When I am ready to release the HD Video, everyone with the MCS 2.0 will receive a news update from E-Junkie, at the email address you used to make your 2.0 Download Purchase, requesting you to send an email request to me for the download code, again from the same purchase email, as proof of your original purchase.  It’ll be as simple as that.

For anyone else who has an interest in the spring MCS HD Video release, I would strongly advise you to get a head start as the season approaches, and get the 2.0 download now while it’s still available.  You will have two advantages in doing so: First, you’ll have a couple of months to work on your swing using the 2.0 video, and you’ll be essentially getting the HD Video for the lower price of the 2.0 Video.

I did mention last month that the HD Video will have added material that I’ve been working on since I completed 2.0, and I have since then, in addition to helping you with your emailed questions, had a couple of opportunities to teach the MCS in person, and those lessons were invaluable in determining where comprehension of the swing is still causing people difficulty.

So, as well received as the 2.0 has been, the higher video and audio quality and additional material in the HD Video will make it that much better, and the cost will be at least $49.00 CDN.  Depending on how much better I feel it is when completed, that figure may go up.

And that’s about it.  The MCS 2.0 Video will be available for download for another couple of weeks, after which I will stop offering it while I prepare for the HD release in the spring.  Now’s the chance to get the future video at a steep discount.

It’s going to be an exciting year, I can’t wait for the next month to go by!

Smiley and Austin were friends for over 20 years before Mike passed away, and he had a captive audience in Phil when they got together for a round of golf, a day that Phil recounts in his Hiking & Golfing blog.

I thought that the story about how Smiley and Mike met is an amusing one, and I’ll post a brief excerpt from Phil’s blog on that subject:

When Smiley was about 40 he went to play in a skins game in the Los Angeles area with a bunch of the other pros. He was disappointed to be put in a four-some with a 70-year-old guy he’d never met before.

They all teed off and Smiley didn’t see the “old guy” hit the ball. But they began heading out to their balls which sailed over a rise so they couldn’t see exactly where they wound up.

Smiley saw the farthest ball and thought, “I really got a hold of that one.” He started to head to the farthest ball but Mike came along side, pointed to the second-farthest ball, about 40 yards back, and said, “That’s your ball, sonny.”

You can read the entire post about Phil’s day with Smiley at the blog.

Seems that everyone who knew MA has a story to tell about just how effortlessly and powerfully he could hit that ball.

I consider myself fortunate to have come into contact with so many people who knew Austin personally, if only to get these stories passed on to Mike Austin fans, as I never got to meet him.

There is a small circle of Mike Austin’s friends and family in the L.A. area, and I am itching to get out there and meet them all personally and have some fun whacking balls and talking about the Austin swing method.

Hopefully one day soon…

Below is a clip of some Mike Austin material, namely his “GIMI” video.  At the 2:00 mark, you’ll see a 77 year old Mike Austin hitting balls in his skeleton suit.  For a guy that age, he could still crack that ball.

Adam Scott

As a modern swing, it’s a beautiful action, like Charl Schwartzel’s, but also one which is not feasible for most people without the flexibility of warm chewing gum to try to emulate.  It’s easy to swing in the manner of Adam and Charl if one is so blessed, and has unlimited practice time, but the majority of people will never achieve the positions in Adam’s swing.

For one, because they don’t play practice, work out and work on their flexibility and swings for a living, and two, because of the aforementioned limitations on their own natural flexibility.

Adam Scott Driver – Down the Line

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Watching his swing down the line, you can see how manipulated Adam’s action is with the upper body, arms and hands.  You will be told that Adam’s takeaway is great, and it is, but it’s also one that took years of practice and still takes hours of work to maintain without flaws creeping in.

Simply put, you can practically hear the dozen swing thoughts in Adam’s head as he takes the club back, and also on the way down.

What I can say that I like about Adam’s swing is that his address position (aside from the squatting in the knees rather than the bend at the hips) is fairly sound.

He has his ball positioned in line with his left heel, has a fairly neutral hand position on his grip, and there is even a slight right-tilt to his spine and a little tilt to the left with his hips.

