Is "The Perfect Swing" overrated?

[TPowell]

I ask this because I have a very unique swing myself. I hood the club going back and it basically stays square from the takeaway until I make contact. I would consider myself a high single digit handicap (really only play home course and I would be a 6 there) and I don't have a great short game to say the least. I hold my own with all the members at my local club, some of which have good "fundamental" golf swings.

IMO, as long as I know what makes my swing tick, I think I have the potential to be just as good as anybody else (with my handicap).

[LuciusWooding]

Originally Posted by TPowell

I think I have the potential to be just as good as anybody else (with my handicap).

...Um, yeah. That's like saying you have the potential to outthink anyone dumber than you. Your handicap is exactly that; an adjustment to par to net your likely potential score. You're saying you have the potential to be as good as you already are...

As far as swing mechanics, I don't think your swing needs to be "perfect". There's a lot of disagreement with what makes a swing perfect, and some tradeoffs. Bubba or Sadlowski's swing is probably perfect for distance, but something like Stricker's swing is more accurate with fewer moving parts. Then you have Furyk... No one wants his swing, probably not even him (he could generate a better ball flight and more distance). But he understands it and is really consistent with it. So he leaves it alone instead of investing effort into improving, and puts it into making tons of money. Partly because swing changes are a young man's game, it's hard to break such deep habits. And also the swing is something personal, often part of a golfer's identity.

I have a few interesting quirks in my swing on video, but it's all related to how I get my power. I take it back a fair bit flat and inside, early wrist set, and a touch of forward press, with a bit of overswing as well.  But I'm neatly on plane on the way down and don't waste much movement. I could fix all those things, if I paid an instructor to critique it he's probably going to try to get me to change them, but I feel the need to play golf and not golf swing. My ball flight is almost exactly where I want it so I think I'll focus elsewhere.

I was hitting the ball less consistently and shorter until about 2 weeks ago. I changed nothing except my grip, from a neutral left and weak right hand to fairly strong on both (which is apparently what most pros already figured out). If I never experimented with this change, I'd be losing 15 yards (and I was pretty long then), clean contact, and consistency, not to mention wondering why I had to try so hard to hit a draw and my best swings were 5-7yd push fades. What I had worked on thinking they were correct swing mechanics actually were, but it was a power draw swing with an anti left grip. This wasn't a cosmetic change, it was a cosmic change. The satisfaction of working through a barrier like that is one of the greatest parts of this game for me, and I know I just left behind thousands of players with this improvement.

In closing, a few thoughts:

-Your iron game can never be too good, and to play good golf you need at least a good iron game, so you need at least a good swing.

-Putting and the short game are important, but a solid swing makes them less important for scoring. Without a good swing, you need these to play defense as opposed to offense.

-Your swing is defined by your control of it, not as a separate entity. Hence why some players like Furyk can take unusual positions and mechanics and make them into good swings most of the time. Better fundamentals mean it's easier to do so, however.

-You hold your own when you're at your home course with all the other players who will never get better. Play longer and more difficult courses against tougher competition and you'll want to overhaul your game. Nothing wrong with your philosophy but some players have different goals or take improving their game more seriously.

[iacas]

Define "the perfect swing" please.

[Lihu]

I hope the perfect/standard swing is not over rated. I am just starting to get it after struggling for two years at this game. I went though many phases where I thought I got it. I hit far and straight, then suddenly everything breaks. So far, I have been with this one swing type for more than 5 weeks. Nothing broke, as my irons improve, so do my woods. I look at my videos, which I just started to do, and what I am doing is getting closer to the swing I was taught 2 years ago as a beginner. Plus, I can slow my swing down at will. If I find that things are breaking (I mishit), I revert to stack and tilt, then convert to the standard swing again as I get comfortable again. I don't think what is taught is over-rated. Stack and tilt is definitely not over-rated..

[Audaxi]

I would wager that there is not one perfect swing, but many depending on what you want to achieve. However, in my opinion, there is no need to have a "perfect" swing, but you need to have a consistent one. The ball doesn't care what it looks like until impact, and it doesn't watch what your finish position is. If you can square the clubface on a straight enough swing plane with a relatively good angle of attack, the ball will fly through the air. If those basic parameters are met, and swing speed/other conditions are similar, you could swing holding the club in your teeth and get the same shot. It's just easier to have consistency and good results with a good swing. I know I finish my backswing with the clubface closed, but I still hit a fade that works for me. I could probably fix this problem and gain more shot variety in terms of being able to hit it higher than normal, but I play on courses with lots of trees and in a windy, high altitude area, so this swing is what works for me. As long as your swing is giving you the results that you want, it should be fine as long as it is repeatable without harming yourself and/or others.

