Opinion & Analysis
POLL: Who Has The Best Golf Swing?
Recently, I was working on some new DVDs for Swing Man Golf. During the process I reflected back on my journey, and noticed how my choice of a favorite golf swing has evolved over the years.
I forget exactly when I started playing golf — maybe junior high or early high school. But I do remember in those first few years that my Dad would take me out with him several times per season for 18 holes and I would mostly shoot between 110 and 120.
During my junior year in high school, breaking 100 on 18 holes was my barometer for having a good round, and those scores were actually good enough to play in the fourth or fifth slots on my high school varsity team.
Also during that period, Dad and I would watch a lot of sports together on TV. Depending on the season, it was mostly baseball, basketball, and football, but we would also take in other sports like golf when they came on, especially for a tournament like the Masters.
For some reason the swings that always stood out to me in those early years were Fred Couples and Greg Norman, the “Great White Shark.” I didn’t really know much about golf or technique at the time, but I could still appreciate how carefree Freddie looked with his buttery rhythm and super smooth swing.
As for Norman, I suppose parts of what made him noticeable to me were both his long blonde hair as well as his nickname, but I also really liked how confidently and aggressively he would go after the ball while still managing to stay in balance. With him, it seemed to be no-holds-barred when it came time for a full swing.
When I got in to college, Ernie Els was coming on the scene, and much for the same reasons I liked Couples’ swing I really loved watching “The Big Easy” swing. Again, with my knowledge back then, I didn’t really understand what was going on from a technical standpoint, but I sure enjoyed how pretty and effortless looking he was to watch.
Then after five years of working as a computer engineer, I quit my corporate job in Kansas City and moved out to California to pursue a golf career. Shortly after I arrived, I had the good fortune of having Dan Shauger take me under his wing and introduce me to his friend Mike Austin. At first mention, I didn’t know who Austin was but for some reason his name did sound familiar.
Later on, I remembered that as a young boy I had flipped through an old edition of the Guinness Book of World Records and that I had read about Austin’s 515-yard drive that he had hit in the 1974 U.S. National Senior Open in Las Vegas. Almost unimaginably, he was 64 years old at the time of the drive and he used a steel-shafted persimmon wood driver and balata ball to do it.
In a way it was magical for me to get to meet this mystical legend that I had read about as a kid. Shortly after, Dan introduced me to Austin and showed me some old VHS tape video footage of Mike’s swing, I had found my new favorite swing in Austin.
I’ve always been a naturally curious person, and in the years since my initial meeting with Dan and the now late Austin, I’ve spent a great deal of time studying many other great swings as a swing scientist of sorts, and I tried all kinds of different methods in and out of competition. Little did I know it, but both my background in anatomy, kinesiology, physics, patient case analysis, etc., from pharmacy school and also my work as a computer engineer would come in great handy.
In recent years, as a by-product of my research, the person whose swing I found to be my favorite evolved again. This time it would belong to PGA Tour player Ryan Palmer. In fact, some of the primary things I liked about Ryan’s swing are actually many of the same things that helped me go from 14-handicapper to professional golfer.
To me, it’s a low maintenance type of swing that doesn’t require great flexibility that you could just get up out of bed, head to the first tee, and put balls in play all day long. Overall, if you’re looking for a full swing to mimic, I think his is a great choice for both amateurs and professionals. Perhaps in a subsequent article, I’ll talk in more detail about why I like Ryan’s swing.
Anyway, all of that reflection about my favorite swings over the years and why I liked them got me wondering what swings other people liked the most.
As I couldn’t recall any significant poll ever being done to determine who has the best golf swing according to popular vote, I thought it would make for an interesting and fun article. So I did some initial research by asking my friends on Facebook and checking in with those on the Swing Man Golf mailing list to come up with a good list to vote on.
As expected, I got back a lot of nominations for guys like Fred Couples, a younger Ernie Els, Steve Elkington, Greg Norman, Luke Donald, etc, but I also was surprised at the diversity of other responses that came back in as well.
Of course, some of the golfing greats like Arnold Palmer, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Byron Nelson, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, and Sam Snead came up.
Tiger was mentioned too, but different people favored certain swings of his over others (Ex. Pre-Harmon, Harmon, Haney, or Foley)
There were also home grown swings from guys like Bubba Watson, John Daly, Miller Barber, and Tommy Gainey.
From the women, Annika Sorenstam, Mickey Wright, and Na Yeon Choi got nominations.
