Why does an amateur swing look so different from a pros

[Big money]

This would be a question for low avid handicappers(mid 70 shooter or lower).Ive known many that work on their games with top instructors.They will work their tales off with the info given.And still can't come close matching any swing on tour.What are they doing so wrong.

[null]

This would be a question for low avid handicappers(mid 70 shooter or lower).Ive known many that work on their games with top instructors.They will work their tales off with the info given.And still can't come close matching any swing on tour.What are they doing so wrong.

I guess I fall into your category.

 

It really comes down to time.

 

I don't have the time or money towards devote two becoming more consistent. I have a lot of natural talent, but I didn't have the resources to get the coaching I needed when I was younger to really groove my swing.

 

Life took me down a different path and golf is merely a hobby now.

[Big money]

Thank you J-luke.But I've met and associate with a few that have the time.They still shoot great golf like you.No matter how many top instructor lessons they take.Cant seem to get over that hurdle and match up close with a tour pro.Always have that noticeable amateurish feel - sound and overall look

[null]

Thank you J-luke.But I've met and associate with a few that have the time.They still shoot great golf like you.No matter how many top instructor lessons they take.Cant seem to get over that hurdle and match up close with a tour pro.

Well then it just comes down to God given talent.

 

Some people have it and some people don't.

[RickyBobby_PR]

Nobody has the exact same swing on tour but they do all have the same or very similar impact position. The difference between a tour pro and a scratch or even a +1 or 2 golfer is huge.

 

Time and talent are big factors but donis the mental game. Imo wedge game and putting are the biggest separators between the pro and the low/scratch/aspiring pro

[Har in the Hat]

is it the swing?

Furyk?

 

or how to use " your swing" to your advantage?

 

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[Gg Owen]

All the pros were taught a proper pivot early.Amateurs can't:will never be able to do it properly..Unless you had an qualified instructor show you this at an early age.

[Golfspy_CG2]

I've seen and know a few amafuers whosd swings are a thing of beauty and you can watch them on the range and they hit it tour distance and accurate.

 

The diffence becomes like Ricky Bobby said. Short game and mental toughness.

 

The pros recover from bad shots better than most scratch golfers ever will.

 

 

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[PING Apologist #9]

I'm far from anywhere near the metric you seek for advice from, but I just have to put in my 2-cents if I may. Please bear with me...

 

Golf is all those guys know and do. They basically have a rare God-given talent that many of us simply do not possess, nor will probably ever possess. They also have the best-of-the-best training them daily. It really is their one and only job.

 

That said, I dare any one of them to try my job for a week and do it at my level right now without the years and years of sheer experience, training and repetition it took me to get to this point. Not gonna happen. Years of utter immersion and dedication are required to do what I do, and also so true for what they do.

 

The bottom line motivational factor of course is money. If I had their talent, I certainly wouldn't be an radio electronics geek carving out a living by maintaining complex public safety communications systems...I too would rather be travelling the world playing a game and making huge jack...

 

Their worst swing is something I'd be proud to replicate at least 3-times in a row...

[ridgewalker]

I think it's like that with anything: Football, Hockey, Baseball, Olympic sports etc...there is only so much room at the Elite level and the competition is fierce. The truly elite always almost always look smother, have better technique etc than amateurs...it's why they're truly elite. And it's just as hard, maybe harder, to go from scratch to the PGA tour as it is to go from college football somewhere to the NFL.

 

 

 

 

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[SteddyGolf]

Just a few things off the top of my head that contribute in differing degrees towards developing a fundamentally sound golf swing.

 

These are in random order:

 

1. Early start in life and quality instruction to build fundamentals

 

2. Family financial stability

 

3. Routine access to golf courses and driving range

 

4. Family support and legacy players

 

5. School golf teams (not every school has a team)

 

6. Talent and work ethic

 

Why adults have a problem developing a fundamentally sound golf swing in order of precedence:

 

1. Start playing with no lessons builds poor habits reenforced by conditioned muscle memory contrary to an effective golf swing

 

2. Life demands and priorities limit practice time.

 

3. Purchasing a $399 Driver over two lessons a month for six months.

 

4. Fails to work on Golf fitness and flexibility

 

5. Buying new arrows when it's clearly the Indian.

 

6. Limited athletic ability and coordinated muscle movements.

 

7. Taking advice from Bubba next door rather than Jim the teaching PGA Professional.

 

 

 

 

 

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[perseveringgolfer]

consistency is key- swings are all different but they deliver when it counts, and under pressure.

 

You have to be shooting approx 4 under par EVERYTIME you tee it up and especially under tournament conditions.

 

 

We all know exceptional amateurs who have plus handicaps- many try and qualify for the Open and the US Open and usually crash and burn at qualifying stage I think due to weak mental toughness. a couple of bad holes and they shoot a 73, multiply that over a 3 or 4 round tournament and they are missing cuts or finishing 45th or thereabouts.

 

You need the 'X' factor to be successful at this level and the 'X' factor I believe is between the ears.

[NiftyNiblick]

A solid scratch player / Club Champion type is a talented but normal human being.

 

A successful PGA Tour player is,

like any big time professional athlete,

a genetic mutant or freak.

 

All an athlete can do is learn how to use,

and then take care of

his/her toolbox.

 

The toolbox itself is an accident of birth.

 

That's why I laugh at motivational speakers who try to tell us that we

can be anything that we want to be.  That's blatant nonsense.

 

 

[Shankster]

You guys have seen my swing then... it's where Adam Scott got his template from...

 

Right now I look like I am trying to to a tree pose, then a side armed baseball throw... ugly. Need some serious work over the winter. I will be working on the rotational swing, easier power generation, just have to get the idea of “timing” out of my head, there isn't much timing needed if your takeaway is on plane, rotate back, rotate through.

 

I get a bit disconnected with my arms right now, and end up stuck and trying to steer the ball. I know what the issue is... now the question is can I fix it myself.

[silver & black]

Everything mentioned is important and a big part of the equation.

 

IMO... nothing is more important or more critical than raw talent. The guys on tour, even the least successful, are far ahead of 99% of everyone that plays golf, in the raw talent category. No amount of work or dedication can/will give that to you... unfortunately.

 

The most successful players on tour have the other intangibles required: work ethic, drive, mental toughness, focus, etc....

[sixcat]

I know some guys who have been playing since birth.  Have had the best instruction their parents could find within an hours drive.  Were given club membership advantages at a very young age and spent hours every day working on their game.  None of the three ever developed beyond being decent junior players.  None have won our club championship or have even come close.  What you will notice from all three is a swing that resembles anything you will see for the top Touring professionals.  What they lack are the finer points of the game.  Scrambling, putting, bunker play and course management stand out to me.

 

I know another guy from my club who looks like a construction worker and swings like one too.  His hands are as callused as anything I've ever seen.  He reached the finals of the USGA Amateur 4-Ball at Olympic Club in 2015.  He has also won our club championship several times.  He can golf the hell out of his ball! 

 

Appearances can be deceiving!

[EthanSterlingPrice]

I think mine is fairly sound but the biggest factor here is it's still pros vs. ams. A scratch and a 10 can have similar swings but the scratch will have better short game and mental game more often than not. Pros have all that plus some.

 

 

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