The Ozaki's Jumbo, Jet, and Joe.
Covering thirty years from 1970 to 2000 the name Ozaki and Japanese golf were inseparable.
Masashi (Jumbo) Ozaki Ozaki was born in 1947 in Tokushima in the southwest of Japan.
Interestingly it wasn’t golf that first captured Ozaki`s natural athletic ability, but baseball, where he was a star pitcher in High School, winning a national Title. After leaving school he entered the game professionally in 1965. It was also the same year that Jumbo played his first round of golf. He was so successful from day one that after just 2 years of professional baseball, at the age of 23, he decided to quit and focus on Professional golf instead.
The most successful Japanese player of all time stands to the ball with his Jumbo driver.
As a natural gambler and tough competitor he soon found success in the local Tournaments. Jumbo stood out from the beginning, with his flashy clothes and his brash behavior being the reason for his nickname, rather than the length of his drives. Although he did hit the ball a long way it took some time to get his short game to the level where he could compete at the highest level. Ozaki announced himself in 1973 when he won his first Japan Golf Tour event. In fact, he won 5 events that year. That was the beginning of a career that saw Jumbo claim 114 wins in total, including 94 Japan Golf Tour wins. His performances in Japan are legendary, and he is the all-time money leader with 43 more wins than the nearest challenger, fellow world golf hall of famer Isao Aoki.
In 2011 Ozaki was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame.
Swing analysis
Half-way back and Jumbo demonstrates all the moves of a quality ball striker. His arms are swung wide against a resisting right knee. The body coil is in perfect harmony with his arm swing. The lower body responds with gentle changes of foot pressures.
At the top, and the lower body holds and resists the the upper torso perfectly. You can sense the uncoiling about to happen.
No sign of effort here as the lower body unwinds from the knees upwards. Jumbo's arms remain passive and the wrist cock is still unused ('loaded').
Solid contact. Feet still 'planted' while the body continues to wind onto the inevitable finish. There is no sign of any effort as the head remains still.
A perfect release of the club head. The tightness of his neck muscles show exemplified left-side resistance. The feet are still more down and perform a rolling action. Compare this to the 'high-heeled' action of many of the tour players of today.
Perfectly balanced. All energy has been released and Jumbo is now enjoying watching the ball flight while at the same time feeling comfortable and alert throughout his body.
Naomichi 'Joe' Ozaki
Naomichi turned professional in 1977 and won 32 tournaments on the Japan Golf Tour between 1984 and 2005. He ranks fourth on the list of most Japan Golf Tour wins.
Naomichi sets up to the ball while brother Jumbo looks on. The three brothers would constantly teach and help each other as they traveled the Tournaments together.
Swing analysis
Similar in method to his brother, Naomichi swings his arms back against a gently responding lower body. The torso rotation would obviously be far more if he was using the wider stance a longer club requires.
At the top he holds center and I think it is possible to sense that he is in no hurry to return.
The start is made with a 'bump' to the left from the hips. Naomichi's feet remain solid on the floor in a copy of his brother Jumbo's action.
At contact his left-wrist remains firm and unyielding while at the same time 'winding' counter-clockwise against the ball. It is the contact of a good ball striker. Notice also how the right foot is starting to rise a little earlier than big brothers.
The full release at 3 o'clock shows how Naomichi allows a more active response of the knees than Jumbo. The whole swing movement presents a feeling of unhurried flow.
Like his brother he holds a well balanced finish , albeit a little less comfortable at the end, and perhaps a little incomplete in comparison with todays players. The slight curvature of the spine is nowhere to be seen in the modern game.
Tateo `Jet' Ozaki.
Born 9 January 1954-joined the Tour in 1977.
Not quite as successful as his two brothers, Tateo was still able to notch up an impressive Tournament winning CV. With 15 wins on the Japanese circuit and 6 others, he is listed as the 13th highest winners on the career victories list.
Seen as one of the stronger elements of his game Tateo Ozaki excelled at putting. The set of photographs portray a simple and efficient method.
He starts by taking a comfortable stance and then positions his hands in a classic reverse overlapping position. Most of his 'bending' will be done from the waist while his knees remain locked and straight throughout.
His motion has a pendulum quality in respect of how equal he swings back and through. There is no breakdown of the left wrist as he simply tilts his shoulders back-and-forth.
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Shigeki Maruyama
Born 12 September 1969 near Tokyo Turned Professional in 1992
Maruyama was the first Japanese golfer to win a Tournament in the USA when he won the Greater Milwaukee Open in 2001. He went on to win another three times in America. With ten wins on the Asian Tour and one World Tour event he achieved a career total of fourteen championships.
His swing was described as unorthodox, however, apart from one strong negative 'extra,' his action is conforming.
Standing very tall to the ball he uses every inch of his 5 feet 7 inches.
Shegeki takes the club away on plane and shows a good body response, particularly from the lower body and hips. His clubface has naturally opened. The old drill of stopping at this point, retaking the foot stance in the direction of the arms, and then lowering the arms until the clubhead touches the floor(see diagram) would confirm he is perfectly on the plane.
To be completed soon
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Tommy Nakajima
Coming soon
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Isao Aoki
Coming soon.
