Austin Talk

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birdie_man

birdie_man

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Can someone give me an idea on what exactly this guy did?

Besides hit one long drive?

I honestly have heard nothing of him besides that one drive.

His name on any trophies? If not....why not?

I hear he was a bad putter.

....

Must be pretty long (that drive was long, even if something exceptonal or extra happened) and he is obviously a moose of a guy....

But....."longest swing in the history of golf?"......

...

And....how good of a BALLSTRIKER? (distance isn't ballstriking)

All honest questions BTW. Again, I've heard nothing except that he hit one big drive. Someone fill me in.
 
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birdie_man

birdie_man

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I found this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Austin

Doesn't say anything about his golf other than he was a long hitter and hit one very long drive.

Nothing else came up on Google really.

...

As a side note.....

It mentions Jaacob Bowden...

Doesn't look like MA's swing at all (this Jaacob dude has a nice Finish tho! ;) lol).

http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4333&highlight=bowden

....

Maybe this guy is actually trying this "throw from the top" thing that Mike feels (but apparently doesn't do).

That's some of the worst Throwaway I've ever seen.

Again....MA doesn't do that (very very obviously)....so why are there ppl teaching this? (are there ppl teaching this?)
 
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E

EdZ

New
rosser said:
Brian,

Time to show what your made of. Its seems the best swings are Hogan and Austin, depending on who you talk to. Austin was extremely bright, learned his swing some what easy, we all know Hogan worked very hard to dig it out of the dirt. Both successuful to the fullest.

How about a indepth, all you can muster, detail on the differences of Hogan and Austin's swings?

Don't leave anything out, there are many Austin lurkers dying to know. and we know there are Hogan folks just waiting to see if they to can improve on the likes of Mikes in the distance end.

If you are the first blood of a true teachers, I trust you could be the first one to truly provide the information needed to start from the bottom and lead them to the dynamics of how MA truly founded his effortless, without doubt most powerful swing known to golf.

This can be fun, and I don't know anyone that might be able to pull it off then you. Austin told me to stay silent to the truths, I did my part. There are some on the Austin site that think they know, only they too struggle with teaching it , which only lead to they don't know Jack.

If you could show a clip of you doing both swings, with words to the wise on what you must do and not mix between the two.

Magazine awaits if you can pull this one off. $$$

R
Click to expand...

Hogan and Austin - balance was the key to efficient force.

Hogan knew how to use his hands. Austin knew how to use his legs.

Both knew how the CLUB needed to be moved (physics).
 
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thinkin2

New
birdie_man said:
I found this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Austin

Doesn't say anything about his golf other than he was a long hitter and hit one very long drive.

Nothing else came up on Google really.

...

As a side note.....

It mentions Jaacob Bowden...

Doesn't look like MA's swing at all (this Jaacob dude has a nice Finish tho! ;) lol).

http://www.brianmanzella.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4333&highlight=bowden

....

Maybe this guy is actually trying this "throw from the top" thing that Mike feels (but apparently doesn't do).

That's some of the worst Throwaway I've ever seen.

Again....MA doesn't do that (very very obviously)....so why are there ppl teaching this? (are there ppl teaching this?)
Click to expand...

Bowden didn't study under Austin. He studied under Dan Shauger, a student of Austin's who decided that he had discovered the Holy Grail that Austin had kept hidden. Anyone who has been looking even casually at Austin knows about the Shauger book and dvd and how much they deviated from Austin, at least unless Austin was showing something different to Shauger (I think maybe Shauger kind of put his own twist on things but that is just my opinion and not a statement of fact). But, Shauger managed to help Bowden get a long way from where he was when they met. I won't go into great depth on Austin or Shauger, there are some who might, but if you do even a half a search on Mike Austin you will find enough to know that there was way more to the man than one long drive. Your post shows that you haven't done that. I don't know how old you are or how far you hit the ball but how far do you think you will hit it when you are in your 70's? Do a little more homework. Google can't give you everything. My post isn't intended to anger you but to provoke you into taking a closer look at the man.
Jerry
 
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thinkin2

New
birdie_man said:
Can someone give me an idea on what exactly this guy did?

Besides hit one long drive?

I honestly have heard nothing of him besides that one drive.

His name on any trophies? If not....why not?

I hear he was a bad putter.

....

Must be pretty long (that drive was long, even if something exceptonal or extra happened) and he is obviously a moose of a guy....

But....."longest swing in the history of golf?"......

...

And....how good of a BALLSTRIKER? (distance isn't ballstriking)

All honest questions BTW. Again, I've heard nothing except that he hit one big drive. Someone fill me in.
Click to expand...

His record drive was during a tournament, not a long drive competition or a bunch of buddies drinking beer, etc. It was verified as the longest drive in tournament history and, I think, the record still holds today. I don't know what his score was and it's no secret he wasn't the best player in the world. But it's hard to believe that anyone with that distance and even a mediocre short game couldn't have achieved great things on tour. To my knowledge, and I admit I may be wrong here, even the big guys on the LDA haven't hit one that far. I am not here to promote Mike Austin or anyone else, only here to enjoy talking about golf and maybe learn something. BTW, MA was hitting them over 300 even in his 70's.
Jerry
 
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Tom Bartlett

Administrator
If you are going to talk about that one long drive, then I want to know how far all of his other drives went that day. Because, if he was really THAT long I'm guessing his average for the day had to be around 440!
 
R

rosser

New
EdZ said:
Hogan and Austin - balance was the key to efficient force.

Hogan knew how to use his hands. Austin knew how to use his legs.

Both knew how the CLUB needed to be moved (physics).
Click to expand...

Thanks EdZ. Only that is not what I am asking. Brian knows. The mass of lurkers are out there just awaiting.

One long drive as one keeps asking. I think more homework is needed if you think, it ended or started there. Accuracy, hmm. Yes, he was one of the most accurate also. He moved the ball at will both ways and a whole lot more. The only thing you can attack is his putter.
 
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thinkin2

New
Tom,
According to Chandler Harper, who was paired with Austin during that round, he said something to Austin about how far he had been hitting the ball and urged him to really let one go. That's supposedly when it happened. I think MA hit lots of drives over 400 in his prime. At least this is what I have read. I'm no Austin expert and can't perform his swing so I'm only posting what I have read in books and seen on dvd's. I think rosser may be right because there certainly is some controversy in the teaching/learning of Austin's swing today. If rosser knows of a secret that nobody else knows I would love to hear it and I don't think he would be doing a dishonorable thing since Mike is gone now. But that's the problem. So many people say they know a secret but nobody is telling anything.
Jerry
 
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thinkin2

New
Maybe nobody really knows now. Phillip Reed interviewed Chandler Harper while writing his book "In Search Of The Greatest Golf Swing" and Harper only verified the 515 yard drive. He said something to the effect that they stepped it off back to the green, taking large steps, and he was satisfied that it was that distance within a yard or two. This was on level ground with a fair tail wind using a persimmon wood and whatever ball (balata?) they were using then. Whatever his other distances were that day, I believe they would have to have been almost beyond belief were there not witnesses. Personally, I think Mike Austin was one of a kind. No matter how well others may learn his swing or secrets or anything else about him, I doubt that anyone will do what he did. But, then again, that's what they said about the Babe many years ago.
Jerry
 
M

ms1369

New
@ the age of 74,Mike averaged 308 yards in 12 long drive tourneys.I guess
we will have to wait a while to see if anyone elses swing can stand up to that.I'll check back in 40 years from now and we can talk about how far Brian & Tom are hittin it.besides,Judgement prior to investigation is ignorant.
 
B

Brian Manzella

Administrator
WTF?

Who the hell are all of these people?

For cripes sake...I like the guy's swing, he does almost ALL of what I would teach a talented player looking for distance.

But, one more stupid comment and I'm not doing the analysis.
 
M

Mike O

New
austin- magazine article quote

Chandler Harper is now ninety and living at home in Portsmouth, Virginia. His memory of that day is as vivid as Austin's. "Three of us hit our shots about 140 yards short of the green," he says. "But Mike's drive beat all that by a mile. I went ahead to look for his ball and spotted a ball on the next tee well behind the fifth green. I told Mike to check it because we couldn't believe it." It was, in fact, Austin's Titleist 100. Says Harper: "I had never seen a ball hit anywhere near that far. I played fifty times with Sam Snead and Ben Hogan, but nothing compared to this." Adds Tanya, who watched her husband play that day, "It was like God held the ball in the air."

