What is the Mike Austin Golf Swing?

When golfers discuss different golf swing styles, you can be told about the simple golf swing, the natural swing, the stack and tilt swing, the traditional swing. What's more, whilst discussing the great swings from the PGA pros, you'll hear about the Tiger Woods swing, Ernie Els swing, and Ben Hogan swing. So, what is the Mike Austin swing and why do not most people know about this?

Mike Austin's assertion to fame is that he's the man accredited with the longest drive yet in competitive golf, as per the Guinness Records. On September 25, 1974 during the U.S. National Seniors Open Championship at Winterwood Golf Course in Las Vegas, Mike at 64 years of age, hit a 515-yard drive. What was amazing, aside from his age, was that he did it with a wooden driver that was 43.5 inches long and had a 10 degree loft with the old soft balata ball.

Mike was competing in a foursome with PGA Champion Chandler Harper. After hitting several 400-yard drives, Chandler said, "Mike, let's see you actually let one go." Austin drove the ball on a 450-yard par 4. It flew to the fringe of the green, rolled across the green, passed the flag, and went off the back edge. Chandler encountered a ball on the following tee and told Austin, "That is impossible, but there is a ball over here." They recognized the ball as Austin's and stepped off the distance back to the center of the green. The drive was 515 yards. Even today, the record still stands as the longest drive at a golf tournament.

Mike has a graduate degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in kinesiology and he utilized that understanding to develop his swing. The Mike Austin swing is unlike than the conventional PGA swing teachings in a number of ways, some of the most obvious being how the hips slide laterally instead of turning, the clubhead is thrown from the top of the swing as opposed to getting released at the final instant, and also the golfer bends forward from the hips and not bending using the knees.

The Mike Austin swing looks effortless and easy because he encountered a way to make use of the body's joints in a way that they were designed to maneuver which is a more natural way. He used the legs as the main power source since these are the most sturdy muscle group in the body. He claimed that his swing did not cause back injuries which can be so frequent with professional golfers as well as amateurs.

Later on in life, Mike changed his hand motion from a rolling hand-action to one which curls under, a counter-rotation with the forearms, and maintains the blade squarer for a longer time. This is one of his keys for being able to not just drive incredible distances but additionally to produce solid contact every time.

The Mike Austin swing is very similar to Ben Hogan's swing in that the transition from backswing to downswing is started from the hips. When you observe both of these swings, you'll see that they generate a tremendous amount of club head speed with very little exertion of the club head through the ball. They did not rely on muscle strength, instead they equally understood how to achieve a very effective golf swing.