Can a scratch golfer's swing look really bad? If so, how bad can it get?

[Lihu]

So, someone told me he was a scratch golfer, but he had a really quirky swing. Just wondering if anyone has videos of scratch golfers with really quirky swings?

Or if someone knows of a scratch golfer and can describe what the swing looks like?

Just curious. . .

[Dave2512]

I played behind our assistant pro last night. He's new and supposedly scratch and not sure if he was having a bad day or what but he had a funky swing and he was in all kinds of trouble. He actually bailed after the second hole. On one he was kicking in weeds right near a hazard dropped and made double. On two he was kicking in reeds left near a hazard. Never did find the ball, dropped (on the wrong side of the hazard) and pitched it over the green. He picked it up and left. When I finished 18 I saw him on the range teaching noobs.

[jbishop15]

I think it can be pretty bad, especially if they've been engraining that stuff since childhood. I've played with and watched my fair share of golfers with ugly-ass swings break par.

[Yukari]

See Furyk.

[dchoye]

There`s a few guys at my club whose swing  would make them a 20 handicapper first you see them swing.. but they played anywhere from scratch to single digit on any given day. These guys have exception putting and chipping skills . Their quirky swing is repeatable and they know where the ball goes and accept the limitations of their swing.

[WUTiger]

Sometimes an odd swing by an excellent golfer can be the result of an old injury.

Down in Oklahoma, a low HDCP local golfer had a very unusual swing. A past serious arm injury  made his left arm two inches shorter than his right.

His golf swing had super hip rotation - almost like a discus thrower - and a punchy followthrough. But he got off a low, hot draw that curved back to center every time. And, he had decent distance.

(That draw was very helpful in the Oklahoma wind.)

[Lihu]

I played behind our assistant pro last night. He's new and supposedly scratch and not sure if he was having a bad day or what but he had a funky swing and he was in all kinds of trouble. He actually bailed after the second hole. On one he was kicking in weeds right near a hazard dropped and made double. On two he was kicking in reeds left near a hazard. Never did find the ball, dropped (on the wrong side of the hazard) and pitched it over the green. He picked it up and left. When I finished 18 I saw him on the range teaching noobs.

Did you verify that he is scratch?

[iacas]

There`s a few guys at my club whose swing  would make them a 20 handicapper first you see them swing.. but they played anywhere from scratch to single digit on any given day. These guys have exception putting and chipping skills . Their quirky swing is repeatable and they know where the ball goes and accept the limitations of their swing.

Everyone's swing is repeatable, and I doubt their putting and chipping were really that great. To be scratch, you need to hit or be near a lot of greens.

[Phil McGleno]

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[SavvySwede]

Not sure I'm believing that. Looks way too flippy to me.

[Jackal66]

I know a few older guys that shoot from 70 - 76 for 18 holes. Their swing looks like someone trying to throw a sack of dog food into the back of a pickup truck. Grip: left hand weak, right hand strong. Club face closed 30° to address the ball. No pivot or weight shift, horrible slide, and they raise up at impact. How do they do it???? Don't know but they are consistent, play the same course, and putt good because they are familiar with THOSE greens. These guys go to another course, and they shoot 90. jack

[Pretzel]

My swing isn't that great and I'm pretty close to scratch at a 1.0 handicap of the last revision.

I know there was someone on my high school team freshman year who had a John Daly-esque swing that went waaaaaaay past parallel before he would just wail on the ball, and he was scoring under par in a large number of tournaments.

I think the results of the swing are more important than the swing itself, but a good swing certainly helps achieve the good results more consistently and with greater ease.

[mvmac]

Not sure I'm believing that. Looks way too flippy to me.

I worked with a guy a couple times who was trying trying to make it to the Champions Tour and he got a little flippy coming into impact. You can get away with a little flip and still be a good player, can't do that with Keys 1 or 2.

To the original question, yes you can have a "bad" looking swing and be a scratch golfer. Look at Tommy Gainey and Nicholas Thompson. All 5 Keys but the swings aren't aesthetically pleasing.

[phillyk]

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Ha ha ha...

[ghalfaire]

How about this guy Miller Barber:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx8bVEovI3w

You might look at Nancy Lopez or Ray Floyd.

[Ernest Jones]

How about this guy Miller Barber:   [URL=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx8bVEovI3w]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yx8bVEovI3w[/URL] You might look at Nancy Lopez or Ray Floyd.

That is one butt-ugly swing.

[iacas]

These guys go to another course, and they shoot 90.

Then they're not scratch golfers.

[RGoosen]

Ryan Moore, Kenny Perry, J.B. Holmes have weird swings. As mentioned above Furyk. I don't find Bubba ' s swing ugly, but it certainly looks unusual. As iacas mentioned being on or near the green is important as well as having a sharp short game. Craig Perry won on tour one year and Johnny Miller said his swing was so ugly it would make Ben Hogan puke. [video]https://youtu.be/aQkz9WuXNbE[/video]