I’ve been around enough debates about the golf swing to see friendships destroyed. If you have enough golf instructors in the same room, you might even, see a fistfight or two. I once attended a Top 100 instructor conference where the topic of the night was how to stop the “over the top” move. Arguments ensued. I found it ironic that the Top 100 instructors are still debating how to solve the most common problem in golf. I also learned that this was the same topic discussed the previous year.

When the fights break out, I am the one sitting in the corner because I know something that the rest of them don’t know – you have to keep it simple, and you have to have a model.

The golf swing is a movement of the body and golf club. If you move the body parts a certain way, the club moves in a certain way. Therefore, if you simplify the movement of the body parts, you simplify the swing. (I just dropped the mike and walked off stage).

Let’s face it. The human body is an incredibly complicated machine. The parts are sometimes intricate. A golf ball sitting on the ground isn’t very forgiving.

Moe never said that he knows how to swing at the ball better than anyone, he said: “I have the best move in golf.”

Moe’s movement is the model. Without it, you simply can’t measure. The Model is the roadmap. It is our yardstick.

When you have Moe as the model, there is no guesswork. You simply learn to move like Moe. His move is a sequence of events from address to backswing to downswing, impact, release and finish where the club moves through space – striking a golf ball in the process.

So how do you teach someone how to move? You show the movement in pieces just like dancing or martial arts. You learn in the order of the action from the start through finish. It goes like this – Foundation (address), Positions, Transition, Sequence. Then you measure.

There is another important understanding. Moe’s golf swing is also a physical model, what we call in science – a biomechanical advantage. Having a biomechanical advantage means that he rotates less, moves less and has less stress on his body to achieve the same exact result. Here are some great pictures from Howie Alter to look at a few Masterful positions.

Address:

I love the lines at address. Club aligned with arms. Legs straight in line, not too flexed.

Backswing:

Difficult to hit it badly from here. Look at the club face position perfectly on plane. Beautiful.

Impact:

Can you be in a more exact position?

Release:

Love how the lead arm folds and the lead knee is still flexed.

Masterful Hitting Position:

Check out his overlapping grip!

These are some great pictures to compare your swing to as you Model your swing to match Moe.