88 replies to this topic

[DigDugDig]

I don't know if Jack necessarily had a "secret" as he really laid his whole game out over and over in his instruction books.  

I recall reading something a while ago that Jack said about what he thought was his advantage over other golfers, and I'll paraphrase:

"I could hit my 5 iron higher than other guys' 8 irons...well, no, it was that I could hit my 1 iron higher and land it softer than other guys' 5 irons"

Really, no one played target golf as well as Nicklaus.  Point A to Point B to 15 footer for birdie.  Over and over and over, no matter the conditions or the pressure or the course.

And he was a stone cold sniper on the greens.

[puttingmatt]

There is no secret to Jack's swing !! He demonstrated and showed it
countless times during his highly successful career. Sound Fundementals !!
Jack owned his swing, and picked apart championship courses with it. His
mind for course management and ablity with sound fundementals were his
tools. He was confident, and  aspired to play like no other !! Get his book,
watch his  tourneyments, Its all there !!!

[isaacbm]

Yuck, on 24 December 2012 - 10:50 AM, said:

People forget what a beast Jack was in the pre fitness era.  Attached video of a young Jack attacking a drive.  Note thighs were larger than Tiger's waist has ever been.

I've seen this so many times and it still amazes me.  Look at the extension all the way to the top of the follow through.  I would put my back out in 3 swings if i did that.  He must have had amazing athletic ability!

[nochrome]

According to John Jacobs, one of the most respected instructors in the history of this great game, "Jack consistently controlled a slightly open face @ impact, had great athletic ability, an even better mind, managed his game to make the course fit his shots, never hit a shot until considered all his options, and putted extraordinarily well for a longer period of time than any other player"

[tembolo1284]

mitchell, on 24 December 2012 - 12:14 PM, said:

According to John Jacobs, one of the most respected instructors in the history of this great game, "Jack consistently controlled a slightly open face @ impact, had great athletic ability, an even better mind, managed his game to make the course fit his shots, never hit a shot until considered all his options, and putted extraordinarily well for a longer period of time than any other player"

that'll do it eh?

[dereckbc]

If you want to really know buy his book:

Golf My Way.

[tembolo1284]

Golf My Way. Now that's a great book.

[nochrome]

tembolo1284, on 02 January 2013 - 11:43 AM, said:

Golf My Way. Now that's a great book.

Agreed, quote I cited earlier came from interview for 30th anniversary edition of Practical Golf by John Jacobs, along w/ 5 lessons and Swing for Life by Hogan and Faldo, respectively, essentials for any classic golf instruction library.

Edited by mitchell, 02 January 2013 - 12:36 PM.

[proguy]

Driver and Putter!    Simple game.

[sblack5]

Footwork....great footwork...said him and jack grout used to work on it A LOT

[MDP1555]

I did not read every reply but there are a couple that I did read that came close to the truth about Jack's secret. One swing, Tempo master, but the thing that made him really great was mental preparedness. He never allowed himself to entertain the though that he was beat, period! Almost every one of his peers have said this. The Golden Bear moniker truly fit him.

Edited by MDP1555, 02 January 2013 - 04:10 PM.

[geesecougar2]

One thing that always amazed me about Jack's swing was his ability to keep his hands passive and soft with such a big swing. He would take a huge body turn and his hands would be touching the clouds, but on most of his shots he would be way short of parallel at the top. It's almost like Bubba Watson's body turn with Steve Stricker's hand action!

Power with very little reliance on timing, if your body can pull it off. It probably wreaked havoc on his hips, but he was an incredible natural athlete, maybe better than Tiger in terms of pure athleticism, and certainly more durable. Certainly stayed in good enough shape long enough to win 18 majors and dominate the senior tour until he got bored.

Edited by geesecougar2, 02 January 2013 - 09:29 PM.

[gvogel]

From 02 November 2012 - 10:17 PM:

Jack Grout?

Grout was a great teacher for Jack.  Grout had played the tour with Hogan and Nelson.  He matched Nelson's upright swing and passive hand action with Jack's physical gifts - athleticism and fine hand-eye coordination.  He worked with Jack on footwork and a quiet head.  And above all, preparation and fundamentals.

With his background of playing on the tour, he was also helpful in instilling confidence to Jack, who never really lacked for confidence anyway!

[tembolo1284]

That interview between Grout and Nicklaus in the DVD is priceless.

[MizunoJoe]

bscinstnct, on 02 November 2012 - 06:40 PM, said:

I suggest that there is SOMETHING, some SECRET to Jack's swing that seems to be overlooked as everyone chases something else.

A strong left wrist which led into impact and arched and swiveled through impact, always staying ahead and never bending. You can see this clearly in the DTL shots here:

[tembolo1284]

christ he's so damn upright on his backswing.  It's perp to the ground!

[tembolo1284]

I find it amazing how he lifts his body in his backswing and lifts his arms and still was so damn consistent.

Hogan was the opposite in lowering and keeping his arms to his chest.

Great that there are so many ways to get er done!

[dlygrisse]

I think one of the things that made it so repeatable is that when he took it upright and then got those ankles rolling forward the club just dropped into the slot.....gravity took over, there was no need to wrench the club around the body like Hogan did from a more laid off position.  With the club behind you your are fighting gravity because the club wants to fall behind you....Jacks club fell down the target line.  The clubhead was like a boulder rolling down a steep hill once he transitioned over to the left side and it just kept picking up speed.  Watch his follow through, arms very soft, passive hands that only rolled over because of momentum, not manipulation.