If his feet were opened naturally inside of squared (which is necessary to avoid stress on the left ankle, knee and hip on the planted modern back swing), this would look like a very MCS address setup from the face angle.

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I won’t belabor the issue of the modern swing, as I’ve already said about Charl’s swing and positions that I would say about Adam’s.

It takes great flexibility to achieve the “at the top” position with the rubber-band stretch of the upper body against the resisting lower body.

Not to mention, not many people can get their left hip to rotate to the extent that Adam’s does in his finish.

Even then, Adam doesn’t have enough flexibility in his lower body to prevent the twisting of the left ankle as it absorbs the turning force of his body against the squared angle.

Again, a pretty-looking swing, if you like the modern swing, but not one that could be easily taught or copied by the average golfer.

You can see where Jimmy got his amazing club head speed through the ball where I’ve slowed his down swing at the end of the clip- he had a vicious “left foot stomp” that basically whipped his left side into the swing, creating amazing leverage with the left arm and causing that driver to scream through the ball.

Take a look at this swing…

Jimmy Thomson Smashes the Driver

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You’ll see as well from this angle how Jimmy’s setup is a near carbon copy of the Austin/MCS setup;

• Ball off the left heel,
• Tilted shoulders and spine,
• Kicked in right leg to facilitate the proper grip and
• Open-angled feet

This positioning of course is classic Fundamentals Trifecta material, and you see the great back swing action of his pivot, posting to the right leg and turning around the 7th cervical, and the loaded scapula to take it to the top – I can’t believe his book “Hit’Em a Mile!” wasn’t a best-seller and that hundreds, thousands of golfers weren’t trying to emulate this action.

Jimmy Thomson could hit it a mile and he had 4 top ten finishes in the Masters, U.S. Open and PGA Championship to go along with some significant victories in his golfing career.  The man could play.  Sure, he wasn’t a Hall of Fame player, but with a swing like that, I don’t know how he has remained in near-virtual obscurity.

It’s a vintage (and by vintage, we’re talking published in 1940) magazine-type book (kind of the size of a Rolling Stone magazine) called “Hit’Em a Mile!” on the long-driving Jimmy Thomson, with tons of photos and sequences taken from the four major angles (front, back, up the line, down the line).

I had never heard of Jimmy Thomson before my friend told me about the book, but this guy was apparently well known in golf circles and not only a good golfer (he won or placed second in a number of tournaments) but a prolific long driver (Byron Nelson named 10 Master Golfers by the club they used, and he chose Jimmy Thomson for the Driver).

J.T. was a Scottish-born (1908) golfer who won the North American driving championship in 1936. Get this, he averaged 324 yards on ten drives and his longest drive was 386 yards!

He actually took 2nd place at the 1935 U.S. Open at Oakmont, placing ahead of such luminaries as Byron Nelson, Walter Hagen,  Gene Sarazen and Harry “Lighthouse” Cooper.  What’s just as amazing was that he twice reached the 610 yard 12th in two, with a spoon (3-4 wood) for his second shot.  This is in the days of persimmon woods and balata balls.

Thomson had Top-10 finishes in 3 of the 4 majors in his career, with a 2nd in the ’36 PGA and a 6th place finish at the ’37 Masters, and a T-8 in ’38.

I have couple of pics from the book that I’m going to show below, and the resemblance to the MCS swing is uncanny only if you forget that most of the golfers of the old days had much more mechanically-sound swings than the players today.  It’s just a fact that golf techniques have become less and less sound, in contrast to all other sports where technique advances rather than regresses.

Look at Jimmy’s Address Position here.  That’s a virtual carbon-copy face-on of the MCS Fundamentals Trifecta.

Jimmy had his ball positioned just a little more off the left heel than I advocate, but otherwise, there’s no difference.

You have the angled foot positions, the forward ball placement, the tilted shoulders and the right-tilting spine at address.

Also note the neutral grip and the hips tilted to the left, with the right leg “kicked in.”  That’s some pretty good stuff there.

