Originally Posted on the Smash Golf Blog
Take a look at one of the straightest drivers never to have won a major. If you watched golf in the late ’90′s, you’ll remember Colin Montgomerie’s run of 7 consecutive Order of Merit titles on the European PGA, as well as his many close calls in majors.
Colin never won a major, but he probably should have 3 or 4, like Greg Norman should have 5 or 6 instead of 2. Colin almost never missed a fairway, and he was deadly with his long irons.
Part of his great mechanics is the Mike Austin-esque spin tilt to the right on the downswing that Colin’s self-made swing possesses.
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Looking at Colin’s takeaway face-on, he appears to stay too far to his left side almost like a stack-and-tilter, but it’s his hip action and what he does from the top that transform his swing from one of almost hackery to a deadly accurate one.
On the back swing, it’s easy to see that Colin’s upper body appears to reverse-pivot, but look at how his hips are moving to the right Austin-style, and his swing is pivoting around the 7th cervical vertebra.
What Colin then does from the top is lead the down swing with his hips moving back toward the target while his spine tilts to the right, making his body look like a swinging bell as he comes down into impact (does that sound familiar to anyone?).
Notice also how Colin is not squatting into his stance but rather standing very straight-legged and bending from the hip joints in perfect Mike Austin method.
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Colin of course did not have Mike Austin’s exact swing, so he wasn’t the longest hitter in the world, but that spine-tilt move of his was gold.
Because he didn’t try to power down into the swing from a reverse-pivot back swing, he never got into the jammed position that you’ll see power hitters encounter when they’re out of position and trying to kill the ball.
He simply moved his hips to the target and rang the bell, pivoting his upper body beautifully around the 7th cervical on both the back swing and down swing.
His finish position is classic Austin as well, with the hands high and the club head low, the lower back pressing through the belly-button.
