After months of frustration, THIS is the one tip that's worked for me. Works right from the driver to the putter (yes, even the putter). Such a simple tip!
i have been experimenting with all sorts of swing thoughts for all of my life. I was a scratch player for about 15 years. At age 69, I have a 4 handicap and am still trying to improve. I am extremely knowledgeable on the golf swing. This is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever seen. However, I would add this. Once you begin the downward shoulder rotation, you must continue it to the finish in one continuous motion. You should feel the arms lagging. To hit it longer,speed up that motion.
That's a great drill to do in front of a mirror, with the club over your shoulders. It's amazing how a lot of us amateurs come out of our swing on the downswing and through impact. We don't think we're doing it, but if you ever get on video you'll see it.
Several years ago I decided I was thinking about my golf swing too much and set out to reduce my swing thoughts. For me "Tom's Secret" is one of the best. I call it "Left Shoulder/Right Shoulder". Tom is spot on about staying on plane, perpendicular to a tilted spine, away from and back through the ball. Momentum raises him up only after the ball is long gone. Tom has his body swinging his tail. Very simple yet elegant swing indeed.
Best advice ever... at least for me. if u are someone who struggles to keep ur spine angle, try this. I can now actually 'strike' the ball after thinking about what he's explaining here.
I love this guy and his honest training methods. I have his book on the short game - getting up and down. The best read improved my short game drastically.
Dear Sensei Watson Wow! The golf secret! I have waited 55 years to hear this Although l am perplexed: how come you are the greatest golfer ever and yet you 'did know' how to swing a golf club This highlights that your are the GOAT because despite yourself it seems you were the champion golfer more than anyone else in the modern era. Which should have been more but for two lapses I would like think it is because of your Scottish heritage It was written in the stars Tom ( Young Tom Morris) Watson a guid ( good) Scots name Your you tube videos are amazing: the best Theya compliment 'Coach' Paige Sprinac you tubes perfectly Thank you so much for giving me the greatest thrill; a photo with you at Lythm Unbeknown to me it would be your last tournament Making this momentous moment even more poignant I did n't realise it would allow to focus on your even greater skill of teaching perhaps Your Steve Mulligan Scotland
Dont forget that at the top of your swing you are going to feel really steep. Once you figure out that the downswing starts from the ground up, and you make the first move down with your hips this will be gold. The hips turning left with pulll your shoulders with it. Stay in your posture and feel the torque. What a way to hit balls......
This is so funny ,I just figured the same thing out today and then I see this video talking about the day he figured it out.For real he is 100% accurate ,this is the most important part of the swing,I was killing the ball today long and straight.This is the best tip you will ever get.
The simplicity of this man's swing was apparent to anyone who saw him. It is why he was one of the top 5 of all time. His explanations are the same - simple.
Good golf tips often can be interpret wrong. For the longest time, I thought of "keep your head still" means not allowing the head to rotate also. That really restricted my shoulder turn back and through and actually caused my head to move ahead during the swing. Recently I started to keep the head still as in location of my head but allow for some head rotation at a similar angle as the shoulder turn and it works wonders. Doing so allows my head to stay still much easier without feel very restrictive.
@nuckster94 I understand rotating the shoulders at right angles, as Tom demonstrates very effectively by standing upright and rotating the shoulders - represented by the club shaft - horizontally. What I am not understanding is your statement about a "26 degree shoulder tilt." By that, do you mean that the spine is tilted forward 26 degrees from straight up and down vertical, going from an erect standing posture to a "tipped forward from the hip joints" golf posture?
i watched tom watson recently at the senior open at sahalee in 2010, for anyone whose ever watched tom in person; his swing is absolutely mesmerizing, i have never seen such an effortless swing. this guy is a champ
I’m a big fan of Tom Watson having learned the short game with 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full swings in the 80s from his book “Up and In from 40 yards…”. I also have read his more recent retrospective book where he mentioned changing is swing after observing and analyzing Anthony Kim’s. Not sure if it is because the video cuts off the lesson but he fails to mention the role side bend and spine tilt play in the golf swing to keep the club head mass swinging on its natural balanced path which is dictated, golfer-golfer, club-to-club and shot-to-shot by the slope of lie. An important lesson I learned from Hogan’s Five Lessons and his partial swing drill is that letting the cantilever of arm+club find balance with the force of gravity is a vital first step at address when bending at the hips. Hogan would rest club head on turf to align it but then raise it up in the air with bent elbows down as he bent forward at the hips / with straight spine. He did not let club hit the turf until the cantilever leverage of arm + extended club had a chance to swing freely and find balance with gravity. With shorter clubs that swings the arms, hands and club into the body more / but with the longer clubs the longer lever arm of the club will pull the left arm the club is suspended by out from vertical \. What is the ideal forward spine angle? / The one which lets the club swing in an arc and come back to the ball on the same path. That can be visualized by just using the same forward press - release move as when starting the swing shifting the hips LATERALLY an inch or so towards the target and then back away. Try that with the club suspended an inch above the ground and you will observe the club head swing not parallel to the stance line | | but in a very consistent shallow arc | ) because of the CANTILEVER formed at the wrists between arm can club shaft. A grip that keeps the hands in the same position relate to shoulders during the first 45° of the backswing is CRITICAL to having a consistent swing, starting with takeaway. It is why Palmer, Greg Norman and others said if they got the first 18” of the takeaway correct they knew the rest of the swing would work. The problem golfers who grip in the ground and never find balance before swinging is they wind up fighting where the LAWS OF PHYSICS are trying to swing the club by steering it with the hands. The ideal swing path is the one that matches the that of how the hips and shoulders turn around the spine. But in the swing the base of the spine moves as he hips rotate so the cause and effect is not as simple as Mr. Watson illustrates. The takeaway is a sweeping action, but at the point the club force makes the wrists hinge it is the position relative to the feet in 3D space and the direction the toe of the club is pointing that will, due to the pesky laws of physics which must be obeyed, that will dictate the swing path to the top and whether or not the club will wind up with shaft parallel to swing line over shoulders and heels |= )| at the top of the backswing. The trip down starts with the simultaneous dropping of the separated right arm and the release of the hips, which the backswing pulls to 45° closed, limited by keeping the front foot on the ground. The hips can only to the point of being 45° open bio-mechanically IF THE BACK HEEL IS LEFT ON THE GROUND. Try moving hips in a circle with feet flat and you will observe that cause and effect. What most golfers don’t seem to understand and most golf instructors do not mention it is that limitation of hip rotation that triggers the action of: 1) the wrists cocking to bring the club up in the downswing, and 2) the club whipping around the hands and accelerating much faster than the hands are moving forward around body in the downswing. The mistakes noobs make in the takeaway (been there done that) is thinking they need to swing the club back inside and / or having too weak a grip and allowing the club force to pronate the left hand and point the butt toward the target during the takeaway. Butt should point at the body or ground at ball - target line, and the ideal grip and takeaway path accomplish that automatically when the club is in balance at address and is allowed to swing back on a balanced path. The move that is critical for getting the shoulders and hands in the correct position at impact is also SIDE TILT plus SIDE BEND. Side tilt is when spine is straight but tilted back. If starting with / \ stance, a lateral shift of hips back < - changes legs to | \ shifting support to back foot. The stance width is the variable that controls how vertical the back leg can get and should not be so narrow the takeaway force can pull the back leg past vertical \ pulling body mass off balance. The / \ to | \ action of the legs will cause the upper body to tilt forward / That is the reflexive brain’s solution for keeping the overall body mass in balance over the feet and necessary in a golf swing because the swinging club is trying to pull the body off balance backwards! either by consciously moving it, or dropping the raised left heel the golfer can control the timing of when the hips fire forward. The “magic move” is to time the firing forward of the hips and dropping of the hands to occur just as the club head reached the end of its movement forward. Club moves -> hand get pulls
17 dislikes?????????????? Really ! This guy has won 8 MAJORS, how many have you won?, honestly pfffft, folks this advice is PRICELESS if u want to play good golf.
