Characteristics of Byron Nelson’s Golf Swing
• Neutral grip, although it was a strong grip until he was about 17
• Floating right arm in the takeaway, which gave him width
• Inside takeaway
• Moves head back in backswing
• Does not reach parallel in backswing
• Loads the right side in the backswing
• Head dip in the downswing
• Big lateral move in the downswing
• Big breaking of the knees in the downswing
• Big dropping of the swing plane in the downswing
• Passive hands
Byron Nelson swing sequence
His ball flight was extremely straight, according to Jackie Burke, and the only rival Nelson had for straightness was Jimmy Demaret. Ken Venturi calls Nelson the straightest driver of the golf ball he’s ever seen. So it’s no accident that the USGA’s testing machine is called “Iron Byron.”
Byron Nelson and Tom Lehman
O.K., let’s look at the Nelson-Lehman comparison. First, watch this Nelson video:
If you don’t see the obvious Lehman similarities, here’s Lehman’s swing:
Compare Byron Nelson’s Swing To:
• Tom Lehman (inside takeaway, not reaching parallel in backswing, big knee break in the downswing)
• Gary Player (right hip and left knee in the takeaway)
• Jack Nicklaus (late cocking of the wrists)
• Jim Colbert says Tom Weiskopf’s swing was the most like Nelson’s of anyone he’s seen.
Byron Nelson Video Vault
Wayne DeFrancesco’s analysis of Byron Nelson’s swing:
