Why did super-flexible Sam Snead set up 'closed'?

[BrendanC]

Sam Snead is usually described as a super-flexible person BUT he set up closed for virtually every shot.

That gets me thinking as typically, it is people who LACK flexibility (e.g. seniors) that are advised to set up with a closed stance/right foot back.

I'm not as flexible as Sam, but I do have some hyper-mobility and am more flexible than most (it's not a particularly useful attribute and makes you injury prone in contact sports!).

Lately, I have found setting up closed (right foot withdrawn) to be very useful as it gives me a natural hip turn that when I set up square that I simply don't get.

When square or open, I can turn my shoulders quite a long way but no right hip turn happens. I think this causes the right hip to block of the downswing - particularly with shorter clubs.

So....is the old advice about setting up closed/with right foot back if you LACK flexibility the wrong way round?

 

[bertsmith]

Perhaps because his standard shot was a pull draw.

 

[mgranato]

He hit it best doing it.

 

[wulsy]

You can set up how you like. The club doesn't care.

 

[tongzilla]

Stance closed but plane line square

 

[Brian Manzella]

Easier Tumble!

 

[wulsy]

If you don't tumble from there, you're in trouble, right?

 

[DCgolf]

Did a clinic at our place back in the 80s. Hit balls for maybe 45 minutes. Every question was answered with "ya gotta loosen up and get oily"...

 

[magicmarker]

I am also very flexible and I set up closed with every club.

I do it because it is the shot I can repeat most often, simple as that. I can set up closed, tumble as hard as I want to, and fire a 1-5 yard draw at any flagstick I can see. If I changed my setup it would only be for a certain look and my ball-striking would suffer. The ball doesn't know if I set up closed, the club works better for me when I set up closed, why should I care what it looks like if I know where my ball is going. How can you build confidence and trust in your swing if you are not customizing your setup for your success.

A big part of golf IMO, is learning how to be a little bit selfish. You have to try different things so you can find what works for you. You have to practice diligently while blocking out distractions. You have to ignore many other peoples advice. You have to be ready to be an @$$hole on the course as well. You have to be able to back out if you lose focus and then not care at all that everyone else has to wait another couple seconds. You have to be able to say 'can you move, I don't like you and the cart so close to me while I'm trying to hit my shot'. The list goes on and on but the point is this...dare to; be different, be selfish, be focused, be patient, be successful. Just do it in your own way. Because that's the only way you're ever going to get to the point where you are completely comfortable on the course.

It's a tricky question because it feels like you're asking how he 'made it work' and I guess what I am getting at is that it probably 'already worked' best from that setup. Whatever he did to 'make it work' probably came way easier to him than the compensations he would've had to make from a more 'conventional' setup.

 

[tongzilla]

question for teachers

question for teachers-

what % of players you see play best with a closed set up in order to have an open swing direction to have the zero swing path? i.e. aim right, swing left, hit straight.

does this % decrease with handicap? (since better players set up more open seems like).

is there biomechanical evidence to suggest it is optimal to set up closed to draw a open plane line? evidence to suggest one can generate more speed etc...

 

[cnadon]

Easier Tumble!

Could someone give a bit more detailed explanation as to why this is so? Thanks.

 

[tongzilla]

Could someone give a bit more detailed explanation as to why this is so? Thanks.

when you do a pure tumble, you're making the plane line more open. So if you set up more closed, you have more room to tumble.

 

[mb6606]

With his athletic pivot looks like he could do anything he wanted with the ball.
Sam Snead Swing Collection - YouTube

 

[OLIVER1]

With setting up closed, would it be fair to say that you run the risk of jumping over your pivot to get around to the ball?

 

[lia41985]

Easier Tumble!

Like Rickie:

 

[cnadon]

Like Rickie:

So which frames on the nice Fowler video would you say best illustrate the tumble move? Thanks.

 

[BrendanC]

Would I be correct if I said that the key is finding the foot positions that allow each individual golfers hips and body to work?

And that the 'closed' stance should not only be used as an option for seniors, the weak, the inflexible etc! It may work for anyone.

Oliver: If I understand 'jumping around the pivot' correctly, it seems to me that this would be more likely with an open stance. But that may just be the case for me.

 

[lia41985]

So which frames on the nice Fowler video would you say best illustrate the tumble move? Thanks.

 

[mgranato]

Did a clinic at our place back in the 80s. Hit balls for maybe 45 minutes. Every question was answered with "ya gotta loosen up and get oily"...

One of the few true legendary players, but when does good golf instruction sound like the prep instructions for a colonoscopy?