Is the "Perfect" Swing overrated?

[CG031]

Is the "perfect" golf swing overrated? Obviously you want to maintain the basics throughout your swing, but if you have a little dip or slide or whatever, is that really a big deal? Is all this "Oh my god, I must re-do my swing compeltely!" crap overrated?

Your thoughts.

[niblick]

There is no perfect swing. Lots of people have played brilliantly under pressure, won majors, etc. with wierd looking, goofy, loopy or fundamentally strange golf swings. What it looks doesn't matter if it produces the intended result.

[SNIP3R]

The "perfect" swing is definitely overrated whereas the "consistent" swing never gets its proper dues.

[teece31]

If it were up to me, the "perfect swing" would be defined as either Adam Scott or Tiger Woods' swing. They pay extreme attention to the fundamentals of the swing.

But I think that the perfect swing (sans quotes) would be one that shoots low scores. Look at Hogan, Furyk, Ryan Moore, Couples... they have "non-perfect" swings that are repeatable and effective.

[Clubchucker]

My simple response would be this: they don't ask you how, they ask you how many.

[RKO]

My simple response would be this: they don't ask you how, they ask you how many.

good call there my friend

[Shindig]

Is the "perfect" golf swing overrated? Obviously you want to maintain the basics throughout your swing, but if you have a little dip or slide or whatever, is that really a big deal? Is all this "Oh my god, I must re-do my swing compeltely!" crap overrated?

My first teacher insisted on the same swing for the students. Club back to parallel, lower body very still, etc. She was able to swing this way very effectively. It worked for me for a while, but I never could hit anything stronger than a 6-Iron with it. Maybe I was doing it wrong, maybe it was wrong for me, maybe a number of things.

My second (current) teacher - I switched for a variety of reasons - started me on pitch shots and the swing improved iteratively from there. No, I'm not limited to pitch shots at the moment. In any case, I went from shooting 160 to 100, and still dropping (need to play regulation courses again to start lowering the handicap officially). My theory, for what it's worth: your swing is what works best for you. I've seen instructors (no one from whom I've taken a lesson!) take a video of someone's swing, place it next to Tiger's, and point out that your problem is that your swing doesn't look like Tiger's. Now, if I were the right height and perfectly athletic, maybe swinging like Tiger would be a good idea. Can you play well without swinging like Tiger? Sure. Phil Mickelson doesn't even use the same handedness, and he's won plenty. Someone else mentioned Jim Furyk. Can you imagine where he'd be if someone had told him as a teenager that he needed the perfect swing? I doubt he'd be on the PGA Tour now if he had listened to that hypothetical advice. Take another comparison: look at Bubba Watson and J.B. Holmes. Bubba Watson looks to me as though he's swinging past parallel. J.B. Holmes looks like he's chipping with a driver off the tee. Yet they send it plenty far. If there were a perfect swing, what difference would it make if you had me as a teacher, or Butch Harmon, or Bobby Knight? Any of the three of us could learn said swing and check that you're using it. But if you had to choose one of us as your teacher, there's a clear choice, and it isn't Y.T.. So, if there's no perfect swing, why are there so many instruction books, and people who claim to have learned from these? Why does Golf Digest publish monthly tips? Well, there's a common swing fault among amateurs, and I'm certainly guilty of letting this creep into my swing from time-to-time. The problem is too many things on one's mind while swinging. These tips, books, and videos net you a single thought, which helps amazingly. Now, do too many thoughts ruin a reply from me? I don't know, but it happens all the time.

[oneil003]

A fundamentally sound swing will help you hit it further and straiter. If your swing is not fundamentally sound, it will probably take you a lot longer to learn how to hit it strait. But hey, if you play a round of golf everyday even if your swing is ugly, chances are that you are pretty good. A fundamentally sound swing is not needed, but it will definately help, and will be much more efficient.

[fusioncal]

My first teacher insisted on the same swing for the students. Club back to parallel, lower body very still, etc. She was able to swing this way very effectively. It worked for me for a while, but I never could hit anything stronger than a 6-Iron with it. Maybe I was doing it wrong, maybe it was wrong for me, maybe a number of things.

I'd like to add that such tips (books, video, articles) serves only as a guide to improve your swing or a method of check and balance like I did when I swing inconsistently I always refer back to it. Just like when you're backing up a car, no one has the same exact way doing it but they all know the proper steps to do so. The goal is to back away safely even they do it completely in different way.

So, IMHO, there's no such thing as perfect swing. There's only "your" swing and "my" swing. They might look the same but they're not the exact copy.

[getinthehole]

Not really, stick to some fundamentals but there are different ways people swing.
Just look at how good Furyk is but he has a lot different swing to what I've ever seen.

[elivate]

It's all about ball-striking... Moe Norman was one of the best ball-strikers ever and his swing was far from perfect..

See also Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Jim Furyk, etc...

[cyclistgolfer]

I dont think that there is a perfect swing at all. Many have mentioned multiple winners with a non perfect swing. I am in search of an instructor whom I can follow (read his/her books videos etc.) and a player to emulate and just stick to them, the thing of it is is that every Sunday, the winner's swing looks perfect to me, one day its Phil, next its Zach...

But last week it just hit me. I did one thing that felt right and the ball started going straight, shot my best round of the year for this one course that I play at. I actually have an idea where that ball will land. I played with this swing of mine for 2 rounds now and I seem to be able to repeat it (very important).

On that note, for me as long as its repeating even though it has a bit of a fade or draw or even straight, as long as I can do it the same way over and over again, then I know where to point the clubs.

[JKilgore44]

I like to pride myself in the fundamentals of my swing. I have an athletic build and long muscles in my back and arms allowing me to properly bring the club back into the slot without much motion in my wrists and hands. Since i have reconstructed my swing, I have seen a drastic change in my ball flight. Instead of hitting high, weak fades, I now hit lower, strong draws. Not to mention the distance gained. I don't have to swing as hard to achieve the same results.

Old swing=very "wristy" and semi-flat (baseball style)
New swing=modeled after Adam Scott

I prefer Adam Scott's swing over Tigers because he doesn't quite get as close to parallel in the backswing as Tiger, giving him more accuracy and consistency.

[hurley9192]

Tiger Woods' 2000 swing was one of the best I've ever seen...He seemed to keep it in the slot at all times. Now, he has a ton of movement, which when he's off is tough to repeat.

Adam Scott mimicked Tiger better than Tiger did...I think he's nearly the perfect swing.

Hogan's swing was perfect for what he did, but I'd never put him in the Furyk camp. He was nearly flawless in his swing.

[JKilgore44]

Yeah Tiger and Adam Scott has basically the same swing except Tiger gets past parallel and has a lot of torque in his lower body, which result in his randomness. Scott's swing is better because he limits his lower body movement and his takeback. He's virtually flawless.

Hogan was the best ball striker of all time. He had the perfect swing for his era. Given the equipment of the time and the conditions he faced, his swing was perfectly adapted.

[CG031]

I like Luke Donalds swing. I like Scott's and Tigers obviously, but I think Luke Donald has by far the best tempo and maybe even the best fundamentals.

[ILLZ]

A club pro I know claims that Els has the best swing on tour. Any thoughts?

[niblick]

A club pro I know claims that Els has the best swing on tour. Any thoughts?

When was Ernie's last win? 2004?

It depends on how you define best, I guess. To me, everyone who has a win this year has a "better" swing than Ernie Els. It doesn't matter how nice a swing looks - only the results it produces.