A number of long drivers got the nod including Jamie Sadlowski, Landon Gentry, Mike Austin, Mike Dobbyn, Mike Dunaway, and Pat Dempsey.
Several teachers were mentioned, like Martin Chuck and Stack & Tilt’s Mike Bennett.
Count Yogi and Moe Norman made the list…and even yours truly got votes.
Carl Spackler, from Caddyshack was also suggested, which I thought was hilarious, but in all seriousness I decided not to include his weed whacking excellent-ness in the final poll below. It did, however, make for a great title picture for this article.
Interestingly, what became really apparent to me from everyone’s feedback is that people have very different definitions of what constitutes the best golf swing. Their favorite swing could be from someone who is smooth and rhythmic, it might look pretty or ugly, it could be powerful, it could have certain swing fundamentals or mechanics, it could be more or less optimal from a mathematical or scientific standpoint, etc.
It doesn’t even necessarily have to belong to a great player because there’s more to achieving a good golf score and winning than just the full swing. You could have a wonderful player with a terrible full swing and at the same time have someone that doesn’t play that much and/or isn’t even on Tour who has a lovely and very desirable golf swing.
All that being said, this article is about doing a poll, so let’s get to it without further ado.
Below are 72 choice for your favorite golf swing, which is absolutely crazy for any normal sort of poll. I thought about hand picking ones that seemed to get the most votes in my initial research to narrow it down to maybe 5 or 10 options, but I didn’t want to limit the selections to those of my own personal bias and/or marginalize someone else’s choice of best swing. And who knows? Maybe the results will also yield some surprises. Plus, we’ll actually be able to determine by popular vote which golfer has the best golf swing and be able to rank them accordingly.
Perhaps there are some other swings that deserve to be on this list, but at the least this is as inclusive of anything that’s ever been done before.
So…what about you? Who do you think has the best swing in golf?
Cast in your vote and feel free to comment below about whom you chose, why you picked him or her, if you think someone else deserves to be on the list, etc.
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The PGA TOUR heads to New Orleans to play the 2023 Zurich Classic of New Orleans. In a welcome change from the usual stroke play, the Zurich Classic is a team event. On Thursday and Saturday, the teams play best ball, and on Friday and Sunday the teams play alternate shot.
TPC Louisiana is a par 72 that measures 7,425 yards. The course features some short par 4s and plenty of water and bunkers, which makes for a lot of exciting risk/reward scenarios for competitors. Pete Dye designed the course in 2004 specifically for the Zurich Classic, although the event didn’t make its debut until 2007 because of Hurricane Katrina.
Coming off of the Masters and a signature event in consecutive weeks, the field this week is a step down, and understandably so. Many of the world’s top players will be using this time to rest after a busy stretch.
However, there are some interesting teams this season with some stars making surprise appearances in the team event. Some notable teams include Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, Collin Morikawa and Kurt Kitayama, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala as well as a few Canadian teams, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners.
Past Winners at TPC Louisiana
- 2023: Riley/Hardy (-30)
- 2022: Cantlay/Schauffele (-29)
- 2021: Leishman/Smith (-20)
- 2019: Palmer/Rahm (-26)
- 2018: Horschel/Piercy (-22)
- 2017: Blixt/Smith (-27)
2024 Zurich Classic of New Orleans Picks
Tom Hoge/Maverick McNealy +2500 (DraftKings)
Tom Hoge is coming off of a solid T18 finish at the RBC Heritage and finished T13 at last year’s Zurich Classic alongside Harris English.
This season, Hoge is having one of his best years on Tour in terms of Strokes Gained: Approach. In his last 24 rounds, the only player to top him on the category is Scottie Scheffler. Hoge has been solid on Pete Dye designs, ranking 28th in the field over his past 36 rounds.
McNealy is also having a solid season. He’s finished T6 at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and T9 at the PLAYERS Championship. He recently started working with world renowned swing coach, Butch Harmon, and its seemingly paid dividends in 2024.
Keith Mitchell/Joel Dahmen +4000 (DraftKings)
Keith Mitchell is having a fantastic season, finishing in the top-20 of five of his past seven starts on Tour. Most recently, Mitchell finished T14 at the Valero Texas Open and gained a whopping 6.0 strokes off the tee. He finished 6th at last year’s Zurich Classic.
