Do You Have The Ideal Golf Swing?

Beginning and experienced golfers alike typically have an image in their head what the ideal golf swing looks like. More often than not, this swing has no resemblance whatsoever to their own!

When fellow golfers ask me who I think embodies golf swing perfection, I consider this actually as two separate questions:

Who looks like they have the perfect golf swing?
Who actually has this swing?

The ideal golf swing, in my mind, is one that is extremely fluid, consistent, relaxed, and buttery smooth, with very traditional form. You know the kind – the swing that starts out slow, pauses high, and has a finish that looks like it should sit on top of the club championship trophy.

Looking at contemporary golfers, Ernie Els comes to mind. Absolute visual perfection, in my opinion.

Now for the more important question – who actually has the perfect golf swing? In order to answer that question we need to agree on what the ideal golf swing actually is. I'll give it a shot.

A great golf swing is one in which:

The club strikes the ball at nearly exactly the same position as the initial setup
All unnecessary moving parts are eliminated
Nearly all of the energy captured during the backswing is transferred to impact
There is no pain or discomfort
The ball goes where you want it to go

I'd like to make an important distinction. What looks like a great swing may not necessarily be the best swing. Said another way, you can have a golf swing that doesn't look anything like "textbook" and still win the club championship year after year.

Don't get me wrong...I think it's really important to look at your swing. Video-taping a practice session is a very beneficial thing to do. Aesthetically, if your swing looks like you're in traction, you're probably a bit off in one of the key swing fundamentals.

Chances are you've developed your own opinion of what a great swing looks like. My guess is that you've probably seen the swing on television. Regardless of what your image of a perfect swing is, keep the following statement in mind:

"The golf swing is a means to an end. The ideal golf swing is the result of several physical inputs coming together in harmony for two purposes: hit the ball in the proper direction and hit the ball the proper distance."

"What is the perfect swing?" is a hard question to answer. Instead of focusing on who you think has the best swing, my advice is to focus on your own swing.

Take a few balls out to the driving range. Take the club back like you normally would but then slow and stop your swing just prior to impact. Check out the following:

Is the club face aligned in the same position as when you started?
How about your shoulders – are they square to the target like when you began your takeaway?
Do your hands and wrists look like the way you initially addressed the ball?

If you can answer "yes" to these questions, chances are you have your ideal golf swing. That's really all that matters.

Take your ideal golf swing and learn more golf swing tips