YOUR BACKSWING

The three men pictured above are professional golfers Dustin Johnson, Jim Fuyrik and Shane Lowry. And it looks like two of them are about to have very sore right ankles. Actually, the pictures were taken individually a couple weeks ago at the Bridgestone Invitational; at the top of each golfer's backswing. The three were then set side by side for comparison.

Near perfect, overly vertical, and across the line. At least that is my analysis (from left to right).

"So what? So let's dance!

By the way, if you loathe golf, stick with me, I think there is application. And if you are a subtle-dressing Al Czervik wanna be, well, I had you at golf.

The golf swing is one of the most analyzed movements in all of sports. From address position to posture. From takeaway to follow through. Watch any golf tournament and you will see slow-mo and super slow-mo with telestrated lines drawn indicating plane and path and target line, ad nauseum.

What struck me when I saw the picture (the three guys, not Caddyshack) had little to do with golf, however. How is it that three guys can look so different half-way through the golf swing - at the top - and yet get such incredible and consistent results when club reaches ball? After all, one is thought to be the most talented young golfer having not yet won a major, one is a U.S. Open winner, and the third won the tournament at which the pictures were taken.

Golf swing gurus preach perfect positioning throughout the golf swing. However, many great golfers have some funk to their swing. Some idiosyncrasies are the result of physical limitations, some are ingrained from youth. But the bottom line is this: if you are making a living playing on the PGA Tour, something is working for you.

Golf is an amazingly frustrating thing. The ball just sits there... and laughs at you! Unlike baseball, it is not moving at 95 mph; unlike football, large men are not trying to rip it away; and unlike soccer, you get to use your hands - at least on the club.

So here's the thing: the ball just sits there waiting for you to do something to it. The ball doesn't know what color plaid your pants are, or how expensive your clubs. It sits and waits. The ball doesn't care what you look like at address... how you take the club away... or your position at the top. All the ball cares about is impact; those .0004 seconds that club and ball meet.

That's a peach, hon!

Four factors come into play at impact: 1) Club face orientation; 2) Club head direction; 3) Club head speed; and 4) Point of contact 

If you'll allow me to preach for a moment (and the life analogies begin):

• Orientation: Are you square to your target? It's your target, you picked it. Are you squared-up properly? If not, what will it take?
• Direction: Is your life swing path in the direction you want? Corrections can be made in the downswing, it's difficult, but go ahead and make them. Then through work and repetition, create the proper swing path.  
• Speed: Let's call this one MOMENTUM. Are you accelerating or decelerating? Never, never decelerate (even on short putts)!
• Contact: It should be crisp and clean, and on purpose. This is where the impact takes place. You have .0004 seconds to send the golf ball where you intend. How much time do you have with your child? Your spouse? Your friends, family, co-workers...? You get the point. 

Last thing about the demon white ball (You use yellow or orange, and call yourself a golfer? C'mon!). The ball doesn't care what kind of day you've had prior to this shot. It doesn't remember your last shot, whether it be a 300 yard drive or a complete shank. The ball waits... for impact.

The golf/life analogies are endless. (Just watch Caddyshack and The Legend of Bagger Vance. You'll pretty much have it summed up. Well, throw in The Greatest Game Ever Played and Tin Cup).

If you'll allow me to sum up with a self-directed sermonette:

• It doesn't matter if you have funk in your swing... SWING!
• It doesn't matter what you look like at the top or how you got where you are. I guess it does in the sense that your story is important. Your pain. Your joys. Your defeats. Your victories. They all have meaning and are meaningful in the way they have shaped you. But they are your backswing... SWING!
• Be the ball (I had to).
• It's just you, the ball and the target... GRIP IT AND RIP IT... SWING!

For now...

D