Joel Dahmen is having a resurgent year and has been dialed in with his irons. He also has a T11 finish at the PLAYERS Championship at TPC Sawgrass which is another Pete Dye track. With Mitchell’s length and Dahmen’s ability to put it close with his short irons, the Mitchell/Dahmen combination will be dangerous this week.
Taylor Moore/Matt NeSmith +6500 (DraftKings)
Taylor Moore has quickly developed into one of the more consistent players on Tour. He’s finished in the top-20 in three of his past four starts, including a very impressive showing at The Masters, finishing T20. He’s also finished T4 at this event in consecutive seasons alongside Matt NeSmith.
NeSmith isn’t having a great 2024, but has seemed to elevate his game in this format. He finished T26 at Pete Dye’s TPC Sawgrass, which gives the 30-year-old something to build off of. NeSmith is also a great putter on Bermudagrass, which could help elevate Moore’s ball striking prowess.
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After having four of the top twelve players on the leaderboard at The Masters, LIV Golf is set for their fifth event of the season: LIV Adelaide.
For both LIV fans and golf fans in Australia, LIV Adelaide is one of the most anticipated events of the year. With 35,000 people expected to attend each day of the tournament, the Grange Golf Club will be crawling with fans who are passionate about the sport of golf. The 12th hole, better known as “the watering hole”, is sure to have the rowdiest of the fans cheering after a long day of drinking some Leishman Lager.
The Grange Golf Club is a par-72 that measures 6,946 yards. The course features minimal resistance, as golfers went extremely low last season. In 2023, Talor Gooch shot consecutive rounds of 62 on Thursday and Friday, giving himself a gigantic cushion heading into championship Sunday. Things got tight for a while, but in the end, the Oklahoma State product was able to hold off The Crushers’ Anirban Lahiri for a three-shot victory.
The Four Aces won the team competition with the Range Goats finishing second.
*All Images Courtesy of LIV Golf*
Past Winners at LIV Adelaide
- 2023: Talor Gooch (-19)
Stat Leaders Through LIV Miami
Green in Regulation
- Richard Bland
- Jon Rahm
- Paul Casey
Fairways Hit
- Abraham Ancer
- Graeme McDowell
- Henrik Stenson
Driving Distance
- Bryson DeChambeau
- Joaquin Niemann
- Dean Burmester
Putting
- Cameron Smith
- Louis Oosthuizen
- Matt Jones
2024 LIV Adelaide Picks
Cameron Smith +1400 (DraftKings)
When I pulled up the odds for LIV Adelaide, I was more than a little surprised to see multiple golfers listed ahead of Cameron Smith on the betting board. A few starts ago, Cam finished runner-up at LIV Hong Kong, which is a golf course that absolutely suits his eye. Augusta National in another course that Smith could roll out of bed and finish in the top-ten at, and he did so two weeks ago at The Masters, finishing T6.
At Augusta, he gained strokes on the field on approach, off the tee (slightly), and of course, around the green and putting. Smith able to get in the mix at a major championship despite coming into the week feeling under the weather tells me that his game is once again rounding into form.
The Grange Golf Club is another course that undoubtedly suits the Australian. Smith is obviously incredibly comfortable playing in front of the Aussie faithful and has won three Australian PGA Championship’s. The course is very short and will allow Smith to play conservative off the tee, mitigating his most glaring weakness. With birdies available all over the golf course, there’s a chance the event turns into a putting contest, and there’s no one on the planet I’d rather have in one of those than Cam Smith.
Louis Oosthuizen +2200 (DraftKings)
Louis Oosthuizen has simply been one of the best players on LIV in the 2024 seas0n. The South African has finished in the top-10 on the LIV leaderboard in three of his five starts, with his best coming in Jeddah, where he finished T2. Perhaps more impressively, Oosthuizen finished T7 at LIV Miami, which took place at Doral’s “Blue Monster”, an absolutely massive golf course. Given that Louis is on the shorter side in terms of distance off the tee, his ability to play well in Miami shows how dialed he is with the irons this season.
In addition to the LIV finishes, Oosthuizen won back-to-back starts on the DP World Tour in December at the Alfred Dunhill Championship and the Mauritus Open. He also finished runner-up at the end of February in the International Series Oman. The 41-year-old has been one of the most consistent performers of 2024, regardless of tour.
