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Completing The Mike Austin Swing

The Mike Austin swing does not end at impact. Note Mike’s focus on the finish position:
“The right hip catching up with the left hip, the right knee catching up with the left knee. You are in a perpendicular position.”

Mike Austin harped on me to reach the finished position. Otherwise, you aren’t completing the swing and are cutting off the circular momentum which was key to his swing.

When you are out there practicing, hit some shots and take inventory of your finish. You now possess the tools to use the finish to check your overall swing dynamics. You can also use these Mike Austin gems to visualize the finish and then try to reach that critical position. By focusing on the finish your overall swing and ball striking are likely to improve.

“The Kid”

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Check out this teenager from California.

He’s new to long driving and just qualified in Nevada for the National Long Drive Championship with a drive of 436 yards.

http://cdn.abclocal.go.com/static/flash/embeddedPlayer/swf/otvEmLoader.swf?version=&station=kgo&section=&mediaId=7699893&cdnRoot=http://cdn.abclocal.go.com&webRoot=http://abclocal.go.com&configPath=/util/&site=

Note the leg action and the speed generated with the hips ala Mike Austin.

The Power Move : The Sequel

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Viewers have requested more on the power move along with a different angle.

Here goes:

Note the reference to the “speed” that Mike Austin wanted to see out of that right hip.

The Power Move

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Here’s the power move with the lower body.

The Center of the Club Face

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Mike Austin would constantly stress to me that you want to hit the center of the golf ball with the center of the club face.

You could hear the difference and he often commented on the the sound of hits. He did not want a dull thud. He wanted a lively thwack.

In addition, you could see the difference in hits. Often, Mike would grab my club and take a look at the face.

I’ve tried to work hard on my game recently with success. Broke 70 last week and had a great practice session yesterday.

At one point I stopped, thought of Mike’s club face comments and took a gander at the face of my 4 iron.

As Mike would say,

“Now that’s hitting the center of the ball with the center of the club face.”

The impression is the result of the measurements taken at address and the precision hitting stemming from Mike Austin’s action.

While practicing, be cognizant of the sound of impact. And, every so often take a look at your club face.

Mike Austin – The Man

A Mike Austin Imperative: Use of the Right Hand

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The proper use of the right hand is an absolute imperative to the power and accuracy of Mike Austin’s teachings.

Mike even had me hit balls with only my right hand. Look at the way the balls jump off the clubhead.

Give it a try. You will know immediately if you are using the right hand correctly.

BTW, note Mike Austin’s reminder not to use a closed stance (a/k/a “blocked position”).

Long Driving With Mike Austin

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Many have asked to see the driver swing. So, here goes:

The driver swing motion is the same as the irons.

Note the ball acceleration and the straight path of the ball flight.

Mike Austin provided me with these results in my second (!) lesson with him. Best of all, there’s no pain and strain.

“That’s killing it!” And, so can you.

Remember, it’s supple quickness.

MisInformed About The Mike Austin Stance

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Wow! I have received a lot of emails concerning Mike Austin’s stance. Apparently, there’s been much internet banter asserting that Mike Austin advocated a closed stance.

Sorry, but this is simply not accurate. From what I can discern the advocates of a closed stance are doing so in order to address additional wrong moves such as coming over the top. Unfortunately, building on an incorrect foundation is only going to impede your progress.

Let’s roll the tape. Mike Austin’s instruction to me quite clearly discredits the assertion that he advocated a closed stance:

This is an important point as it builds on Mike Austin’s swing principles.

Remember, the ankles, knees and hips are the engine of the Mike Austin swing. A closed (aka blocked) stance will impede the hips and reduce your power!

Moreover, Mike Austin was adamant that you had to build the proper foundation (which includes the stance) before you put the roof on your swing.

“Under Pressure” with Mike Austin

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Here’s me hitting some shots at the surprise request of Mike Austin and other students.

Mind you, I had not swung a club yet all day as I had been observing Mike giving lessons to several students. Just a wee bit of pressure:

"Under Pressure" with Mike Austin

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Here’s me hitting some shots at the surprise request of Mike Austin and other students.

Mind you, I had not swung a club yet all day as I had been observing Mike giving lessons to several students. Just a wee bit of pressure:

Mike Austin – the Golfing Bandit – Getting Impetus to the Clubhead

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I wanted to share one of my golf treasures with fellow Mike Austin fans – some very rare footage.

Here is Mike Austin, aka, the golfing bandit, at age 90 hitting balls “on a string” one-handed for me during a lesson. At the time, Mike had an 80% loss of locomotion in his right arm and right leg due to a stroke. Fortunately, he had incorporated his improved swing tenets. Sadly however, most of his later lessons were restricted to his home.

Can you believe the power and accuracy generated with one hand, with virtually no pivot? It’s effortless power. Little wonder why Mike Austin’s long drive competitors commented that it looked like was “just playing with it”.

You can benefit from watching that action, over and over again. It’s an invaluable lesson in itself. There’s no cranking of the body. There’s no forced effort. That’s the beauty of the Mike Austin swing. It can benefit the athletic person and the not-so-athletic person, the strong and the not-so-strong, the young, and the not-so-young.

But don’t stop at just watching the clip. See if you can duplicate that action – with your left hand and then your right hand. Mike had me hit many balls one-handed. The resultant shots will tell you if you are properly using the hands.

As you can see, the name of the game is not brute force. The name of the game, as Mike clearly states, is getting impetus to the clubhead. He did that via a proper pivot and proper use of the hands so as to not impede the swinging clubhead.

Enjoy!