MRugroden

https://dunawaylong.com/ Here's Dunaway's site. He was taught by Austin. Dunaway won at the pro level for long drive. Since it seems to be a prerequisite to have won a pro tournament to be credible as a teaching pro then let's ask the question. How many tournaments has iacas won? mvmac? How many have you won? Personally, I think Don Trahan gets a raw deal. He should be rated one of the top rated teachers in the country.

I was responding to Hardspoon. For your critiquing pleasure. A swing that won't ruin your back.

Cute. Did it take long to come up with that?

Since you are a "pro" here's one way where Johnson and Austin are similar. Both straighten the right leg in the backswing and the hips slide to the right providing a post to swing the left hip around like on a gate. The left heel comes up on Austin, but with Johnson's flexibility it appears the left foot stays flat with the left knee pointed behind the ball as with Austin. Austin bows the left wrist in the take away and then there's Dustin. Austin initiates the forward swing with the left leg. As the left leg leads, the hips slide toward the front to the straight left leg. The right hip starts to swing around the straight left leg like around a post. The arms can't help but be on plane and sling the club through the ball. Follow thru end on the left side in balance so the the shaft of the club about level with ears behind the head. Modern instruction usually says restrict the hips against the lower back during the turn. Don't slide the hips, don't straighten the legs. Get in this and that position. BTW, I took lessons from Haney and was told there was no other way to play golf other than the modern method. I almost quit golf until I found Austin. The pain was too bad. Now that I've backed it up why don't you back up your statements in post #2. Pretty easy to toss something like that out there and then expect everyone to accept it because you are an administrator. Why is Hogan's method better? Why does his swing not reflect his teachings? Have you examined Austin's swing and all of his teachings before you declared them worthless? If you want to have a discussion then let's put it all out there. For you to declare Austin's a scam show us where what he teaches doesn't work.

I'm sure you know how to use YouTube. Do the same thing I did and look at the difference in swings. They even have slow motion on both of them.

About 9 mos ago I bought and have been using Mike Austin's lessons ($20). Of all the teachers I've had or studied in the last 40 years his techniques are the most effective. In the last 4 years I've gone from a handicap of 6 to not being able to break 90. Now I'm shooting low to mid 80s most of the time. 70s are next. I'm old and have physical problems but drive an average 265 yards. I had to recalculate all of my clubs because I'm hitting so much further and my accuracy has greatly improved. All of this with no pain during or after the round and I play 3 to 5 times a week. What Austin teaches is the classic golf swing that is not taught today. Look at the past greats (Byron Nelson for one) and compare their swing with today's greats with the exception of Dustin Johnson. They're all on Youtube. Johnson's swing is the closest to Austin's and if you'll notice, Dustin is the longest and most accurate on tour. I believe he's #1 as well. Might there be something to this? Look at Rory McIlroy's swing. Nearly as long as Dustin's but, Rory is already having back problems due to the modern swing, Dustin isn't. Tiger has just undergone spinal fusion. Another victim of the modern swing. Before offering an opinion please do some research. You might learn something that will help make you a better golfer longer.

I was privileged to watch Tiger when he came out on tour. Now he's dealing with the challenges of age and wear and tear. ALL of us will get there sooner or later whether you are injury free all your life or have gone under the knife like Tiger and myself. Surgery leaves you different. It never goes back to original. From the comments he's made he's not going to endanger what remains of his quality of life to play a game at professional level. I've had back surgery twice and I have strict limitations on what I can and cannot do. Keep this in mind when considering what Tiger is going through. Put yourself in his place. What he does is really none of our business since it doesn't affect us at all.

Here's another thought. Strengthening can be taken too far. When it was learned what Tiger was doing many "experts" were stating how his frame would not be able to handle the power he could generate. Looks like they were right.

You can be like Tiger and keep your foot flat and restrict your hip turn. Of course your low back will give out like Tiger too. Not many of us are athletes and train to protect our bodies from injury. Lifting your heel allows your hips to turn with your shoulders lessening your chance of back injury. Increased leg action does the same. Look at Byron Nelson (11 wins in a row), Ben Hogan, Arnie, Jack, Bubba... As one with a fused spine and living on pain pills for over 25 years, I could not play golf if I didn't allow my hips to turn either by lifting my heel or allowing my hips to turn. When I play well I shoot high 70's to low 80's. Modern teaching seems to be shortening careers. I'll stick with old school.

There are no standards among manufacturers for shaft designations. Some attempts have been made to put everyone on the same page but the manufacturers claim proprietary techniques and information would be lost.

I have tried this too. Now, however, I'm remembering what that feels like. I get much better results.

Interesting how many replies are about a feel.

Here's a good start. Pay careful attention to everything. Take notes, practice in front of a mirror. Don't force anything, let momentum control the distance. Longer chips need longer clubs. 1/3 in the air, 2/3 on the ground.

The main thing that kills my game is thinking. Some instructors give you swing thoughts. That just shot you down in flames. When you practice and hit that amazing shot with each club, remember how it felt. The secret to golf is in the feel. Feel the release as though you are holding a sword and are slicing a melon. Take your stance, flip your club over and hold by the club head in one hand. Use your golf swing and swing through the melon. Change hands, slice the melon. Flip over and hold the grip with both hands, slice the melon. That is the feel you're after. Feel as though if you let go of the club after impact the club would follow the ball. Try gently throwing the club in the direction you want it to go. It may be harder than it sounds When you set up to a ball now feel the release in the direction you want the ball to go.

