The Center of the Club Face

Mike Austin would constantly stress to me that you want to hit the center of the golf ball with the center of the club face.

You could hear the difference and he often commented on the the sound of hits. He did not want a dull thud. He wanted a lively thwack.

In addition, you could see the difference in hits. Often, Mike would grab my club and take a look at the face.

I’ve tried to work hard on my game recently with success. Broke 70 last week and had a great practice session yesterday.

At one point I stopped, thought of Mike’s club face comments and took a gander at the face of my 4 iron.

As Mike would say,

“Now that’s hitting the center of the ball with the center of the club face.”

The impression is the result of the measurements taken at address and the precision hitting stemming from Mike Austin’s action.

While practicing, be cognizant of the sound of impact. And, every so often take a look at your club face.

Copyright September 2010 llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on September 13, 2010 at 2:04 am  Comments (3)  
Tags: , , , ,

Mike Austin – The Man

Many have commented that they have enjoyed learning and/or reliving the feats of Mike Austin.

One of my prized possessions is a poetry book that Mike gave  me that he authored. Included were several great photo’s of Mike including those taken in movie roles. If you look closely at the cover of the 20th Century Fox movie dvd pictured below you’ll see a distinguished gentlemen at the right front of the table.

Yup, you’ve guessed it. That’s Mike Austin as Judge Lange in “The Star Chamber” (1983) starring Michael Douglas.

Published in: on September 11, 2010 at 2:50 am  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , , ,

A Mike Austin Imperative: Use of the Right Hand

The proper use of the right hand is an absolute imperative to the power and accuracy of Mike Austin’s teachings.

Mike even had me hit balls with only my right hand. Look at the way the balls jump off the clubhead.

Give it a try. You will know immediately if you are using the right hand correctly.

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

BTW, note Mike Austin’s reminder not to use a closed stance (a/k/a “blocked position”).

Copyright August 2010 llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on August 31, 2010 at 3:28 pm  Comments (15)  
Tags: , , , , ,

Long Driving With Mike Austin

Many have asked to see the driver swing. So, here goes:

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

The driver swing motion is the same as the irons.

Note the ball acceleration and the straight path of the ball flight.

Mike Austin provided me with these results in my second (!) lesson with him. Best of all, there’s no pain and strain.

“That’s killing it!” And, so can you.

Remember, it’s supple quickness.

Copyright llenroc enterprises LLC, August 2010

Published in: on August 18, 2010 at 9:04 pm  Comments (39)  
Tags: , , , ,

MisInformed About The Mike Austin Stance

Wow! I have received a lot of emails concerning Mike Austin’s stance. Apparently, there’s been much internet banter asserting that Mike Austin advocated a closed stance.

Sorry, but this is simply not accurate. From what I can discern the advocates of a closed stance are doing so in order to address additional wrong moves such as coming over the top. Unfortunately, building on an incorrect foundation is only going to impede your progress.

Let’s roll the tape. Mike Austin’s instruction to me quite clearly discredits the assertion that he advocated a closed stance:

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

This is an important point as it builds on Mike Austin’s swing principles.

Remember, the ankles, knees and hips are the engine of the Mike Austin swing. A closed (aka blocked) stance will impede the hips and reduce your power!

Moreover, Mike Austin was adamant that you had to build the proper foundation (which includes the stance) before  you put the roof on your swing.

Copyright August 2010, llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on August 12, 2010 at 3:03 am  Comments (2)  
Tags: , , , ,

“Under Pressure” with Mike Austin

Here’s me hitting some shots at the surprise request of Mike Austin and other students.

Mind you, I had not swung a club yet all day as I had been observing Mike giving lessons to several students. Just a wee bit of pressure:

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

Copyright August 2010, llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on August 2, 2010 at 8:59 pm  Comments (12)  
Tags: , , , , ,

"Under Pressure" with Mike Austin

Here’s me hitting some shots at the surprise request of Mike Austin and other students.

Mind you, I had not swung a club yet all day as I had been observing Mike giving lessons to several students. Just a wee bit of pressure:

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

Copyright August 2010, llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on August 2, 2010 at 8:59 pm  Comments (12)  
Tags: , , , , ,

Mike Austin – the Golfing Bandit – Getting Impetus to the Clubhead


Warning: Division by zero in /home/mentor11/public_html/wp-content/plugins/video/video.php on line 428

I wanted to share one of my golf treasures with fellow Mike Austin fans – some very rare footage.

Here is Mike Austin, aka, the golfing bandit, at age 90 hitting balls “on a string” one-handed for me during a lesson.  At the time, Mike had an 80% loss of locomotion in his right arm and right leg due to a stroke. Fortunately, he had incorporated his improved swing tenets. Sadly however, most of his later lessons were restricted to his home.

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

Can you believe the power and accuracy generated with one hand, with virtually no pivot? It’s effortless power. Little wonder why Mike Austin’s long drive competitors commented that it looked like was “just playing with it”.

You can benefit from watching that action, over and over again. It’s an invaluable lesson in itself. There’s no cranking of the body. There’s no forced effort. That’s the beauty of the Mike Austin swing.  It can benefit the athletic person and the not-so-athletic person, the strong and the not-so-strong, the young, and the not-so-young.

