mandrin,
I should have explained myself better. I wasn't talking about "hitters" and "swingers" as they are referred to in TGM. Typically, most of the players on tour that don't hit it very far are however very accurate. Are they giving up some of the "free wheeling" though the ball and have become more accurate players at the expense of less distance? In a sense, I guess what I am saying is are they guiding the shot more than they should and not "free wheeling" enough, even though they could possibly gain control by giving up control?
libro,
I really feel that I can't answer that question as it is a very personal matter, unique for each golfer, and I am not a pro making his existence on the tour. Why not ask Tom, he has been closer to the fire and has a more inside knowledge. However I will give my intuitive opinion in a general sense.
Your question is really that of balancing power versus accuracy.
A golf swing consists, grosso modo, of two swings, each around its specific axis - “vertical” with body and “horizontal “ with arms, relative to body. The two have to be synchronized to obtain both accurate impact conditions and reasonable impact velocity. Tiger, swinging too aggressive, spins too fast with this hips and get is arms stuck behind. An amateur often rotates his upper body too fast relative to his arms swing, resulting in an out to in swing.
I see the moment of truth to be not impact but the transition. If you can just master somehow to have as the first move at least a small vertical motion of hands than you are on your way to be able to be very aggressive and not loose adequate impact conditions. Swinging away from the target at the transition is likely one of the best ways to succeed in doing so.
Another big factor is when golfers use their hands actively, such as to rotate aggressively through impact independent from and additionally to the rotation due to the natural swing motion. Using a swing with no active hand action is definitely an advantage for developing an aggressive swing, still remaining accurate and repeatable.
This leads to the obvious conclusion – often mentioned by TV commentators – i.e., a compact golf swing with the least amount of moving parts will be more likely to keep its accuracy when one is going full out.
You probably will find many more voices to claim that one should be swinging a bit less than maximum to maintain adequate accuracy than suggesting going full out with the golf swing, such as put forward by Ben Hogan who had a very definite opinion on the subject -
“Don't be afraid of swinging too hard. Many golfers are, you know. They figure that unless they retain their power, they'll magnify their errors. I see it just the other way. If you are working with muscles that are fully extended swing after swing, there has to be more uniformity than if your muscles are flexed with varying degrees of tension and so “give” differently on one swing and another. I feel, and have proved to myself, that I can hit a ball straighter if I hit it hard and full.”
