A Battle of Unique Action vs Unique Action
08 JUL 2019
Photo courtesy of PGA TOUR Instagram (@pgatour), click here to see the post
Watching the 3M Championship on the weekend, I was almost preparing for it to be a routine day of golf.
Middle of the road event, middle of the road field. Maybe looking past the TPC Twin Cities layout across the Atlantic to Royal Portrush calling us over. Isn’t that the way things are supposed to be? Only the best fields played on the most proven courses can serve up high drama and excitement.
Well, no.
Lots happened in Minnesota and many story lines are being followed with the young studs grabbing our attention, but as I watched Bryson DeChambeau, then Matthew Wolff make eagles on the 72nd hole, those swings seemed like a palate cleanser. Yes Bryson has been in our world for a while and we know the uniqueness of his swing and the mad scientist approach he brings to the game. But seeing him paired against that action Matthew has honed made it feel a battle we haven’t see in a long time. A battle of unique action vs unique action. Whose swing will I be trying out tomorrow?
A generation or two ago we had nothing but one-off home-grown swings. Before the internet and hi-def video and the birth of the super-coach instruction business – there was simply a batch of youngsters taking their swings to their local pro for some lessons. And they were encouraged to keep their own form and those who made it to the Tour brought their very personal swing with them. Lee Trevino. Ray Floyd. Fuzzy Zoeller. On and on and on. Dig through those old Shells’s Wonderful World of Golf TV Shows to explore those great old swings.
But recently, the great young talents got corralled into the world of universal teaching and high powered coaching at a young age. And gone was the unique individuality. It seems like for most of the last 15 years or so almost every young gun coming out on Tour looked like each other. Don’t get me wrong – it worked, this recent crop is so talented and capable of great golf – but it just seemed like a bit of a throw-back watching Bryson and Matthew battle it out with a couple of swings that would make every teacher cringe a bit.
It was fun. Really fun – and maybe even more because I am now certain that my old non-conforming swing might still pay off.
You can take a look at Bryson Dechambeau's swing below:
And Matthew Wolff's Championship-winning swing as analyzed by his coach:
"There are some moves that don't look conventional, but down through the ball it's as good as anybody in the world."@Matthew_Wolff5's coach @GeorgeGankas breaks down the one-of-a-kind swing of the @3MOpen champion. pic.twitter.com/e7FFkj1Zxk
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 8, 2019