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Lee Westwood-Born 1973
Turned Professional in 1993 and has 44 professional wins.
Born in Worksop, Nottinghamshire, Westwood attended Sir Edmund Hillary Primary School in his youth. Westwood began to play golf at age 13 with a half-set bought by his grandparents. His father John, a mathematics teacher, took up the game at the same time to encourage his son. A talented sportsman at school, Lee played rugby, cricket, and football.
At thirteen Lee was a late starter by modern standards. He was able to catch up rapidly and took only two years to win his county junior championship. Another three years on and Lee was picked to represent England in the boys' home internationals. It was in 1983 after winning the British Youths Internationals that he turned professional.
The swing film showing Lee was taken in 1997 while he was practicing for the Open at Troon.
Many will know that Lee Westwood took a break in the early 2000s period to stay at home with his family. It was also the period he worked with David Leadbetter to make changes to his swing.
Photo -Lee Westwood in 2017 after swing changes- the essence is the same, it was not a swing change.
Both Irv Schloss and Bernard Cooke were adamant that it is not possible nor desirable to change a successful and established swing. The best approach is restricted to a simple technical adjustment that improves a pupil's efficiency. Not to completely restructure the motion.
Working on a "better" swing-Westwood and David Leadbetter.
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Michael King-Born 1950
Michael King was one of the more popular players on the tour and had been given the nickname Queenie.
In 1974 he joined the professional ranks after a successful amateur career. Before joining the tour King had worked as a stockbroker, but was one of the many victims of the stock market crash. 1979 was his best season by far: he won his sole European Tour title at the SOS Talisman TPC; was joint runner-up in the Belgian Open; and played in the Ryder Cup team after finishing fifth in the European Tour's Order of Merit.
Sadly his career was cut short as the onset of arthritis set in while only in his mid-twenties.
Iron swing
At 6 feet 2 inches, Michael King was able to tap into an impressive power source. He had a smooth and unhurried rhythm (not to be confused with slow) although his hands may have been slightly overactive in the contact area.
Driver
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Brian Waites-Born March 1940 He is best known for being the last club professional to play in the Ryder Cup. This was in 1983 and at 43 years old he was also the oldest player to be selected for the first time.
Although he turned professional in 1957, he played little top-level golf for his first 20 years, but then had considerable success, winning twice on the European Tour, five times on the Safari Circuit, and playing in the 1983 Ryder Cup. After reaching 50 he had further success as a senior, winning 6 times on the senior tour including two triumphs as a PGA senior tour winner.
The swing
The Waites swing was an uncomplicated motion performed at medium tempo(medium by Tour standards) and a good solid footwork. His grip tended to be on the weaker side but left no traces of a poor release. The contact area of Waites was of the highest quality with his left wrist `bowing` outwards and arm showing no sign of break-down as it wound against the clock past the ball.
Waites still played local tournaments in recognition of his position at Hollinwell as a club Professional. He won the Nottinghamshire Open Championship seven times, the Notts Professional Strokeplay Championship seven times and the Notts Professional Matchplay Championship five times.
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Steven Richardson
Born in Berkshire in 1966
Not pretty- but pretty effective
With a father as a golf professional, it was natural for a seven-year-old Steven to take up the game although his interest and aptitude at other sports meant that he never really found a real interest until he had turned eleven.
His breakthrough came when he won the English Amateur in 1989 and turned professional later that year. He made a strong start to his professional career, finishing in 29th place on the European Tour Order of Merit in his rookie season.
The following year he won the Girona Open and the Portuguese Open. He also performed well in the USPGA Championship, finishing tied fifth. An impressive second place in the Order of Merit was the reward for his consistency, only just pipped by Seve Ballesteros. Richardson continued to play well in the 1992 and 1993 seasons, finishing inside the top 20 on the money list, while picking up his third career victory in the Mercedes German Masters.
Richardson played in the Ryder Cup team in 1991 and won two points partnered with Mark James in fourball and foursomes matches. He lost his singles match to Corey Pavin.
However, Richardson's form began to decline after 1993 and he slipped outside the top 50 on the European Tour Order of Merit in 1994.
Eventually, he fell outside the top 100, finally losing his place on the European Tour at the end of 2001 having failed to come through the qualifying school by a single shot.
Having grown up in the heyday of Jack Nicklaus, Steven Richardson based his swing mechanics on those used by the great American. He used a weaker grip and looked for an upright backswing plane. Mostly self-taught you can see how those thoughts may have contributed to the swing he made. It would be unfair to criticize a player who achieved so much in such a short space of time, but he admitted that it was when his body started to become stiffer that he found his game becoming progressively more erratic.
Having not used technical thoughts throughout his career he put the final nail in the coffin when he started using coaches to try and resurrect his career. As is so often with golfers who play by ear he found the newly acquired awareness of his backswing destroyed his feel for the whole swing.
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Barry Lane-Born 1960 in Middlesex Since writing this article Barry Lane has passed away at the early age of 62.
Starting at the later age of fourteen Barry Lane started his life as an assistant professional at Downshire Club at 16 years old. He won his first playing card in 1982 while still a shop assistant.
Barry Lane perfectly in balance- Lane always had an outstanding swing and was one of the better strikers of the ball on the European tour.
It always surprised me that Barry Lane did not have more success on the tour. Although he won a total of 20 events (mostly in the senior events) with four achieved on the regular European tour, he always struggled to maintain a consistent period and was rarely in the top ten.
Only once did he make the Ryder Cup team and was unable to gain a point, losing three times.
The reason for my surprise is the quality of the Barry Lane swing, which seemed to be flawless.
The following high-speed film was taken in 1986(Persimmon Woods).
The swing of Lane was both smooth and balanced. He was a great example of making the ball unimportant as he passed through the ball without any sign of effort.
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Mark James- born 28 October 1953
Mark James has been one of the more underrated players on the European Tour. His ball striking was second to none and perhaps had his temperament been a little more steady he may have been even more successful.
Mark was comparable to the great Lee Trevino in contact. The photos give you the feeling the ball will be squeezed into the ground.
The beautiful forward drive of Mark James. For a detailed analysis of the contact area mechanics see the link:
Mark James worked hard on the range like Lee Trevino, who based his success on the number of balls he had hit to develop an "ugly" swing rather than being limited by standard teaching methods.
Changing the backswing plane is a difficult process that will often create other issues.