[mvmac]

Like Erik said, how do you define "perfect"?  There are a lot of guys in the hall of fame that don't have great looking swings but got the job done.  Can you be laid off with a shut clubf ace at the top of the back swing and be a great golfer? Yes.  Can you have the weight back and cup the lead wrist at impact and play at a high level, I don't think so.  I really don't think there is a perfect swing, you can find flaws in any swing, Hogan, Grant Waite, Tiger.

[soon_tourpro]

There are textbook perfect swings.

In real life however there are more about good or better swings out there.

Allan doyle for example could outplay anyone due to having a perfect swing for him, did beat Tiger with 13shots or more in 2 day playing.

There are more players getting lost in search of perfect swings one was Nick Faldo who stop being competive when he lost the dynamics and became a short hitter.

[Mitcheman21]

In the words of Roy mcavoy "perfection is unobtainable"

[Truegolf]

No such thing as a "perfect golf swing"

That is a delusional thought.

What golfers should be trying to  achieve is  "perfect ball flight"

And that depends entirely on the shot at hand.

[AmazingWhacker]

I agree that there is no perfect golf swing - but some are certainly better than others.  I've always understood that the reason you would want good (as can be), conventional-type mechanics is for reliability under pressure.  Jim Furyk's swing holds up pretty good under pressure - I don't think Bubba's does nearly as well.

Just going from my own experience, I can say that poor mechanics do not hold up under pressure.  I'll have to update this thread when I develop good mechanics.

[Datsyuk]

Originally Posted by TPowell

I ask this because I have a very unique swing myself. I hood the club going back and it basically stays square from the takeaway until I make contact. I would consider myself a high single digit handicap (really only play home course and I would be a 6 there) and I don't have a great short game to say the least. I hold my own with all the members at my local club, some of which have good "fundamental" golf swings.

IMO, as long as I know what makes my swing tick, I think I have the potential to be just as good as anybody else (with my handicap).

Did you just define the purpose of a handicap index?

[Truegolf]

What is meant by "perfect golf swing'?

Two of the best ball strikers Hogan and Norman looked completely different.

Each hit the ball flush every time.

Hogan had a hook till he managed to hit a very predictable fade all the time.

Norman hit straight shots all the time but had a very peculiar swing set up

So i feel the look of the swing nor the type of preferred ball flight is as important as the consistency of the shot making.

[mvmac]

I guess the definition of a perfect golf swing would be to have great control of low point, and your face/path relationship

[Stretch]

This guy has won 4 US Mid-Ams and will be playing in the next Masters. If it works, it works. :)

[saevel25]

Perfection is not possible. What's possible is playing a perfect round, which i would say would be 18 birdies or better, but to think there is a perfect swing is not possible.

[Datsyuk]

What a strange topic. Of course there perfect swings. Maybe not every swing will be perfect because we're human and likely have other jobs, but any good player has made "perfect" swings. I made at least one my last round. Really good players do it a lot more often than that. More efficient is better and a swing that is perfect for the shot being attempted might not look like a perfect swing to someone else. To me a perfect swing has a certain appearance. The ball appears to have gone where the player wanted it to and the swing looked like one that could easily be repeated with the same conditions. It wasn't a fluke.

[WUTiger]

I say it's more important to have a swing that "works." Hence, the seeks repeating swing mantra uder my avatar.

Back in the late 1970s, the "perfect swing" was one that was long and flowing a la Sam Snead. Many golf pros pushed this during lessons and in magazines. The long backswing was critical to have an enduring game, as muscles tend to tighten up as you age, and if you start with a short backswing you'll fade out at age 50... or so they implied. I quickly learned that the long backswing was a recipe for disaster for those of us with less than perfect timing.

Anyway, after three decades of trying to swing like Jack Nicklaus, I have worked my way into a comparatively flatter, more compact backswing - a couple of pros who have looked at my swing say it's actually pretty medium, neither flat nor upright.. When I start getting wild with the long clubs, it's because I'm reaching for a little extra on backswing, and fall into various over-the-top hand games.

My current pro says I get very good - and balanced - acceleration through the ball despite my shorter backswing. Now, if I can figure out a way to quit hooking FWs and hybrids OB a couple of times a side, maybe I can break 90 more often.

I think there may be some merit it looking at one's body type and matching it to a particular swing style. Although body-type analysis is still primitive at this time, I look forward to seeing what it delivers.