Harper likes to joke about the hurricane-force tailwinds blowing that afternoon. After all, on the eighth and ninth holes, Austin drove the green again with four-hundredyard wallops. Guinness says there were 35 m.p.h. gusts; according to the National Weather Service, the maximum winds that day were out of the southeast at 27 m.p.h.

Page: 1 2 3 4
 
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rosser

New
Austin Talk analysis

Brian Manzella said:
Who the hell are all of these people?

For cripes sake...I like the guy's swing, he does almost ALL of what I would teach a talented player looking for distance.

But, one more stupid comment and I'm not doing the analysis.
Click to expand...


Okay now your talking do the analysis and vid clip.

What does WTF stand for? World Training facility? :)

Trust me they are out there waiting.
 
C

cdog

New
Mike's pivot action is simply based on the legs being slightly straightened and the other bent.
When both legs are straight, the pelvis could be considered level (if the bones in both legs are the same length).
When one leg is straighter than the other, it causes the hips to tilt, this in turn affects the other parts of the body. THATS it, the whole secrect pivot thing isnt really a secrect, just common sense. The trouble is people overdo it.

Look at Austins leg and hip action in the swing sequence posted, his backswing action is suttle, not a big move or sway. In the downswing he does what all good strikers do, he posts his lead leg, and this posting drops his arms, sets up the axis tilt to allow everything to go downplane.

What i think is crazy is that people think if they do what Austin did, they will suddenly hit these amazing distances, IT AINT GONNA HAPPEN!!!!

They may pick up distance, but it's crazy to think they are gonna be world beaters.
Mike's goal was to hit the ball as far as possible, he started doing this as a kid, everyone that has read about him knows the story.
He is big, strong ATHLETIC, which means well coordinated and very well sequenced.
 
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thinkin2

New
Brian Manzella said:
Who the hell are all of these people?

For cripes sake...I like the guy's swing, he does almost ALL of what I would teach a talented player looking for distance.

But, one more stupid comment and I'm not doing the analysis.
Click to expand...

Come on, Brian, please give us your critique. I think it would be very beneficial to all who are truly interested in this. I think everyone respects your credentials and talent. It will be very interesting to see what you have to say. Everyone talks about secret this and secret that but when I see Austin swinging the club on video, it just looks like a beautiful, flowing swing that is very efficient. I've studied his pivot and that's not hard to do but the throw from the top has always baffled me. I would love to see a sequence of frames where you critique each movement. Thanks.
Jerry
 
kmmcnabb

kmmcnabb

New
Analysis

Brian,

Love to see your take on pictures. I agree, these drop in MA folks are annoying but I do like the pictures of MA. I am especially interested in your take on his axis tilt which seems pretty severe from the pictures. Do you advocate that much tilt to your students? If a student came to you and tilted that much in the downswing, would you correct it? If yes, why, if not, why.

Thanks in advance.

PS: I am a Ph.D. and work in a large hospital. Most physicians I work with call me Doctor but I'm not all hung up about it anymore. When I first graduated from Med School I used to wear a lab coat that said "I'm that other kind of Doctor" on the back. I have learned that it is not what they call you but what you do that gives value. While I understand the engineer being upset, get used to it, it happens in all professions.

That being said.....Brian, you are the expert on GOLF here and all others are novices. I only visit two golf forums, yours and Lynns. Gave up on Chuck this month (my premium membership expired) and he is leaning away from TGM now anyway. The only other person I would probably give more credit to on TGM is Ben Doyle. I spoke with him a few times by phone and he is awesome. Very generous with his time and he even signed a copy of TGM for my son when I ordered it. He included some instructions on how to use it. Neat gift. Ben is great.

Keep it up.
 
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thinkin2

New
Well, I don't know if I'm one of those MA folk you're referring to but I have been very interested in him for awhile. I do hope that I'm not being annoying, though. Certainly isn't my intent. I'm also interested in TGM since watching Tom Tomasello and Mark Evershed. I think I've already mentioned that somewhere on this forum. I did not come here because of the Austin thread. I didn't even know it was here until I registered. You might say that I like to keep an open mind to everyone's opinion. I've found it a great way to learn. But I do agree with cdog. No matter how well anyone learns Austin's techniques I doubt that anyone is going to out distance him. Possible but I doubt it.
Jerry
 
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