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Who Was Mike Austin?

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I have been researching the golf swing since June 2005, and in all of that time, the longest and straightest I’ve been able to drive a ball or hit an iron has been with swings modelled after Mike Austin.

I have studied everyone from Moe Norman to Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and Sam Snead from the old days, and Vijay Singh, Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson and Rory McIlroy from the modern age, and no technique I have seen comes close to the power and accuracy that one can develop by basing a swing model on Mike Austin’s principles.

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Mike Austin’s Swing

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Mike Austin hit a drive of 515 yards at the age of 64 in 1974 at a senior PGA tournament, a feat recognized in the Guinness World Book of Records.

The following paragraphs are from his Wikipedia Bio page:

For years Austin was well known by professional golfers for his length off the tee. But it was one drive in 1974 that secured his name in history. While playing in the U.S. National Seniors Tournament, at the Winterwood Golf Course (now the Desert Rose) Austin was put in a foursome with PGA Champion Chandler Harper. After hitting several 400-yard drives, Chandler said, “Mike, let’s see you really let one go.” Austin drove the ball on 450-yard par 4. It carried to the edge of the green, bounced over and rolled past the pin and off the back edge. In a 2003 interview, Chandler said he found a ball on the next tee box and called to Austin, “This is impossible, but there is a ball over here.” They identified the ball as Austin’s and stepped off the distance back to the center of the green. The drive was 515 yards. As of 2006, the record still stands for the longest drive in a golf tournament.

Several factors make this record feat especially amazing, although there was a tailwind estimated at 27-35 mph. The drive was done on level ground, using a persimmon wood driver with 10 degrees of loft and a 43.5″ extra-stiff steel shaft, the ball was a soft balata and Mike Austin was 64 years old. The improved technology of today should achieve far greater distances in the same conditions.

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Discussion of Mike Austin’s 500 Yard Drive

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More Video of Mike Austin

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