@nuckster94 Two questions: Do you mean 26 degrees "spine angle" tilt as opposed to "shoulder" tilt? You said shoulder tilt and shoulder turn. Second, If a golfer sculls it (hits it in the equator of the ball with the bottom edge of the club), the bottom of the swing arc would be swinging 3/4ths of an inch above the ground. How many degrees upwards would the spine angle change if a golfers sculls it? If the spine angle changed by one degree, would that not cause the clubhead... (continued)
He said on the Golf Channel today that he had a secret... He jokingly said he was going to release an instructional video. This was his secret. No secret, just a solid fundamental.
im a 10 hcp. played constant fade always, in the end of this season i totally lost my game and swing. i just tought about position at the top etc.. went out and tried thinking like this. staying down there. damn ill own next year cause of this single tip/swing thought. so much more control
I think I have heard the "Spine angle" 100 times...but for some reason (Probably it's simplicity) I really understand the spine angle and it's importance in your swing now.
This is a great piece of advice from a great player if your angles change in your swing your brain will be forced to make compensations in your swing which never results in a good shot,so keep your angles no compensations required better shots will be the result.
regarding the spine angle, Jack does say that he pictures a stake going through his head, his body and into the ground (ie spine angle) in Golf My Way...perhaps Tom should've watched it .
I will add that your arms go further left than you can imagine. It feels way over the top but the ball starts dead straight and you can shape it however you want with this method. It’s actually scary at first because you feel like you are totally going to miss the ball. That is when you know you got it.
@cockywatchman1976 ...Anybody who's reading this can prove it to himself by making a backswing and then making only a slight rotary motion forward with the shoulders without swinging the arms down at all, and then look at the path the clubhead will have to take to the ball--almost straight down. Sorry, but you really got me going...because you're SO right.
Its true, for right handers just keep the left shoulder lower than the right shoulder on the backswing turn and vice versa on the downswing, and voila!! Mr. Watson makes it simple!! No wonder his swing is butter! Make sure you transfer your weight as well.
keep your spine angle and remember to accelerate to a full finish, club behind the neck and hold your finish pose until the ball hits the ground out in the fairway.
I think the idea is not so much starting your swing with a shoulder turn but rather keeping your shoulders on a level plane and doing that excercise will help you do that.
@cockywatchman1976 I don't think it matters much whether the shoulders are fractionally open or closed (or square) at impact, but it does matter whether they're dragging the arms, and if they're much open at impact that's a good indication of it. You just can't be anything but steep and outside on the ball if your shoulders dominate your downswing...
Imagine two dowl rods sticking up out of the ground the same height as you are and outside and just behind your pinky toe. You need to make your backswing and down swing inside that area. Your target side hip will touch and press the forward dowl 6 to 8 inches toward the target. Weight transfers from the inside right foot at the top to inside left foot first, then you swing through. The matching shoulder angles is great dead on description of this complex move.
I love his dvd series, "lessons of a lifetime", which is excellent; it just annoys me having to watch that chip-in on 17 at pebble to beat jack back in '82
In my opinion the best striker of the golf ball right now is the current world no 1. Dustin Johnson. His downswing and follow through shows this movement perfectly.
@cockywatchman1976 True, and observable in literally every great player's swing. I think what you see with Watson here--who previously said that his main swing thoughts were only path (from the inside) and release--is a guy whose tendencies to swing from the inside became too great, which is NOT the average player's problem or even most tour pros' problem. You can tell a Watson or a Faldo to "get on top of the ball" or "get the chest over the ball"...
To those suggesting this is poor advice... He clearly states this was a correction for his problem with hitting it thin and to the right. This is a common swing thought among pros. Check out Graeme McDowell's practice swings.
Bobby Lopez explains this same (true) theory more clearly on his youtube channel. I see the doubting comments, Tom Watson/Bobby Lopez shoulder turn is great advice, try it.
Point is, Watson has learned to swing his arms so fast and so on the right path, and to release the club so well from his hands and forearms, and he's done this for so many years, that I'd put better-than-even money on the proposition that it's all become so second-nature to him that he's aware only (or primarily) of the controls on that motion. I think that's what you see when players go to a top teacher and go too far with corrective or balancing advice, then suffer a real career slump.
@slicermcg0lf It's not S&T at all, since he's shifting his weight properly through his swing. He also lifts his left heel on the backswing, which is a classic move that saves his lower back. Both of those are reasons why he can still swing fluidly into his 60's with enough distance to compete, even with the younger players.
This is the only thing I taught 4 members of my family, obtained from Ben Hogans 5 fundamentals, they are all single figure golfers...it's just aswell that he didn't realise it earlier or tiger would be chasing his major record instead of Jacks, Watson's still in the top 10 of all-time...