At the top, there’s not much more that can be said other than, how Austin/MCS is that top position?

You’ve got the turn around the spine, the left knee following the left shoulder, and the floating left heel.

He also said that the left arm is extended but not rigid, which kind of goes with what I have said about my own left arm not being ramrod straight, just extended.

In the book, Thomson talks about the back swing starting with the body turn and not the arms.  He obviously was a “full body turn” guy, not a rubber band separation guy.  That technique didn’t exist until just a few years ago.

At impact, there are several MCS principles that match with Jimmy Thomson’s swing as well.

The left hip has shifted toward the target with a nice tilt, plus you have the increased spine tilt to the right and the head moving down and to the right.

There are so many cool pictures in this book, and what astounds me is that this gentleman was not only a great player but could absolutely hammer the ball. Yet, he was never widely emulated.  Bizarre.

It was said actually that he would have won more tournaments if he hadn’t been such a long driver because the shorter clubs (like the niblick) in those days were not as accurate in terms of controlling direction as the mid-irons.   He was driving it way past everyone, but they were hitting their approaches closer to the pins by virtue of having mid-irons to his niblick in hand.  Of course, if golfers back then had been as obsessive with numbers as they now, he’d likely have realized what was happening at the time.

Anyways, thanks to my friend for loaning me this awesome piece of golf history.  I promise to return it to you, safe and sound, when I’ve had my fill of reading it.

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(Update: Thanks to everyone who has purchased the download!)

The MCS 2.0 Video is now available for downloading.  The 2.0 expands on the Mechanically-Correct Swing concepts explained in the orginal Smash Golf MCS Video, with updated drills and exercises to help both those new to as well as those familiar with the Mike Austin/MCS method.

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$34.95 CDN

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Video Specs:

Length: 01:00:09

File Size: Approx. 464 Mb

Frame Width: 640

Frame Height: 480

Bit Rate: 1000 kbps

Frame Rate: 30 frames per second

Due to file compression for downloading, this video is classified VHS quality and not HD.

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Upon purchase, you will receive a download link via email.

**By law, Canadian residents are subject to GST, and Ontario residents are subject to HST sales taxes not included in the price.

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Complete Sale

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The MCS 2.0 Video

Aside from the Fundamentals Trifecta, the areas where I’m focused on intensive explanation is the actual swing itself, most importantly;

• The Compound Pivot,

• Weight Shift,

• Hip Tilt vs Turn,

• Left Side Leverage,

• The Leading Foot “Stomp” Concept,

• The Throw Release and last but not least,

• The Trebuchet Drop/Spine Tilt.

All of the above concepts will involve explanation, demonstration and exercises/drills to ingrain the various moves and combine them all into a smooth, powerful and accurate MCS Golf Swing. These drills will involve using nothing more complicated than a couple of golf shafts or similar devices, tape or cord and a golf ball and club or swing stick. Stuff you can have handy!

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Both clips are of a 5 iron swing in real-time and slo-mo, and you can see clearly who I was studying for my models of swing research – Moe Norman and Ben Hogan.

Because Moe was known as arguably the most accurate ball-striker ever known (I don’t think even Hogan could have used a pedestrian bridge as a landing spot for his driver in order to get across a creek, as Moe had done in the presence of Arnold Palmer one Canadian Open), and because Ben Hogan was held up as the model of the perfect ball striker of the PGA old school, I had chosen those two.

Incredibly, I had never even heard of Mike Austin at this time, just over 4 years ago.  But you can see that, regardless, certain principles of leverage were still to be found in my down swing.

Also, you’ll see the pre-cursor of my Athletic Motion Grip in both clips – here, I was using the first part of the grip sequence, two-handed racket style (again, Moe Norman’s influence).

Clip One – 5 Iron 2007

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In the second clip, taken a couple of weeks later, I had widened my stance even more to try to counteract the rolling left ankle and to facilitate a purer turn around the spine on the back swing.  All of these problems were related to my swinging with the planted-foot style to which I had become accustomed watching Moe Norman’s swings on video.

