missingsolution (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

HOW GOOD IS SLAMMIN SAMM

paulski5 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Great swing. NOT Stack and Tilt. Snead let his right knee straighten some and won 80-something times, did not need surgery on his hip or knee, and played at a higher level I'd have to think longer than anyone. Lots of guys bent their left arm and did fine. I'm not an advocate per-se but I have an open mind on it.

YakuzaRich (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

I agree that you don't want a dramatic bend, but one of the big issues I see with amateurs is that they tend to make the left arm as straight as possible and that's counterproductive. Either way, too much left arm bend is usually a result of horrible flexibility. So instead of focusing on keeping the left arm straight, the golfer with too much left arm bend should work on their flexibility, IMO.

vjb007 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

In summary, the main reason a bent arm (or any other swing flaw, really) often leads to a bunch of seemingly unrelated problems is that the golfer, at some point in his swing, senses he's out of position and does half a dozen things he thinks might correct the problem in time. Most often he fails. In other words, the swing has to be totally integrated, as Hogan says. How effectively a golfer can otherwise "compensate" depends largely on his raw talent and his physical conditioning.

vjb007 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

No golfer's arm is "board" stiff but, for all practical discussion, Snead's arm doesn't bend (tho his right leg straightens somewhat, but never completely). But if the left arm bends enough, it means one must make a compensation to retain the original arc before club hits ball---one can't say that a specific swing "flaw" exists in a vacuum. Thus left-arm bending CAN lead to topping the ball, and shanking, even a change in swing path. Compensations create trouble for most golfers.

YakuzaRich (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Left arm bend doesn't effect accuracy. Even Sam's left arm bends here at the top. Tiger's spine angle problems causes his inaccuracy. His spine angle rises from the down the line view and it tilts backwards from the face on view. The latter is the bigger problem for Tiger because when the spine angle tilts back, it naturally opens the clubface. Which is why Tiger's bad shot usually goes dead right.

vjb007 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

The history indicates each was basically self-taught, developed their swings independently. You can see the differences, I think. One example---Hogan makes more use of his lower body; but there's not too much leg action in Snead's swing. Most of his career, Hogan played the ball with all clubs off his left instep; Snead moved the ball around. So the weight distribution was different. Hogan was a relatively fast swinger, to Snead's eye; Snead appeared to go from medium early on, to "slow" later.

vjb007 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

One other point, as well. If Tiger's left arm does bend, it may well be a contributing factor in one aspect of his game that could be improved: Accuracy off the tee. As has been pointed out, tho, accuracy off the tee doesn't mean as much today. In the past, in the rough might well mean in the trees. But there's fewer trees today on the courses, and it's not the factor it was in the past; you don't pay the penalty for inaccuracy as much. "It's a different way to win," as Bob Rosberg put it.

vjb007 (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

Yes, the left arm can bend...there's no one way to swing the golf club. And there's all kinds of ways that inaccuracy can creep in. The typical golfer, tho, wants the arm as straight as it can be. Otherwise, they cut down on the arc, and less of an arc usually means less distance. There are ways around it. And people find ways around it, professionals included. But at the same time they like to stick to fundamentals. Golfers who have a physical advantage can get away with more.

YakuzaRich (November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am)

The left arm can bend. Here's a pic of Tiger's swing, where his left arm is noticeably bent. You are correct on the right knee, but that's more of an issue with spine angle (because the knee will eventually re-flex, but the spine will rise). Most long backswings are partially the result of the golfer taking the club too far to the inside. Thus, they get off plane. So they are really inaccurate because they are off plane, not because they have a long swing.