What are the worst golf swing tips out there?

[mshills]

“You looked up.”

 

However, damn near any “swing tip” is at best a waste of time, at worst it will actively make you worse. 

 

A golf game is not built on “tips” from the 4th tee or the office coffee maker.

[Torontogolfaddict]

I believe every swing tip here is totally right. It is you just do not understand what that really means.

[Hilts1969]

Lead with the right elbow(for me)

[tm3]

On 12/4/2021 at 6:29 PM, Nels55 said:

Keep your head down.

Keep your lead arm straight.

Keep your trail elbow in jammed against your side.

 

 

 

Friend of mine paid $hundreds to a pro that "coached" him to do that over and over and over.

 

Poor guy still can't find the fairway, and after every miss announces that it was because he failed to do one of those three.

[jacincm]

"Hit a draw"

 

In recent years, there's been this obsession with hitting this shot. It's good in theory but there are so many people that do it "incorrectly" (early extending, swinging severely in to out, and shutting down the face)

 

[Superbrit]

Anything Nick Bradley says

[jholz]

It rarely comes up in these discussions, but the tip that consistently and universally phucked my swing was:

 

"Weight on the balls of the feet" or "athletic address position" or "stand like a shortstop or linebacker" or whatever variation of that tip you might encounter.

 

I feel like this inevitably gets folks out on their toes - leading to overly inside takeaway and the host of problems that come with it. At least that's how it worked out for me. 

[Nels55]

3 hours ago, tm3 said:

Friend of mine paid $hundreds to a pro that "coached" him to do that over and over and over.

 

Poor guy still can't find the fairway, and after every miss announces that it was because he failed to do one of those three.

Head down, lead arm straight and trail elbow in are all poor things to focus on in my opinion.  As a matter of fact I find any kind of instruction related to how body parts move difficult even movements that might help me.  Usually something like that will work good for a short time to produce good shots but then I either feel like I am doing it and I am not or I can't feel it anymore and I start over doing it. 

 

I have run into this while getting professional instruction a number of times.  I will be a teachers dream during the lesson getting the movement down and hitting good shots.  Then I will go off and practice doing drills or whatever and get worse and worse until the next lesson where the process repeats itself LOL.  

[MaineMariner]

For putting, it's gotta be "rock your shoulders." I don't like any putting advice that leaves out the core and the arms.

[Barfolomew]

1 hour ago, MaineMariner said:

For putting, it's gotta be "rock your shoulders." I don't like any putting advice that leaves out the core and the arms.

 

Ya shoulders can suck it

[GolfTurkey]

Pretty much anything dropped by the smug herd of Dunning-Kruger exhibits passing for instructors in Australia. They're stuck in a time warp of Golf Digest tips from the 80s and 90s.

[Moonlightgrm]

The single plane golf swing.

[Shushwap]

On 12/3/2021 at 1:06 PM, khalespace said:

Right after a bad swing. You lifted your head, keep it down.

U must play with all my friends as that is there fav saying.. It's not the massive out to in swing caused the problem.. They just didn't keep there darn head down.. Cracks me up every time 

[Nels55]

I wonder how many golf truisms Bryson violates in this video on how to hit it far?

 

[MonteScheinblum]

1 minute ago, Nels55 said:

I wonder how many golf truisms Bryson violates in this video on how to hit it far?

 

That’s why he hits it far 😜

[golfarb1]

12 hours ago, Nels55 said:

I wonder how many golf truisms Bryson violates in this video on how to hit it far?

 

Bryson does have a number of unorthodox movements in his swing , but he also has movements that are more traditional and and are present in many great ball strikers .

At 4:23 -4:28 notice the emphasis on a wide takeaway.Studies have been done relating hand width  in the backswing to distance . In the summer of 2020 , there was an outstanding discussion on width in the backswing on Golfwrx. 

At 5:05 the emphasis is on hip rotation causing the knee to move across resulting in a little separation of the legs . At the same time the hands stay for a millisecond longer .At 5:36 Mr COMO comments “as the body starts to lower , the hands are still working up a little bit.”
Jack Nicklaus stated a similar concept “starting down I try to sense the club head lagging until the downswing  has been initiated by my feet and legs at which point I know that I safely “release “ with my hands and arms”

 

If you want to hit it longer adopt these two ideas

1. wider backswing  with emphasis on keeping the right arm straighter longer 

2. initiating the downswing via  lead  hip external rotation . This will automatically also rotate the lead knee . This is a similar movement to the one that George Gankas teaches . 
 

