mean any or everybody could!! Cool out man!