The shoulder turn is old news. It is part of the pivot motion. However, I contend that focusing on this alone is a quick-fix solution that will last only for a few rounds. Tom is absolutely right, but the golf swing also involves correct positioning of the arms, hands and club at various points of the swing. You can turn your shoulders perfectly as Tom described, but you can also snatch the club too far in, or loop it out, and you'd lose consistency. "The secret is in the dirt," says Hogan.
There is one caveat here - you can't bend excessively from the waist and maintain your spine angle through impact so you have to stand comfortably erect at address. I've given lessons at driving ranges for years and people who crouch over the ball when they're addressing it are doomed to straighten up at impact. Crouching feels athletic but places severe strain on the lower back as you hit through the shot, virtually forcing a coming up action at the bottom of the swing.
This is interesting.....Just watched a video by Ben Hogan and he started his legs moving very fast before his shoulders...just like Tom demonstated the way he used to do it and Jack always did. Today's players all keeping their legs very quiet and turn at the shoulders the same way Tom does it now.
@cockywatchman1976 To me, that fact of the shoulders not dragging the arms through, of power being transferred _through_ the shoulders and out through the arms and hands without making the rotary movement of the shoulders the motivating force but rather following the needs of the arms and club to swing on the right path and plane, is the biggest all-but-unknown common factor to great swings, despite current theory to the contrary. I was looking through an old Leadbetter instructional VHS...
Just to let everyone know that Tom Watson does not advocate starting the downswing with the shoulders ....... this is just a small clip ..... on his dvd he explains ..... separation.... how there is a separation between the left hip and the left shoulder ..... which allow for the arms to lead from the inside ... the 2 dvd set is worth the investment
@cockywatchman1976 Sorry, but just one more to prove your point,: If you look at other vids of Watson or other top players, you'll find that virtually all the best ballstrikers not only show that separation of arms and hands from the shoulder socket on the downswing (visible best on a DTL view), but also have the shoulders still closed to the target line nearly until impact or even slightly beyond impact, at times...
Great advice! He copied my swing after 4 minute mark. LOL. Should you keep your left foot 45 deg. angle to the ball and both knees bent during backswing for longer carry?
Lead foot angled is your comfort choice, but definitely keep knees flexed in the up swing; that's what controls your levels and angles, and helps you to make an instantaneous change of direction, putting you in optimum hitting position at the right time.
@cockywatchman1976 ...as happens, e.g., when a player who releases hell out of the clubhead with his hands says he's "taking hands out of the swing" (which never actually happens, btw). Also, a player who's made the basic movement of the swing second nature may not be aware of what is actually primary in the swing anymore. It's a little like a great runner saying the secret to winning races is how you pump your arms or hold your head, as opposed to moving your legs and feet really fast...
What matters in the golf swing, in theory, is only what happens from the start of the swing until the ball has made contact with and left the clubface. Watson keeps his shoulders on that magic plane until it no longer matters what his body is doing.
Love Tom Watson, and this video will help a lot of people. But this is just what worked for him. The reality is you can only get yourself a solid grip that is the same every time, figure out how to lineup the same every time, from there, its all about just swinging the way your body normally swings and learning tempo and timing. All the videos online are mostly a rabbit hole and a lottery at best. The only truly good videos are the ones that give ideas on how to hit different shots.. just to help your brain see the different things you can try with punching the ball, chipping, etc. The overall swing stuff just isn't that valuable.
_"its all about just swinging the way your body normally swings and learning tempo and timing."_ If you want to spend a lifetime trying to learn tempo, timing, and sequencing, not a bad way to go. Learn how to swing correctly, timing and sequencing are automatic, and tempo easily follows. I know your stated philosophy is the prevailing teaching philosophy, but with 50+ years of learning experience, I can state it actually prevents learning, and ensures only the best athletes will ever "get it". Many of the moves "made naturally" by most everyone are counter productive, and have to be compensated for at some other point in the swing.
...the other night, in fact, and on that tape Leadbetter (whom I respect greatly, don't get me wrong) says not only the lower body but the upper needs to be open at impact, and then uses Nick Price as a model--but when you go look at the actual vids of Price, he's slightly _closed_ at the last point in the downswing when it could be perceptible to him, and square at the moment of impact....
What is strange is that Watson did not play in the 1992 Heritage Classic at Harbor Island GC, he played in 1993 and 94. Must of been 93 because he played pretty well after that tournament although he did miss 2 consecutive cuts late in the season. Edit: in another video I found Watson actually said it was in 1994 that he found his secret. ruclips.net/video/Juys-5JrR_c/видео.html
Hours of stretching each day may also help you turn back and through as tom just demonstrated, alot of the faults in the swing are a result of lack of flexibility, you can only do what your body will let you do. Fitness + good technique = good golf....
Yup, spine angle is the major key wiithout a doubt. When I start to hit poorly and do other bad things I just go back to maintaining good spine angle that fixes most of it. Spine angle fixes so many of the other tips like.. keep your head down, stay in the shot, clear the hips, swing plane, etc. All of that happens automatically when you maintain proper spine angle. Now... if I could just figure out how to maintain spine angle consistantly.... Lol
That's a legit tip. When you lose that spine angle and start humping the ball, inconsistent ball striking will follow, no matter how much you practice.
So Tom Watson, major winner and still going strong on tour at his age, doesn't know what he's talking about? He's hit more golf balls than we've had hot dinners, so I reckon he might just have a clue. Also, your comment about 'tour players don't do it like that' is pointless. 99% of folks learning on RUclips are not tour players, just normal weekend golfers. This tip helped me and, looking at the comments, a lot of others. Btw, the tip is from at least one tour pro who DOES hit it like that.
From 1977 to 1983 Tom Watson won 8 majors!! But, he didn’t figure out his golf swing until 1992? In his prime Watson had one of the best short games in the history of golf. But, Watson would never have won 8 majors with a bad golf swing. I think in 1992 he found an easier, more consistent way to swing the club.