For the season, Louis ranks 4th on LIV in birdies made, T9 in fairways hit and first in putting. He ranks 32nd in driving distance, but that won’t be an issue at this short course. Last season, he finished T11 at the event, but was in decent position going into the final round but fell back after shooting 70 while the rest of the field went low. This season, Oosthuizen comes into the event in peak form, and the course should be a perfect fit for his smooth swing and hot putter this week.
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Of all the clubs in our bags, wedges are almost always the simplest in construction and, therefore, the easiest to analyze what might make one work differently from another if you know what to look for.
Wedges are a lot less mysterious than drivers, of course, as the major brands are working with a lot of “pixie dust” inside these modern marvels. That’s carrying over more to irons now, with so many new models featuring internal multi-material technologies, and almost all of them having a “badge” or insert in the back to allow more complex graphics while hiding the actual distribution of mass.
But when it comes to wedges, most on the market today are still single pieces of molded steel, either cast or forged into that shape. So, if you look closely at where the mass is distributed, it’s pretty clear how that wedge is going to perform.
To start, because of their wider soles, the majority of the mass of almost any wedge is along the bottom third of the clubhead. So, the best wedge shots are always those hit between the 2nd and 5th grooves so that more mass is directly behind that impact. Elite tour professionals practice incessantly to learn to do that consistently, wearing out a spot about the size of a penny right there. If impact moves higher than that, the face is dramatically thinner, so smash factor is compromised significantly, which reduces the overall distance the ball will fly.
Every one of us, tour players included, knows that maddening shot that we feel a bit high on the face and it doesn’t go anywhere, it’s not your fault.
If your wedges show a wear pattern the size of a silver dollar, and centered above the 3rd or 4th groove, you are not getting anywhere near the same performance from shot to shot. Robot testing proves impact even two to three grooves higher in the face can cause distance loss of up to 35 to 55 feet with modern ‘tour design’ wedges.
In addition, as impact moves above the center of mass, the golf club principle of gear effect causes the ball to fly higher with less spin. Think of modern drivers for a minute. The “holy grail” of driving is high launch and low spin, and the driver engineers are pulling out all stops to get the mass as low in the clubhead as possible to optimize this combination.
Where is all the mass in your wedges? Low. So, disregarding the higher lofts, wedges “want” to launch the ball high with low spin – exactly the opposite of what good wedge play requires penetrating ball flight with high spin.
While almost all major brand wedges have begun putting a tiny bit more thickness in the top portion of the clubhead, conventional and modern ‘tour design’ wedges perform pretty much like they always have. Elite players learn to hit those crisp, spinny penetrating wedge shots by spending lots of practice time learning to consistently make contact low in the face.
So, what about grooves and face texture?
Grooves on any club can only do so much, and no one has any material advantage here. The USGA tightly defines what we manufacturers can do with grooves and face texture, and modern manufacturing techniques allow all of us to push those limits ever closer. And we all do. End of story.
Then there’s the topic of bounce and grinds, the most complex and confusing part of the wedge formula. Many top brands offer a complex array of sole configurations, all of them admittedly specialized to a particular kind of lie or turf conditions, and/or a particular divot pattern.
But if you don’t play the same turf all the time, and make the same size divot on every swing, how would you ever figure this out?
The only way is to take any wedge you are considering and play it a few rounds, hitting all the shots you face and observing the results. There’s simply no other way.
So, hopefully this will inspire a lively conversation in our comments section, and I’ll chime in to answer any questions you might have.
And next week, I’ll dive into the rest of the wedge formula. Yes, shafts, grips and specifications are essential, too.
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Cody flowers
Mar 18, 2015 at 10:45 pm
Bobby jones is by far the best ever. Anyone knows that the he who uses the least effort has the most efficient swing. No one knows what a good swing look like anymore they are all gone, all the pure swings. There may be a couple here and there but I don’t see how any of the modern players are very good when true lag cannot be created without the lifting of the left heel. People also do not have the proper take away anymore and they do not know how to achieve it. Most of these peoples perception of the game is all twisted and wrong. It’s sad really what has happened to this game. If everyone just watched those old bobby jones instruction tapes everyone would turn out to be a bubba Watson so that would be no good. This is all lost knowledge.
