Over the Top

I remember one discussion in which [renowned golf instructor] John [Jacobs] was talking about how, contrary to conventional wisdom, so many of the most consistent and enduring ball strikers had a slight “over the top” move, rather than the more classic “inside-out” path, in which the shaft flattens out on the downswing.

John clicked off the names of Bobby Locke, Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, and Bruce Lietzke as just a few examples of players who started down with their arms a bit farther from their body, the club taking something close to the “outside-in” path that slicers are always warned against.  John said that way of hitting the ball held less danger for good players than dropping the club down and hitting from inside out.

“Hitting too late from the inside with an open face not only misses the fairway, it can miss the golf course,” he said.  “A little over the top never misses by too much.  In competitive golf, it’s not so much where the good ones go.  It’s where the bad ones go.  You’ve got to build a swing that will eliminate the big miss.” 

Excerpt from, The Big Miss, by Hank Haney, p. 17

  

Tom Kite on Bruce Lietzke

"Bruce Lietzke is the best long-iron player.  He hits the long irons very high and with a natural fade, so the ball comes down softly.  That's very hard to do with a long iron and still make the ball go the distance you want.  But Bruce can use his long irons both from the tee on tight holes and for shots into a tucked pin that other players can't make."

"In my opinion, by the way, Lietzke is about the best player we have from the standpoint of the total game.  He can leave the rest of us behind.  I think it's fabulous for the rest of the Tour that he likes to take time off to race cars and go fishing."

Tom Kite, How to Play Consistent Golf, p. 245

Bruce Lietzke Nears End of Line

http://panews.com/sports/x402363896/West-column-Bruce-Lietzke-nears-end-of-line

Lietzke and Hogan

Thought this was a cool side-by-side of Bruce Lietzke and Ben Hogan.  Found it at jeffygolf.com.

5 Iron in Slow Motion

Slowed down a video of Bruce Lietzke hitting a 5 iron to 1/5 speed.

Spring Fever

Had a nice break in the weather today.   Starting to get spring fever.  And springtime can only mean one thing--the Masters.  Here's a treat for you Bruce Lietzke fans (yes, both of you).  Enjoy.

Bruce Lietzke Swing Sequence

Here's a Bruce Lietzke swing sequence compiled from a 1990 Golf Illustrated article.

LittleLeakyPowerFade on YouTube

Believe it or not, somebody already had the username "LittleLeaky" on YouTube, so I went with LittleLeakyPowerFade.

You can check out my channel on YouTube at the following link:

LittleLeakyPowerFade YouTube Channel

A New Putting Style

Just to mix things up a bit this year, I think I'll try a new putting style for a while.  I occasionally go back to the long putter, but mostly I putt left hand low.

The long putter just attracts too much attention for my tastes.  If you've ever tried one out on the course, you'll know what I mean.

I've started to read Putting My Way by Jack Nicklaus, so I thought I'd give his "way" a spin.  I haven't putted right hand low (conventionally) for years now.  We'll see how it works out.  After a few three putts, I'll likely go back to the left hand low style.

More Lietzke Footage

From what I can tell, there seems to be a scarcity of golf swing footage of Bruce Lietzke available online.  I'm doing what I can to fix that.  Here's some footage of him hitting an iron shot.  There's more available on YouTube.

Bruce Lietzke Swing Analysis presented by Adams Golf

Here's a swing analysis of Bruce Lietzke presented by Adams Golf followed by a tee shot.  Believe it or not, he missed the fairway.

Jim McLean on Lietzke's Swing

If you're a fan of Bruce Lietzke (and who isn't), you've probably already watched this video. But in case you haven't, below is a YouTube video of well-known golf instructor Jim McLean analyzing Leaky's golf swing.