The unmentioned pieces of the swing puzzle that allows the spine angle to stay constant are: 1) lateral movement of the hips and tilting of pelvis of spine, and 2) side bending to the right in the downswing. Both allow the body mass to counter, in perfect balance, the unbalancing force of the club at three places in the swing: 1) takeaway when the club force pulls both wrists into ulnar deviation; 2) club whipping around hands before impact where the entire left arm rotates the club head around the hands, and; 3) the finish when the lever arm and pivot point change from left shoulder to right and the club is allowed to first pull wrists into ulnar deviation then pull the right arm straight. Without the counter-fall action shifting hips forward laterally and the upper body mass leaning back with tilt and side bend the club head cannot be swung down on a balanced path which is why golfers who don’t side bend and counter fall, supported by the front heel, start falling off balance in the downswing and remain off balance in the finish. Any time the elbows bend before the wrists in the takeaway or finish the root cause is the club not being swung on the its natural balanced path. Most noobs start off balance because the rest the club head mass on the ground when gripping. Try this technique I learned reading Hogan’s Five Lessons and analyzing videos of his set up routine: 1) Start by standing upright with left arm bent 90° elbow down. Put the club in it with shaft pointing straight up. (Hogan did it with shaft horizontal but vertical makes the cause and effect work better) Add the right hand over the left, placing pad of right over thumb of left, not below it. 2) Bend towards ball at the HIP JOINT with straight spine. Lift chin up which will reflexively bow the ) the lumbar (lower) spine. DO NOT GROUND THE CLUB YET! The goal at this point is to allow the arm+club CANTILEVER to swing freely from the left shoulder socket. Because of the way the grip angles the club \ the arms will not hand vertically. Push the club out to the ball and then let it swing and reach equilibrium with GRAVITY. The angle the left arm hangs will vary with the length of the club level arm and the mass at the end of it. That is exactly why this step is so important. The point of balance and distance of hands and butt of club to body will vary club-to-club and even with the same club on different angle lies. IF THE CLUB IS NOT IN BALANCE AT STATIC ADDRESS ITS PATH DURING THE SWING WILL NOT BE AS ANTICIPATED BECAUSE THE LAW OF PHYSICS WILL TRY TO SWING IT BACK TO THAT NATURALLY BALANCED PATH. The swing of most noobs is doomed to inconsistency from the start because they grip the club on the ground with it too far from the body and take it away on an unbalanced path. The laws of physics will try to bring it back on a balanced path, but their conscious brain having a different flight plan will fight where the club wants to go. Odds of getting face back to square when ball releases? Much lower than a golfer who starts the club on its naturally balanced path and brings it down the same way. The lateral hip movement side bend action seen in the swing of good ball strikers is also seen in the ergonomics of pitchers, tennis players, lumberjacks, etc. It is seen in Mr. Watson’s actual swing (but not in this demo) because it is a reflexive action all good athletes do without any conscious thought. A noob golfer would do it do if they just took golf balls in their right hand up to the top of golf swing position had threw them as fast as possible AT THE GROUND on the ball - target line a foot or so in front of them. That downward angled path \ of right hand over the top of the ball is the action need by the right arm and hand to induce the club head to whip around the hands. The timing of the actions is to start the side bend just as the hips reach the point of being 45° open, the shoulders are back parallel with the swing line = and the hands have dropped down over the right hip, with their forward movement constrained by the still bent right arm’s < leverage. The goal here is to accelerate hands and club they are dragging down with the hip turn, with hips pulling shoulders, then abruptly slowing the hip turn and hands TOGETHER just as the club shaft comes back level with the ground allowing GRAVITY to accelerate it down and the fact the hands have slowed forcing it to whip around the hands. The physics is similar to a car crash in which the car stops but an unbelted passenger keeps going through the windshield. What causes the hips to stop is keeping the back foot grounded. What causes the hand to stop is the leverage of the right arm still being < bent with the hips stop. What allows the golfer to keep the right arm tucked in and bent is SIDE BEND. Without side bend the right arm can’t resist the force of the club and starts getting pulled straight too soon and out away from the body. That causes the club head to move outside the ball-target line setting up the golfer to slice across the outside of the ball when reflexively trying the steer the back of the left hand (and face of the club) to the target. Golfers with good side bend action rarely slice because the tucked-in right arm always keeps the path of the club inside-out, so much so that the point of aim on the ball needs to move from dead center relative to ball-target line + to slightly inside of center > + with a slightly open face. The open face of the club picks up the ball and swings closed to the point of being square to the target as the ball releases off of it. The side-send inside-square-swing continues to accelerate the club head while the ball is compressing and releasing and allows the right arm to take over support of the club and be pulled straight which slows down the club head and makes for a slower and more balanced finish.
@nuckster94 ... 2 or 3 inches above the ground? Since a golf ball is 1 and 1/2 inches from from the bottom surface of it sitting on the ground to the top of it (the North Pole of the ball), swinging two inches above the ground would miss the ball entirely. Tom's assertion that good players hit the ball well because they maintain their spine angle and bad golfers don't because they change their spine angle is incorrect, in spite of the idea's universal acceptance. Watch my video responses...
After months of frustration, THIS is the one tip that's worked for me. Works right from the driver to the putter (yes, even the putter). Such a simple tip!
Tom Watson is the man. His advice here is spot on.
i have been experimenting with all sorts of swing thoughts for all of my life. I was a scratch player for about 15 years. At age 69, I have a 4 handicap and am still trying to improve. I am extremely knowledgeable on the golf swing. This is one of the best pieces of advice I have ever seen. However, I would add this. Once you begin the downward shoulder rotation, you must continue it to the finish in one continuous motion. You should feel the arms lagging. To hit it longer,speed up that motion.
I can't believe the negative comments and advertising here. This is good advise and one of the many parts of a sound swing.
That's a great drill to do in front of a mirror, with the club over your shoulders. It's amazing how a lot of us amateurs come out of our swing on the downswing and through impact. We don't think we're doing it, but if you ever get on video you'll see it.
the single most valuable lesson i have ever been taught
Several years ago I decided I was thinking about my golf swing too much and set out to reduce my swing thoughts. For me "Tom's Secret" is one of the best. I call it "Left Shoulder/Right Shoulder". Tom is spot on about staying on plane, perpendicular to a tilted spine, away from and back through the ball. Momentum raises him up only after the ball is long gone. Tom has his body swinging his tail. Very simple yet elegant swing indeed.
Christo Garcia is currently teaching OTT swing on his Chanel. Check it out
@@thomasfraser9072stop promoting bozo
@@thomasfraser9072dudes a tool. He thinks ben hogan has a slight over the top move. Especially all the old school classics.
I am definitely a Tom Watson fan for his golf accomplishments and his demeanor.
Best advice ever... at least for me. if u are someone who struggles to keep ur spine angle, try this. I can now actually 'strike' the ball after thinking about what he's explaining here.
I love this guy and his honest training methods. I have his book on the short game - getting up and down. The best read improved my short game drastically.
