Do you want to hit the ball longer and straighter? Here is my solution for all of you that said yes. Learn the Mike Austin golf swing.
An amazing drive during the 1974 US Senior National golf tournament landed Mike Austin in the history books. The record shot was a 515 yard drive, yes it sounds unbelievable, and he hit it when Mike was 64 years old! This feat alone should make looking into the Mike Austin swing worth a little effort.
It was a scientific based approach that Mike Austin applied to the golf swing. He had a degree in kinesiology and applied the study of human motion to golf. He also made sure that he was not breaking any of the laws of physics.
Even back in the early 1960s Mike Austin was critical of his teaching peers claiming that they simply did not understand how the golf swing actually worked. Many aspects of the swing most people are taught today are almost the opposite of the Mike Austin method. Let’s look at some of the conflicting ideas between Mike and what most golf pros believe.
People now try to restrict lower body movement in the golf swing. If you try to keep the bottom of the spine centered it will cause your head to move. The sequence in the Mike Austin pivot is shift, turn, shift back, turn back. This action creates a stable head position and a lot of lower body action into the swing.
Mike Austin will tell you to release the club immediately, at the beginning of the downswing. Nearly any golf pro would tell you this is wrong. The idea of the late release is almost universal among conventional golf instructors. Mike despises the idea that there is a “late release” and that this is the biggest lie told about the golf swing.
The Mike Austin hand action is a twirling motion where the wrists are freely released through the hit. This is unlike conventional teaching, where we are encouraged to maintain a flat left wrist throughout the follow through. Keeping the left wrist flat, as Ben Hogan suggests, will impede the swing and slow the club head down. You will lose distance and direction when impeding the release of the club by keeping the left wrist straight.
The Mike Austin golf swing is a very precise and specific way of hitting the golf ball. It is truly a one swing fits all approach. We all have the same joints and the swing uses them to their design. Working your joints in the right way will allow you to hit the ball longer and straighter with less effort and no strain on the body. As Mike always said, “it is the most efficient way to hit a golf ball”.
You can learn Mike Austin swing from golf pro Steve Pratt. Take golf lessons online or meet Steve for live lessons.
