My #9 Golf Swing of all time belongs to a golfer from the hickory age.
He, like my #10 Golf Swing of all time never won a major, but did win 24 times on the PGA Tour and was a huge influence on Ben Hogan. So my #9 golf swing of all time belongs to MacDonald Smith.
Here's a picture sequence of his swing. You can click the picture to enlarge it.
Smith certainly had a lot of modern elements to his swing compared to the other hickory shafted greats. A lot of the hickory guys made these gigantic moves off and thru the ball. Not saying that it's bad because the equipment often forced guys to make motions in the swing that we are not familiar with today.
It's also difficult to quantify how good of a ballstriker the hickory age golfers were since there was not nearly as much competition today and they don't have the statistics tracking their 'skills.'
However, I thought Smith's swing has transcended time and he had good results, except for the lack of victories in the majors, that he deserved a spot on the list.
What I like about his swing is that it shows that the Flat Left Wrist at impact has stood the test of time. Regardless if you're hitting a ball with the newest Ping Titanium driver or if you're using a hickory shafted mashie. Smith also has an excellent pivot here, a common theme for sure in this top 10 list.
3JACK
4 comments:
First time I've seen photos of Macdonald Smith's swing - I have Harvey Penick's description from his 'Little Red Book' running through my head. Through impact Smith looks fantastic.
GolfBaka
p.s. looking forward to the rest of the list. I hope you've got room for Mehlhorn on the list
Problem with Mehlhorn is I don't have any pics or footage of his swing.
Always interested in what it looked like and I like his swing philosophies.
Sevam1 posted some footage on his website last year. I can't believe there are no photographs anywhere. You could try PMing Lynn Blake at his forum - he's posted that he has Melhorn's book so there may well be something in there...
GolfBaka
richie, thanks for the pics.
He almost 'cast'from the top, yet holds is wedge thru the impact. WOW.
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