Jack Nicklaus (1963) Golf Swing Analysis
Posted on
June 12th, 2011
by medicusgolfclubtips
Man, how far do you think Nicklaus would have been hitting it with this swing (circa 1963) and today’s technology? I’m guessing he would be Bubba Watson long, but infinitely more controlled. The most interesting thing here is Nicklaus’s backswing. Definitely not what is taught to young prodigies today: too much leg and hip movement (how about that left heel lift?), shaft inside, club across the line at the top. But what the hell, it worked better than anything anyone else was doing, and became the model for a generation of wannabe players. I still can’t get over the size of those thighs. Related Blog: www.waynedefrancesco.com
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hey Wayne,
A very nice analysis of Nicklaus overall. I disagree with you that most people could not pull off the leg action of the backswing. That hip, knee and ankle action is very similar to walking and is, in fact, very natural feeling, even for beginners. Thanks for the great videos.
@Inmotion70 The average person could certainly make the same type of leg movement. The problem I was referring to was the difficulty in getting back to an effective impact from there. Most people can’t, and over time most professionals have opted for less lower body movement for the purpose of efficiency and precision. Not that Nicklaus wasn’t both.
My argument would be that this type of lower body movement makes for more efficiency and precision, not despite it. I believe it makes getting back to effective impact easier.
i love that bowed left wrist. nicklaus looks like retief at the top
i think everyone should have their individual swing, otherwise trying to copy a flawless swing will keep defaulting you to more and more problems.. GO JACK!
Can’t help thinking that if Nicklaus himself had ever thought this way, or if Grout had taught him this way, you might never have heard of him. He really resisted superdetailed thoughts in his own practice and play, and even wanted to stay away from video as much as possible.
Do you need to marry here is the solution sarafox.info
back when he was blobbo
@vsp3589
Maybe it’s just that current ideas about technique are off. Could it be?
OP–that’s the distinction between Nicklaus and everybody playing today, except when Woods is thinking straight. Nicklaus (and Woods on a good week) assumed distance and used it as a means of control, whether throttling back or using conservative club selection, because it meant something to hit fairways and destroyed your score to miss them consistently. Now you can win the U.S. Open hitting barely over half the fairways (check Woods’ and Mediate’s stats at Torrey, for instance).
@emncaity
Of course, the other distinction between Nicklaus and Bubba W is that Nicklaus won all the time and beat players the quality of Palmer, Player, Trevino, Casper, Miller, Watson, et al. when he won.
And again, of course you have a perfect right to be as analytical as you want–and I really do appreciate you posting this and other videos–but it bears repeating that Nicklaus himself avoided this approach like the plague.
@emncaity They might be because he was the best!
@emncaity yup. the game is low score, not perfect golf swing
At impact it still seems that the club shaft gets to the same angle as address,of course with the handle leading the head.I have seen many Nicklaus video and this is something he does with incredible consistency.I based my swing on Nicklaus video and books.You are the first person I have heard mention this anlge of impact.Sometimes reffered to as how the club lies
Seems that with the driver he is much steeper than I remember his later videos from BTL.What do you think he was doing to make such a dramatic change when he preached so often same swing with every club.
@secretogolf The best players often avoid close scrutiny of their own technique, but are not hesitant to describe what they “feel’. This is no knock against them: it is always nice to know what a great player thinks about what he is doing. It is also nice to not have to take what they say literally, as video analysis allows us to see what is really going on and enables us to compare reality to “feel”. Hitting up on a ball on a tee and down on one on the ground are not the same thing.
Hey Wayne – Caught Martin Hall on The Golf Channel as there new teaching instructor,not a big fan of his,figured it must have been the English Accent that made him the right choice.Anyway,he began off by saying it is imperative to lower the right shoulder at address even more than it naturaly is.What is the truth of about this.Even his fellow TGM instructors would have nothing to do with this set up position.What are your thoughts?
he just starts with his hands low at address, at impact they have risen to get on the plane perfect. address hands dont mean much.
Its very similar to Bubba Watson’s swing. Jack would be the longest driver on tour today if he was in his prime
@wdefrancesco I saw Nicklaus play at the 50th PGA(1968), Pecan Valley, San Antonio Texas. He did not win that year, Julius Boros did. However, the way Jack hit the driver was beyond belief, especially with a persimmon driver. He hit it very long and very high, under normal conditions. The holes I watched him play, he was hitting it 30, 40, 50 yards beyond the majority of PGA players, with the exception of Johnny Miller. Like they said, “He shrunk the golf course”!!
@wdefrancesco I have not noticed,have you ever done a Trevino analysis? I would be interested, he was one of my favorite players.
In the 1970s, one winter day I viewed Jack’s video, Golf My Way. At least I think that was the name of it. What impressed me was emphasis he placed on leg action. I took that advice out on the course the following spring, and I immediately changed from a double-digit handicapper to the single-digit guy I have been ever since. I often play with different people, and the three biggest mistakes I see are: not keeping the left arm straight, not keeping the head quiet, and swinging too fast.
That was what I did it my own way. I made ball straight well until instructor change me. My ball always slice like fight Jet. I have hard time understand my balance.
I also disagree with your views of Nicklaus’ leg action. It may not be what is taught, but it is comparable to what Snead used, and Snead and Nicklaus won more tournaments over a longer period of time than anyone else. It also isn’t that much different than what Bubba uses today, and he is second in Fedex points, 2nd in driving distance and first in GIRs. Restrained leg action may be in fashion, but I’ve seen no evidence whasoever that it is any more effective or a easier way to play.
@Inmotion70 Walking??? Natural??? No way. There is a lot of internal and external rotation of the hips and thighs in both the backswing and downswing and I don’t know anyone that walks doing that, except maybe Jerry Lewis in one of his old dumb movies.