by Kiran Kanwar, Albany, Bahamas.

This group of swing reflections will also give some information on how the human body’s design will not permit ‘just any’ movement without a golfer paying the price (in terms of consistency and some years down the line, injury).

Incidentally, if ever on the driving range at a big event, look at the golfer from behind not down the line, but a butt view. Then look at impact, just staring at the ball, from the side, at about 4 o’clock or to the ‘south east’ of the player.

Every single top player’s club moves immediately to the inside of the target line after impact, so that the club never reaches the ball from the inside enough to connect its inside right quadrant. What that means every top golfer can improve! When a club approaches the ball square or slightly from the outside, contact is always a bit of a smother of the ball, not resulting in as pure a ball flight as a golfer is capable of.

Hopefully the following descriptions will help you picture yourself at the driving range of the beautiful Ernie Els designed Albany golf course in the sunny Bahamas.

Moreover, standing right next to your favorite golfer! ‘Look’ at his swing, then dissect it to death (come on, we know it’s your favorite pastime, as it is of golfers the world over).

Billy Horschel. Walks onto the putting green at just after 8 am in electric blue pants, an orange belt, shoes with orange highlights and matching identically orange grips. He puts down a small metal plate with a line down its center and putts off it, using a shoulder-rocking stroke, with his head remaining almost exaggeratedly in place through the follow through. There are two bits of metal on the front of his ‘aid’ which get knocked off if the putter goes a bit left or right of straight.

You can learn so much studying the game’s leading players like Billy Horschel. (Photo: www.pgatour.com)

Would you put yourself into that kind of stressful situation, when you’re lying close to last after round two, and really need to bump up your game a bit? If you send those metallic bits flying off on every other putt, would it be a good feeling to take to the course?

Then Billy goes to the driving range. He has a nice compact swing, with no extra unnecessary moving parts. Why does that matter? Every body part that has some extra independent movement towards the end of the backswing, after the rest of the body has stopped moving, needs extra time to catch up, so that the downswing can be perfectly synchronized.

From behind him, watch Billy’s back and trail shoulder-blade. The back torques a lot so that each part of the spine has to be ‘unwound’ to different amounts, not all together. At the same time, his trail shoulder blade sticks out a lot, looking like a ‘winged scapula’. So, on the downswing, in order to release the tight muscles of the shoulder, he is forced to push the trail shoulder forward, which adds an extra layer of complexity to his swing.

Rickie Fowler. Amazingly has the same ‘winging scapula’ as Billy Horschel. So he too must thrust his trail shoulder and hip forward to clear the way for the arms and club to swing down and through.

Zach Johnson. Another nice compact swing. Where might he get better still? With a less rounded upper spine and a less forward right arm, which together create a top of backswing shoulder position which is tough to undo quickly. Especially with age, when a golfer loses some muscle strength and thus speed. Also, research has shown that when the trail hip moves back and straightens as his does, the butt muscles must push the hip forward before rotation can begin. Why waste time with an extra unwanted movement?

Zach Johnson does the best balancing act at the 144th Open Championship. (Photo – www.europeantour.com)

At least Johnson does not have the exaggeratedly extended trail elbow being moved across the golfers’ body like they were in a high-school march-past! What’s with that move anyway? Justin Rose for instance has such a straight trail elbow until the end of his follow through he appears to have no joint between his shoulder and his wrist! Can such a move prove useful for any reason? conversely, can it cause injury if repeated often enough and at speed?

So much that is being taught in golf these days is based on subjectively learned information. The shepherds of Scotland did it successfully or Ben Hogan did it well or, for that matter Moe Norman, so too must i!

Watch out for swing stories and more of my new EXCITING EIGHT – in random order and for no reason than they seem to be nice guys – Bill Haas, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Reed, Zach Johnson, Billy Horschel, Justin Rose, Paul Casey, Rickie Fowler.