Ryder Cup proved you don't have to have
a textbook swing to be a success

Interesting postscript to the Ryder Cup from Ladybank Golf Club professional Sandy Smith in his informative weekly Newsletter:

"The Ryder Cup proved to be a bit of a disappointment in terms of the result, however the standard of golf was excellent and was great viewing as usual. The golf course was set up brilliantly in my opinion in that it provided lots of birdie opportunities for the players.
"Paul Azinger deserves alot of credit for giving us an interesting Ryder Cup rather than a chip out of the thick stuff Ryder Cup.
"Another interesting thing was the difference in the players, their swings and should I say their athleticism. If you compare the two teams I would go as far as to say that the Americans are far more individual in their swings and builds most notably.
"The Europeans looked fitter and generally more textbook swingers of the club. It just goes to show that the impact area of the swing is by far the most important postion in the swing, not the top of your backswing and that the swing doesn't have to be made in a textbook fashion to be successful.
"Jim Furyk would testify to that as would J B Holmes, Boo Weekly and a couple of others. The message is: Work to improve what you have as long as you use the correct shot shape to suit your own style of swing.
"And remember Jim Furyk's dad is a PGA Golf Professional and his coach. I bet he's glad he didn't change his son's swing to look like the textbook one."
From Sandy Smith's Ladybank Golf Club Newsletter