Please note all images are under copyrite and can only be used with the agreement of the owner Bill Knowles
Gordon J. Brand Jnr (19 August 1958 – 31 July 2019)
Known for his humour and forthrightness Gordon Brand Junior left us far to early. A heart attack at the age of 60, while resting during a playing event stunned the champions league Tour with its suddenness.
Wedge swing
The film shows why Brand was known as one of the best ball strikers of his day. Unhurried and smooth he made a simple back and through movement.
The gentle rolling of the feet created a solid base for the shoulders to turn without any delay. Likewise his -left-arm remained firm through the contact area and continued counterwinding beyond the ball. This clearly shows why he struck the ball so well.
5 iron
The wedge and 5 iron swings are difficult to seperate with only a careful look at the different length of the shafts giving it away.
The backswing summit with a 5 iron. Hands are high rather than wide. The right knee resists and ensures he stays on center and well-balanced.
Driver swing analysis The final film shows the flawless driver swing action of Gordon Brand jnr.
Brian Barnes
3 June 1945 – 9 September 2019
One of the great characters of professional golfing history.
With a pipe in his mouth and a bottle of vodka after the round, Brian Barnes, who died aged 74 of cancer, cut a colourful, instantly recognisable figure on the European golfing circuit during his 1970s heyday.
Barnes was born in Addington Surrey, England, by Scottish parents, and represented England at amateur international level. He was educated at St. Dunstan's School, Burnham-on-Sea, and Millfield School in Somerset.
Taught by his father Barnes represented England in the youth international against Scotland in 1964. In the same year he turned professional.
Also in 1964, after his promising career start, Barnes was enrolled in a special training program designed to develop a future British Open champion.
Photo:In the early days. The 1951 Open winner Max Faulkner acted as coach. (Brian cuts a sturdy figure at the back).
Financed by entreprenuer Ernest Butten the participants became known as the Butten boys.
The Barnes swing, like the man himself, doesn`t always pay attention to the rules.
The most significant deviation was how he started his swing. With a forward press( mostly used to relieve tension and inject life into the beginning) that complicated the motion, Barnes used the small muscles from the word go.
The early wrist break narrowed the Barnes swing-arc and contributed to a shorter-backswing. The photo shows that Brian Barnes was still able to find good position at the top, belying the standard rules.
After a short pause at the top Barnes returns with the knees first, and, like many top players with `shorter backswings,` he collects more wrist angle on the return.
Contact and beyond shows how well Brian Barnes stays down on the ball and allows the swing path to circle back to the inside. His right shoulder continues to rotate and ensures the wrists do not get over-active.
THE FINISH
Sandy Lyle
One of the great players of the eighties he will always be remembered for his Open win at Royal St Georges in 1985, and his great fairway bunker shot to win the Masters. Sandy was the first British winner since Tony Jacklin in 1969 and continued the rise of European golfers in the world scene.
Sandy Lyle-(born 9 February 1958) has won two major championships during his career.
In 1977 Sandy turned professional and decided to represent Scotland. His first professional win came in the 1978 Nigerian Open, and he also won the Sir Henry Cotton Award as European Rookie of the Year that season. Lyle attained the first of an eventual 18 European Tour titles in 1979.
