Ian Woosnam, famous Welsh golfer in Birmingham, Alabama, May 2014.
It is always amazing to hear the coaches, biomechanics researchers and even the surgeons and physiotherapists tell less talented golfers that they should swing like elite golfers or professionals, in order to have more swing-efficiency and less injury.
If anyone could have seen Ian Woosnam on the driving range the day before the pro-am of the Regions’ Tradition Championship – the first ‘major’ of the Champions Tour, they would not agree – he had so many fat shots as well as a few rather thin ones.
Could it be fatigue from let-lag? Could it be poor timing? Yes certainly, but a swing in which the major joints are not positioned based on their design-capabilities will often fail under conditions of high-arousal, fatigue or exhaustion, especially as the golfer ages, simply because the brain and the muscles cannot efficiently co-ordinate all those difficult moves.
It really means that Woosnam’s joints are being placed in difficult-to-undo positions at the top of his backswing, and unless timing – that highly unreliable, transient creature – is perfect on a given day, he will not hit the ball as consistently as someone of his experience and skill-level should.
See this video to make YOUR assessment of his swing.
