Favourite Swings

I love watching the top players swing the club.  Often there are discussions about who has the best swing in the game.  When deciding on the best swing, I suppose there are two main criteria I look at: efficiency and durability.  If it is efficient, it won't require hours on the range keeping it in the proper groove.  If it's durable, it will last, and the player will enjoy a long career with a minimum of swing-related injuries.

On the various tours today, my favourite swingers are Henrik Stenson, Miguel Angel Jiminez, Angel Cabrera, and Colin Montgomerie.  I've stuck with the men, although there are many women who've possessed wonderful swings.  However, these guys have swings that have, and will surely continue to stand the test of time.  They can all move the ball both ways, and they don't seem to be in need of a swing teacher to hold their hands.

While Stenson is strong like bull, and might encounter some difficulty down the road generating the same kind of thump he delivers to the ball, he is surely the best ball striker in the game right now in his late thirties. I believe the stats bear this out.  His performance yesterday at the Tour Championship was pretty impressive.

As for Monty, Cabrera, and Jiminez; they have such natural swings.  They have developed swings that are perfect for them, and they've stuck with it, resisting the temptation to make changes.  Watching Jiminez continue to compete with both the flat and round bellies alike, it makes you wonder whether he'll ever quit.  Monty is enjoying a resurgence on the Champions Tour, and, as for Angel, who knows how long he'll be a threat if the putts are dropping.

There are so many technically great swings out there, but I love the natural-looking ones.  Of course I haven't mentioned Jack, or Lee Trevino, or Freddie, or Davis Love; and then there was a guy named Sam Snead, and Julius Boros...

Of course, the one thing great swingers need to be great champions is the ability to make the putts.  If you can't chip and putt, the best swing in the world won't win you the big ones.  Still, I love to watch great swingers.  Don't you?