A study film of George Archer taken by Irv Schloss:
Archer turned professional in 1964
The leading achievement of his career was his win at the Masters in 1969
He was known as the "Golfing Cowboy," due to a summer job in his youth working on a ranch.
He made Masters history in 1983 when he employed its first female caddy, his 19-year-old daughter Elizabeth.
After his death in 2006, it was revealed that George Archer had suffered his entire life from a severe form of learning impairment and had lived in constant fear that the secret of his illiteracy would be revealed.
George Archer, 1969 U.S.Masters winner.
This is a very short version of how Irv Schloss analyzed the George Archer swing directly after he took this film:
Irv Schloss wrote:
Essentially the mechanics that George possessed are extremely good. The one movement he makes that I would not teach my pupils is his left heel rising in the contact area.
The problem is caused more by poor-fitting golf clubs than anything else.
At 6 foot 6 inches, it is very difficult to find a set that fits his height. Lengthening the shafts more than 1.5 inches will make the clubs effectively heavy and difficult to wield (Today, lighter weights and lower balance points have helped solve this problem). I believe the faults in the Archer swing are a direct effect of the ill-fitted equipment he is playing.
Irv then continued in more detail about how to cure the heel rising at contact, which he clearly saw as a fault rather than a natural mannerism.
IRV Schloss WAS ALSO ONE OF THE BEST AND MOST ACCOMPLISHED GOLF CLUB FITTERS IN THE WORLD WHEN HE DISCUSSED THIS PROBLEM: