by Billy Bondaruk, PGAThe golf swing fundamentals are often refered to as G.A.S.P. (grip, aim, stance, posture,) I have a different opinion on the fundamentals of the golf swing. In fact, in my opinion citing those elements of the swing, I find to be more harmful than helpful for golfers. Here is my opinion on the matter.What are we trying to achieve when we step up to a golf ball and are about to take a swing?At its most basic level we are trying to get that ball into the cup in as few of shots as possible. I think everybody would agree with that.That's a big crux of the issue though. The clubhead and all of the dimensions of it colliding with the golf ball to send it towards the golf hole. A major part of where I find'The fundamentals' to be flawed is that golf is not a game where judges stand next to the golfer and hand out scores based on their grip, stance, address, posture, etc. And even if they could, what defines a 'good' grip or 'good stance' versus a 'poor' grip and a 'poor stance?' And why can I take a small list of 10 of the all-time great ballstrikers and somebody like Trevino had vastly different 'fundamentals' to the swing than Hogan did who had vastly different 'fundamentals' than Nicklaus did?Another problem with the 'fundamentals' is that golfers can have practically the same fundamentals and hit it two different ways. One could easily hit a hook and one could hit a slice. Not to forget that one could hit it great and one could hit it lousy. But, if two golfers have practically the same impact conditions, the result will be practically the same because one cannot deny physics.For instance, if I do a perfect job of emulating Rory McIlroy's posture, grip, stance, grip pressure, etc, I might not be able to break 90. However, if Rory and I were to have these numbers at impact.112 mph clubhead speed167 mph ball speed0* clubface angle+2.5* path (inside-to-out)+1* upward attack angleThe ball does NOT care if I'm swinging it or if Rory McIlroy is swinging it. The result will practically be the same, as long as we are using the same type of equipment.That's why understanding the correct laws of ball flight is so important and speaking from experience, not knowing the correct laws of ball flight and trying to improve is almost an exercise in futility.Let's take American football as an example. The basic fundamentals of football are blocking and tackling. Now, there are different techniques to help become a better and more 'sure' tackler. But at its base, all that matters is can a defender tackle a ballcarrier and not allow him any extra yardage. In football, if your team cannot block and cannot tackle very well, you're going to be a poor team.But, it doesn't really matter how a team does it as long as they are proficient at it. It doesn't matter if a team uses a man-to-man blocking scheme or a zone blocking scheme or what type of mechanics they use with their hands and feet to properly block opposing players or if the defense uses a 'textbook' tackling technique or they dive at knees, etc. Just get the job done consistently. Sound familiar?And that's probably the biggest flaw I see with The fundamentals. It is ignoring the 'blocking' and 'tackling' of the golf swing. What makes the ball fly like it does and then figuring out how to get the ball to fly to your command.