Ron
Nov 19, 2014 at 10:34 pm
Ben Hogan had the best golf swing.Words can’t make someone the greatest golfer but the actions of Ben Hogan’s swing did make him the best ever.Even Jack Nicklaus said that Ben Hogan was the best.That’s coming from a man that had one of the greatest careers in golf.A very humbling thing to say of someone else in the same field of work.Others have said as much as well.
charles
Jul 18, 2014 at 12:41 pm
TOM Purtzer WAS VOTED AS HAVING THE BEST GOLF SWING BY THE P.G. A. PLAYERS WHEN HE WAS ON TOUR . THEY WOULD KNOW,AND I AGREE.
CHUCK
charles
Jul 18, 2014 at 12:36 pm
tom Purtzer was picked by the PGA tour players as having the best golf swing on tour at one time. they would know and i agree.
CHUCK
Jace
Jul 7, 2014 at 4:22 pm
I like Gary Woodland. Simple, smooth and enormous power.
Shaun
Mar 26, 2014 at 6:38 pm
Mike Austin hands down. If I couldn’t have that swing, give me Tiger in 2000.
Matt
Sep 7, 2013 at 8:48 am
Billy Horschell and Adam Scott have the best swings on tour at the moment! How Horschell is not on the poll amazes me.
See it for yourself http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81zd65QgfnY
Matt
Chris arrand
Aug 14, 2013 at 6:18 am
What about faldo. His swing looked great shame about his putting
Johan
Aug 5, 2013 at 5:58 am
Henrik Stenson ought to be on the list. When he has a good year his swing and his game is so good and so versitile. Mybe a bit quick but still
Peter Reich
Aug 3, 2013 at 1:34 pm
I can’t believe that the mechanical swing of today has out shined the fluid and graceful swing of previous eras. I see Bobby Jones as having the best swing of all time! He has no wasted movements (a large leg kick on the backswing or an exaggerated dip on the down swing) like the swing choices above and he has the power and accuracy without being robotic or aggressive towards the ball. Overall when a lawyer from the 30’s addresses a golf ball with a slightly open stance, a posture that is at ease, and fluid controlling hands and then allows physics and gravity to coil the club back and then drop and release the club through the ball it can be nothing other than extraordinary!!!
Clayton
Jul 26, 2013 at 3:08 pm
I really like Martin Kaymer’s swing
Evan
Jul 24, 2013 at 10:53 am
Henrik Stenson is a really nice modern swing for a bigger frame/ bigger guy… many swings that are personal favorites or are being modeled need to have similar body types. One thing I always look at when comparing swings is taking body size/ type into account. Best big guy swings (6’2″+): Tom Weiskopf, Ernie Els, Vijay Singh, Davis Love 3, Nicolas Colsaerts (very similar to DL3)
Sébastien
Jul 24, 2013 at 9:04 am
Great, really great article Jaacob!
Do you play in Otelfingen?…I had to laugh when I saw the range and thought wow, really?? 🙂
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 24, 2013 at 5:22 pm
Thanks. Yup, I’ve played Otelfingen many times!
Sébastien
Jul 25, 2013 at 7:50 am
nice. maybe we see us there one time or in zumikon.
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 25, 2013 at 11:09 pm
Haha, I play Zumikon too.
Sébastien
Jul 26, 2013 at 3:35 am
seriously? haha… do you might know Tim Pfister? I play and practice often with him.
viper
Jul 23, 2013 at 2:49 pm
Sergio
aliceryder
Jul 15, 2013 at 12:52 am
It doesn’t matter if who really had the best golf swing. What’s important for me is that my faves on the list! Adam Scott being on top and Tiger Woods!
Jim.
Jul 14, 2013 at 4:34 am
Totally agree with JJMule…. Robert Rock has a fantastic swing in so many ways not least aesthetically.
Another vote for Rocky here
Dolph Lundgrenade
Jul 13, 2013 at 6:30 pm
Why wasn’t I on this list? I have the best swing of all these jokers
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 19, 2013 at 11:21 am
Yes, of course! I can’t believe we missed you! 😉
Nicholas
Jul 13, 2013 at 3:39 am
Rickie Fowler**** not “Ricky”
Sky
Jul 12, 2013 at 8:46 pm
Who the heck voted for Tommy Gainey? lol
Boda
Jul 12, 2013 at 7:47 pm
Hubert Green?
Boda
Jul 12, 2013 at 7:48 pm
and moe norman
Sean
Jul 12, 2013 at 6:43 pm
I’m not really interested in who has the best swing, what impresses me is who has the lowest scoring average. It doesn’t matter how the club head gets to the ball, as long as it gets there the way it’s suppose to. 🙂
John
Jul 12, 2013 at 11:16 am
There’s a lot on that list that aren’t great ball-strikers, and a ton of great ball-strikers that are on the list. Maybe update it?