Hogan and Jack seem to be the two extremes, but they are arguably the two greatest golfers ever.

[bscinstnct]

the last two posts are great!

[gvogel]

dlygrisse, on 04 January 2013 - 12:43 PM, said:

I think one of the things that made it so repeatable is that when he took it upright and then got those ankles rolling forward the club just dropped into the slot.....gravity took over, there was no need to wrench the club around the body like Hogan did from a more laid off position.  With the club behind you your are fighting gravity because the club wants to fall behind you....Jacks club fell down the target line.  The clubhead was like a boulder rolling down a steep hill once he transitioned over to the left side and it just kept picking up speed.  Watch his follow through, arms very soft, passive hands that only rolled over because of momentum, not manipulation.

Hogan and Jack seem to be the two extremes, but they are arguably the two greatest golfers ever.

Exactly right.  Two very different body types, and two different amounts of wrist flexibility.  Both had great hand-eye coordination, and great determination.  Both had lots of confidence, as well as discipline.

As golfers, most of us try different "moves", or try to imitate other golfers.  Discovering the true fundamentals is the key.

[tembolo1284]

dlygrisse, on 04 January 2013 - 12:43 PM, said:

I think one of the things that made it so repeatable is that when he took it upright and then got those ankles rolling forward the club just dropped into the slot.....gravity took over, there was no need to wrench the club around the body like Hogan did from a more laid off position.  With the club behind you your are fighting gravity because the club wants to fall behind you....Jacks club fell down the target line.  The clubhead was like a boulder rolling down a steep hill once he transitioned over to the left side and it just kept picking up speed.  Watch his follow through, arms very soft, passive hands that only rolled over because of momentum, not manipulation.

Hogan and Jack seem to be the two extremes, but they are arguably the two greatest golfers ever.

Sir, this reads like poetry if I may say.

[cardoustie]

Great topic, I started a similar thread a few years ago and asked the same thing.  Nicklaus should get at least as much swing love as Hogan, I know Hogan was in awe of Jack's power when they played early on

I also think it may be easier for others to copy Nicklaus vs Hogan.

At some point .. height, body style, flexibility, arm length etc have to make it harder to swing either flat or more upright.  I know myself as a taller and thicker guy that swinging flat is HARD for me .. not sure how Kuchar does it to be honest

[tembolo1284]

Jack was certainly a thicker chap but also one flexible fellow indeed.

[jwrogers]

Yuck, on 24 December 2012 - 10:50 AM, said:

People forget what a beast Jack was in the pre fitness era.  Attached video of a young Jack attacking a drive.  Note thighs were larger than Tiger's waist has ever been.

I learned golf by reading "Golf My Way" back in the 1980's. Two things immediately came to mind and this video shows them exactly.

1.) Jack had the best leg action of anybody in the history of the game, ever.

2.) Jack kept his head incredibly still.

Both of those are hard lessons he learned from Jack Grout early in his development.

Also, if you asked Jack what his biggest advantage was in golf, he almost always said it was his ability to hit the ball higher than anyone else in the game at that time.

Edited by jwrogers, 04 January 2013 - 10:39 PM.

[AllenResGolf]

I have his Golf My Way VHS tape. Its amazing how much power and skill he shows in that video. He had a great teacher as well.

[bdcava]

Jack hit his 1 Iron higher than I hit my 8 iron!

[dpb5031]

If you have watched Jack's swing over the past 15 or so years, it's hard to comprehend how powerful and athletic his swing was as a young man.  I think Jack's swing secret had something to do with extraordinary leg and core strength combined with that upright action that enabled him to hit the towering long shots that no other pro could hit.

It worked for Jack, but there are probably methods that are easier to execute, and easier on the body.  Remember, you are not Jack!

[bdcava]

It's funny, I hit the ball very low so just for sh*&ts and giggles I went to the range today and really tried to reach for the sky with my backswing and let my left foot come up quite a bit, and man, the ball was flyin' high!

[dlygrisse]

tembolo1284, on 04 January 2013 - 01:48 PM, said:

dlygrisse, on 04 January 2013 - 12:43 PM, said:

I think one of the things that made it so repeatable is that when he took it upright and then got those ankles rolling forward the club just dropped into the slot.....gravity took over, there was no need to wrench the club around the body like Hogan did from a more laid off position.  With the club behind you your are fighting gravity because the club wants to fall behind you....Jacks club fell down the target line.  The clubhead was like a boulder rolling down a steep hill once he transitioned over to the left side and it just kept picking up speed.  Watch his follow through, arms very soft, passive hands that only rolled over because of momentum, not manipulation.

Hogan and Jack seem to be the two extremes, but they are arguably the two greatest golfers ever.

Sir, this reads like poetry if I may say.

Thanks, I am no swing expert, but I loooooove watching footage of Jack play, I have also read most of his stuff.  In fact when I started playing golf around 1985 I was a poor college student.  I got a cheap set of clubs...Wilson customs laminated D, 3w, 3,5,7,9 and putter in an old Hogan red vinyl bag.  I went the book store and bought a copy of Golf My Way, I didnt know much about golf but I knew he was the best...figured it was a good place to start.  I am a golf book junkie, I have a armoire full of golf books.  Golf my way is my all time favorite still.  BTW I really don't like watching footage of Jack swinging, mostly just footage of him playing.  Jack really knew how to play the game.