Tom Watson discovered his “swing” while practicing at a driving range in 1994. Prior to this amazing moment, he was looking for a remarkable way to swing a golf club. Additionally, he wasn’t appreciative of the significance of maintaining the spine angle while doing the swing. After discovering his secret, he used this as the foundation of his swing. An enduring swing that he retained for the rest of his life.
So what exactly is Tom Watson golf swing?
How Did Tom Watson Discover His Swing?
After having some struggles with his hooks and blocks while getting exhausted from hitting it to the right field, Tom has finally decided that he will imitate Corey Pavin’s pre-shot routine. This has become his most amazing moment. His mind and his body have understood that he would swing left after impact while making sure to maintain his spine angle. For Tom, this is the swing that he has been looking for his entire life. Compared to other swing concepts which are likely powerful for a while before collapsing, Tom concentrates more on spine angle. Ever since that remarkable day, this has been his secret to his golf swing. Even after almost 30 years since that moment, Tom is still dependent on this idea when making his powerful golf swing, regardless of the fact that he is no longer playing competitive golf.
What are the Struggles Watson had Prior to Maintain a Spine Angle?
Some of Tom Watson’s challenges before discovering his golf swing include extreme spine inclination away from the target, opposite C position during impact, too much lateral motion toward the ball, making a swing out to the right field, an advance extension wherein you tend to break your spine angle, and making the club stuck behind him, forcing him to flip the club so he can achieve good contact.
Why Did Tom Switch to Corey Pavin Swing From Jack Nicklaus Swing?
Ultimately, rather than imitating Jack Nicklaus’s swing, Tom decided that he wants to imitate Corey Pavin’s swing. And ever since, he became obsessed with spine angle. Try to observe Tom’s prior swing and you will discover that he switched his swing from in-to-out to in-to-in. Apparently, most powerful golf swings are actually following this concept, particularly the modern golf swing.
Where Does the Weight of the Club Go After Impact?
Tom released a DVD wherein he shows the method of rotation around your spine. What he did was, placed a white cylinder right at the back of his shoulders. So, what will happen if you have incorrectly done the spine angle drill? In case you don’t maintain your spine angle, then most likely, your shoulders will become extremely steep. As a result, the club will easily get stuck behind you. Otherwise, if the spine angle drill is done correctly, then the spine angle will be maintained. He was able to establish it at the address while doing the follow-through and the backswing. Tom has an excellent visual demonstration of this. However, his demonstration has a drawback since he was not able to recognize the relationship between the weight of the golf club and the body.
Obviously, you can’t directly turn your shoulders around your spine. When turning your shoulders around your spine, you should be holding the club, which has a long shaft and is heavy at the bottom. This means that you have to maintain a balance between the weight of the golf club and your body. At the same time, you should be able to retain this balance throughout the follow-through and backswing. Tom has managed to change his concept of where the club should go after the impact. That is why he was able to maintain his spine angle quite easily.
It was the perception to swing left after the impact that made him realize the importance of spine angle. So, rather than placing the weight of the club right to the right field, he tried to place the weight of the club on the left, right after the impact. Most probably, it would be much better if you place the weight of the club upwards and on the left right after the impact. However, if you concentrate only on placing the club on the left, then you might be struggling to release the club effectively, resulting to big slices and frequent snap hooks. Whereas, if you swing the clubhead on the left and upwards when doing the follow-through, then most likely, you will be able to release the club consistently and effectively.
This means that if you swing the club on the left and upwards right after the impact, then it will be much easier for you to accomplish your follow-through, and establish a balance between the weight of the club head and your body. At the same time, you will be able to maintain your spine angle when doing a follow-through and downswing.
Can Anyone Use Tom Watson’s Golf Swing?
Absolutely! Apparently, all golfers can take advantage of maintaining their spine angle all through their golf swing. In fact, most professional golfers are doing this and some of them are not even consciously aware of it. Nevertheless, there is some type of golfers that can benefit the most from attempting to practice Tom’s concepts. For instance, golfers have a lot of lateral movements while doing the follow-through. Golfers who are struggling from the horrible two-way miss and from blocks and hooks. As well as those who tend to throw the weight of the club stuck behind them. Also, golfers are swinging their clubs extremely far from the inside when doing the follow-through.
Some golfers reveal that they concentrate on folding their left arm after the impact so that they can swing left based on Tom’s perception. Apparently, it all comes down to feeling an effective release that is very easy to imitate. On Tom’s part, this means to swing left. He must be able to manage his tendency to swing under the plane and extremely far right. In other words, you have to swing through the ball, fold your left arm, and ensure that the shaft of the club is making contact with the back of your left shoulder.