Tom is one of the best ball strikers of all time.
nice little video. Thanks.
Angeles National is a pretty course, but don't let its beauty fool you when you play on it... it's a challenge.
Dear Sensei Watson
Wow! The golf secret! I have waited 55 years to hear this
Although l am perplexed: how come you are the greatest golfer ever and yet you 'did know' how to swing a golf club This highlights that your are the GOAT because despite yourself it seems you were the champion golfer more than anyone else in the modern era. Which should have been more but for two lapses I would like think it is because of your Scottish heritage It was written in the stars Tom ( Young Tom Morris) Watson a guid ( good) Scots name Your you tube videos are amazing: the best Theya compliment 'Coach' Paige Sprinac you tubes perfectly
Thank you so much for giving me the greatest thrill; a photo with you at Lythm Unbeknown to me it would be your last tournament Making this momentous moment even more poignant
I did n't realise it would allow to focus on your even greater skill of teaching perhaps
Your Steve Mulligan
Scotland
Dont forget that at the top of your swing you are going to feel really steep. Once you figure out that the downswing starts from the ground up, and you make the first move down with your hips this will be gold. The hips turning left with pulll your shoulders with it. Stay in your posture and feel the torque. What a way to hit balls......
Figured out the swing back in '92; yeah, he really struggled from 1977-1983, especially over at the Open Championships...
Thank you very much for excellent videos.
May god bless you at all times.
When Tom Watson speaks, I listen.
Great tip. Thanks for putting this on youtube!
This is so funny ,I just figured the same thing out today and then I see this video talking about the day he figured it out.For real he is 100% accurate ,this is the most important part of the swing,I was killing the ball today long and straight.This is the best tip you will ever get.
Elementary, my dear Watson
The simplicity of this man's swing was apparent to anyone who saw him. It is why he was one of the top 5 of all time. His explanations are the same - simple.
I'm glad I watched this.I'm gunna grag a club right now and try..
Good golf tips often can be interpret wrong. For the longest time, I thought of "keep your head still" means not allowing the head to rotate also. That really restricted my shoulder turn back and through and actually caused my head to move ahead during the swing. Recently I started to keep the head still as in location of my head but allow for some head rotation at a similar angle as the shoulder turn and it works wonders. Doing so allows my head to stay still much easier without feel very restrictive.
Truth. David Duval and Annika Sorenstam are great examples......their heads are rotating to the target as the club approaches the ball.
Most important golf lesson ever !
Tips from a real master right there!
Wonderful tip, Thank You, Tom.
@nuckster94 I understand rotating the shoulders at right angles, as Tom demonstrates very effectively by standing upright and rotating the shoulders - represented by the club shaft - horizontally. What I am not understanding is your statement about a "26 degree shoulder tilt." By that, do you mean that the spine is tilted forward 26 degrees from straight up and down vertical, going from an erect standing posture to a "tipped forward from the hip joints" golf posture?
this is working great for me at the moment. great with short irons
i watched tom watson recently at the senior open at sahalee in 2010, for anyone whose ever watched tom in person; his swing is absolutely mesmerizing, i have never seen such an effortless swing. this guy is a champ
who's
Rush Limbaugh
I’m a big fan of Tom Watson having learned the short game with 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full swings in the 80s from his book “Up and In from 40 yards…”. I also have read his more recent retrospective book where he mentioned changing is swing after observing and analyzing Anthony Kim’s.
Not sure if it is because the video cuts off the lesson but he fails to mention the role side bend and spine tilt play in the golf swing to keep the club head mass swinging on its natural balanced path which is dictated, golfer-golfer, club-to-club and shot-to-shot by the slope of lie. An important lesson I learned from Hogan’s Five Lessons and his partial swing drill is that letting the cantilever of arm+club find balance with the force of gravity is a vital first step at address when bending at the hips.
Hogan would rest club head on turf to align it but then raise it up in the air with bent elbows down as he bent forward at the hips / with straight spine. He did not let club hit the turf until the cantilever leverage of arm + extended club had a chance to swing freely and find balance with gravity. With shorter clubs that swings the arms, hands and club into the body more / but with the longer clubs the longer lever arm of the club will pull the left arm the club is suspended by out from vertical \.
What is the ideal forward spine angle? / The one which lets the club swing in an arc and come back to the ball on the same path. That can be visualized by just using the same forward press - release move as when starting the swing shifting the hips LATERALLY an inch or so towards the target and then back away. Try that with the club suspended an inch above the ground and you will observe the club head swing not parallel to the stance line | | but in a very consistent shallow arc | ) because of the CANTILEVER formed at the wrists between arm can club shaft.
A grip that keeps the hands in the same position relate to shoulders during the first 45° of the backswing is CRITICAL to having a consistent swing, starting with takeaway. It is why Palmer, Greg Norman and others said if they got the first 18” of the takeaway correct they knew the rest of the swing would work. The problem golfers who grip in the ground and never find balance before swinging is they wind up fighting where the LAWS OF PHYSICS are trying to swing the club by steering it with the hands.
The ideal swing path is the one that matches the that of how the hips and shoulders turn around the spine. But in the swing the base of the spine moves as he hips rotate so the cause and effect is not as simple as Mr. Watson illustrates. The takeaway is a sweeping action, but at the point the club force makes the wrists hinge it is the position relative to the feet in 3D space and the direction the toe of the club is pointing that will, due to the pesky laws of physics which must be obeyed, that will dictate the swing path to the top and whether or not the club will wind up with shaft parallel to swing line over shoulders and heels |= )| at the top of the backswing.
The trip down starts with the simultaneous dropping of the separated right arm and the release of the hips, which the backswing pulls to 45° closed, limited by keeping the front foot on the ground. The hips can only to the point of being 45° open bio-mechanically IF THE BACK HEEL IS LEFT ON THE GROUND. Try moving hips in a circle with feet flat and you will observe that cause and effect. What most golfers don’t seem to understand and most golf instructors do not mention it is that limitation of hip rotation that triggers the action of: 1) the wrists cocking to bring the club up in the downswing, and 2) the club whipping around the hands and accelerating much faster than the hands are moving forward around body in the downswing.
The mistakes noobs make in the takeaway (been there done that) is thinking they need to swing the club back inside and / or having too weak a grip and allowing the club force to pronate the left hand and point the butt toward the target during the takeaway. Butt should point at the body or ground at ball - target line, and the ideal grip and takeaway path accomplish that automatically when the club is in balance at address and is allowed to swing back on a balanced path.
