Let’s See How Gary Woodland Does With Butch

I was reading GolfWeek and I ran across a blurb about Gary Woodland, who is now working with Butch Harmon. Woodland stated that he is struggling with the things they are working on, especially the idea of “swinging down the line” as opposed to swinging left, which Woodland states that he has “always done”. I find that highly interesting in a couple of ways: first, I was under the impression that Butch really doesn’t try to change much in the players he works with. Most of them are great anyway and don’t need much help. I’ve viewed his work as successful in that he doesn’t seem to screw anybody up, or at least you don’t hear about the guys he is unsuccessful with (unlike Leadbetter, who is constantly disparaged for “ruining” players even though, as I have said repeatedly, taking lessons is entirely voluntary). So in this case, with a new, high profile player, Butch is really trying to incorporate a significant change.
 
Second, and you probably guessed this, I find that the “down the line” theory is nonsense, as it is only a “feel” and does not exist in reality. Great players have said that they try to “swing down the line” but none have done so (it is physically impossible). The greatest example is Moe Norman, who liked to think he was “down the line 22 inches” but actually exited the club after impact more left than almost anyone in history. So much for “feel versus real”. Byron Nelson eliminated all down the line photos of himself through the impact area in his book (I think it’s called “Winning Golf”. It’s from the 40’s and has great photos) because he didn’t think he did what the pictures showed (the club moving directly left on the arc after impact). If Woodland improves and wins while trying to “swing down the line” as opposed to swinging left I will first shake my head, and next go right to the video to see what is actually happening. If you watched my swing analysis of Woodland I noted that he is one of the guys who pulls his hands straight down from the top, but maintains enough space for his arms heading into impact due to his fabulous pivot movement and his ability to swing hard to the left. If he continues to pull his hands down (changing that would be another wholesale change) then swinging “down the line” could be a disaster. It will be fun to watch.

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