I decided to write about Ernie Els today because I have something really good to say and compliment him and because it is relevant to the PPGS that I teach. The trigger for writing this was Dr. Chris, my chiropractor and a long time student of mine. He mentioned after my adjustment this morning that he watched Ernie this weekend in The Bridgestone World Championship at Firestone CC and his swing looked different. He said it looked smoother and really looked like he was making the PPGS.
I caught a little of the World Championship at Firestone on TV and during my short time watching they showed a down the line swing analysis of Ernie Els. We all know that Ernie has one of the smoothest, graceful and flowing swings on the PGA Tour — and the world for that matter — and that it has earned him the nickname 'The Big Easy.' And Ernie, besides easy, is definitely BIG. He can easily cast a shadow on a 6 foot man and he can keep me in the shade all day.
I have seen Ernie up close many times on the practice tee and even on the course when out on the PGA Tour working with D.J. I can assure you his swing is smooth and he is fact is 'The Big Easy.' What perhaps is most amazing and remarkable about him and that really stands out in my mind is how good his short game is. He has the touch of a surgeon around the green with his chipping, pitching, bunker shots and of course putting. Winning two US Opens is a testament to that.
Now back to the reason for this article about his swing. I have always noticed, in his smooth and flowing swing, a hitch at the top of his backswing since the first time I saw him. I see hitches and glitches in swings that many others don't because that is the first thing I look for when analyzing and diagnosing a swing. My philosophy is that the swing should flow from start to finish. Any herk, Jerk, twitch and hitch means there is a break in the flow, 'an angle change,' and thus is a problem and the effect of what is causing it. Once I see the first break in flow, which tells me there is a breakdown, then I go into search and seek mode to find what the 'CAUSE' is. That is what I fix. The golf swing, like everything in the world, is the result of 'cause and effect.' Most golf instruction today fixes the problem and not the cause. That is why golfers don't improve.
My diagnosis of Ernie's hitch at the top of his backswing is due to turning his shoulders and upper torso too much. He smoothly turns to his max (his normal length of the stretching of his muscles without stress and strain) in beautiful flow, but it hitches and breaks down when he forces more turn. The longer the club, the bigger and more noticeable the hitch because of more effort put into turning even more for the longer club to generate more power. I would say his extra turn after reaching his smooth and flowing maximum normal stretch of his muscles is likely a cause contributing of his well known back problems.
I decided to write about Ernie after Doc's observation, because I saw the same thing in that Ernie's swing was flowing from start to finish. The hitch at the top was gone. Now that it was gone, my diagnosis mode was triggered to see why it went bye bye.
I only saw one or two swings from face on and down the line. What jumped out at me from the face on was that his backswing turn looked more like a max of 90 degrees or even less. His left arm looked parallel left of his aiming line and thus over his toe line. Then, when I saw the down the line view, his left arm, without a doubt, looked like it was right over his toe line and then went up the tree. Heck, his club looked quite vertica,l at least 11:00 o'clock or more at the top of his ¾ length backswing.
I can assure you I have not worked with Ernie to reduce his turn and get more vertical as it looks like he has. But I have seen what appears to be a swing change in Ernie. From my standpoint of the PPGS being a limited turn ¾ length vertical backswing, he is right on target and I like what I see in his swing.
So, to Ernie, I extend my congratulations for a swing change well done. And, as a prediction, I am sure we will be seeing some real good playing and scoring from the 'New Ernie Els' and maybe see him hoisting a trophy soon. And maybe we'll be seeing him play more as his back will be feeling a lot better.
The Surge!