Question 1

What is the TRADITIONAL Golf Swing ?

Accepted Answer

The Traditional (Conventional) golf swing is a method that almost all professional golfers use and amateurs attempt to copy.  It is based on winding or coiling up the back muscles and spine on the back swing to store up energy similar to a wound-up / coiled-up gate spring or a stretched elastic band. At the top of the back swing, the body is put under physical stress; the more it is wound up, the more stress it is under and the more stored up energy is waiting to be released.  Since a human has two legs, a good part of the body weight is shifted over the back leg during this back swing coiling-up process.  On the downswing the traditional golfer attempts to shift the weight to the front leg while unwinding / uncoiling the wound-up back muscles and spine. This combination of unwinding the back and spine, and the weight shift to the front leg acts as the primary power source for the stored up energy to be released. In addition to this primary power source, the traditional golfer also swings the arms around the body by often rolling the forearms over each other (hinging at the elbow joints), which creates a dramatic face angle change through impact as the toe of the club head passes over the heel very quickly. This brute force torquing of the body technique and swinging of the arms creates the power and speed of the club head which hits the ball. Unfortunately, the Traditional golf swing is a very high maintenance way to swing a golf club. It takes lots and lots of practice to get all the timing correct to try to align the face of the club head square to the ball at impact while the body is unwinding and weight shifting.  Also, the torquing of the back muscles and spine is physically hard on the body and often eventually causes back and/or spine health issues. For most recreational golfers it is an extremely frustrating way to swing a golf club because it is so hard to consistently get all the timing correct - especially as they get physically tired as the golf game progresses and it gets worse as they get older and their aged body becomes less flexible.  The TRADITIONAL Golf Swing ends up to be a lifelong uphill battle to try to hit the ball straight consistently.

Question 2

What is the WHEEL POWER Golf Swing ?

Accepted Answer

The WHEEL POWER golf swing is simply a SMARTER and more EFFICIENT way to use the parts of the human body to swing a golf club. It is based upon using the body parts to emulate a simple wheel-turning machine. By keeping the TOP of the spine as a stable swing center pivot point, and shifting only the LOWER spine (hips) in a lever action, it creates a rotational movement at the shoulders - which emulates a rotating center inner hub of a wheel.  The arms (attached to this rotating wheel hub at the shoulders) behave like flexible wheel spokes by alternately folding and unfolding at the elbow joints, which causes the outer RIM of the wheel to rotate even faster than the rotating inner hub. The wrists (one of the fastest moving joints in the human body) act like a well-oiled swivel hinge as they ride along the very fast outer rotating wheel rim. The hands just hold onto the golf club and follow the wrist-hinging action. This triple power source of the (1) inner rotating hub, (2) the even faster rotating outer wheel rim and (3) fluid wrist-hinging action all combine to create a an effortless amount of club head speed without the need for coiling or torquing the back muscles and spine. The back and spine act like a shifting lever instead of a coiling and uncoiling gate spring. Because the TOP of the spine acts like a stable swing center point, the head of the golf club is whipped around the body with both speed and accuracy, providing a much more reliable and consistent bottom of the swing arc. The wrist-hinging action works without the forearms folding over each other dramatically through the impact zone, which allows the face of the club head to stay perpendicular to the swing arc where the club toe and heel travel together for a longer time. This creates a much less dramatic face angle change through impact with the ball, almost eliminating any chance of side spins - which would cause slices or hooks. Shots are almost always perfectly straight. In summary, the rotating wheel powers the head of the golf club to be whipped around the stable top of the spine (the swing center point) - which is why it made visual sense to call it the WHEEL POWER Golf Swing.

Question 3

Who Invented the WHEEL POWER Golf Swing ?

Accepted Answer

This swing concept was first described around 1960 by the late American Mike Austin which he called the Mike Austin Swing Method. Mike Austin was a superb athlete, golfer and an expert in the field of kinesiology (the study of human movement). He came up with a more efficient use of the parts of the human body to swing the head of a golf club around the body. As described by golfers who knew him well unfortunately, Mike Austin, although a brilliant genius, described the swing motions in a very technical and complicated way, and the vast majority of the mainstream golfing world in his time never caught on to his swing method. Using much older golf clubs and golf ball technologies, Mike Austin was still able to average over 300-yard drives even when he was in his late 70's. Over the years, several other golf instructors attempted to explain his swing method, but there were often subtle discrepancies in the descriptions which led to even more confusion of his swing method; so his brilliant golf swing concept never caught on. Except for a very small cult-type following, very few golfers today know who Mike Austin is or of his swing method. I, Norm Rosen  - a Canadian senior recreational golfer who stumbled upon this brilliant method many years ago, tried to come up with an easier way to describe this swing concept so that golfers today could become aware of it. Although I never met Mike Austin personally, I took swing lessons from John Marshall  (a senior long drive champion) who had studied under Mike and currently teaches the Mike Austin swing method.  I then produced some light-hearted, hopefully entertaining videos with simpler and more visual explanations in the hopes that golfers today would catch on to this totally different and more body-friendly golf swing concept.  To be very clear, I, Norm Rosen make no claim nor take any credit for inventing this amazing golf swing concept. After many years of study, practice, analysis and consultation with other golfers who knew and worked with Mike Austin, the videos and swing explanations are my own personal interpretation of the Mike Austin Swing method.   The Wheel was one of the earliest inventions by humans to make physical tasks easier to perform, so I gave this revisited golf swing a nickname: WHEEL POWER Golf Swing to use as an easy-to-remember and more visual reference in understanding the swing concepts described in my own videos.In fact, in a rare old video with the late long driver Mike Dunaway, Mike Austin actually discussed the concept of the turning wheel powering the golf swing.  Parts of that video can be viewed as a BONUS video under the ADVANCED TRAINING video rental series available on this website.