Clip Two – 5 Iron 2007

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Notice that even with the shortened back swing, there was still lots of leverage, and I was hitting my 5-iron over 200 yards with both swings.

That impact position is Ben Hogan, all of the way…

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This 5-iron, incidentally, was my Tommy Armour 745 Silver Scott set, with the 3/4″ extra length Dynamic Gold X100 shafts.  Also, I had lead tape on the backs of my irons, so they were longer, stiffer and heavier than normal, and I could pummel the ball with what I would view now as a truncated back swing (due to the planted front foot).

If someone came to me and insisted on my teaching them a modern golf swing that wouldn’t hurt them, I would teach them something that resembles the second clip, with a couple of adjustments.  Obviously, the grip would change to a regular overlap or interlock style, and I would insist on a mechanically-sound follow-through, which would mean at least a slight short-stop slide to reduce stress on the front leg, hip and the back.

The primary problem with this type of swing is that power and length rule on today’s courses, and unless you’re 6’1″ and 190-200 lbs as I was in these clips (oh, for the days that I weighed only 200 lbs!!), you’d be at a disadvantage against the bigger hitters.  But, I was hitting the ball dead straight with this swing, so perhaps things would even out for someone not obsessed with power.

I hadn’t brought them to our first session because a) I’d never been to that facility before and didn’t know if I’d like the hitting stations, b) I hadn’t swung a club in over 3 months, since late October and c) more importantly, I wanted the first session to be all about T with no distractions from my end.

So I brought along a set of irons (MacGregor V-Foil forged blades) and some drivers that I have acquired over the winter, and I hit a few 8-irons while T was warming up.

When I switched to the drivers (I had a 9 degree and a 9.5, as I wasn’t going to hit the R7 with the extra weights in them until I get back into swinging shape), I already had the Swing Speed Radar out of the bag for use with Tony, so I turned it on.

As I said, it’s been about 3.5 months since I actually hit a ball, as I was busy until early last month working on the 2.0 Video after the season ended.  Plus, I’m not a big fan hitting balls indoors anymore, as without the ball flight to indicate any flaws, it’s too easy for them to creep into the swing and then you’re worse off when you get back outdoors than if you hadn’t hit balls at all.

I wish that golf facility in Oakville was a little closer to where I live, I’d probably be there a couple of times per week…

Anyways, with that amount of time off and in -1 C weather (heated stations or not, it’s still bloody cold for hitting balls), I wasn’t about to lean on any drives and possibly injure myself, so I intended to just hit a few and try to get a good feel for the drivers I had brought.

So, after warning T not to expect anything spectacular, I hit an easy driver and my first swing clicked in, believe it or not, at 121 mph.  I hit between 6 & 10 balls waiting for T to be ready for our session, and I aimed for the berm that lay at the end of the range at about 300 yards.

I actually registered 123-125 mph on all of those swings and the last couple of balls flew the berm (no worries, there’s a tall net beyond the berm), which meant I was still able to fly the ball, swinging easy, over 300 yards with near-frozen range balls with an air temperature of below freezing.   After over 3 months off from hitting balls!

Bearing in mind that at my peak last summer, when I was hitting balls around 3x per week and in very warm conditions, I was able to get up to 131 mph on the SSR, I believe that I’ll be in the neighborhood of 135+ mph on my harder swings in the coming season, no problem.

What sparked the increase in club speed while not ever hitting a ball since late October?

MCS 2.0, friends.  Working on the video actually improved and honed my own swing without having to hit a ball, so that when I stood over those drives last Wednesday, my cruising swings were still in the 125 mph range.

I was still launching the ball too high for my taste, with a good deal of back spin, but when I break out the 8.5 degree R7 with the extra 24g of weight, and set for low-trajectory shots, I really think I’m going to get some great results.  I just hope the X-Flex Fujikura Tour shaft on it can handle the extra weight at that speed.

Less than two months before golf season!!

