The video above shows clips of Arnold Palmers golf swing through the years. Arnold was one of the prototypical Muscular Advantage (MA) players. During his prime, Palmer was criticized by golf commentators and instructors for having an "ugly" swing given the golfing style standards of the day. Tour players were simply not very muscular and needed long, flowing, smooth, syrupy wings to hit the ball well. Things have changed!
Golfers of all body types have embraced strength training and, today, they look more like Arnold Palmer than Sam Snead. If you are a golfer and a gym rat, the Palmer Swing is worth serious study.
In other posts, I will take the swing apart (it's a simple swing, not many moving parts) and explain the details. For this post, here is a guide for repeated viewing of the clip above:
- First Viewing Study the swing length. It is essentially a half swing in the width dimension. When Palmer was younger, he could swing a bit more in the depth and height dimensions. As he aged, it became a pure width swing.
- Second Viewing Study the tempo. This is a fast, hard swing. Palmer always said: "Hit the Ball Hard". Too many of the Amateurs I play with have been told to "swing smoothly". If you are not an MA player, a smooth, syrupy swing is necessary. If you have developed muscular strength by spending time in the gym, hit the ball hard and use your muscular advantage. Palmer hit the ball hard all through his life, the swing just got a little shorter.
- Third Viewing Study the left knee. Palmers left knee moves forward on the backswing. He's not doing this for style points and he's not deliberately doing anything with his left knee. The Knee moves out as he stays centered over the ball. Many MA players, myself included, have a problem hitting fat shots, that is hitting behind the ball. This is because our upper body moves into the width dimension but does not return, centered over the ball. I prefer to preset the left knee outward with my weight on my left side.**
- Fourth Viewing Study the right elbow, it stays very close to his body. This part of the swing becomes easier to see in the later videos, as the swing gets shorter. You should feel the right tricep in contact with your body until the moment when you hit the ball (it will actually leave a little earlier). This is what it means to keep the swing connected to your body. The right elbow makes sure that the swing stays short and on plane, allowing you to hit the ball hard. If you are an MA player that has trouble hitting over the top or pulling shots to the left, the fix is to keep you right elbow connected.
The video clips above are always worth repeated viewing, checking your swing length (short, width dimension), tempo (hit hard), left knee (out to stay centered) and right elbow (stay attached for inside path). For more detail, see the posts below.
Notes
** I am a left-side dominant player. You might not be, my hitting the ball with your eight on the left side produces a very solid hit, perfect for the MA player. You can hit off your right side or stay centered when the ball is teed up, if that feels more comfortable.
