Golf Tips
Tips From The Tour With Brady RiggsLearn from the best players in the world |
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| By Brady Riggs, PGA, With Mike Chwasky, Photography by Warren Keating | |
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Page 3 of 4 Big Hitter, Great Mechanics While most amateur players probably think there’s not much they can learn from studying the swing of an extremely fit, 21-year-old professional golfer, that’s simply not the case. In fact, there’s a lot to be learned from checking out Anthony Kim’s technique, because while he does have outstanding physical skills, his swing is simple and fundamentally sound. Most importantly, Anthony’s swing features the perfect sequence of movements, a trait that can help any player hit it longer and straighter. When studying Anthony’s swing, it’s important not to focus too much on the static positions of the club, but rather to try and appreciate how his swing is being driven by the proper loading and unloading of his body rather than the muscles in his arms and hands. AK (as he’s often called), has a swing based on building torque through stretching his body against itself and unwinding at the optimum time to produce a “cracking of the whip” through impact. Anyone who’s ever watched videos of Ben Hogan’s swing knows that while he wasn’t a physically big man, he could create tremendous clubhead speed and power through a combination of strength, outstanding flexibility and awesome mechanics. AK utilizes almost the same exact attributes to hit the ball prodigious distances with accuracy. A key to both accuracy and distance is driving the club with the pivot of your body, not the muscles in your arms. 
(l-r) Anthony’s core is tight, his knees are flexed and his weight is
poised in the balls of his feet—a great athletic position. The chest,
shoulders and arms move the club away from the ball, not the hands. The
lower body is quiet; his torso turns against his legs while he fights
to maintain the angle between his stomach and right thigh. 
(l-r) Anthony’s body is now in full stretch. His feet remain steady,
his knees flexed and his posture is near perfect. Now the lower body
takes the lead as the feet help the knees rotate all the way back
around to the target. The majority of his body weight remains in the
balls of his feet as the legs drag the upper body and the club. 
(l-r) The rotation of the hips begin to throw the arms and club out to
the ball. There’s no independent motion here! The drive from the lower
body now stops as it collides against a straight left leg and firm left
side. This is power! 
(l-r) Both arms have completely straightened, thrown outward by the
powerful pivot of the body. The momentum of the arms and club are now
dragging the body around to the finish. The right arm and club are on
plane. His right side is perpendicular to the ground, his arms are
relaxed and his right foot is on the toe. A great finish to a great
swing! |