But don’t stop at just watching the clip. See if you can duplicate that action – with your left hand and then your right hand. Mike had me hit many balls one-handed. The resultant shots will tell you if you are properly using the hands.

As you can see, the name of the game is not brute force. The name of the game, as Mike clearly states, is getting impetus to the clubhead. He did that via a proper pivot and proper use of the hands so as to not impede the swinging clubhead.

Enjoy!

Copyright July 2010  llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on July 30, 2010 at 9:31 pm  Comments (8)  
Tags: , , ,

Cruising Speed – Mike Austin and Tempo

One of the biggest misconceptions that I read regarding Mike Austin’s teaching is that his methodology was designed  for power hitters and/or long drivers. Not true. Mike’s technique was not based on brute strength. Yes, it resulted in powerful shots, but  it was based on effortless power and supple quickness, without the pain and strain normally associated with such shots.

Nor was Mike Austin infatuated with distance. Mike constantly reminded students about tempo. Further, he was very interested in a student obtaining a nice “cruising speed” where there was a “nice reward for the amount of energy expended”.

Here’s an example of a great swing at a wonderful “cruising speed”:

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

(BTW, this was the student’s first lesson with Mike Austin. I watched the entire lesson unfold before my very own eyes and my camera – from set up to puring the ball – all in the course of one hour. The most amazing lesson I have ever witnessed.)

Copyright July 2010, llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on July 23, 2010 at 4:17 pm  Leave a Comment  
Tags: , , ,

The Mike Austin Tripod

The continuation of the legwork on the backswing:

Mike Austin’s tripod position.

Here’s Mike Austin demonstrating the backswing left handed.

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

Copyright July 2010, llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on July 18, 2010 at 6:08 pm  Comments (9)  
Tags: , , , ,

An Upcoming Secret of Mike Austin

Mike showing me one of the finer points of “precision power hitting”.

More to come.

Copyright July 2010, llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on July 12, 2010 at 2:04 am  Comments (5)  
Tags: , , , ,

The Start of the Mike Austin Backswing


Warning: Division by zero in /home/mentor11/public_html/wp-content/plugins/video/video.php on line 428

Many have asked how Mike Austin started the backswing. Here’s how:

Remember, when you took the proper stance, the trailing leg was flexed. The trailing leg now goes into extension, meaning it straightens.

For right handers, the right hip gets a bump to 4 0′clock.

The arms begin to move because the body begins to move.

The arms do not swing independently!

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

Copyright llenroc enterprises LLC , July 2010

Published in: on July 6, 2010 at 6:57 pm  Comments (5)  
Tags: , , , ,

The Modern versus the Mike Austin Pivot

Mike Austin’s pivot differed from the modern pivot. Before getting into the details, check out the overall  move. Both types of pivot are used by today’s Tour players.

An example of the modern pivot is Camilo Villegas. Note how the feet are anchored to the  ground in the back swing for stability. The knees are often kept wide to inhibit lower body movement. The upper body is then turned against the stable lower body.



Source: You Tube, bignogga

Compare that move to the Austin-like pivot of Bubba Watson. Power is generated through mobility versus stability.

Source: You Tube, golfer 221

In  Mike Austin’s opinion, the modern swing led to “arthritis, tendonitis, bursitis, and lots of other  -itises”.

Copyright June 2010, llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on June 27, 2010 at 9:23 am  Comments (1)  
Tags: , , ,

I Am Interested In Mobility, Not Stability!!

“I am interested in Mobility, Not Stability!”, Mike Austin would growl, forever imprinting a new golf secret into your psyche. Mike didn’t agree with most of modern golf instruction including: taking a wide stance, anchoring your feet to the ground and torquing the upper body against the lower body.

Mike advocated supple quickness, not rigid slowness. It started with the stance, including the width of stance.

To promote mobility, Mike advocated a narrow stance. A wide stance causes the knees to work against the hips. A narrow stance, on the other hand, enables the ankles, knees and hips to work in unison as the engine of the golf swing.

Further, a narrow stance promotes balance. The narrow stance allows a shift to the back leg during the backswing, and then a shift to the front leg on the through swing.

This movie requires Adobe Flash for playback.

Copyright June 2010, llenroc enterprises LLC

Published in: on June 22, 2010 at 7:10 pm  Comments (2)  
Tags: , , , ,

Taking It Deep at the U.S. Open

Like many of you, I watched quite a bit of the U.S. Open yesterday. Two comments of Johnny Miller regarding Dustin Johnson caused me to pause. I’ll have to paraphrase the comments, but they went something like this:

1. “He’s a real solid player, even with that wrist bow.”

2.”Look at that old time leg action – like Weiskopf.”

Funny how today’s commentators view swing features that differ than that presently taught under the “modern approach” (flat left wrist, lower body steady with upper body torquing against the lower) as swing flaws. Here is a guy leading the Open and launching it over 300 yards. Perhaps that bow and leg action are far from swing flaws. Perhaps they are key factors as to why Dustin can stripe it huge distances under pressure.

I know one person who would love the bow in the left hand and that leg action – Mike Austin.

Published in: on June 20, 2010 at 3:00 pm  Comments (3)  
Tags: , , ,
« Older Entries
Newer Entries »