Study The Pros: Swing Sequences To Watch
We talk a great deal about different ways to improve a golf swing. From written instruction to video examples, there are plenty of ways for you practice your game through study as much as practice. However, it’s arguable that the best of these ways is to watch the most polished and successful professionals at work.
Naturally, you can’t simply watch a pro golfer’s swing and find that you perfectly imitate it the next time you’re out on a course. If that were true, all sports would be far easier! But paying attention to the very best golfers in the world can certainly help you to coach yourself gradually into better form. Sometimes, the littlest details of a professional swing can help you realize something you’re doing wrong with your own. So with that in mind, here are four examples of things certain pros do to near perfection for you to study the next time you’re watching golf.
Adam Scott – Setup
Most high level pros have developed sound setup positions: athletic but relaxed, maintaining good posture. However, few have it as close to perfected as Adam Scott, who really has some of the best fundamental on tour. Golf.com actually ran a very helpful article for those looking to learn from the pros, taking a golf swing step-by-step and choosing the top pro at each step. As the article points out (in giving Scott the unofficial title of best setup), the position of his back, and body alignment, knees, hips, shoulder and eyes is nearly flawless. It’s a great form to imitate.
Ian Poulter – Efficiency
Ian Poulter isn’t one of the golfers who first comes to mind when you think of refined, consistent form and with a perfect swing. In fact, his career to date has been marked by a somewhat strange inconsistency. Betfair golf correspondent Joe Dyer recently wrote about Poulter in a Ryder Cup preview. He stated concisely that “Poulter’s love for the bi-annual with the US is legendary,” but that some might be concerned about his form. Indeed, Poulter always seems to come to play when Ryder Cup action calls, but his performance on the ordinary pro circuit is more up-and-down.
What golfers can appreciate about his swing, however, is perhaps the one glimpse of his competitive intensity that really shines in his form: efficiency. Golf Digest did a step-by-step sequence of Poulter’s swing, and their David Leadbetter astutely points out that there’s very little wasted motion in the swing.
Tiger Woods – Impact
This probably goes without saying, and it’s somewhat akin to stating that Roger Federer has the best grip or follow-through in tennis. That is to say, there’s an argument to be made that any golfer looking to learn from the pros ought to just watch Tiger—he’s arguably the best to ever play. But specifically, it’s his movement through impact that is most worth a look. The aforementioned Golf.com article makes careful note of the wrist and forearm movements Tiger uses to keep the club face square and generate power.
Rory McIlroy – Power Generation
Finally, there’s Rory McIlroy, who’s increasingly viewed as the best driver on the planet and perhaps better, in this regard, than Tiger Woods in his prime. Any golfer looking for tips on how to generate more power off the tee should study McIlroy’s driving game carefully. They should also take a look at a recent New York Times article that looked into the hip turn and leg strength that McIlroy uses to generate power off the ground.
In terms of pure striking and the point of impact, we’d still direct you to Tiger, as stated previously. However, for the overall power of your swing, Rory McIlroy is the guy to watch.