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 12, 2013 at 10:56 pm
How are you defining someone as a great ball-striker or not?
Of the 60 million or so golfers in the world, every one of these guys could be considered an upper 99th percentile ball-striker.
But anyway, this piece was more about determining and ranking everyone’s favorite swings regardless of ball-striking skills. 😉
Paul
Jul 11, 2013 at 5:50 pm
Sam Snead – Timeless and won more tournaments then any other player in the US. Not as many majors as Jack but proved he could win – over and over again…!
K Biebs
Jul 11, 2013 at 1:09 pm
No love for Geoff Ogilvy?
Ryan williams
Jul 11, 2013 at 7:19 am
Carlos Franco’s double eagle such a smooth epic swing.
kiko
Jul 11, 2013 at 6:56 am
Frankie Minoza
franc
Jul 11, 2013 at 6:54 am
jim mclellan
David Schultz
Jul 11, 2013 at 3:03 am
Jim McLellan
Lee
Jul 11, 2013 at 1:43 am
Noh Seung Yul. Hands down.
Blaise
Jul 10, 2013 at 8:30 pm
tom watson!!!
Rusty Cage
Jul 10, 2013 at 8:27 pm
No love for Lydia Ko?
dario
Jul 10, 2013 at 3:12 pm
Where Is Hunter Mahan ?? He is definetly a top ten in that list !
jjmule
Jul 10, 2013 at 2:58 pm
My personal all-time favorite is George Knudson (Hogan also loved his swing…)
Recently, I’ve really been impressed with Robert Rock’s action – the best I’ve seen on any tour. Sort of a cult has grown up regarding his swing – check YouTube if you don’t believe me.
He should be on your list
dg7936
Jul 10, 2013 at 1:36 pm
Tom Purtzer has a great swing. Not many wins but a classic move through the ball. Stuart Appleby has a solid simple swing that lets him crush the ball. Lots of different ways to hit it, a lot depends on your body type.
Joel
Jul 10, 2013 at 12:41 pm
How about a Canadian in the Mix, Graham Delaet, he swings the club so good! I believe if people mimic’d his shoulder turn alone, they would find themselves hitting further and with more consistency.
steven
Jul 11, 2013 at 8:18 am
Good call with Graham. I was following DL3 at The Barclays last year and Graham was in the group, little guy, but has some muscle to him, the kid hit it forever
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 10, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Some great diversity in favorites here. Good learning.
The “Other” category is sitting in 12th…and looks like it would now be filled up with a combination of Hunter Mahan, Tom Watson, Billy Casper, Raphaël Jacquelin, Marina Stuetz, Phil Mickelson, Retief Goosen, Jim Furyk, Bruce Lietzke, Billy Horschel, Robert Rock, Ryo Ishikawa, John Merrick, and Vaughn Taylor.
So I’m guessing none of these golf swings would individually crack the top 10, but certainly still worth including in the overall poll.
freddy
Jul 10, 2013 at 9:52 am
sam sneed. played longer than anyone. and everyone loves syrup!
Steven
Jul 10, 2013 at 8:17 am
Billy Horschel or John Merrick
Max
Jul 10, 2013 at 6:04 am
Ry? Ishikawa!
Martin Chuck
Jul 10, 2013 at 1:46 am
Honored to be on the list. My mom must have voted.
Ryan
Jul 9, 2013 at 11:06 pm
Robert Rock???
Tom Miller
Jul 9, 2013 at 10:29 pm
If you didn’t pick Ben Hogan or Byron Nelson, then you are not a student of the game. I picked Ben. They should be tied for first place.
John M
Jul 9, 2013 at 9:06 pm
Jeev Milka Singh… JUST KIDDING
But seriously, justin rose or oostie
Brian
Jul 9, 2013 at 7:49 pm
I’m going with Billy Horschel right now. Just about perfect.
Steven
Jul 10, 2013 at 8:15 am
You nailed it with Billy, Todd Anderson has my boy swinging it right
Bman
Jul 10, 2013 at 11:13 am
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81zd65QgfnY
Jerry Crowell
Jul 9, 2013 at 7:41 pm
1950’s Mike Austin. Jack Nicklaus 2nd. DJ Watts 3rd.