The move that is critical for getting the shoulders and hands in the correct position at impact is also SIDE TILT plus SIDE BEND.
Side tilt is when spine is straight but tilted back. If starting with / \ stance, a lateral shift of hips back < - changes legs to | \ shifting support to back foot. The stance width is the variable that controls how vertical the back leg can get and should not be so narrow the takeaway force can pull the back leg past vertical \ pulling body mass off balance. The / \ to | \ action of the legs will cause the upper body to tilt forward / That is the reflexive brain’s solution for keeping the overall body mass in balance over the feet and necessary in a golf swing because the swinging club is trying to pull the body off balance backwards! either by consciously moving it, or dropping the raised left heel the golfer can control the timing of when the hips fire forward. The “magic move” is to time the firing forward of the hips and dropping of the hands to occur just as the club head reached the end of its movement forward. Club moves -> hand get pulls
26 degrees shoulder tilt and 55 degrees shoulder turn (PGA tour average) Tom's tip here is the key!
How could any golfer dislike this video?
17 dislikes?????????????? Really ! This guy has won 8 MAJORS, how many have you won?, honestly pfffft, folks this advice is PRICELESS if u want to play good golf.
was surprised he chose to putt with that much grass behind the ball on 18.. what an historic run tho.
Holy crap dude this worked so well!~!!
@nuckster94 Two questions: Do you mean 26 degrees "spine angle" tilt as opposed to "shoulder" tilt? You said shoulder tilt and shoulder turn. Second, If a golfer sculls it (hits it in the equator of the ball with the bottom edge of the club), the bottom of the swing arc would be swinging 3/4ths of an inch above the ground. How many degrees upwards would the spine angle change if a golfers sculls it? If the spine angle changed by one degree, would that not cause the clubhead... (continued)
He said on the Golf Channel today that he had a secret... He jokingly said he was going to release an instructional video. This was his secret. No secret, just a solid fundamental.
Good video.
I call this the Deadly Dip: when we tilt the spine to the right and dip the right shoulder in transition rather than turn the shoulders.
This has caused so many chunks for me
Learned a lot from his dvd series. But did he have to keep showing that chip in on 17 at the open to beat jack
8 Major Championship Wins for Tom Watson; so he was a damn fine player back in the day and he and Jack Nicklaus had similar golf swings.
It's funny at the start, the crowd thinks he is kidding but he was serious about figuring out the swing..
im a 10 hcp. played constant fade always, in the end of this season i totally lost my game and swing. i just tought about position at the top etc.. went out and tried thinking like this. staying down there. damn ill own next year cause of this single tip/swing thought. so much more control
a truly remarkable effort in the open
He is absolutely right!!
I think I have heard the "Spine angle" 100 times...but for some reason (Probably it's simplicity) I really understand the spine angle and it's importance in your swing now.
All good if your left arm is internally rotated/right arm externally rotated. No mention of side bends and extension.
Tom's main point is retain your spine angle through out the WHOLE swing. That is not bad advice. It's terrific advice and also quite hard to do.
This is a great piece of advice from a great player if your angles change in your swing your brain will be forced to make compensations in your swing which never results in a good shot,so keep your angles no compensations required better shots will be the result.
Tom Watson has over 70 professional wins 8 of those being majors. I think he knows where he is getting this "shit" from.
regarding the spine angle, Jack does say that he pictures a stake going through his head, his body and into the ground (ie spine angle) in Golf My Way...perhaps Tom should've watched it .
I will add that your arms go further left than you can imagine. It feels way over the top but the ball starts dead straight and you can shape it however you want with this method. It’s actually scary at first because you feel like you are totally going to miss the ball. That is when you know you got it.
He's spot on. Get the shoulder plane right, and everything else gets a whole lot easier.
What a legend.
@cockywatchman1976
...Anybody who's reading this can prove it to himself by making a backswing and then making only a slight rotary motion forward with the shoulders without swinging the arms down at all, and then look at the path the clubhead will have to take to the ball--almost straight down.
Sorry, but you really got me going...because you're SO right.
Its true, for right handers just keep the left shoulder lower than the right shoulder on the backswing turn and vice versa on the downswing, and voila!! Mr. Watson makes it simple!! No wonder his swing is butter! Make sure you transfer your weight as well.
keep your spine angle and remember to accelerate to a full finish, club behind the neck and hold your finish pose until the ball hits the ground out in the fairway.
Keeping use safe and warm.
I think the idea is not so much starting your swing with a shoulder turn but rather keeping your shoulders on a level plane and doing that excercise will help you do that.
@cockywatchman1976
I don't think it matters much whether the shoulders are fractionally open or closed (or square) at impact, but it does matter whether they're dragging the arms, and if they're much open at impact that's a good indication of it. You just can't be anything but steep and outside on the ball if your shoulders dominate your downswing...
Imagine two dowl rods sticking up out of the ground the same height as you are and outside and just behind your pinky toe. You need to make your backswing and down swing inside that area. Your target side hip will touch and press the forward dowl 6 to 8 inches toward the target. Weight transfers from the inside right foot at the top to inside left foot first, then you swing through. The matching shoulder angles is great dead on description of this complex move.
I love his dvd series, "lessons of a lifetime", which is excellent; it just annoys me having to watch that chip-in on 17 at pebble to beat jack back in '82
I'm waking up tomrrow at 5am to try this on the range.
Tom and Freddy. Buttery golf swings!!
In my opinion the best striker of the golf ball right now is the current world no 1. Dustin Johnson. His downswing and follow through shows this movement perfectly.
Love his follow through position...dead square to path:
postimg.cc/image/vnwc3ikzh/
@cockywatchman1976
True, and observable in literally every great player's swing. I think what you see with Watson here--who previously said that his main swing thoughts were only path (from the inside) and release--is a guy whose tendencies to swing from the inside became too great, which is NOT the average player's problem or even most tour pros' problem. You can tell a Watson or a Faldo to "get on top of the ball" or "get the chest over the ball"...
To those suggesting this is poor advice... He clearly states this was a correction for his problem with hitting it thin and to the right. This is a common swing thought among pros. Check out Graeme McDowell's practice swings.
That is awesome advice to remember
Bobby Lopez explains this same (true) theory more clearly on his youtube channel. I see the doubting comments, Tom Watson/Bobby Lopez shoulder turn is great advice, try it.
