Swingers vs Hitters, Homer’s Quote and Answer to Name That Track! (6/1/21)

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Article Series: Deciphering the Golfing Machine 

Swingers vs Hitters 

I spoke in an earlier article about the different kinds of golfers, this was a broad stroke definition so I am going to dive in deeper on those differences, some will be on putting, some on chipping, pitching, short game etc. Here I want to focus on striking, which ties in nicely with an article series I have been wanting to do; ‘Deciphering The Golfing Machine.’

For those who haven’t heard much about it, The Golfing Machine was somewhat of a revolutionary and ambitious book written by the late golfing guru Homer Kelley (1907-1983), the goal of the book, broadly, was to categorise, define, comprehend and explore every facet of the golf swing, and how they all fit together, start to finish. It is certainly the most intimidating golf book there is to read, and if you don’t already have a sound idea about the golf swing, it makes it that much harder. 

But, if you have a good understanding of the swing, you have a good jumping off point. It has been extremely educational for me; having started with Brad Hughes’s ideas, I’ve been able to read the book through that lens and learn about the true process of the swing better and better. It is a fantastic way to truly gauge whether your idea of the swing is sound, seeing as the book is based on unbelievable amounts of research along with physics and geometry, it is basically impossible to mount a sound and workable case against Mr Kelley’s knowledge contained in this book. If you can’t see your ideas proven right in here, you’re probably missing something.

I want to start with a basic theme that runs through The Golfing Machine and may be one of the fundamentals to understanding it at all; Swingers vs Hitters. There are only these two types of moves in the swing, these are categorised as either Hitting or Swinging moves. But as certain as there are only two categories, there are endless variations and degrees within each player. No player is a Pure Hitter, and no player is a Pure Swinger, everyone has degrees of both…

That being said, everyone lies somewhere on this spectrum, and most players find themselves heavily in one direction. There isn’t really a BETTER between these two, even though Homer Kelley believed Hitting was superior, there are examples that show a Swinging-bias can be extremely effective; Fred Couples, Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Bubba Watson, Nick Faldo, Chris Kirk and Justin Thomas just to name a few. There are some simple ways to spot the difference between Swinging and Hitting:

Swingers, usually have longer backswings and utilise time by giving the club-head a much longer runway, this is ally done by taking a very long arm swing, which moves the club much further back so it has more time to accelerate smoothly. Thought: The longer you swing it back, the more time it has to accelerate back to the ball.

The second way to tell a Swinger is that they usually fire their body from the top of their swing, and so after they hit the ball the club is usually just releasing, not being driven and their body looks quite passive, their follow-through’s look very relaxed. Thought: Start down with the body and the club will follow. These are very valid ways to swing the club SO LONG AS IT FITS YOUR TENDENCIES. These players also usually have very beautiful, rhythmic swings.

See perfect example below: Freddie Couples.

However, the list of Hitters does contain the best ball-strikers of all time; Hogan, Nicklaus, Tiger, Moe Norman, Palmer and Trevino along with most of today’s longest hitters in John Rahm, JB Holmes, Tony Finau and Bryson Dechambeau. Maybe Mr Kelley was onto something...

Hitters you can spot with two simple traits, they tend to have shorter backswings (don’t look at the club but their ARMS), and their follow-through looks very active. Their body is not firing from the top of their swing, their arms are firing down and their body fires at and after impact. Thought: Start down slow, Hit it hard, and hit through the ball!

See below the ultimate Hitter, Mr Hogan.

But why is this important? Well following along my previous writing, becoming a good golfer is a quest to understand yourself better. Your tendencies are your tendencies and you cannot change them. It follows then, that you should understand which of these you are and make sure you’re working in line with the right one. 

I was taught Swinging techniques for 15 years, while my tendency lies firmly on the Hitting spectrum; I want to go short, fast and hit it hard. I want to have to hit it harder to hit it straighter. This is my DNA. 

Ignoring my Hitting tendencies (lagging the club, bringing my arms in close to me, hitting it hard) or learning Swinging techniques (anti-lag moves, rhythm feels, widening-out on the downswing) are only going to make me feel like I am fighting myself from tee-to-green, which is exactly what I felt like for the 15 years I tried to play competitive golf with Swinging thoughts. It has only been since I have begun to work WITH my tendencies, that I feel like myself when I play.

You must make sure that your coach understands the difference between these two types of swings and is teaching you the correct one, otherwise the only thing in your future is mediocre striking, frustration, and more lessons!

Name That Track!

Peninsula Kingswood Golf Club

13th Hole, South Course, Par 4. 

Melbourne, Australia.

Quote of the week

“There is no effort to classify any stroke pattern as best or worst, but there is undoubtedly a best “central” stroke pattern for each individual.” - Homer Kelley

This goes to the heart of what I believe, not only does this apply to your physical swing move, but also to your attitude, strategy, practice habits. The list goes on. You need to find your central pattern, and make sure it makes sense for you, and that your instructor understands what that means, make sure they are teaching you what you need to know, not just what they think they know.

Thanks for reading

If you do want to forward this to a friend who is only signed up, rather than subscribed, to show them what they’re missing, I won’t hold it against you.

Until next time,

BM