Question about swing of Bubba.

[Goldengee]

I started playing golf this year. I took lesson with a PGA pro and I've kinda adapted the "traditional"swing that I'm being taught.

After watching Bubba Watson's amazing "bizzare" swing, I decided to imitate it just for fun.

I tried it out at a local golfsmith studio today, and surprisingly, my swing speed (club head speed) increased by 15mph average tho it came with a huge slicing.

I know there are a lot details need to be fixed. But my real question is, for my coming lessons, should I stick to what my instructor is teaching me or I need to talk to him about switching to Bubba style?

I'm in similar physical condition to Bubba.

Since I'm new to golf, I'm really looking for a right path to achieve the most for my physical potential.

Insights and suggestions will be appreciated.

[mchepp]

I think you will be hard pressed to find a teacher who would be willing to teach you how to swing the club like Bubba does. His swing is much closer to one you would find in a long drive competition. So rather than saying you want to learn to swing the club like Bubba maybe you could tell your professional that you would like to learn how to swing like a long drive champion.

The drawback is that most long drive champions only need to hit the grid (or golf course, forget the fairway) like 1 out of 5 times. When you hit it out of bounds on those 4 holes your score is going to skyrocket. Bubba has found a way to manage it, but he is rare for that reason. Most professionals want their students to get better and the fastest way is to get you to hit it on the golf course somewhere. I guess if it helped you hit it farther you could swing like Happy Gilmore but again the issue of "on the golf course" might be an issue. You need a balance of distance and accuracy.

Distance is important in golf, really important. But without accuracy it doesn't help you that much. So you need to find a way to swing that gives you a balance of both.

[Mr. Desmond]

+1 to Michael's post above... and Bubba has a homemade swing, so your instructor would have to attempt to mimic Bubba ... don't think that is going to happen and should not happen.

I have not studied Bubba's swing, only heard commentators, but I do know the front heel lifts off the ground. That might be the only trait in Bubba's swing you might do on your own for fun.

[saevel25]

I started playing golf this year. I took lesson with a PGA pro and I've kinda adapted the "traditional"swing that I'm being taught.

After watching Bubba Watson's amazing "bizzare" swing, I decided to imitate it just for fun.

Insights and suggestions will be appreciated.

Its Ok to try to find someone who has similar build were you can mimic them a bit. I wouldn't go copying someone like Bubba's swing.

He does a lot right, but he also has some quirks as well. He relies on a ton of natural hand eye coordination to direct the ball how he wants. His path and clubface manipulation is amazing.

I think it would be a bad thing to try to mimic his swing

[chspeed]

I have not studied Bubba's swing, only heard commentators, but I do know the front heel lifts off the ground. That might be the only trait in Bubba's swing you might do on your own for fun.

He does do that - see below - insane!

If by "fun" you mean making poor contact and spraying it all over the place, then that's a great idea.

Seriously though, I think lifting the front heel off the ground is a terrible idea for most golfers. Odds of consistently putting it back in the right place at the right time are slim.

[WatchOutLeft]

I would recommend reading through this thread: Hitting Positions vs Making a Functional Golf Swing by @mvmac Almost directly answers your question and has a lot of good information from a reliable source.