Question 4

Is this WHEEL POWER Golf Swing easier on the body ?

Accepted Answer

As the main power source, the Traditional golf swing used by most golfers today relies on twisting / coiling / torquing of the back / spine to store up energy and then uncoiling to release all that stored-up energy.
 
This coiling the back / spine up like a gate spring and then uncoiling to create power eventually causes stress on the delicate vertebrae of the spine. It is no secret that this causes back and spine issues with many golfers to the extreme that they require back and / or spine surgery. 
 
The Wheel Power golf swing does NOT coil up the back / spine like a gate spring; it shifts the lower spine so that the spine itself acts like a rigid lever to create the main power source.  
 
The lever was also one of the earliest inventions by humans to make physical tasks easier because levers provide a mechanical advantage (they help you create more power with less effort).
 
These different body mechanics used to swing the head of a golf club around the body will require golfers to use new and different body movements.
 
To prevent injuries, each golfer should proceed slowly at their own pace and exercise caution as they learn this new way of using their body to eventually break locked-in muscle memory habits of the traditional golf swing.

Question 5

Is the WHEEL POWER Golf Swing for Everyone ?

Accepted Answer

The #1 challenge that almost every golfer faces is trying to be consistently good.
 
This swing will definitely allow you to hit the ball straighter and longer much more consistently. You are emulating a wheel-turning machine so the head of the club will follow a much more reliable and repeatable swing path.
 
Learning something new takes determination and patience. This concept is very different and not everyone is willing to get out of their comfort zone.
 
You must try to perform it exactly as per the explanations in the videos and make sure you understand the concept and practice it.
 
The reality is that some people are not willing to make the effort to learn something new.
You must be willing to make the effort to get it working correctly and not give up after a few tries.
 
This swing makes full and efficient use of all the major joints in your body. If you have had knee or hip issues or replacements, this swing concept may not be for you.

Question 6

Who will NOT like the WHEEL POWER Golf Swing ?

Accepted Answer

If you go through the videos carefully and truly understand the concepts and perform them correctly, you will start to immediately notice that you can hit the ball much straighter more often. 
 
You will initially hit the ball the same distance as you do today - but with much less effort. Eventually you will hit it longer as you gain more confidence in the concept and just turn the wheel faster.
 
Slices and Hooks will very rarely happen, if at all. You will have much more confidence knowing that the ball is going to go where you are aiming at - or not far from it. You are emulating a wheel-turning machine and your ball direction and flight will be much more reliable and repeatable.
 
You will start to notice several things:
 
  You will not be wasting time looking for balls in trees or bushes.
 
  You will not be losing so many golf balls.
 
  The clubs that you thought needed replacing will seem to work just fine.
 
You will start to realize that you know exactly why you made a bad shot because you will  know exactly the moves you need to do to make a good one. You will start to be able to analyze your swing on your own. You will realize that you will find it easy to become your own swing troubleshooter.
 
Your back pain will go away.
 
So who will NOT like this very efficient golf swing?
 
Golf Ball Manufacturers
because you will be losing a lot fewer balls. Having said that, you can now afford better quality balls because you will be losing a lot fewer balls!
 
Golf Club Manufacturers
because most of your old clubs work just fine now that you know how to swing them properly.
 
Golf Swing Instructors / Training Centers
who teach the traditional golf swing because, once you understand how this simple swing works, you can figure out how to correct your swing on your own and don’t need dozens of lessons, DVDs or dozens of golf swing videos to watch.
 
Golf Practice Ranges
because you will be spending more time playing golf instead of beating buckets of balls to figure out swing problems at the driving range.
 
Chiropractors, Physiotherapists and Back Surgeons
due to much fewer back and spine issues.
 
And the people that will dislike this golf swing the most, will be your Golfing Buddies when you start lowering your scores, beating and outdriving them!

Question 7

Why do you show multiple analogies to explain a concept ?

Accepted Answer

When learning something totally new, some people catch on and understand it right away.
 
Other people struggle grasping a brand new concept.
 
By showing several different examples and analogies with the help of demos, props and graphics, it helps solidify and clarify the concept to those people who might initially be confused.
 
"OK, cool... NOW I understand!"

Question 8

Do you offer Golf Swing Analysis as a service?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Please see our main menu.

Question 9

Do you offer in-person (face-to-face) golf lessons?

Accepted Answer

We do not offer personal face-to-face lessons, however, we will be looking into doing lessons through a platform like zoom in the near future.

WHEEL POWER Golf Swing

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