Do golfers have to have an elegant swing to be successful?
In golf, no two swings are the same which is why it is such an intriguing game. In essence, what might work for one player doesn’t necessarily work for another and what shouldn’t work in terms of required technique often does. To save you from having to read that sentence a few times over, the long and short of it is that there are many ways to skin a cat on a golf course.
Take Jon Rahm for example, the Spaniard is the favourite on the latest list for the Masters odds 2022 after being priced at 9/1 to win the green jacket despite possessing a swing that is not easy on the eye by any stretch of the imagination. Indeed, Rahm’s swing is short, rigid and rushed but crucially, it hasn’t stopped him from winning over £31 million on the PGA Tour. What this tells us is that golf is about feel more than anything else and if you stumble upon something that works for you then you should run with it.
Jon Rahm’s swing in slow-mo 🧐 pic.twitter.com/8aOKik3lmR
— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) February 16, 2022
Of course, there are those who have swings that are seemingly right out of the coaching manual who have also been able to enjoy the same level of success. Ernie Els is one of those players and tellingly, goes by the nickname of ‘the big easy’ given how graceful his swing is for a man who stands well over six feet.
That enviable rhythm has made Els the go-to player whenever an instructor tries to emphasize how important timing is and the results speak for themselves with the South African lying twelfth on the all-time career earnings list for the PGA Tour.
It won’t come as a surprise to learn that Tiger Woods is the number one ranked player in terms of winning the most career prize money and that’s down to the fact that the big cat has a swing that has, for decades, been able to be repeated under the most intense pressure.
Tiger Woods showing off his swing on the range 👀
Getting closer to a return?
(via @TigerWoods)
pic.twitter.com/Pw77vMcXtZ— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 21, 2021
Indeed, Woods’ swing never failed him when the heat was turned up to the highest which is perhaps the secret ingredient all golfers should try and aim for when trying to settle on a technique that works for them. There is naturally an element of having a strong psychological makeup to this but repetition on the range is the greatest weapon a player can harness when trying to find a reliable swing.
Indeed, the truth is that the most important feature of any swing is the ability to withstand the dangerous equations that the brain is unhelpfully creating. In other words, if there is water in play or an out-of-bounds marker lurking in the distance, a player’s natural thought process is to have the consequences of hitting it there at the forefront of their mind. This is where a strong swing that is carved from muscle memory takes over and ensures that the brain is overridden.
All of the world’s most successful players, irrespective of how their swings look, have mastered the art of swinging the club the best way they know how when the stakes are raised.