[Zitlow]

Wide backswing. Sam Snead didn't have a wide backswing, he swung the club into him and away from him. He hit the ball pretty far and won some tournaments. 

 

 

Don't slide your hips. 

[Zitlow]

Oops, double post. 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by Zitlow

[mudge]

4 minutes ago, Zitlow said:

Wide backswing. Sam Snead didn't have a wide backswing, he swung the club into him and away from him. He hit the ball pretty far and won some tournaments. 

 

 

Don't slide your hips. 

 

Snead was pretty clear about keeping his arms and club as far away from him as possible during the entire swing 

[Zitlow]

1 minute ago, mudge said:

 

Snead was pretty clear about keeping his arms and club as far away from him as possible during the entire swing 

 

Do you have a source for that? 

[Zitlow]

Here's another guy who didn't have a wide backswing and got it out there pretty good. In the downswing he didn't drop or pull with the left arm. 

 

[mudge]

8 minutes ago, Zitlow said:

 

Do you have a source for that? 

 

"Education of a Golfer" by Sam Snead:

 

"I might have added that the only thing I thought about in swinging (and still do) was to keep the arc of my swing as wide as possible. I want that clubhead as far from my body as my arms will allow at every stage of the swing. My arms are like the spokes of a wheel, although not stiff or rigid. Keeping them out and away from my body gives the clubhead a uniform arc"

[mudge]

3 minutes ago, Zitlow said:

Here's another guy who didn't have a wide backswing and got it out there pretty good. In the downswing he didn't drop or pull with the left arm. 

 

 

I'm surprised you said this. MA also mentioned keeping his arms out away from his body during the swing in that Studio City demo video he did.

[Zitlow]

Just now, mudge said:

 

"Education of a Golfer" by Sam Snead:

 

"I might have added that the only thing I thought about in swinging (and still do) was to keep the arc of my swing as wide as possible. I want that clubhead as far from my body as my arms will allow at every stage of the swing. My arms are like the spokes of a wheel, although not stiff or rigid. Keeping them out and away from my body gives the clubhead a uniform arc"

 

Thanks for posting, He may have felt that. I took lessons from Mike Austin and there were several things he said he did in his swing that he didn't do. 

 

[mudge]

4 minutes ago, Zitlow said:

 

Thanks for posting, He may have felt that. I took lessons from Mike Austin and there were several things he said he did in his swing that he didn't do. 

 

 

He's keeping his width. His lower body actions brings the arms and club more inside.

[Zitlow]

Just now, mudge said:

 

I'm surprised you said this. MA also mentioned keeping his arms out away from his body during the swing in that Studio City demo video he did.

 

Yes he did, but he was wide on a rotating plane, not the static plane everyone tries make their swing conform to. 

 

"My arms are like the spokes of a wheel" in the quote you posted is interesting.  If his arms were the spokes, what was the hub? 

[Zitlow]

Just now, mudge said:

 

He's keeping his width. His lower body actions brings the arms and club more inside.

 

I agree with your premise, in that everything was working together. When his left shoulder went out his left arm came in. 

 

 

[mudge]

4 minutes ago, Zitlow said:

 

Yes he did, but he was wide on a rotating plane, not the static plane everyone tries make their swing conform to. 

 

"My arms are like the spokes of a wheel" in the quote you posted is interesting.  If his arms were the spokes, what was the hub? 

 

His head was his swing hub, and one of his keys was to keep the back of the neck with the ball while the hands moved the club back in the BS.

[Zitlow]

@mudge Austin said his left arm was the spoke, his shoulders were the hub and the club head was the wheel. He used to say don't break the spoke which is disconnecting the left arm from the body by trying to swing wide. Dropping the left arm is breaking the spoke as well.

 

The arms should work with the pivot not independent of the pivot. The pivot swings the arms and the hands swing the club which is something Austin used to say.

 

The reason Snead's and Austin's swings were so powerful and looked so fluid is their arms and body worked together like a dance team. 

[golfarb1]

Three examples of many :

width  in the backswing . I have never heard any one suggest being narrow going back . 

Greg Norman 

Davis Love

Cameron Champ