Thank's Tom & delurgio2. Super tip!
classy dude speaks the truth
Point is, Watson has learned to swing his arms so fast and so on the right path, and to release the club so well from his hands and forearms, and he's done this for so many years, that I'd put better-than-even money on the proposition that it's all become so second-nature to him that he's aware only (or primarily) of the controls on that motion. I think that's what you see when players go to a top teacher and go too far with corrective or balancing advice, then suffer a real career slump.
@slicermcg0lf It's not S&T at all, since he's shifting his weight properly through his swing. He also lifts his left heel on the backswing, which is a classic move that saves his lower back. Both of those are reasons why he can still swing fluidly into his 60's with enough distance to compete, even with the younger players.
This is the only thing I taught 4 members of my family, obtained from Ben Hogans 5 fundamentals, they are all single figure golfers...it's just aswell that he didn't realise it earlier or tiger would be chasing his major record instead of Jacks, Watson's still in the top 10 of all-time...
The shoulder turn is old news. It is part of the pivot motion. However, I contend that focusing on this alone is a quick-fix solution that will last only for a few rounds. Tom is absolutely right, but the golf swing also involves correct positioning of the arms, hands and club at various points of the swing. You can turn your shoulders perfectly as Tom described, but you can also snatch the club too far in, or loop it out, and you'd lose consistency. "The secret is in the dirt," says Hogan.
And without no proper shoulder turn is no good shots…..
There is one caveat here - you can't bend excessively from the waist and maintain your spine angle through impact so you have to stand comfortably erect at address. I've given lessons at driving ranges for years and people who crouch over the ball when they're addressing it are doomed to straighten up at impact. Crouching feels athletic but places severe strain on the lower back as you hit through the shot, virtually forcing a coming up action at the bottom of the swing.
Tom's advice is the best! He is better than Hank or Butch. Wish I could work with this guy,
This is interesting.....Just watched a video by Ben Hogan and he started his legs moving very fast before his shoulders...just like Tom demonstated the way he used to do it and Jack always did. Today's players all keeping their legs very quiet and turn at the shoulders the same way Tom does it now.
get his book and DVD learn his secret and pay attention to your posture it really works and makes the game easier
@cockywatchman1976
To me, that fact of the shoulders not dragging the arms through, of power being transferred _through_ the shoulders and out through the arms and hands without making the rotary movement of the shoulders the motivating force but rather following the needs of the arms and club to swing on the right path and plane, is the biggest all-but-unknown common factor to great swings, despite current theory to the contrary. I was looking through an old Leadbetter instructional VHS...
Just to let everyone know that Tom Watson does not advocate starting the downswing with the shoulders ....... this is just a small clip ..... on his dvd he explains ..... separation.... how there is a separation between the left hip and the left shoulder ..... which allow for the arms to lead from the inside ... the 2 dvd set is worth the investment
@cockywatchman1976
Sorry, but just one more to prove your point,: If you look at other vids of Watson or other top players, you'll find that virtually all the best ballstrikers not only show that separation of arms and hands from the shoulder socket on the downswing (visible best on a DTL view), but also have the shoulders still closed to the target line nearly until impact or even slightly beyond impact, at times...
4 point what? Which club do you belong to ? I assume the handicap committee have you listed ? Id like to see that please.
Great advice! He copied my swing after 4 minute mark. LOL. Should you keep your left foot 45 deg. angle to the ball and both knees bent during backswing for longer carry?
Lead foot angled is your comfort choice, but definitely keep knees flexed in the up swing; that's what controls your levels and angles, and helps you to make an instantaneous change of direction, putting you in optimum hitting position at the right time.
@cockywatchman1976
...as happens, e.g., when a player who releases hell out of the clubhead with his hands says he's "taking hands out of the swing" (which never actually happens, btw). Also, a player who's made the basic movement of the swing second nature may not be aware of what is actually primary in the swing anymore. It's a little like a great runner saying the secret to winning races is how you pump your arms or hold your head, as opposed to moving your legs and feet really fast...
What matters in the golf swing, in theory, is only what happens from the start of the swing until the ball has made contact with and left the clubface. Watson keeps his shoulders on that magic plane until it no longer matters what his body is doing.
Love Tom Watson, and this video will help a lot of people. But this is just what worked for him. The reality is you can only get yourself a solid grip that is the same every time, figure out how to lineup the same every time, from there, its all about just swinging the way your body normally swings and learning tempo and timing. All the videos online are mostly a rabbit hole and a lottery at best. The only truly good videos are the ones that give ideas on how to hit different shots.. just to help your brain see the different things you can try with punching the ball, chipping, etc. The overall swing stuff just isn't that valuable.
Jared Gingerich >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> *www.Mastering-Golf-Swing.blogspot.ca* >>>>>>> *Learn from the Gurus and apply it to yourself!*
_"its all about just swinging the way your body normally swings and learning tempo and timing."_
If you want to spend a lifetime trying to learn tempo, timing, and sequencing, not a bad way to go. Learn how to swing correctly, timing and sequencing are automatic, and tempo easily follows.
I know your stated philosophy is the prevailing teaching philosophy, but with 50+ years of learning experience, I can state it actually prevents learning, and ensures only the best athletes will ever "get it". Many of the moves "made naturally" by most everyone are counter productive, and have to be compensated for at some other point in the swing.
It works for me
At 4:13 does he say ‘bent over’ or ‘Ben Hogan’…?!
...the other night, in fact, and on that tape Leadbetter (whom I respect greatly, don't get me wrong) says not only the lower body but the upper needs to be open at impact, and then uses Nick Price as a model--but when you go look at the actual vids of Price, he's slightly _closed_ at the last point in the downswing when it could be perceptible to him, and square at the moment of impact....
Elimentary my dear Watson!
What is strange is that Watson did not play in the 1992 Heritage Classic at Harbor Island GC, he played in 1993 and 94. Must of been 93 because he played pretty well after that tournament although he did miss 2 consecutive cuts late in the season. Edit: in another video I found Watson actually said it was in 1994 that he found his secret. ruclips.net/video/Juys-5JrR_c/видео.html
Hours of stretching each day may also help you turn back and through as tom just demonstrated, alot of the faults in the swing are a result of lack of flexibility, you can only do what your body will let you do. Fitness + good technique = good golf....
