The average golfers handicap, in spite of improved equipment, improved methods, and a parade of golf "gurus", has not changed significantly in 100 years. In my book, THE COUNTRY WHERE GOLF IS KING, the current instructional industry has been described as a perennial merry-go-round. I am not the only one who has used that metaphor and it appears again in Troon McAllister's entertaining and informative novel THE GREEN.

Currently, a number of "alternative methods" are emerging and the most successful of these is Natural Golf; A company originally formed by a scientist turned golfer, a one Jack Kuykendall. A number of "spin off" companies have also emerged and they go by various names like JERRY HEARD'S SUPER SWING, IDEAL MECHANICAL ADVANTAGE (aka IMA), LEVER POWER GOLF, and BIG GRIP GOLF. All of these methods are by former employees of Natural Golf or by men who have had contact with them.

Currently over 100,000 golfers are using these methods and reporting that these methods are superior to "traditional golf". However a strange irony continues. All of these methods have created their own little "merry-go-rounds". To see them in action all you have to do is go to golfhelp.com, click on tips/instruction and then click on "alternative swings". You can then visit the Natural Golfers Support Forum, Natural Golfers Chat, and the Single Axis Golf Forum to see for yourself.

Now, Natural Golf with its wide stance, palm grip, shortened backswing and "single axis" would seem almost "foolproof". Yet I have witnessed endless debates about whether one pulls or pushes, about whether the swing the Natural Golf Corp teaches is the same as the one their "poster boy" Moe Norman uses. And now they claim there is a new revised Natural Golf Swing.

Some pros are thought of as knowledgeable and others as less than competent. Why? If the swing is as simple and natural as they say it is, why can't any reasonably articulate twelve year old teach it. Really, if they got their stuff straight any twelve year old could teach it. So, the merry-go-round lives and I would certainly recommend this merry-go-round to the "traditional one", as you may actually find a way off of this one.

You can go to the Single Axis Golf Forum and witness much the same kind of debates some of which, by the way, are quite brilliant. But this very intelligent group has not found a simple way of teaching what are very simple "swings". Again, the merry-go-round survives and of course I would also recommend this one to the "traditional one" because some people there have found their way off.

Meanwhile Jack Kuykendall adds a new element to the mix with his notion of a bent lead elbow, which has the effect of letting you hit the ball with a longer lever. He calls it Lever Power Golf and claims that it is the greatest physics discovery in the history of golf. So far, no one has come forward to prove or disprove this claim. (I think someone should, don't you?) However, while I feel Jack has created a very simple swing, the method of teaching it has eluded him, as witnessed by the members of the SA Golf Forum who have tried it and gone over to other methods like IMA and some no doubt have returned to *gasp* traditional golf, the ultimate merry-go-round (unless of course you are one of the five percent capable of mastering this system).

If you study all the alternative methods (I will save you the time), you will see that they have certain characteristics in common. They all advocate palm grips, so that a straight line can be formed from your trail shoulder to the ball, thus creating a single axis swing. They all advocate wide stances, so that the body can play the role of stabilizer and not power producer. Except for Jerry Heard's Super Swing and IMA (which by the way look very conventional), they all advocate a shorter backswing, with your hands near your rear shoulder.

And now Kuykendall has introduced the notion of a bent lead elbow. Should we pay any attention to that? I think so, because if you try it you will see that you can take the club back with very little pressure on your body and that the bending of the lead elbow does not pull your front foot off the ground, thus enabling you to retain balance and have a very stable base to hit into. Instead of thinking of a swing as an end product, which we might never be able to attain, why don't we think of learning the swing as a process, as some traditional teachers are already doing. Only instead of traditional mechanics, I am advocating that we base our search for the swing on certain fundamentals extracted from the alternative swing school as they offer us a measure of hope, whereas the traditional school offer us none (after all it's been 100 years, enough already).

If you work on the following fundamentals, you will have the best chance of discovering a swing that will work for you:

1. Grip the club in the palm of your hand, which will allow you to reach for the ball (you want to reach for the ball because you want to eliminate the movement of getting your body out of the way so you can extend your arms like in the traditional swing, your body is already out of the way)

2. Take the club back and up and get your trail hand in the oath position (you know, promise to tell the truth the whole truth... etc.)

3. Have most of your weight on your rear leg and

4. Have your head over your rear knee.

5. I would suggest that you bend your lead elbow so that you can get your hands as close to your rear shoulder as possible.

6. Now, using a rhythm or tempo that feels natural to you, hit the ball with your trail hand and

7. Extend both arms right down the line.

This should bring you to the perfect impact position. If you don't get there it is probably because you have "lunged" at the ball or tried to "steer" it in some way. Remember always: Arms swing, body reacts . By swinging at a tempo that is natural for you, I mean don't copy anyone else's. Your temperament may be to come to almost a complete stop at the top or you might feel that you are making one smooth unbroken movement. You have to discover your own tempo.

Now, can you play IMA with a bent lead elbow or NG with a bent lead elbow. Yes, I believe you can.

My own invention is a "fishhook" swing. I bring the club back bending my lead elbow about 90 degrees and get my hands as close to my rear shoulder as possible. After some practice you can feel the hands get into the same slot every time. If you were to now extend your arms you will see that the clubhead traces out the path of a fishhook, with the point in your rear shoulder and the shaft going right at the target. This is where the clubhead will go if I simply hit the ball and manage to keep my body stable and only reacting to and not initiating the swing.

Why not try my fundamentals as the best way of avoiding too much time on the instructional MERRY-GO-ROUND?

If you are interested in getting my new instructional work, which I call learning the New Fundamentals, please write me. Learning the New Fundamentals should considerably shorten your time on the Merry Go Round.

Edward Laskody