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Nicholas Raymond Leige Price (born 28 January 1957)
Price is the second Zimbabwean shown in the South African section.
He has won three major championships in his career: the PGA Championship twice (in 1992 and 1994) and The Open Chamionship in 1994. In the mid-1990s, Price reached number one in the Official world golf rankings. He was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.
Nick Price in 1980-early days on the European tour
Price joined the tour in 1977 and spent the first year on the South African circuit. The first film shown here is the swing he brought onto the European tour a year later. Although a fantastic movement Price struggled with erratic results. Evident is a tendency to tilt rather than turn. The tilt was caused by a narrow stance in the set-up. The over usage of knees and instabile lower-body came also as a result of the feet being too close together. The tilt instead of turn would also cause Price difficulty in keeping his arms connected with the body(bad timing).
Taking lessons with fellow South African David Leadbetter to correct these faults did not come easily. Head strong and self-taught, he was a natural left-hander who was forced to play right-handed because of limited equipment. Price mixed the two up by playing cross-handed. Years later he would tell of how it was that when he watched the great cross-hand player Papwa Sewgollum playing in an event, he chose to go conventional after Sewgollum actually hit a bad shank. Price would need some time to accomodate the new adjustments.
The photo shows the backswing at a later date. Feet now much wider apart and footwork more to the ground. Now fully coiled and able to rotate into the ball.
The Price swing in 1987. Reworked and starting to produce Although it would take Nick Price a decade before his work with David Leadbetter would be accepted in his nervous system, the improved ball striking made it obvious he was on the right track.
Some natural elements would remain to the end, the high-tempo being one of them.
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Ernie Els:
Born 17th October 1969 in Johannesburg South Africa
Both balance and poise are seen at their best in the swing of Ernie Els.
When Ernie Els first joined the tour in 1989 the golfing world had no problem noticing what was greatly admirable about the young man from South Africa`s swing. He was the epitome of grace and effortless power. Ernie Els will now always remain in history as a great example of how to swing at a high rate of knots without compromising rhythm and balance.
THE ERNIE ELS SWING-taken in 2000 in Berlin, Germany
For more information and stories about Ernie Els click the link
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John Bland-Born 1945 in Johannesburg
Bland turned professional in 1969 and was a leading player on the South African Tour for over twenty years.
John Bland holds a perfectly balanced and relaxed finish
Bland spent his summers playing on the European Tour, where he won twice. He was able to finish in the top 20 in the Order of Merit six times.
The Bland swing was compact and performed at a high tempo. The down-the-line view shows a deep waist angle at the start which is perfectly held until the last quarter of the follow-through.
At the age of fifty Bland chose to compete on the American senior's Champions tour and less often on its European equivalent. He won 5 times in America and three in Europe.
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Hugh Baiocchi(born 17 August 1946) is a winner of more than 20 professional tournaments around the world.