Yup, spine angle is the major key wiithout a doubt. When I start to hit poorly and do other bad things I just go back to maintaining good spine angle that fixes most of it. Spine angle fixes so many of the other tips like.. keep your head down, stay in the shot, clear the hips, swing plane, etc. All of that happens automatically when you maintain proper spine angle. Now... if I could just figure out how to maintain spine angle consistantly.... Lol
Talked about this in the dvd he is being serious
Perfect. Thats really the secret of the swing, folks!
That's a legit tip. When you lose that spine angle and start humping the ball, inconsistent ball striking will follow, no matter how much you practice.
So Tom Watson, major winner and still going strong on tour at his age, doesn't know what he's talking about? He's hit more golf balls than we've had hot dinners, so I reckon he might just have a clue.
Also, your comment about 'tour players don't do it like that' is pointless. 99% of folks learning on RUclips are not tour players, just normal weekend golfers. This tip helped me and, looking at the comments, a lot of others.
Btw, the tip is from at least one tour pro who DOES hit it like that.
From 1977 to 1983 Tom Watson won 8 majors!! But, he didn’t figure out his golf swing until 1992? In his prime Watson had one of the best short games in the history of golf. But, Watson would never have won 8 majors with a bad golf swing. I think in 1992 he found an easier, more consistent way to swing the club.
The unmentioned pieces of the swing puzzle that allows the spine angle to stay constant are: 1) lateral movement of the hips and tilting of pelvis of spine, and 2) side bending to the right in the downswing. Both allow the body mass to counter, in perfect balance, the unbalancing force of the club at three places in the swing: 1) takeaway when the club force pulls both wrists into ulnar deviation; 2) club whipping around hands before impact where the entire left arm rotates the club head around the hands, and; 3) the finish when the lever arm and pivot point change from left shoulder to right and the club is allowed to first pull wrists into ulnar deviation then pull the right arm straight.
Without the counter-fall action shifting hips forward laterally and the upper body mass leaning back with tilt and side bend the club head cannot be swung down on a balanced path which is why golfers who don’t side bend and counter fall, supported by the front heel, start falling off balance in the downswing and remain off balance in the finish. Any time the elbows bend before the wrists in the takeaway or finish the root cause is the club not being swung on the its natural balanced path. Most noobs start off balance because the rest the club head mass on the ground when gripping.
Try this technique I learned reading Hogan’s Five Lessons and analyzing videos of his set up routine:
1) Start by standing upright with left arm bent 90° elbow down. Put the club in it with shaft pointing straight up. (Hogan did it with shaft horizontal but vertical makes the cause and effect work better) Add the right hand over the left, placing pad of right over thumb of left, not below it.
2) Bend towards ball at the HIP JOINT with straight spine. Lift chin up which will reflexively bow the ) the lumbar (lower) spine. DO NOT GROUND THE CLUB YET! The goal at this point is to allow the arm+club CANTILEVER to swing freely from the left shoulder socket. Because of the way the grip angles the club \ the arms will not hand vertically. Push the club out to the ball and then let it swing and reach equilibrium with GRAVITY. The angle the left arm hangs will vary with the length of the club level arm and the mass at the end of it. That is exactly why this step is so important. The point of balance and distance of hands and butt of club to body will vary club-to-club and even with the same club on different angle lies.
IF THE CLUB IS NOT IN BALANCE AT STATIC ADDRESS ITS PATH DURING THE SWING WILL NOT BE AS ANTICIPATED BECAUSE THE LAW OF PHYSICS WILL TRY TO SWING IT BACK TO THAT NATURALLY BALANCED PATH.
The swing of most noobs is doomed to inconsistency from the start because they grip the club on the ground with it too far from the body and take it away on an unbalanced path. The laws of physics will try to bring it back on a balanced path, but their conscious brain having a different flight plan will fight where the club wants to go. Odds of getting face back to square when ball releases? Much lower than a golfer who starts the club on its naturally balanced path and brings it down the same way.
The lateral hip movement side bend action seen in the swing of good ball strikers is also seen in the ergonomics of pitchers, tennis players, lumberjacks, etc. It is seen in Mr. Watson’s actual swing (but not in this demo) because it is a reflexive action all good athletes do without any conscious thought. A noob golfer would do it do if they just took golf balls in their right hand up to the top of golf swing position had threw them as fast as possible AT THE GROUND on the ball - target line a foot or so in front of them. That downward angled path \ of right hand over the top of the ball is the action need by the right arm and hand to induce the club head to whip around the hands.
The timing of the actions is to start the side bend just as the hips reach the point of being 45° open, the shoulders are back parallel with the swing line = and the hands have dropped down over the right hip, with their forward movement constrained by the still bent right arm’s < leverage. The goal here is to accelerate hands and club they are dragging down with the hip turn, with hips pulling shoulders, then abruptly slowing the hip turn and hands TOGETHER just as the club shaft comes back level with the ground allowing GRAVITY to accelerate it down and the fact the hands have slowed forcing it to whip around the hands.
The physics is similar to a car crash in which the car stops but an unbelted passenger keeps going through the windshield. What causes the hips to stop is keeping the back foot grounded. What causes the hand to stop is the leverage of the right arm still being < bent with the hips stop. What allows the golfer to keep the right arm tucked in and bent is SIDE BEND.
Without side bend the right arm can’t resist the force of the club and starts getting pulled straight too soon and out away from the body. That causes the club head to move outside the ball-target line setting up the golfer to slice across the outside of the ball when reflexively trying the steer the back of the left hand (and face of the club) to the target.
Golfers with good side bend action rarely slice because the tucked-in right arm always keeps the path of the club inside-out, so much so that the point of aim on the ball needs to move from dead center relative to ball-target line + to slightly inside of center > + with a slightly open face. The open face of the club picks up the ball and swings closed to the point of being square to the target as the ball releases off of it. The side-send inside-square-swing continues to accelerate the club head while the ball is compressing and releasing and allows the right arm to take over support of the club and be pulled straight which slows down the club head and makes for a slower and more balanced finish.
Show Mrs Tiger how to swing a clubber - Mr Tiger - staight through the Brothel Window :)
@nuckster94 ... 2 or 3 inches above the ground? Since a golf ball is 1 and 1/2 inches from from the bottom surface of it sitting on the ground to the top of it (the North Pole of the ball), swinging two inches above the ground would miss the ball entirely. Tom's assertion that good players hit the ball well because they maintain their spine angle and bad golfers don't because they change their spine angle is incorrect, in spite of the idea's universal acceptance. Watch my video responses...