Born 1911 in St. Louis
Not a long hitter of the golf ball Johnny Revolta made up for his lack of length by developing a deadly short game.
Although known for his teaching ability it was Johnny`s short game knowledge that brought the pupils of all calibers from afar. The great short game guru Paul Runyon proclaimed Johnny to be the best bunker player of all time.
The classic chip shot-Johnny Revolta
Johnny sets up to the ball with both feet turned a little inwards or to the left. His knees/weight is slightly set on the left side. He holds down the grip for more feel and lightly "squeezes" his upper arms to his torso. His action is firm wristed while he makes sure he keeps the handle in front of the ball and brushes the ground.
The bunker swing-Johnny Revolta
Johnny uses the same mechanics we are still using in the bunker today. Perhaps the most important element in this bunker demonstration is how Johnny cuts across the ball holding the clubface open. His through swing is a little bit shorter than the actions we see today in the modern professional's motion, but otherwise, it is essentially the same. For a fantastic article on the bunker swing history with plenty of film material click the linkhttps://www.billknowlesgolfart.com/post/equipment-evolution
One of Johnny`s biggest swing thoughts
Johnny writes in his classic book-"Short cuts to better golf" that "the most important thought in golf is the finish, and here`s why-if you finish high it is almost a sure thing that you have swung back and through the ball properly. And that friends is all there is to a good swing." Johnny Revolta
The Revolta waggle
It is interesting that the great Ben Hogan adopted Johnny Revolta's waggle system. All though nothing new in golf and has a history dating back to the turn of the century ( see Abe Mitchell ), what made Revolta`s ideas unique was how he had different waggles for different strokes.
For instance, to produce maximum bite on a green after hitting over a bunker, Revolta would waggle, short, repeating strokes. The type of waggle would be a preparation for the type of shot intended.