DJ Watts
Jul 9, 2013 at 5:30 pm
Jack Nicklaus. Nearly flawless and didn’t crack under pressure. 18 majors. My choice for best swing.
John
Jul 12, 2013 at 11:15 am
Your equating success with ball striking ability. Doesn’t work that way
terry
Jul 9, 2013 at 4:14 pm
So are most people here picking the best swing based on what top instructors think is the ideal swing…? The best swing is one that produces the best results, especially under pressure. The best swings are ones that you don’t have to think about to execute, alla Jim Furyk. According to Trackman, Furyk has delivered the club head into the ball on all the proper angles more consistently than any other player on tour. Before trackman, Lee Trevino, Greg Norman, Fred Couples and Bruce lietzke come to mind. and finally, Moe Nornam deserves a mention. Not only were these swings consistent, they were poetry in motion, not like all the robots you see today. when i think of best swings, i think of poetry and art, not robots.
Aeron Bowden
Jul 9, 2013 at 3:31 pm
My vote is for Charles Barkley!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxLkEPb5DzI
x125
Jul 9, 2013 at 2:41 pm
Retief
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 9, 2013 at 3:28 pm
Retief’s another good one from South Africa.
Oosthuizen, Els, Shwartzel, Immelman, etc…what are they putting in the water down there?
This list was 72 but it could’ve gotten to 75-80 good choices.
JC
Jul 9, 2013 at 2:36 pm
I’m always mesmerized by Freddie Couples’ swing. At 53 he can still poke it out there 300 yards and he’s just so smooth and fluid. The club head looks like it’s moving through quicksand…and then he makes contact and the ball just ignites. Fantastic.
Omar
Jul 9, 2013 at 2:28 pm
No Phil?! Such a beautiful swing, and the only lefty swing that doesn’t look awkward to me
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 9, 2013 at 3:22 pm
Phil has a crazy amount of club face rotation down through the hitting area…I think that’s one reason why he’s so streaky.
But yes, it is a beautiful looking motion and not as awkward as many other swings.
Weird that no one mentioned him either in my initial polling research. I probably should have put him in anyway.
GCC
Jul 9, 2013 at 2:26 pm
Ol’ Neil Wilkins will be one proud dude when he sees this!
anom
Jul 9, 2013 at 2:16 pm
LPGA rookie Marina Steutz has an absolutely beautiful swing. Currently it has to be her so I’m going with other
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 9, 2013 at 3:19 pm
I had never seen hers before…just looked at a face-on video on YouTube.
Good call. She’s smooth looking.
anom
Jul 9, 2013 at 4:28 pm
she hits driver somewhere in the 270’s
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 9, 2013 at 4:37 pm
Must be those glasses. :-p
Rob hogan
Jul 9, 2013 at 2:11 pm
John daly has to get my vote with Bowden just behind!!
Sean
Jul 9, 2013 at 12:07 pm
To me, it’s not who has the best looking swing, it’s what is the best swing. The best swing is the one which will not injure your body over a period of time. A good instructor will not force/make you swing a certain way, just because the instruction book says to do it this way. A good instructor will help you develop a swing based on your body type and physical limitations. It may not look pretty, but it will be effective and not cause you to injure yourself. Yes, Fred has a great looking swing, just don’t ask him how his back is doing. Obviously golf is not a physical contact sport, but just look at all the pro’s who have to take time off to recover from injuries. If it wasn’t for
golf, a majority of Chiropractor’s would be serving happy meals.
Antonio
Jul 9, 2013 at 11:10 am
From Booby Jones, Byron said ” Bob´s golf swing was quite elegant – it was a long swing with great rhythm and it had a wonderfull pace -“
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 10, 2013 at 11:26 am
Hehe, Booby Jones
Tommy
Jul 9, 2013 at 10:29 am
“Swing YOUR swing”
Arnie, 2013
Darrren
Jul 9, 2013 at 8:27 am
Id say GOD would be envious of Adam Scott, there no question his is the best, 2nd would have been woods.
G
Jul 9, 2013 at 8:47 am
You couldn’t be more wrong.
JC
Jul 9, 2013 at 2:21 pm
Based on the voting so far G, I’d say you’re pretty clearly in the wrong here!
G
Jul 11, 2013 at 10:43 pm
Ha! This is just opinion, not fact. Technically, Oosty has a better swing. So does Bill Haas.
