Is it possible to have a low stroke count and still have bad form?
I know that Total Immersion (my swim bible) makes a very big deal about reducing stroke count in the pool. Specifically, he urges you to get first under 20 strokes per 25m, and then shoot for much lower than that.
For sure, there reaches a point at which there is a tradeoff between a lower stroke count (more gliding) and speed. However, in my random pool observations (I'm a beginner swimmer still), I see that very few people use under 15 strokes per 25m, and if they do, they all appear to have excellent form in the water.
Have you seen folks in the pool with very low stroke counts and sloppy form?