Mike Austin Golf Swing

Mike Austin earned a graduate degree in mechanical engineering and a doctorate in kinesiology and he used that understanding to develop his swing. The Mike Austin swing is unlike the traditional PGA swing teachings in some ways, probably the most evident being how the hips move laterally before turning and the shaft rotates only a small amount on both the backswing and through swing.

The Austin swing seems effortless and simple for the reason that he developed a way to make use of the body’s joints in a way that they were designed to move which is far more natural. He employed the legs and hips as the primary power source as they are the largest and most powerful muscle groups on the body. He also claimed that his swing didn’t trigger back injuries that happen to be so frequent among golfers.

In later life, Austin changed his hand action from the rolling hand-action to one which curls under, a counter-rotation of the forearms, and maintains the blade squarer for a longer time. This is one of his secrets for being able to not only drive amazing distances but additionally to hit the ball with great accuracy.

Creating club head speed

Ultimately a functional golf swing is a system of levers that work together in perfect harmony to create club head speed. The primary levers include the wrist hinge, the arm swing and the rotation of the body. Do a Google search for “Jamie Sadlowsi golf swing.” For those not aware, Jamie has won the world long drive championship each of the past two years. And at 5’10” and 165 pounds, he is not a behemoth. But check out the wrist hinge and the rotational speed. He is literally a blur from the beginning of the downswing to the finish. He consistently flies the golf ball over 380 yards in neutral conditions and with a low spin rate ends up with drives longer than 400 yards.
What you may notice about Jamie’s swing is that there really isn’t a whole lot of weight shift, a long-taught “fundamental” that I think is entirely overrated. When you make a conscious effort to shift your weight to the rear foot and then forward to the target-side leg, there is the danger of too much sliding of the hips and the possibility that the center of gravity gets outside the feet. When that happens rotational speed plummets. Club head speed is all about producing centrifugal force. The faster we can rotate on our axis like a figure skater executing a spin, the further that golf ball is going to fly as long as we are making solid contact. For game improvement lessons you can reach me at john@jmlongdrive.com or by calling me at 404-405-1403.