Maybe if you think about your game, any part of it, you're lost, so think of nothing. Try to remember what it feels like when you hit that one perfect shot with that club. You have to have good basics so assuming those are in order line up your shot, choose your intermediate target about 1' in front of the ball, visualize your ball flight (fade, draw, straight) and set up for that shot. Address the ball and if you're going to hit a draw align the face of the club just to the left of your intermediate target, look up and see your ball flight and then feel the release as you swing to the right of the intermediate target. Feel that perfect shot you hit on the range and pull the trigger with that smooth effortless swing that gives you effortless power. Don't think, feel. As soon as I hit a bad shot during a round and try to figure out what went wrong I'll be 6 over or more by the end of 9 holes. I play well usually by myself when I have no distractions.

Being old and decrepit with a bad back and a knee replacement I may have stumbled across some things that will help. The first one is that playing "golf swing" instead of golf is crap. All of the advice of restricting the hips to X degrees of turn and the shaft in this position and the face in that position is what is causing the majority of back problems in the PGA and ruining the chances for the majority of us amateurs to enjoy playing good golf.. Remember the occasions when frustration set in and you just hit the ball? Remember how many of those shots were amazing? Did you suddenly get all those angles and degrees of turn just right or did you just let your body do what it does naturally? Look at the greats like Bobby Jones, Sam Sneed, Byron Nelson, Ben Hogan, Jack Nicklaus, Tom Watson, Ian Woosnam, Bubba Watson, Jim Furyk and others. How much hip and knee turn do they have? How did they play? Tom Watson nearly won the British Open at age 59 and it sure looks like his hips turn a lot. In my never to be humble opinion modern teaching is causing a lot of damage. I had an instructor at a Hank Haney school tell me I should quit playing golf if I couldn't resist turning my hips. That causes enough pain to drop me. Let me offer an alternative. The basic fundamentals of golf are consistent. The grip, stance, ball position and swing are your keys to better golf. The question is how do you hit the ball solidly each time you swing. We'll all settle for 70% of the time. To start with go to Ron Sisson on Youtube. This video takes new golfers and teaches them how to hit the ball. The results are astounding. Then check out Shawn Clement golf on Youtube. There are dozens of lessons that take the swing a little farther than Ron. After that, spend some time with a practice mat and a mirror and develop a comfortable, smooth, effortless swing. I have done this and can now swing the club pain free. I've been doing this for about 3 weeks now. I have to be careful or I'll be laid up for a few days. I play at least 9 holes 4-6 times per week and I walk the course. I hit my driver 250 -270 yds and my 9 iron 145 yds. How? I don't play golf swing. Let the flaming begin.

The last one took about 2 buckets of balls on the range. Yes, I'm serious. YRMV

Congratulations on acquiring a non-fatal addiction. You have an obsession for a lifetime. I qualify as a geezer these days, I'm in my 60's. I bought my first set of Northwestern blade irons at a garage sale for $13 and tried to teach myself. Had a great time. I finally achieved a single digit handicap about 3 years ago and consistently shot low 80's to high 70's. However, my swing came from what I saw on TV and the success was short lived. I have trouble breaking 90 now. I understand the swing and what I have to do to be successful but, my body can't do it anymore. I had tried the swing promoted by Don Trahan and used by Jack Nicklaus in the later stage of his career a while ago but didn't get it. I took another look at it this week and made it to the range and hit a 2 buckets. No pain, solid hits, no loss of distance, good control of my shots. I play 1992 Hogan Apex Red Line blades. If I had this swing 40 years ago I would have played much better than I did. Take a look at it. It works. I predict a single digit handicap, or, close to it, again. Here's a couple of videos that show the swings of Don Trahan and Jack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVMeoRR4T2A http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ics5aZ8wqo4 I have no trouble recommending a swing played by the best golfer in modern golf history. What ever you do have fun.

Quote: How the tour pro's don't absolutely melt down & go full postal on the course after blowing a shot that could cost them potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars (ok, to put it into terms we can relate to ... the difference between missing one single putt or losing a drive OB on #18 to lose by one stroke would relate to losing a NEW corvette, a NEW tournament bass boat with a V6 engine, a NEW Chevy Suburban to pull it with; and a 3rd home on a Canadian lake ... or if you prefer, a high end Ferrari) is incomprehensibly baffling to me (but strangely commendable - absolutely no way I could keep my composure as they do) ... it would be refreshing to see a tour guy go full retard on the course after losing by one missed shot. This is just a general comment by me and not directed to any one individual. It's called self control. It's a choice. If you can't control yourself playing a stupid game it calls into question what else in your life is out of control. Grow up.

I'd start with a good chiropractor along with physical therapy. Each condition is different and needs to be addressed that way. BTW, if you cough or sneeze and experience pain when doing that you may have disc problems. Start with the most conservative treatments.

There are a few things that will cause inconsistency. Some basics to keep in mind are to keep your head still. You can get by with a lot of things if your head doesn't move left or right or up and down. Another thing that we amateurs do is to ignore the proper weight transfer. In the back swing make sure your weight does NOT go to the outside of your back foot. As for the triangle, take a look at Ben Hogan's swing in slo mo. The (for right handers) right elbow stays in front of the body, not the side. This is done by keeping the upper arms attached to the side of the chest. All of this is difficult to comprehend without seeing it done so take a look at the masters on Youtube. YMMV

I picked up a set of 1992 Hogan Apex Redline blades yesterday. My "old" set is forged cavity back. After hitting 2 buckets of balls yesterday and today I took them to the course. They are harder to hit but I find I'm focusing on swinging correctly. When I do my part the clubs do what I want. I think if you want to be a better golfer blades would help.