P.S. – the MacGregor V-Foil irons that I have are 1″ over-length, and I absolutely loved hitting them.  I could hit them further than my standard length Ben Hogan Apex’s, but when I hit them with full swings, the shafts got a little whippy, and the balls went high and right.  Still, swinging easier, I hit them as far as my standard swing with the Hogans.  For playing purposes, that’s bonus, until I upgrade to extra stiff shafts.

First thing, I had brought my Swing Speed Radar device to this session, and we were using it to gauge Tony’s 6-iron speed as he hit easy-mid effort shots, again while we continued on the back swing theory work.

I introduced the terminology of “loading the scapula” this time around, rather than “lift to the top,” and boom! Tony visualized instantly what it was he needed to do.  Right there, his back swing improved past where he’d had it last week.

Without even working on the down swing, as with last week, I got Tony in a great back swing pivot and his power and speed again increased.

Here’s a picture I took of his 6-iron in the parking lot before we took off – he was hitting the sweet spot on nearly every shot.

By the end of the session, T was getting 90 mph club speed with his 6 iron, and then the really fun stuff started.

Near the end of the session, T grabbed his driver and began hitting drives.  Now, he had told me before we started today that he could only get up to around 100 mph on the SSR with his driver.

Tony P – Hitting 6-Iron

In the video, you’ll notice how much more connected Tony is with his back swing, where before his hips were moving before his arms. Now, it’s close to a seamless connection with the whole body pivoting, which gives him a more leveraged position at the top, and thus more power and speed without even swinging harder.  Much more zip at impact because of that connection we worked on.

So the SSR was just sitting there forgotten but still on, when Tony began to get excited – he was hitting the ball out to the parts of the range he’d never reached before.  “That’s longer than I’ve ever hit it out there,” he said.  And he wasn’t even swinging at 100%.

I happened to remember the SSR after another couple of great drives, and I took a peek.

“Hey man,” I said, “I thought you said you could only get 100 on this thing.”  I said that because the SSR was reading 108!

“Wow!” Tony was saying. He couldn’t believe it.  Next drive – 110 mph.  Another drive – 109 mph.  In just two sessions, working on hitting easy and smooth shots with his mid-irons, he’s gained 10 mph at the minimum and was bombing it 25-30 yards past his longest drives before today.  Without swinging as hard as he could…

Look at T’s Fundamentals Trifecta positions here.  Can’t get much better than that.  And this was taken just before he made an actual swing.

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I have to say, hitting balls is great fun, playing golf is fun as well, but I’ve never had as much satisfaction out of golf as I’m getting right now with personal instruction – seeing the wonder on someone’s face when they realize just how powerful a swing they can have, and hearing it in their voice, is a pleasure I can’t describe.

The work continues…

As I said myself in the comments section, the challenge in conveying something is at times knowing what people already know vs taking for granted what people have to know but don’t.

This latest issue pertains to “loading the scapula,” to use Brandon’s terminology, in the later part of the back swing.  The issue came up when I made reference to this action in my own back swing for the first time, which was a revelation to some not so familiar with the Mike Austin theory of swing.

Reverse Angle – The Right Scapula Loading At the Top

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I have referred to this action in both the original MCS and the 2.0 Videos, however I was using the term “lifting to the top” with the right hand or arm for right-handers.  So, let’s explore this a little further…

“Loading the scapula” means contracting the muscles in the back of the shoulder that control the movement of the scapula or shoulder blade (scapular muscles or trapezoid) so that the shoulder blades slides toward the spine.  If you hold your arms in front of you horizontally or even bend upwards at the elbows, and press your elbows back as far as you can (reverse butterfly), you are loading your scapula(s).

If you do it with the right arm only, that’s loading the right scapula.  And this is what I refer to in the later part of the back swing when I talk about “lifting” to the top with the right hand.

Here’s an online article I found on scapular motion.

This is another reason to make sure of your proper Fundamentals Trifecta component three (Address Stance), because the proper stance, with the bending from the hips, with the legs not in the squatting position, as well as the right spine tilt (for right-handers) – all of these facilitate the scapula loading when maintaining the pure pivot of the shoulders around the 7th cervical vertebra (the base of the neck) during the back swing.