Post by Richie3Jack on Dec 13, 2013 10:01:16 GMT -5
Johnny Miller's swing often gets lost in the internet talk of ballstriking and swing mechanics. Usually it's reserved for Hogan. Then you have other greats like Snead and Moe Norman. Some will put Nicklaus in there, but it's usually reserved for a 'power player' swing. I think that is wrong given how well I showed Nicklaus hit the driver in 1980 and 1982 in my essay The Extinction of Great Driving in 2013 Pro Golf Synopsis.
It's not difficult for me to see why. I loved to read about various sports that I enjoyed as a child. My dad always said that he thought it was a shame that so many great athletes didn't know the history of their sport. And that's why my dad, a very straight laced guy, took a liking to Mike Tyson. For all of Tyson's improprieties outside of his sport, he was a big historian of the game.
Anyway, when I started to get into the game in 1985, I found out who Johnny Miller was, but his playing days seemed cloaked in mystery. The golf media seemed to pass him off as a golfer that got very hot for a few years and then disappeared. They eventually started to take to his announcing because he had a more biting commentary and he was good at predicting bad and good shots (that's always been Johnny's strength because his analysis of technique is awful). I remember they did an interview with Miller, I believe in Golf Digest, and that was the first time that I had read about Miller being this supreme ballstriker. Unfortunately, it was filled with Miller's thoughts on the swing. I remember him saying he was the only player that could accelerate the club head after impact which is a physical impossibility.
When I look at Miller's swing, I think it's best to see it in real-life speed instead of in still frames. His still frames look pretty darn good, but the motion he produced is what really stands out:
With that said, for analytical purposes I will look at the still frames:
I don't know much about Miller's swing philosophies because they seem to change from tournament to tournament. So my analysis will not feature what he does versus what he *thinks* he does.
P1: This is a very standard, nice setup. There is no 'flat spine' or 'chin up' at address here. From the caddy view he has a very neutral grip. He also does something I see a lot of it that era, the rear foot flared out a few degrees with the lead foot flared about 10 degrees or so. The trend these days is to flare out both feet roughly 10 degrees for better hip turn going back and thru. In Miller's day, I think they flared the feet out like he had them. Then in the 80's and 90's it became about having a square back foot and a flared left foot due to the 'X-Factor' theory.
With Miller's rear foot only being a couple of degrees flared, this will restrict his hip turn more than if was flared 10-degrees (which would be more restricted than if the foot was flared 45 degrees). This can lead to a more upright left arm plane at p4 because if the hips stop turning and the golfer is still completing their backswing, the arms and hands will raise upward.
P2: Miller utilizes a 1-piece takeaway. Here the club head is more in line with his hands. As he got older, the club head would get well outside of his hands. The club head getting more outside the hands at p2 can often result in a more closed club face at p4. And it can get the club more across the line.
However, this position is where the Mac influenced people love Miller's swing as his left shoulder is rotating downward and the spine is starting to tilt towards the target. We can also start to see the rear knee straighten as it already gets higher than the left knee. For my swing, I tend to straighten the rear knee early and I lock the rear knee instead of straightening it at p4. Snead would lock the rear knee at p4, but it can cause some issues with sequencing on the downswing.
P3.2: The sequences really don't show p3. But if we look at the DTL view and look at the hips, it appears that they stop rotating at p3.2. He still has to finish his backswing. And that will mean that the hands will raise upward. For most golfers like Miller, the left arm is attached to the chest at this point. The torso can only rotate about 45* independent of any hip turn. So as the hips start to turn, they help the torso turn. If the hips stop turning, the torso can't turn anymore. And if you're completing your backswing, the arms will then raise upward because it's the only place they can go.
P4: The DTL view shows an iron. It looks like no more than a 7-iron. The caddy view shows a driver. We can see that Miller had a fairly long backswing. That's in part due to the hips having stop rotating at p3.2. The other part is the right elbow position. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just the way he swung the club. What I really like about Miller's swing here is that the right side is higher than the left (knee, hip and shoulders). The pivot is very centered (which is what I prefer). And the face is dead square or close to it. While his lead arm plane is a little upright, that also gives him a little more time to generate more force with the club. You don't see flatter swinging Re-Max long drive champions for a reason. I also think that with the #3 PP on the side of the club that it's easier to shallow out the shaft plane at p5. So while he does have an upright lead arm here and that will require some work to shallow out the shaft plane enough, he is in good position to do that.
P5: Very bent left arm for this point of the swing. I know Miller had to give up playing competitively due to injuries. Not sure what those injuries were, but it's an indication that he didn't have a lot of flexibility in that left elbow joint. I love the DTL view with his both of his knees going back into flexion. He's ready to jump right off the ground and provide power at impact.
P6: Miller was considered the epitome of the '70's golf swing.' I remember reading about this in the 90's and how that much leg and knee drive forward was bad and the reverse C finish would injure the lower back. All he was really doing was shifting the CoP towards his left foot. It would have been really interesting to see his CoP data when he was in his prime.
I also see that the head is staying back a bit and he is more of a mid-release point here. That would likely indicate a high ball hitter.
P7.8 & P8.2: Obviously he's hitting 2 different clubs, but I think we notice two very different release styles. I think with the irons he was more CP with a drive hold type of release. With the driver he appears to be more of a 'flip roller' as Kelvin Miyahira may say. I've seen some golfers with different release styles depending on the club. Steve Marino is much more CF with the driver and longer irons and then very CP with the shorter irons.
