Sam Sneads swing was an intentional pull swing. Coming over the top will cause many other factors that Sam Snead doesn't do (smothering, topping, slicing)
Snead was not OTT. He has a closed stance but look at his shoulder alignment, looks pretty damn close to to his swing path if you asked me. Stop the frame right before impact, his hips have cleared open to his path, his shoulders are more square to the path, and the club is approaching from the inside. Snead's closed stance was simply idiosyncratic of his preferred set-up. He was not over the top and he did not pull the ball.
Snead was over the top and hit mostly pull draws because of the closed stance. The key that most people don't understand is that OTT is only a problem if the back arm is thrown out toward the ball, as in your average slicing hacker. If the back arm stays close to the body and the body turns, the OTT isn't an issue. Also, note how beautifully he retains his spine angle. That's what you should all be trying to emulate.
however, by foot alignment, he definitely comes over the top. he wa a drawer of the ball no doubt, but he was also a PULL drawer of the ball, somewhat like kenny perry. by no means a bad thing, but likewise, trevino was not just a fader of the ball, but a PUSH fader. more importantly, the closed stance, i think, allows snead to pull his hip left as hard as he wants w/out coming over the top.
Yeah, Perry is a really good example of the same kind of move. Not as sweet-rhythmic--I really have to look away when he starts that hitchy-looking backswing--but with regard to lining up right and hitting a consistent slight pull-draw on every shot, yup.
Yes, it's the shoulder alignment that counts most, no question about it. As for the closed stance, Hogan played it as well, for "better traction." Tommy Armour also spoke about why a closed stance will benefit most golfers, and why doing otherwise could create more problems than he dared to speak about.
Well, no. It certainly _was_ over the top, relative to his body lines, which is the real meaning of "over the top." When you line up closed like this and then end up with a downswing close to the target line, you're over the top--even if the shot is on target, as it usually was with Snead.
On the other hand, he wasn't as OTT as his stance line indicates; you'll notice the rest of his body lines aren't quite as closed as his toe line.
And by the way, before anybody gets all bent out of shape, Snead is one of my absolute favorite players, and I'm not disrespecting the guy. I look at his 84(?) official wins as being an insurmountable record, in truth, since no matter how many Tiger wins he won't be doing it against three generations of great players like Smith, Nelson, Mangrum, Hogan, Demaret, Middlecoff, Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, Casper, et al. Not Tiger's fault, but still.
hogan also played long shots with a closed stance, he advised it in his book. and why is it a joke if someone comes over the top? i mean what ever works, craig parry does it everytime and hes got a wins around the world
Sam Sneads swing was an intentional pull swing. Coming over the top will cause many other factors that Sam Snead doesn't do (smothering, topping, slicing)
cpacis 1 year ago
Snead was not OTT. He has a closed stance but look at his shoulder alignment, looks pretty damn close to to his swing path if you asked me. Stop the frame right before impact, his hips have cleared open to his path, his shoulders are more square to the path, and the club is approaching from the inside. Snead's closed stance was simply idiosyncratic of his preferred set-up. He was not over the top and he did not pull the ball.
MrLuigiFercotti 1 year ago
Snead was over the top and hit mostly pull draws because of the closed stance. The key that most people don't understand is that OTT is only a problem if the back arm is thrown out toward the ball, as in your average slicing hacker. If the back arm stays close to the body and the body turns, the OTT isn't an issue. Also, note how beautifully he retains his spine angle. That's what you should all be trying to emulate.
handsome175 3 years ago
however, by foot alignment, he definitely comes over the top. he wa a drawer of the ball no doubt, but he was also a PULL drawer of the ball, somewhat like kenny perry. by no means a bad thing, but likewise, trevino was not just a fader of the ball, but a PUSH fader. more importantly, the closed stance, i think, allows snead to pull his hip left as hard as he wants w/out coming over the top.
yoonietang 3 years ago
Yeah, Perry is a really good example of the same kind of move. Not as sweet-rhythmic--I really have to look away when he starts that hitchy-looking backswing--but with regard to lining up right and hitting a consistent slight pull-draw on every shot, yup.
emncaity 3 years ago
Over the top, over the shmop , who cares!
Jazzedsince3 3 years ago
Yes, it's the shoulder alignment that counts most, no question about it. As for the closed stance, Hogan played it as well, for "better traction." Tommy Armour also spoke about why a closed stance will benefit most golfers, and why doing otherwise could create more problems than he dared to speak about.
vjb007 3 years ago
Amen to that. It's a true swinging motion. Younger players could do with a lot more "true swing" and a lot less of the 459 correct "positions."
emncaity 3 years ago
"Almost looked a little over, but wasn't..."
Well, no. It certainly _was_ over the top, relative to his body lines, which is the real meaning of "over the top." When you line up closed like this and then end up with a downswing close to the target line, you're over the top--even if the shot is on target, as it usually was with Snead.
On the other hand, he wasn't as OTT as his stance line indicates; you'll notice the rest of his body lines aren't quite as closed as his toe line.
emncaity 3 years ago
And by the way, before anybody gets all bent out of shape, Snead is one of my absolute favorite players, and I'm not disrespecting the guy. I look at his 84(?) official wins as being an insurmountable record, in truth, since no matter how many Tiger wins he won't be doing it against three generations of great players like Smith, Nelson, Mangrum, Hogan, Demaret, Middlecoff, Palmer, Player, Nicklaus, Casper, et al. Not Tiger's fault, but still.
emncaity 3 years ago
hogan also played long shots with a closed stance, he advised it in his book. and why is it a joke if someone comes over the top? i mean what ever works, craig parry does it everytime and hes got a wins around the world
eddiehamer14 3 years ago
"almost it looked like over, but it wasn't"
So he wasn't over the top. Which he wasn't. No joke involved.
Noallegiance18 3 years ago