Cris
Jul 9, 2013 at 7:08 am
Really? No Hunter Mahan? You can’t be serious.
Andy
Jul 9, 2013 at 2:14 am
How in the world is Ben Hogan sitting outside the top 5…? What are you people doing?!?!?!
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 9, 2013 at 10:33 am
Haha, certainly some surprises here, eh?
As it sits right now, I would never have guessed Adam Scott would be #1. Top 10, yes…but I didn’t expect #1.
It’s also interesting to see how the different versions of Tiger’s swing are rating.
Fun poll. 🙂
Gregor Reeves
Jul 9, 2013 at 2:04 am
When Ryan was in high school his parents were members at Tascosa CC in Amarillo. It is fun watching a nice kid grow up and become a great man. He hasn’t had many tweeks to his swing since high school.
DJ King
Jul 8, 2013 at 11:30 pm
Ben Hogan has the best swing of all time, he makes it seem so fluid and simple
tyler brooke
Jul 8, 2013 at 11:15 pm
Modern player I’d probably go with Adam Scott. Vintage would be Hogan
Emilio
Jul 8, 2013 at 10:43 pm
I like Byron Nelson. Basically he design and redesign his swing to make it one of the most reliable under tournament pressure. Just 11 wins in a row, one of the biggest streak in history of any sport, made him enough money to retire early in his life. Even the golf club designer named their testing robot Iron Byron!!!
Scott
Jul 8, 2013 at 10:34 pm
Where’s Hunter Mahan.
Jim
Jul 8, 2013 at 8:58 pm
I didn’t see Tom Watson? Great swing with longevity, yes?
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 9, 2013 at 10:29 am
That’s true, Jim. I think Tom Watson should be on here as well.
Similarly, to what I said above about Hunter Mahan, I’m surprised he didn’t show up in my initial polling.
Thus far from the comments, between him and Hunter Mahan, it looks like those are the only two that were missed as significant voting options. Not bad!
So far, with the “Other” category currently in 13th place, I would think those votes would mostly be taken up by Watson and Mahan.
Although, perhaps Billy Casper would have been a good addition too.
Anyway, I’m pleased at the comprehensiveness of the list. It’s a great list to choose from and I think it was covered well.
We got almost everyone!
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 9, 2013 at 3:11 pm
Hmmm, maybe Raphaël Jacquelin too.
Chris
Jul 8, 2013 at 4:59 pm
I didn’t look carefully. Elk is clearly on the list. My apologies!
Derek
Jul 8, 2013 at 4:49 pm
Adam Scott. I think even God himself wants his swing
G
Jul 9, 2013 at 8:46 am
I totally disagree. It’s such a forced, showy swing. Bill Haas, all the way – totally natural and fluid.
Chris
Jul 8, 2013 at 4:44 pm
Steve Elkington should be on the choice list. Flawless swing.
tyler brooke
Jul 8, 2013 at 11:13 pm
Agreed, was looking for him on the list.
Dolph Lundgrenade
Jul 13, 2013 at 6:27 pm
agreed
Peter Reich
Aug 3, 2013 at 1:21 pm
He is on the list. I’m amazed so many people can’t find him, lol.
Adam
Jul 8, 2013 at 4:38 pm
Gotta have Hunter Mahan on here, it’s the swing that Foley says is the model for TW and JR to strive for.
dingleberry
Jul 8, 2013 at 4:51 pm
He has to much face rotation in his swing.
Jaacob Bowden
Jul 9, 2013 at 10:21 am
He’s not my favorite swing.
However, I agree with you, he would’ve been good to have on the list. I’m surprised in my initial polling that his name didn’t come up.
The “Other” option in the poll is currently ranked 13th, so it’s feasible he could finish that high in the voting.
shane
Aug 22, 2013 at 11:56 am
What about alvaro quiros?..:)
Joel
Jul 10, 2013 at 12:38 pm
Couldn’t Agree with you more Adam!
c
Jul 10, 2013 at 5:56 pm
Chad Campbell over Pat Bates all day, I bet he’d be in the top 30 if you made him a selection
John
Jul 10, 2013 at 10:21 pm
Completely agree, one of the top ball strikers consistently. If you look, boo, hunter, and dufner have similar “foley,s&t,hogan,turn in a barrel” type swings, though with there own style and subtle differences.
Dolph Lundgrenade
Jul 13, 2013 at 6:27 pm
Seriously… the modern swing model is not even on the list? pssh.