The old-timer golf swing with its effortless power and smoothness was developed during the 1940-1970s. I call this golf’s golden age and if you in a time warp experiment could place the old champions on tour today I’m certain they would dominate the fields. It partly disappeared in its purity due to the reverse c problematics.

Sure, that’s a highly subjective opinion but it’s what I base my complete workings on: understanding and fundamentally reviving the great swing of the past. My sincere opinion is that modern golf is severely overtaught and that the code was cracked back then. In this article you can read about the death of the swinging motion whilst the below is focused on how you can revive the swing without the “bad stuff”.

For reader context: this article is a part of the Forgotten Master Moves Swing Page (my system for teaching the great’s core movements). I recommend that you start here instead.

Short Reverse C Recap

Somewhere in the 60-70s many players started leaning exaggeratedly away (with induced secondary axis tilt) from the target to make their swinging motion more competitive. This was likely an effect of the generic swing advice “drag with the left and hit with the right” together with the development of equipment that “allowed” manipulation of the natural swing plane for the sake of power or control. To get technical: It became possible to push your trail hand towards the target and overpower the ball this way. This is actually a steepening element and the perfect matching response? The Reverse C.

Another influence of the position was the instruction to “keep the head still”. Either way, the Reverse C was a “problem” and eventually a bolt in the beautiful swinging motion’s coffin.

Non Reverse C Players – Showing Possibilities

Sam Snead, Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones, Peter Thompson and Walter Hagen (to name a few) all performed perfectly flowy, beautiful golf swings without the exaggerated Reverse C motion. What differentiates these players from e.g. the 1980s standard swing is less a aggressive and more flowy where the power culmination was a product of technique rather than forced manipulation.

It becomes quite evident that you don’t need a Reverse C finish to make use of the inner intentions of a flowy golf swing.

No Need for the Reverse C?

If you know a bit about hand dominance and the ability to use this dominance in your favor (read more here), you will quickly gather that the downswing arc can be used as a massive shallowing element. The “drag with the left…” instruction takes the downswing width out of the equation whilst using your hand dominance in your favor (for a bigger downswing arc) adds it right back.

I’d even argue that many of the mentioned players generated their highest speeds (especially with the driver) through first axis tilt rather than secondary axis tilt. To clarify, first axis tilt refers to the body leaning as a whole, whereas secondary axis tilt involves leaning from the hips. This first axis tilt is much easier on the body and allows for full-body extension without hyper-extending the lead leg. It also helps to explain why they could slide horizontally toward the target in the final parts of their backswings, all while avoiding “locking” the hip joint.

The old timers had such shallow downswing arcs that they could afford to introduce more steepening elements through the ball. A perfect example of this is the aggressive chest rotation through the ball seen with Mr. Hogan, which acts as a steepener. This shallowness in the swing allowed for greater flexibility and control, making the steepening elements more effective and natural, without compromising the overall swing integrity.

In other words, it’s more than possible to perform the swing of the greats without the Reverse C position. All you need is fundamental knowledge of how to harmonize the club’s journey in the swing arc with early power creation and further shallowing power acceleration.

To get back to the The FMM Swing Page.

More FMM Swing Articles

Some General Swing Tech Posts (with Videos)

Golf Development Consulting

I offer some services for you that are into golf technique and want some assistance.

General Article Collection Pages

Old School General Articles