The passing of golf legend Mickey Wright this week has seen any number of reminders that the LPGA founding member possessed what Ben Hogan once described as “the finest golf swing I ever saw”.
It is the nature of the game that fans, players and analysts alike will nominate a golfer or two in each generation as having the ‘best’ swing of their time.
Adam Scott’s beautifully fluid action is often described this way, as was Steve Elkington for much of the 1990’s.
In the women’s game, it is Anne Van Dam who has worn the tag ever since a Twitter video in 2018 that went viral and had coaches and fans worldwide declaring hers the best action on the planet.
The Netherlands native is at Bonville Golf Resort this week for the Geoff King Motors Australian Ladies Classic and was asked about the legendary Wright and sharing the tag of ‘best golf swing’.
It is probably unfair to ask a 24-year-old about comparisons between the two, particularly given Wright’s career ended around the time Van Dam’s parents were likely born.
But she took the question with good grace and was clearly aware not only of Wright’s reputation but her standing in the game.
“Hopefully, if I can be half as successful as she was, I would have a phenomenal career,” she said.
“She was just a natural, especially at that time where they didn’t have all the technologies and stuff.
“She was a big legend to look up to and it’s sad she passed away.”
Popular wherever she goes not only for her golf swing but her engaging personality and outgoing nature, Van Dam will win many more admirers on the Coffs Coast this week.
Golfers will be drawn to her because of the poetic combination of rhythm, tempo and positions in the swing while the less savvy will simply see a young woman clearly enjoying the chance to do what she loves for a living.
A rookie on the LPGA in 2019, Van Dam herself will only have one thought on her mind: to add to the tally of five Ladies European Tour victories she has already amassed.
And if she can manage it, she will be just 35 professional wins – and six or seven majors – short of her goal of having half the career Wright had.