An Incredible Interview with Pete Cowen

Golf Digest has this amazing interview with Pete Cowen, called The Best Teacher No One Knows, a man who many consider to be one of the two best teachers in the game. (Butch Harmon is the other.) I have often used Cowen's thoughts on the swing in my posts, and this interview includes his thoughts on many of the game's top players.



Since I love using some of his thoughts -- after all, he doesn't get a lot of TV time here in America -- I'll give you just one of the interesting things you'll read in this article. He was asked who he thought had the best swing ever, and he said Sam Snead. That resonates with me because I've tried to use some of Sam's technique in my own books. Now listen to WHY he says Sam was the best:

MECHANICALLY, SAM EMBODIED ALMOST PERFECTLY MY CONCEPTION of the full-swing motion resembling a spiral staircase, going back and coming through. Sam's sequential coiling and uncoiling was timeless and without flaw. There was none of this lateral-motion stuff, nor was it simple turn then unturn. Sam's engine was much more dynamic than that. You could imprint a silhouette of Sam, and it would be a great imprint for anyone to follow today. There's only one player today who comes close to matching it, and that's Henrik Stenson. (emphasis is mine)

Cowen is different from many American teachers simply because he doesn't like the modern over-emphasis on lateral motion to start the downswing. And if you watch Stenson swing, you'll see that he doesn't have a lot of lateral movement toward the target either.

As for his thoughts on Hogan... well, I'll let you read those yourself.

This will almost certainly be a controversial article amongst instructors. Trust me, you'll want to read this. It's not just instructive, it's entertaining.