My guess is that given Johnny's ballstriking prowess, particularly that legendary round at Oakmont, he probably hit it very high and very straight. He was likely quite long. I don't think he was Nicklaus long. But he was likely similar to Adam Scott long today. Not as long as the Bubba's and Garrigus' of the world, but quite long. I wouldn't be too surprised if he hit a small draw with the driver and a small fade with the irons. But I generally think he was hitting it fairly straight by looking at his swing mechanics.
3JACK
It's not difficult for me to see why. I loved to read about various sports that I enjoyed as a child. My dad always said that he thought it was a shame that so many great athletes didn't know the history of their sport. And that's why my dad, a very straight laced guy, took a liking to Mike Tyson. For all of Tyson's improprieties outside of his sport, he was a big historian of the game.
Anyway, when I started to get into the game in 1985, I found out who Johnny Miller was, but his playing days seemed cloaked in mystery. The golf media seemed to pass him off as a golfer that got very hot for a few years and then disappeared. They eventually started to take to his announcing because he had a more biting commentary and he was good at predicting bad and good shots (that's always been Johnny's strength because his analysis of technique is awful). I remember they did an interview with Miller, I believe in Golf Digest, and that was the first time that I had read about Miller being this supreme ballstriker. Unfortunately, it was filled with Miller's thoughts on the swing. I remember him saying he was the only player that could accelerate the club head after impact which is a physical impossibility.
When I look at Miller's swing, I think it's best to see it in real-life speed instead of in still frames. His still frames look pretty darn good, but the motion he produced is what really stands out:
With that said, for analytical purposes I will look at the still frames:
I don't know much about Miller's swing philosophies because they seem to change from tournament to tournament. So my analysis will not feature what he does versus what he *thinks* he does.
P1: This is a very standard, nice setup. There is no 'flat spine' or 'chin up' at address here. From the caddy view he has a very neutral grip. He also does something I see a lot of it that era, the rear foot flared out a few degrees with the lead foot flared about 10 degrees or so. The trend these days is to flare out both feet roughly 10 degrees for better hip turn going back and thru. In Miller's day, I think they flared the feet out like he had them. Then in the 80's and 90's it became about having a square back foot and a flared left foot due to the 'X-Factor' theory.
With Miller's rear foot only being a couple of degrees flared, this will restrict his hip turn more than if was flared 10-degrees (which would be more restricted than if the foot was flared 45 degrees). This can lead to a more upright left arm plane at p4 because if the hips stop turning and the golfer is still completing their backswing, the arms and hands will raise upward.
P2: Miller utilizes a 1-piece takeaway. Here the club head is more in line with his hands. As he got older, the club head would get well outside of his hands. The club head getting more outside the hands at p2 can often result in a more closed club face at p4. And it can get the club more across the line.
However, this position is where the Mac influenced people love Miller's swing as his left shoulder is rotating downward and the spine is starting to tilt towards the target. We can also start to see the rear knee straighten as it already gets higher than the left knee. For my swing, I tend to straighten the rear knee early and I lock the rear knee instead of straightening it at p4. Snead would lock the rear knee at p4, but it can cause some issues with sequencing on the downswing.
P3.2: The sequences really don't show p3. But if we look at the DTL view and look at the hips, it appears that they stop rotating at p3.2. He still has to finish his backswing. And that will mean that the hands will raise upward. For most golfers like Miller, the left arm is attached to the chest at this point. The torso can only rotate about 45* independent of any hip turn. So as the hips start to turn, they help the torso turn. If the hips stop turning, the torso can't turn anymore. And if you're completing your backswing, the arms will then raise upward because it's the only place they can go.
P4: The DTL view shows an iron. It looks like no more than a 7-iron. The caddy view shows a driver. We can see that Miller had a fairly long backswing. That's in part due to the hips having stop rotating at p3.2. The other part is the right elbow position. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just the way he swung the club. What I really like about Miller's swing here is that the right side is higher than the left (knee, hip and shoulders). The pivot is very centered (which is what I prefer). And the face is dead square or close to it. While his lead arm plane is a little upright, that also gives him a little more time to generate more force with the club. You don't see flatter swinging Re-Max long drive champions for a reason. I also think that with the #3 PP on the side of the club that it's easier to shallow out the shaft plane at p5. So while he does have an upright lead arm here and that will require some work to shallow out the shaft plane enough, he is in good position to do that.
P5: Very bent left arm for this point of the swing. I know Miller had to give up playing competitively due to injuries. Not sure what those injuries were, but it's an indication that he didn't have a lot of flexibility in that left elbow joint. I love the DTL view with his both of his knees going back into flexion. He's ready to jump right off the ground and provide power at impact.
P6: Miller was considered the epitome of the '70's golf swing.' I remember reading about this in the 90's and how that much leg and knee drive forward was bad and the reverse C finish would injure the lower back. All he was really doing was shifting the CoP towards his left foot. It would have been really interesting to see his CoP data when he was in his prime.
I also see that the head is staying back a bit and he is more of a mid-release point here. That would likely indicate a high ball hitter.
P7.8 & P8.2: Obviously he's hitting 2 different clubs, but I think we notice two very different release styles. I think with the irons he was more CP with a drive hold type of release. With the driver he appears to be more of a 'flip roller' as Kelvin Miyahira may say. I've seen some golfers with different release styles depending on the club. Steve Marino is much more CF with the driver and longer irons and then very CP with the shorter irons.
My guess is that given Johnny's ballstriking prowess, particularly that legendary round at Oakmont, he probably hit it very high and very straight. He was likely quite long. I don't think he was Nicklaus long. But he was likely similar to Adam Scott long today. Not as long as the Bubba's and Garrigus' of the world, but quite long. I wouldn't be too surprised if he hit a small draw with the driver and a small fade with the irons. But I generally think he was hitting it fairly straight by looking at his swing mechanics.
3JACK
